Standing by Charlotte's graveside, Laszlo was doing his best to hold himself together. His hand was being gripped tightly by Lucy who was stood next to him, dressed in a black dress with thick tights. Her hair hung loose around her shoulders, only a white ribbon pulling strands of it back from her face. Elizabeth was stood just behind her, cradling Emily to her chest as she patted her back, trying to stop her from crying. Laszlo turned to look to his wife, dressed all in black in her mourning gown, the material crisp from being brand new. She had tucked her hair behind her ears and it flowed down her back as Laszlo felt her arm brush against his and he nodded to her.

They both had tears in their eyes as they looked to the gravestone in front of them. Laszlo had insisted on Charlotte having only the very best, but he just found it strange to be burying his daughter when there was no body. The graveside was quite busy with all of Charlotte's friends from school there along with her teachers. There were others who Laszlo did not know as well from their time socialising over the past year. He suspected hardly any of those individuals were good friends of Charlotte's, but he could not turn them away. He simply did not wish to talk to them or anyone else, really.

"Shh, Emily, darling," Elizabeth tried to soothe the baby in her arms, but she was still crying loudly.

"Let me take her," Sara's voice entered her ear and Elizabeth looked over to her. She was also dressed in black, her hair neatly pinned at the back of her head as she held her arms out. "She's only two, Elizabeth, she won't understand."

Sara could sense the reluctance Elizabeth had of letting her go, but she knew that Sara had a point. And, at that moment in time as the coffin was lowered, it was something that Emily perhaps did not need to witness. Looking down to Lucy once Sara had taken Emily and was wandering away with her, Elizabeth crouched down and held onto her daughter's shoulder.

"If this is too much for you then you can go with Sara," she said to her daughter. Lucy was only just four. She was also too young to see such things, but she had more of an understanding. She understood that Charlotte wasn't coming back, but Emily didn't just yet. She would often ask for her, calling out her name and leaving Elizabeth or Laszlo to tell her that she had left them.

"I want to stay," Lucy said to her mother with a nod. "Please."

"Alright, sweetheart," Elizabeth said and she was about to stand up when she felt her daughter grab hold of her hand. She remained crouched down, ignoring her protesting limbs at the position as Lucy nestled against her front in between her legs. She kept an arm wrapped firmly around her, not wanting to let her go. Laszlo looked down onto the two of them as he sniffed and felt John's hand on his shoulder.

Violet had her arm laced inside of his as Marcus and Lucius stood next to them, Bitsy with her arm inside of Lucius's. Cyrus and Joanna were stood on the left, Stevie also standing with them and looking upset. He had blamed himself for taking Charlotte to that house before, but Laszlo had promised him that he was not to blame. He didn't want Stevie blaming himself in the slightest. This was no one's fault, not truly.

As the service came to an end, Laszlo picked up a hand of dirt and dropped it onto the coffin, looking down onto it and then to the stone which had Charlotte's name on it.

Charlotte Kreizler. Beloved daughter and sister.

He hadn't known what to write on the stone. He truly hadn't known. As Elizabeth remained crouched next to Lucy, she looked on as people tossed dirt onto the coffin and left them alone, offering their sympathies. Before they knew it, it was just Lucy, Laszlo and Elizabeth. Lucy was still holding onto the flowers in her fingertips. She had seen them the day before and had said they were colourful while Elizabeth had gone for a walk with her to find her a black dress.

They had bought them and Lucy had asked if Charlotte would like them. Elizabeth had tried not to cry as she said that she would. And now Lucy was holding them in her hands as Elizabeth placed a hand against her daughter's stomach, drawing her attention to her as Laszlo also crouched down on the other side of her.

"Do you want to throw them in?" Elizabeth asked her daughter.

"Do you really think she will like them?" Lucy questioned.

"She would love them," Laszlo promised his daughter, moving a hand down her hair and kissing the top of her head as Sara stood back, still holding and soothing Emily in her grip, trying to keep her quiet.

"Alright," Lucy whispered and she dropped the flowers onto the grave as Elizabeth took one from the bouquet and kissed the top of the yellow sunflower petals before dropping it on top. Laszlo knew that she was doing everything in her power to stay strong, but they were now both struggling away from prying gazes.

"Lucy…sweetheart…why don't we go and see what your Auntie Sara is doing?"

Lucy nodded and Elizabeth kissed her on the cheek as Laszlo took her hand and guided her towards where Sara was stood, John next to her and Violet still on his arm. Looking to the three of them, Laszlo continued to blink, trying to stop himself from crying. He sniffed once more and struggled to meet their gaze.

"Can you stand with Lucy for a moment?" Laszlo asked.

"Of course," Violet was the one who cooed and knelt down to the girl's height. "Your Uncle John and I were just saying how we liked the ribbon in your hair."

"Diana did it," Lucy answered.

"Well, then," Violet said in a happy voice, a smile on her face for the little girl. "You must show me how you do that."

Laszlo had to confess that Violet was amazing with children. She had a true maternal instinct. Despite the fact that John and Sara had never ended up together, both of them seemed happy with their lives. Laszlo didn't know if that was true, but he never pried, both of them private people who were able to work things out themselves. Leaving Lucy with her godparents, Laszlo returned back to Elizabeth who was now knelt on the floor by the edge of the grave.

Sinking down to kneel next to her, he wrapped his arms around her as she leant against his side and grabbed hold of his arm, clinging to him as her hair tickled against his neck and cheek. He said nothing, neither of them needing to say anything as they sat in their grief together.

…

Elizabeth bit down on her cheek as she stood outside of Charlotte's bedroom the following month. The weeks had passed by since her funeral and Laszlo had tried his best to bring about some semblance of normal life for the family, but it had been difficult. Elizabeth had been busy with Lucy and Emily, trying to put on a brave face for them. Diana had taken some time off to sit her exams for her first year of medical school, but insisted on helping out around the house whenever she could.

Laszlo had gone to work at the Institute whenever Elizabeth assured him that she would be fine with the girls. He had delayed his return to Vienna, knowing that now was not the time for him to travel again, not when they had just lost Charlotte and they were all struggling to come to term with that.

"I can't bring myself to do anything in here," Elizabeth said when she sensed that Laszlo was stood behind her after hearing his footsteps come up the stairs later that evening. Lucy and Emily were both fast asleep and Elizabeth had prepared a meal for her and Laszlo to eat later that evening.

"You don't need to do anything," Laszlo said to her, looking into the room. Everything was where Charlotte had left it. "It's only been several weeks, Elizabeth."

"I know," she said, agreeing with her husband on that point as he took hold of her waist gently, letting her press her back to his front. "But I don't know if I will ever want to do anything here."

"Then you don't need to," Laszlo said to her. He had no intention of using the room for anything else. As far as he was concerned, the room would always be Charlotte's. "It is still too early to think about anything like that, my love."

"I know…I just…I am trying to move on, Laszlo. I am trying to keep Emily and Lucy happy, but I know they are not blind. They can see when I am sad. They can see that things aren't normal."

"And they won't ever be again because Charlotte was our daughter and their sister," Laszlo said. "But in the end, we will move on. We will be able to think about Charlotte and be happy, not sad. All it is going to take is time, Elizabeth. It is just going to take time."

Elizabeth nodded. She agreed with that point.

"Come on, I don't want dinner to go cold."

Elizabeth nodded. She had served up dinner and had just gone to check on the girls before returning. She had gotten distracted, however, by Charlotte's room. Elizabeth took hold of Laszlo's arm and walked by his side down the stairs once more. They headed to the dining room and settled down in their own seats, looking at the meal in front of them.

"We baked a cake today," Elizabeth said, cutting into the beef wellington and unable to stand the silence. "Well, I say we baked a cake. I did most of the baking while Lucy was very good at getting flour everywhere. I thin most of it ended up on her than in the cake."

Laszlo chuckled and took a sip of the red wine Elizabeth had picked to go with dinner. She took another bite of the food before reaching for the bowl containing the vegetables.

"It's a good job you were there to supervise," Laszlo said to her.

"I don't know, you haven't tasted it yet," Elizabeth responded and he chuckled again.

They were odd moments when the two of them laughed and joked around each other. While it had once felt natural and right, now it felt strange and wrong. It felt as though they shouldn't laugh after what had happened. But they knew they had to. They knew they had to try and move on and have a happy life for the sake of their daughters and themselves.

"I am sure it will taste delicious, my darling," Laszlo promised his wife as she chewed on a carrot. "You have become quite the cook in recent years. I remember when you first came to live with me and tried to cook."

"Don't tease," Elizabeth demanded from her husband in a stern tone. "I tried my best."

"I remember Mary being so exasperated with you for overcooking the chicken and hardly boiling the vegetables," Laszlo said and Elizabeth rolled her eyes as he chuckled back at the memory.

"So why did you sit and eat it if it was so horrible?" Elizabeth demanded to know, taking a sip of her wine and sitting back in her chair, folding an arm over her waist as she shot Laszlo a questioning stare with an arched brow.

"I believe I did tell you it was delicious…" Laszlo confessed.

"So why did you?"

"Because I was quite clearly in love with you and I was hardly going to be cruel," Laszlo responded. "I might not be able to hold my tongue sometimes. Lord knows I have put my foot in my mouth numerous times, but I always tried not to when it came to me trying to woo you."

"Is that what you tried to do?" Elizabeth questioned from him. "You tried to woo me?"

"I don't know if trying is the right word, my dear," Laszlo informed her. "I am married to you so I had some success."

"Only because all the other eligible bachelors in New York wouldn't look my way," Elizabeth said.

"Their loss."

"You're such a cad," Elizabeth commented with a soft laugh and Laszlo looked to her, his gaze softening as he drank in the way her hair bounced around her shoulders with the movement and her cheeks were slightly flushed from the drink and, he hoped, his compliment.

"Only for you," Laszlo said and he watched her as she looked to him and he noted the way she bit down on her bottom lip. He saw the way her pupils dilated and her breathing seemed to turn shallow. Laszlo's own eyes darted down to her lips as he saw her run her tongue over them and he looked back to her again.

Standing up, Elizabeth made the first move as she moved her fingers to her blouse and Laszlo watched her, completely hypnotised by her movements as she tugged the blouse out of the waistband of her skirt. The sheer material draped open as she shrugged it down her arms and let it fall to the floor, leaving her in her corset and chemise underneath it.

"Elizabeth…we don't need to…" Laszlo began to say, not wanting her to feel pressured as he pushed his chair back and she hiked her skirts upwards, settling in his lap and letting them drape over them. "What I was saying before…I did not mean for it to lead to this."

Elizabeth's brow furrowed as she held his shoulders to steady herself. "So you do not want to?"

"Of course, I want to," Laszlo promised her, his gaze level with the tops of her breasts as he lifted it up to meet her eye. "I just do not want you to feel we have to…it's been a long time…"

"I know," Elizabeth promised her husband as she tried to ignore the opera playing in the background that Laszlo insisted on listening to when they ate. "But I've missed you…I've missed us."

"As have I," Laszlo assured her as she moved her fingers to tangle in his hair. "But here…now…"

"The girls are asleep," Elizabeth said to him. "They won't hear a thing."

"And you're certain?"

"Never been more certain," Elizabeth promised him, bending down to kiss him on the lips. He moaned when he felt her tongue swipe over his bottom lip and she gained access to his mouth. He fought for dominance over the kiss, but Elizabeth was pushing him back as she dropped further into his lap, her hips snapping up against his and causing a delicious friction. He moved his good arm to her waist, pulling her against him as she moved her mouth from his, her lips not leaving him as she kissed along his neck, her teeth scraping his skin and causing him to shudder as she reached down for the belt of his trousers.

"Elizabeth," Laszlo gasped her name when she finally managed to undo the buttons to his trousers.

"Hmm?" she hummed against his skin as she undid his top button and felt his fingers dance underneath her skirt and along her thigh, tugging at her underwear as she helped him pull it down her legs.

"I need you," Laszlo grunted again. "You're driving me to the edge…please…" he begged her as she continued moving her hips against his and he met her halfway, finding some relief with the movements.

He knew they both wouldn't last long. It had been too long since they had been together. Elizabeth remained in his lap, groaning as she finally took him and tossed her head back. Laszlo's strangled moans moved against her skin as he kissed down her neck and she set the pace. She was slow and steady at first, enjoying a hand holding onto his shoulder as she looked into his eyes and they both panted for breath. She soon sped up, both hands clinging to his shoulders for balance as he moved a hand under her skirts, helping her reach her pleasure at the same time he met his. Collapsing against his front in a sweating heap, Elizabeth felt his hand slow down in its movement, slowly coaxing her back to normality as his chest heaved, lifting her up from where she was laid against it.

"I missed you," Laszlo grunted down to her.

"I missed you too," Elizabeth said, her hair sticking to her cheeks as she pushed it from her face and felt him kiss her on the forehead.

"But I believe I'm the one who is supposed to be in charge here, my wife," Laszlo said, remembering all of the times he had made her moan his name as he took the lead. "So, you are fortunate I am feeling rather generous tonight."

"Why's that?" Elizabeth questioned, stroking his chest as he reached for the ties of her corset.

"Lie back on the table and I'll show you," he whispered into her ear and felt her shudder, but not once did she complain as she eagerly did as instructed.

…

Laszlo didn't know what time it was before they got to bed. He had gone upstairs and checked that Emily and Lucy were still sleeping soundly before returning downstairs to find Elizabeth clearing the table, their half-eaten dinner completely forgotten about after their activities. Laszlo had pulled his robe onto his body, bringing his wife's down for her too. She had shrugged into it, letting it sit over her chemise, before gathering up her own clothes as Laszlo did the same. They had gone to bed and had indulged in his each other twice more before falling to sleep, Elizabeth nestled in the crook of his arm with an arm over his waist.

He had woken up even more tired than when they had gone to bed, but he could hear banging coming from down the hallway and he knew Lucy would already be awake. He groaned and stirred slightly, shifting the arm that he had around Elizabeth as she grunted against his neck, pushing herself closer to him and screwing her eyes shut as hard as she could.

"No," she complained to him and he chuckled, looking down at her sleepily.

"Lucy is already awake," Laszlo said, voice husky in the morning and his lips feeling slightly swollen as Elizabeth balled her hand into a fist, placing it against his bare chest and pressing tighter to his side.

"That girl doesn't know what it means to lie in," Elizabeth muttered.

"She's an early bird," Laszlo said to her.

"Like her father," Elizabeth said and she finally peeled an eye open, her fingers moving to dance softly over his chest. He watched her complete the movement as she propped herself up on her elbow, hair tumbling down her shoulders and to her back. Laszlo took Elizabeth's neck into his hand, his fingers keeping her hair brushed over her naked back.

"You might need to do something about that," Laszlo said, looking at the bruise on her neck. She moved her hand over his on her neck and felt the tender spot, not needing to look down at it to know what it was. Pushing Laszlo on the chest, she heard him laugh as he fell onto his back and Elizabeth remained hovering over him.

"You owe me so much makeup from the amount of times I've had to hide these," she said, pointing at the mark as Laszlo continued smirking, his fingers dancing along her cheek.

"You were hardly complaining last night, my darling," Laszlo responded and he pulled her down to him, guiding her lips to his. Not that she needed much persuading. She kissed him slowly as he let his fingers dance over her collarbone, feeling her shiver against him as she moved a hand under the duvet along his stomach.

"Daddy! Are you awake?"

Laszlo pulled away with a groan as Elizabeth pulled back from him and they heard Lucy outside of the door.

"Just wait there for a minute, Lucy, and I'll be there," Laszlo said and he moved quickly, pulling on his pyjama bottoms and shirt as Elizabeth sat up, leant back on her elbows with the duvet tucked under her arms.

"She wants daddy this morning," Elizabeth said. "Usually it's always mummy."

"Jealous, darling?"

"Not at all," Elizabeth said. "You can make her breakfast while I stay in bed for a while longer."

"I suppose I can keep Emily and Lucy entertained for a while," Laszlo assured his wife. "But don't stay in bed too long, I had hoped we could go out this morning and we both need to change."

"Where are we going?"

"Out as a family," Laszlo said. "The park…have ice cream…all the normal and boring things."

"Sounds nice," Elizabeth said.

"Daddy!" Lucy shouted again.

"Coming," Laszlo said and she watched him leave, closing the door behind him and talking to Lucy as he guided her to Emily's room and asked her what she wanted for breakfast. Elizabeth flopped back against the pillows and closed her eyes for a few moments, a soft smile on her face as she wondered if, for the first time in a long time, they could be happy.

…

"How are you holding up?"

Elizabeth was sat in between Marcus Isaacson and her husband at Delmonico's the following week. Laszlo often enjoyed dining at the restaurant, but it had been a long time since he had gone. He hadn't entirely felt like socialising, but he knew that they had to do something to get out of the house. And so Laszlo had suspected it was time that they went out and met up with friends. But they had only met up with those who they were close to. Lucius and Marcus had accepted the invitation while Sara and John had also been keen to come along, but Violet had a prior engagement.

The other night, Cyrus and Joanna had come around to the house to spend time with the family and Stevie. Elizabeth had cooked them all a meal and they had sat and ate with talk and laughter courtesy of comments from Lucy and Emily.

Elizabeth hadn't been entirely convinced that dinner at a restaurant would be a good idea, but Laszlo had insisted. She had gone along with it, changing into a dark blue dress with a relatively conservative neckline. The material had soft floral patterns in white outlines and a ribbon around her middle. The skirts flowed out enough for Laszlo to almost be draped in them as they sat in the carriage on the way to the restaurant. He had watched her touch the golden teardrop necklace around her neck all the way there, clearly apprehensive. Moving his hand to hold onto her gloved one, he felt the soft white material tickle his palm as they walked into the restaurant together.

"If I say fine, would you believe me?" Elizabeth questioned from Marcus after he had had asked her the question.

He was dressed in his finest suit, a red tie sitting against his white shirt. Laszlo wore his dinner jacket and bowtie, Elizabeth wondering when he had last worn it as she ironed out the creases in preparation for their dinner as he finished bathing Emily and putting her to bed, Diana entertaining Lucy.

"I don't know," Marcus said, picking up his champagne. "You do have a tendency to lie about being fine when you're not."

Elizabeth nodded, a sad smile on her face as she agreed with him on that point. "You're not wrong," she agreed with him. "But I am fine, well, as fine as can be. How about you?"

Marcus knew she was deflecting. He had visited her a number of times and each time she had insisted she was fine. He didn't know if she was, but he knew that Elizabeth put a brave face on when she had to. He just wished that she knew she didn't have to, not around him. He considered her a good friend and wanted her to be herself.

"Fine," Marcus said. "I took a nurse on a date the other night."

"Did you now?" Elizabeth asked him. She tucked her blonde hair behind her ear as conversation remained going on around them. Laszlo had engaged in talk with John while Sara conversed with Lucius.

"She was nice," Marcus said. "But I don't know if it will work out."

"Why is that?" Elizabeth asked, holding her own champagne glass and taking a sip of the liquid.

"She asked me how many children I wanted and how long I would ideally wait to get married," Marcus said and Elizabeth's eyes widened. He nodded and laughed at her expression, pointing at her as a waiter passed by and filled up their champagne glasses. "You have the exact look on your face that I had," Marcus said.

"Thank you," Elizabeth said to the waiter and looked back to Marcus. "And what did you tell her?"

"Well, I was almost so close to telling her that I was impotent and running away," he said and Elizabeth snorted unladylike as she placed a hand over her mouth to stop her from spitting out the mouthful of champagne she had there. Shaking her head, she watched Marcus's face grow amused. "But I told her that it had been lovely to meet her and avoided her questions."

"So no more dates lined up?"

"I think I need a break," he said with a shake of his head.

"So do the women of New York," Elizabeth retorted.

"On the contrary, they're the ones missing out," Marcus replied with a smirk and Elizabeth rolled her eyes as Sara stood up. Everyone looked to her as she glanced to Elizabeth and she knew where she was going. Elizabeth stood up, Laszlo also moving to his feet as his wife moved to the side of her chair.

"Everything alright?" Laszlo asked from her.

"Perfectly fine," she promised him and placed a hand to his shoulder, pecking him on the cheek and leaving with Sara for the ladies' powder room. Laszlo watched her retreat and he sank back into his chair, John also watching them go, but his eyes focused on Sara Howard and the swaying purple dress she wore.

"I do have a favour to ask you," Laszlo suddenly spoke, turning to look to John who picked up his lemonade and nodded.

"Ask away," he said before taking a sip.

"I had intended on taking Elizabeth away for a night," Laszlo said. "After everything that has happened over the past few months, I believe it might do us some good to go away…only for a night. Elizabeth would hardly want to be away from Lucy or Emily any longer and I confess the thought does not bode well with me either."

"I see where this is going," John declared with a knowing nod as Marcus and Lucius bickered about something next to them. "Violet and I will look after Emily and Lucy for you."

"Thank you," Laszlo said. "Diana is sitting her exams soon so we are trying to give her time to focus on her studies, but I do not doubt she would be happy to stay with the girls."

"Oh, you know how Violet is," John said with a nonchalant wave, putting his glass of lemonade down onto the table. "She loves spending time with the girls. William will also enjoy the company. She…well…"

"I know," Laszlo said, not wanting John to feel uncomfortable. He knew how Violet and John had tried for another child, but so far they had been unlucky. John had questioned what it could be and Violet had insisted on going to see a doctor. They had been told that they should keep trying, but it had been a number of months and so far nothing had happened.

"But, yes," John said with a soft cough into his fist. "We will look after Emily and Lucy. I am their godfather after all. And does Elizabeth know of your plan?"

"I had intended on telling her when I find somewhere for us to stay," Laszlo said. "I wanted to organise everything first. I had contemplate a trip to Washington D.C. She has never been before."

"I am certain she would love it," John said. "Besides, I think you could take her to some back alley hotel and she would love it because she's with you."

Laszlo chuckled and sipped his champagne. "I would not be certain of that."

"Oh, I am," John told him. "Even after…what…almost five years of marriage…she still looks at you like a lovelorn debutante."

Laszlo chuckled once again. "It will be five years of marriage soon enough," he said to John. "Seven, since I met her."

"And you never thought that you would be here, did you?"

Laszlo shook his head. He honestly never thought that he would have even married Elizabeth. There had been a time when she had been with Jacob when he thought that she would never get away from him. He still remembered sitting by her bedside when she had been in hospital after Jacob had pushed her down the stairs. He remembered holding her hand and longing to cradle her against him and protect her from the horrors her husband inflicted upon her.

"I never thought any of this would have happened," Laszlo said to John.

"I still remember when I found out you loved her," John commented. "Do you remember that girl you courted while we were in college? What was her name?"

"Frances Blake."

"Ah, Frances," John nodded as Elizabeth came back to the table and sat down, Laszlo not hearing her approach. She perched on the edge of her chair as Laszlo turned to look to her and she arched her brow in his direction.

"Why are you two mentioning Laszlo's old flame?" Elizabeth questioned. "I don't have reason to worry, do I?"

"On the contrary, I haven't seen Ms Blake in many years. I believe she moved away from New York," Laszlo said and Elizabeth folded her hands onto the table. She picked up the napkin and began folding it without recognising what she was doing as Laszlo continued to talk. "I never truly loved her anyway. I realised that while we were still at Harvard. It is ludicrous to think that we had intended to get married while we were still so young."

"You were twenty-one, Laszlo, hardly a young boy," John pointed out.

Elizabeth knew all about Laszlo's history. He had told her about Frances Blake and how he had proposed to her, but he realised that he did not love her, not truly. He thought that he could change her into the woman he wanted her to be, a woman he wanted to be like his mother. He had explained the psychology of it to her and Elizabeth understood what he was saying. But, in the end, he had called off the engagement.

"I cannot imagine allowing some man to ask for Lucy's hand in marriage when she is twenty-one," Laszlo scoffed and Elizabeth chuckled.

"Laszlo, if you had your way then you would never allow them to court anyone when they are of age," Elizabeth said to her husband and he looked across to her, seeing the glint in her eye as he nodded. She had a point in that.

"I would prefer it if they didn't," he said to his wife.

"You can't control them forever, Laszlo," John said. "They're going to grow up and have minds of their own. I suppose it is the joy of raising children…seeing them grow into young adults who push back and no longer need you."

There was silence then as John realised what he had just said. He hadn't been thinking, not truly. But the silence that followed told him that he had said too much. Elizabeth had looked down onto the table where she had folded her napkin into a swan. Laszlo too had looked onto the champagne bottle in the middle of the table.

"Elizabeth…Laszlo…I didn't mean…I didn't think," John said, his mind going back to Charlotte.

"It's fine," Laszlo promised him, a forced smile on his face.

"I'm sorry," John whispered.

"Honestly, it's fine," Laszlo repeated and Elizabeth could only nod her head as John and Laszlo tried to change the topic. She finally managed to join in again, feeling Laszlo's hand take hers underneath the table, silently telling her that he was there for her. But she knew that. She would always know that. She squeezed his fingers inside of hers and finally managed to relax once more.

They ate their meal over conversation and more champagne, Marcus insisting that they have dessert. They remained sat around the table as people began to filter out of the restaurant, the night having grown late. Elizabeth had to confess that she was growing tired, but she didn't complain. She sat and spoke with Sara who swapped places with Marcus. She held her champagne glass in her fingers as she looked around the room for a moment.

And then she saw something so familiar that it caused her heart to race.

Dropping her champagne glass to the floor, the liquid tumbled out and the glass smashed on the marble floor. Sara startled at the noise as Elizabeth pushed herself to her feet, shaking with worry.

"Elizabeth, what is it?" Sara questioned.

"Elizabeth?" Laszlo questioned his wife as she stumbled forwards between the tables, holding onto the backs of chairs to keep herself steady as she went.

She had seen her. She knew that she had seen her. Rushing to the entrance hallway, Elizabeth looked around for any sign of her. Where could she have gone? Elizabeth moved between people, pushing past them as her movements grew frantic and she heard Laszlo call after her, his voice full of concern.

"Charlotte…" Elizabeth gasped her name, moving down the stairs and towards the exit, ignoring Joseph, the boy on the door, who questioned if she was fine. Instead, she found herself too preoccupied with her own questions.

"Joseph…did you see a girl…blonde hair? Wearing a blue dress?"

"No, Mrs Kreizler," he responded with a shake of his head. "There's been no girl come past me."

"There had to have been," Elizabeth tried again. "She's blonde with blue eyes. She is about this height," she held her hand up. "She had on a blue dress…and she's tall…rather pale…"

"Honestly, Mrs Kreizler, I haven't seen anyone." Joseph said, clearly apprehensive about the woman's tone.

Picking her skirts up, Elizabeth moved along the row of carriages that had lined up to take people home. "Charlotte!" Elizabeth called into the carriages as she moved along, her movements speeding up as she came to the last carriage and looked down the street.

"Elizabeth!" Laszlo called her name as Joseph told him where she had gone.

He moved after his wife as John, Sara and the Isaacson twins stayed by the entrance, letting him be the one to find Elizabeth.

"Elizabeth!"

"She was here," Elizabeth said, turning to face Laszlo as she looked to him and began to move down the street, her eyes darting around and Laszlo followed after her, walking by her side as he saw the hairs on her arm stand on edge from the cold evening. "I saw her…she was in the restaurant."

"Who?" Laszlo questioned.

"Charlotte," Elizabeth said her name and Laszlo almost stopped out of shock. He watched the back of Elizabeth for a moment and wondered if this was really happening. But it was. His wife was walking away, pushing by people and holding her skirts firmly out of her way so that she could move. Laszlo caught up with her, shaking his head as he regained his senses.

"Elizabeth, you must have seen someone like her," Laszlo said and he took hold of her arm, stopping her from walking as she turned to face him. "There are plenty of girls with blonde hair in New York."

"But I know hers," Elizabeth said, moving her hands to hold onto her husband's upper arms, squeezing them tightly. "Laszlo, I know it was her. I would recognise her anywhere. Please, you have to believe me."

"I believe that you think you saw someone who looks like her," Laszlo replied.

"That's not what I said," Elizabeth responded, her tone annoyed as Laszlo nodded.

"I know," he said. "But you can't have seen her, Elizabeth, because she is dead. Charlotte is dead and it wasn't her. What you saw…it was your mind playing tricks on you, my love. We are both still grieving. Our mind shows us what we want it to see sometimes."

"But it…she…" Elizabeth trailed off as she longed for it to have been true. It was Charlotte. It had to have been. "I know her, Laszlo. I know our daughter."

"And I know you do," Laszlo promised her, taking hold of her cheeks in his fingertips as people passed them by. "But she is gone, Elizabeth. Darling…please…don't do this to me. Don't start trying to chase ghosts because you will only be disappointed. I want her back as much as you do. I wish that she was with us, but she's not. She's gone."

Elizabeth said nothing in response to that. She didn't exactly know what she could say. Was he right? Was Laszlo right? It had looked like her. She swore that it had been Charlotte.

"Elizabeth," Laszlo tried her name again. "My love…please…"

She stopped looking around, her eyes landing on him as her throat clenched and her mouth dried out. Nodding her head, she swore Laszlo sighed in relief as he nodded his head at her.

"Alright," he whispered gently and brought his arm around her shoulders, trying to keep her warm.

"She looked so real, Laszlo," Elizabeth whispered as he led them back towards the restaurant. His grip around her was tight as she wandered by his side and he looked down to her, kissing the top of her head, burying his nose in her hair.

"I know," Laszlo said. But he didn't know. He had no idea for he had seen nothing. He helped Elizabeth into the carriage before he turned to his four dining companions and explained that Elizabeth did not feel well. They didn't challenge him on that as he left without questioning, picking up their coats from Joseph on his way back. Returning to the carriage, he climbed in and held his wife's hand as she stared out the window, expression vacant. He watched her with wide eyes full of worry, knowing that his wife was still grieving. What she had seen had just been a product of grief. What else could it really have been?

...

A/N: Would love to know if anyone is still interested in the story continuing and what you think so far and think might happen too!