Elizabeth had avoided Edward for the next week. He had called to the house, but she had always asked her father or her mother to insist that she was not well enough to receive visitors. Edward knew that to be a lie, but when Edmund Reid answered the door, he did not argue with him. He knew that it would only end up with him losing. There would be absolutely no chance that he would get by him. But it had gone into the second week and Edward was beginning to consider trying his luck.

"Sir, please, I know that she is upset with me," Edward said as Edmund left the house and he caught up with him. Edmund let out a sigh as he heard the boy's voice. "I understand what I said was not welcome, but I did not mean any offence."

"Well, you did cause offence, boy," Edmund said to him with a shrug of his shoulders. "But do not think you are the sole reason for my daughter's upset. Elizabeth and her mother have not exactly been seeing eye to eye."

"I understand that," Edward said. "She has told me of what Mrs Reid believes she sees and how she…well…how things have not been peaceful at home."

"Edward, I have very little time to discuss this. I have been called to work. A robbery has taken place…gemstone have gone missing."

"I know that you are a busy man, Mr Reid," Edward said, "but this is about your daughter…your daughter who I love very much."

Edward stopped walking then and Edmund did the same. Peering down at the boy, he did his best to consider what he was seeing. He looked over him, drinking in the pained expression on his face. There was a truth there. There was a truth to his gaze and he looked upset. Edmund sighed, taking pity on the boy.

"Be gentle with her," Edmund demanded, pulling out his keys from his pocket and holding them in the air. He pulled them back before Edward could take them, peering at the boy with a stern expression. "Do not upset her any further," he demanded.

"I will not," Edward promised and Edmund dropped the keys in the boy's hand. Edward nodded in thanks and turned on his heel, moving back towards the house. Edmund stood on the spot, watching him go and doing his best to comprehend what was going to happen. Had he made a mistake in allowing the boy into the house? He knew Elizabeth would not thank him, but he did pity the boy. He pitied the boy and if he had a chance at making Elizabeth happy then Edmund would permit him to see her.

Edward unlocked the front door of the house and stepped in. It was particularly quiet and he wondered if Elizabeth was even in. Dropping the keys on the table in the entranceway, Edward removed his hat from his head, holding it in both of his hands.

"Elizabeth?" he called her name.

There was silence for a second before he heard footsteps upstairs. He peered up the staircase and Elizabeth appeared there. She was dressed in a blue skirt and a white shirt tucked into it, her hair in a messy bun at the back of her neck. Her eyes moved down to the hallway to see Edward stood there and they widened.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded from him. "How did you get in?"

"Your father gave me his keys," Edward said to her.

"He…my father?" Elizabeth checked. "Why did he do that?"

"Because he knows that I want to make amends, Elizabeth," he retorted to her. "He knows that I just want to make things right between us. I do not enjoy this. I do not enjoy us fighting."

"Nor do I," Elizabeth admitted, moving down the staircase slowly, her hand holding onto the bannister as she went. "But I do not want to think about…what you suggested…do you not see that? She is my mother, Edward. I do not want to lose her."

"I know, Elizabeth," he assured her. "And I am sorry that I caused you upset. I am sorry that you have to go through this."

"And I am sorry I hid from you," Elizabeth said with a shake of her head, finally coming to the bottom step, her hands moving out to hold onto his shoulders as she stayed about the same height as him. She massaged the muscles underneath her fingers. They were quite tense, but then she suspected he hadn't really relaxed, just as she had not, in recent days.

"Then all is forgiven?" he asked from her.

"All is forgiven," she echoed in confirmation. "But should you not be at work?"

"I have an exam next week that I am studying for," he said to her. "And I am so close to qualifying, Elizabeth…having my own job."

"Not long to go now," she confirmed with a soft smile, tucking his hair behind his ear, her fingers brushing into his soft locks as he looked over her, taking in her features, from her plump lips to her blushing cheeks. His gaze softened and he moved slowly then, leaning in and kissing her chastely, his lips brushing over hers. Elizabeth wondered what he was thinking about, the motion slightly more tender than usual, his hands going to hold her waist gently in his grip. Closing her eyes, she moaned as he bit down on her bottom lip, his hands running up and down her waist, crumpling her shirt as they moved.

"Edward," she said, pulling back after a moment, feeling how his hands were wandering dangerously high.

"Sorry," he said.

"No," Elizabeth shook her head. "I quite enjoy it, but I do not want to get carried away when my mother or father could come walking back through the door at any minute. Besides, my father would probably arrest you if he saw."

Edward chuckled and nodded at that. "It would be worth it," he teased her as she nudged at his shoulder and her lips arched at hearing him. "Do you want to go for a walk? It perhaps might cool your cheeks down."

He moved the back of his hand to stroke her cheek and she rolled her eyes, knowing full well that she had turned red. "Do you not have to study, you tease?" she asked from him.

"I can take an hour or so off," he shrugged and offered her his arm. "Is that a yes, my dear?"

"That is a yes," she agreed.

…

"You seem happier this evening," Edmund commented when he walked back into the house that evening. He had been out for dinner with Bennet and Madoc Faulkner, Bennet's old Colonel during his time in Sudan. The three of them had ate and drank, Faulkner questioning Reid for never having served or having seen war. Reid had answered his questions and conversed with him pleasantly before returning home to find his daughter stood in the kitchen, baking what looked like a cake.

She had an apron over her and was humming to herself when her father walked in. He removed his hat, leaving it on the worktop in the kitchen.

"I am," Elizabeth promised her father. "And thank you for giving Edward your house keys."

Edmund's lips arched at that. "You are welcome," he said. "I take it the boy did not upset your further?"

"On the contrary," Elizabeth said, "we both apologised and went for a walk. He told me that you were on the way to a job this morning. Apparently there has been a robbery."

"There has been," Edmund said with a nod of his head as Elizabeth beat the mixture in her bowl. "Gemstones have been stolen from a safe in a robbery that I confess is quite clever."

"Why is that?"

"Well, it seems as though it was perfectly orchestrated," Edmund responded. "In addition to that, it was not gunpowder that was used to break the safe open."

"Then what was it?"

"We do not know," Edmund said to her and moved over to take a sip of the cup of tea that his daughter had made herself. It had gone slightly cold, but Edmund did not care that much. "I have Jackson looking into it as we speak. We have managed to identify where the gun came from that was used to shoot the man and the horse accompanying the jewels. I am going to speak to someone tomorrow about the guns…see if they have any leads on who could be such an expert marksman with that type of gun."

"Fascinating," Elizabeth said and Edmund pursed his lips.

"It frightens me that you think that is fascinating," he informed his daughter.

She shrugged her shoulders in his direction and turned her gaze back to her father. "Why does it frighten you that I think your job is fascinating?" she questioned from her father, placing the mixing bowl down and wiping her hands on her apron. "Is it so unreasonable that I might be interested in discovering more about detective work?"

Edmund pursed his lips and eyed Elizabeth with intrigue as she continued to stare at him. "I try to keep you sheltered from that world, Elizabeth," he said to her. "And you know why I do that. You know why I do not want you involved."

"I understand," she said to him, "but it still does not make me any less interested."

"You have your entire life ahead of you, my dear," Edmund said to his daughter, moving around to her and taking hold of her upper arms, running his hands up and down them. "And I am certain that there are many other things that would take your interest…besides, it might be that your future involves becoming a kept woman."

She pulled a face at that and Edmund's lips arched at the sight of that.

"Father," she complained, "I do not think that is what I want…but has Edward asked you…I mean…has he approached you?"

"No," Edmund said with a shake of his head. "Gosh, no…I do not think that is a conversation that I am ready to have with the boy just yet, Elizabeth. You are still far too young to concern yourself with marriage."

"I agree," Elizabeth said to him. "Well, perhaps in a couple of year's time it might be something worth thinking about."

"Elizabeth, darling," Edmund spoke, "I do not think that I could bring myself to think of it even then. Is there absolutely no chance that you would rather stay as a single woman instead?"

"I know that would bring you nothing but joy, father, but unfortunately I am rather taken with Edward. Besides, he's a charming young man with a good future. Is that not what all father's want for their daughter's?"

"Most, perhaps, but I like the thought of being the only man in your life."

"You are still my favourite," she promised him, standing on her toes and pecking him on the cheek gently. "I really should finish with this mixture. I told Edward that I was going to dinner with his parent's tomorrow evening and I wanted to bake a cake."

"You're baking a cake?" Edmund checked with his daughter.

"Why is that so surprising?"

"Because you aren't exactly one to bake," Edmund said to his daughter.

"Well, I want to make a good impression. I have met his parents before, but I…I still get nervous. His father is a banker and his mother is quite the socialite. I worry that they would not think I am any good for their son."

"How could they think such a thing? If anything, you are far too good for him."

"You have to say that, you're my father," Elizabeth said.

Edmund chuckled and nodded. "Perhaps you have a point," he agreed with her and kissed the top of her head gently before watching her bake her cake as he wondered just what it was his daughter was planning for her future. He only hoped he had another few years with her before Edward took her from him. He knew what marriage meant and Edmund was not ready to lose his daughter just yet.

…

Carrying the cake tin in her hands, Elizabeth felt her skirts flow behind her in the breeze of the wind. She had left the house earlier than usual and intended to drop by and see her father before she met Edward from work. She weaved in and out of the crowds, doing her best not to drop the cake tin that she was holding in her grip. She had spent quite some time decorating it and ensuring that it looked as pristine as possible. Heading into the precinct, she nodded to the desk sergeant who simply nodded at her and grunted with a tilt of his head to the stairs, indicating that her father was up there.

"Father," Elizabeth said, entering his office without knocking. He looked up from his paperwork and she placed the tin on the end of his desk. "I thought that I would just drop by and see how you were."

"Did you?" Edmund questioned from her and noted her gaze go to the board behind his shoulder where notes were tacked up concerning the recent case. "Or did you think that you would come here and see if you can find something out about the case?"

"I was just interested," Elizabeth defended herself.

"Well, if you are so interested, you can come downstairs and see how Jackson is getting on. He is trying to work out how the safe was broken into," he said to her.

Her eyes lit up. "Seriously?" she asked from him.

"Seriously," he told her.

But before she had a chance to leave the office, they heard a knock on the door. Edmund stood up straight and pushed his hair to the side that had curled onto his forehead. He moved his pocket watch chain to the side as the door opened once he called for whoever it was to come in. Entering the room, Elizabeth looked surprised to see Edward stood there.

"Edward," she spoke his name. "What are you doing here?"

Looking to him, she saw that his face was pale and slightly crestfallen. There was something wrong, of that, she was certain. Edmund also picked up on the boy's uncomfortable expression. His brow arched at the sight of him and he wondered just what was going on.

"I need to talk to you," Edward said.

"Alright," Elizabeth agreed meekly and Edmund suspected there was something amiss, but he knew that he should give them privacy. Coughing into his fist, he made his way to the door.

"I should leave you to it. I will be with Jackson when you are finished, darling," he informed her and left the office, closing the door behind him and knowing that he should go and not eavesdrop, despite the longing he had.

"What is it? You're scaring me," Elizabeth said and Edward shook his head before shaking his head.

"My parents," Edmund said to her, voice shaking. "They're…they're threatening to stop funding my training and to cut me out of their will."

"What?" Elizabeth fretted, stepping towards him. "Whatever would possess them do such a thing? I don't understand it."

"You," Edward said and Elizabeth's eyes widened at hearing that.

"Me?" she asked from him, not understanding what he was telling her.

"They want me to marry someone else…someone from society…they told me that I have had my fun with you and that I need to grow up and be serious…that I need to marry someone of our standing who will make a fine wife and a good match."

Elizabeth thought that she might be ill as she perched on the edge of the desk, trying not to let emotion take hold of her. "What did you tell them?" she asked him.

His brows knitted together and he moved towards her, grabbing her waist and looking her in the eye. "What do you think I told them?" he demanded from her. "I told them that they can take my funding away…that they can cut me out of their will. None of it matters, Elizabeth, because I'm not giving you up. I love you and I want to be with you, but I worry that they won't let me and that's why we need to go."

"Go?" she questioned him.

"Leave London…us two," he urged from her.

"You want to run away?"

"I want to run away together."

…

A/N: Not sure anyone is reading this, but if you are, would love to know what you think!