As we had pushed our horses hard the previous day, we chose to walk about Southampton. The town was nowhere near the size of London, so it was not too much of an imposition. Lin, as tall as he was, could see over the heads of the townspeople, and could thus keep an eye out for Lady Mai as we walked.

We asked at every inn and church we passed. We had agreed on the story that we were looking for my wayward cousin who was in turn looking for a mutual friend who had gone missing some time ago. Some had asked for the names. But no one had met anyone by the description we gave of Lady Mai, or heard of 'Eugene Griffiths'. But all agreed to send word to the inn that we were staying in if they saw or heard anything of note.

By the evening, we had covered most of the town.

"Perhaps she is not here after all," Lin said, over dinner that evening. "We can check some of the outlying areas tomorrow."

I did not argue with this plan, but in truth, I thought it hopeless.

After dinner, I decided to take a walk out near the dock. The nearby taverns were loud with music and laughter. The sailors and soldiers alike were partying up a storm.

I strode along the promenade. There was no beach to speak of, but rows and rows of ships. I walked until I had past all of the ships. But when I was about to turn back, I spotted a figure sat on a wooden crate, staring out to sea.

I shook my head as I closed in on her.

"You'll catch a cold."

She looked around in alarm, but relaxed almost immediately.

"If you were a gentleman, you'd offer me your coat," Lady Mai retorted, turning her head back to the sea.

"Yes, I suppose I would if I were a gentleman."

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"You might be surprised to know that there are a number of people looking for you."

"And why are you one of them?"

"Lin made me." In the darkness, I could just make out that she had rolled her eyes. "They're not here, are they?"

"No… I mean, after all this time, I didn't expect much. But no one has even heard of them…" She wiped away a tear that I could not make out. "I guess my Uncle lied to me."

I close the gap between us, and took off my coat. I draped it around her shoulders and sat down beside her. She let the coat hang off her shoulders.

"Noll and Gene were sent to Ascot," I told her.

She rounded on me.

"How do you know that? How do you know their names?"

"They never made it there," I went on, ignoring her question.

"They're… Dead?" Her voice cracked.

"Gene was killed in a carriage accident. The owner of the carriage arranged for him to be buried in Reading."

"And Noll?"

"He was sent to live with a kind couple who were unable to have their own children. He was put through schooling and is doing well for himself."

Lady Mai smiled sadly.

"He always did want to learn… I taught them both to read, you know? Neither of them could do it before I taught them. Everyone thought they could because they could recite passages of the Bible but they had just memorised them…"

"Will you come back with me?" I asked gently. "Do you have a room somewhere? If you don't, I will arrange for a room at the inn that Lin and I are staying at."

"I don't want to go home," she said, looking back out at the sea. "My Uncle lied to me… And Miss Matsuzaki is angry at me because I won't marry Lord Sanditon. And he's probably angry at me as well."

"Lord Sanditon is more concerned for your safety than anything else. And I imagine your governess is more concerned about keeping her job—"

"My Uncle would not sack her."

"Even if she caused you to run away?" I asked.

"Well…" She faltered. "Maybe."

"You do not have to go back to Drifton Manor. You can return with me to London. I know people who will take you in without question."

"Is Noll happy?" she asked, ignoring me. "Do you… Do you think he'd be happy to see me?"

"He would be delighted."

"Is he married?"

"No, he never found anyone."

"I suppose he's still young, there is time yet," she said.

"Come on, Lady Mai, it's late and cold."

She sighed and climbed down from the crate. I slipped down and offered her my arm. She took it and we began the walk back along the promenade.

"I have disgraced myself, haven't I?"

"I do not know that news has got out about your sudden departure," I told her.

"My Uncle will still be angry."

"He cares about you," I argued. "I think he'll be relieved that you are found."

"If I asked you not to tell him that I was found, would you do it?"

"Yes."

She did not ask me to, however. We walked for a while in silence before she spoke again.

"How do you know so much about Noll and Gene?" she asked.

"You really must be cold if you have not worked that one out," I muttered.

"I'm sorry," she replied. "I was sat there for some time."

I frowned.

"How long is some time?"

"Perhaps a day or two?" she replied. "I remember falling asleep at one point."

My alarm rose.

"Have you eaten?"

"No?"

"Why have you not eaten? Have you run out of money?"

My pace quickened. Lady Mai held tighter to my arm as I practically swept her along.

"No, I just… Are you angry with me?"

"I am concerned for your health."

"You were angry when you left Drifton Manor," she said. "I don't want you to be angry with me too."

"I was not angry when I left Drifton Manor."

"But you would not dance with me again—"

"Dancing with you a second time would have caused more trouble than it was worth," I muttered.

"But I wanted to dance with you."

"And why is that?"

"Because I liked dancing with you the first time," she said. "It was fun. Why were you… Whatever you were when you were not angry, then?"

I sighed.

"Your friend had told me that there was a chance your attentions towards me had only been because you wanted a distraction from Lord Sanditon."

"So you were upset?"

I did not confirm this, we were nearing the inn.

"Was she wrong?" I asked.

Lady Mai did not reply.

When we arrived at the inn, I ordered a fresh room, some food and a maid for Lady Mai. I handed her over to the capable arms of the wife of the proprietor and then went to bed.

The next morning, I went down to break my fast to find an aggravated Lin.

"Where have you been? I thought we to be leaving half an hour ago."

Ah. Yes.

"I found her last night."

"You did what?" Lin demanded.

"I found her on my walk and brought her back here. The proprietor's wife took care of her, but I doubt she'll have risen just yet. It seems she had been sat out by the docks for a while…"

Lin's annoyance merged into a deep frown.

"Is she quite alright?"

"A little delirious, but nothing some food and a good night's rest won't fix, I imagine," I replied. "Have you eaten?"

"Yes."

"Join for me a cup of tea then?" I suggested.

Lin nodded.

While I ate, I relayed as much of the conversation from the previous night as I could remember.

"And even after that, she did not understand you?"

"No, I think fatigue had addled her brains. I hope she'll be a little more receptive this morning. Either way, my plan is to take her back to London. She can stay with Miss Mori—"

"She cannot," Lin objected. "Miss Mori has half of her cousins taking up her guest rooms."

"Then she can stay with Mrs Davis," I muttered. "We'll find somewhere for her to stay until her Uncle can collect her. I will write to him this morning."

Lin did not argue with this plan, though I could see he wanted to. I could not think of a reason why he would argue with it, I could see no other obvious course of events.

Lady Mai joined us almost an hour later, wearing a borrowed dress.

"Good morning, Gentlemen, I must apologise for the bother I have caused," she said before even sitting down.

"No bother at all," Lin said with a warm smile. "Come, eat something. Davis tells me you were out by the docks for some time."

"Yes, I was enjoying the sea breeze and lost track of time it seems."

"An easy thing to do," Lin said.

He called for more food for the young Lady and then began explaining our plans.

"London? I have never been to London…" Lady Mai said. "And my Uncle will find me there?"

"It will save him a journey this far south," I explained. "And I know someone who will take care of you in London until your Uncle arrives."

She nodded and finished her toast.

"Where is your dress?" I asked.

"Mrs Morrison took it to dry it, it was rather damp."

"Do you have anything else with you? Or anything at another establishment that we need to collect?"

"No, just my little bag."

"You came down without a coat?" Lin asked. "Madness." He stood up. "I'll arrange for a coach to leave in an hour or so?"

He looked to me for confirmation.

"Yes, thank you. I'll settle the bill here."

Lin left, and I turned to Lady Mai. She had picked up another piece of toast and was gingerly buttering it.

"I fear I've made rather a fool of myself," she admitted.

"Yes, I think running away from home because your governess shouted at you was a tad dramatic. But it is not the first time you've done something so rash, is it?"

She frowned at me, so I elaborated with a slight smile.

"I remember your previous governess, Miss Smith, had scolded you for getting your dress muddy. It was just the hem, a tiny thing really. But it had been a white dress, I think. And you were so angry that you had been told off for having fun that you had stalked out to the stables and began rolling in some of the hay. And when that did not ruin your dress enough to your liking, you jumped in the muck heap. Gene and I had watched all of this with bewilderment, and you shouted at us for staring, and threw mud at us… So we of course, threw some back… You returned to the manor that evening looking like some sort of horrible monster. I believe that was one of the many reasons that Miss Smith quit her position…"

Lady Mai stared at me in wonder, then she swallowed and looked away.

"I thought it was because I refused to read that dreadful book about manners that she always pressed on me. As if I wanted to listen to a man's ramblings on how a woman should act…"

"You were quite the terror…"

"A boy would never have been scolded for getting muddy," she muttered darkly, and took a large bite out of her toast.

"No, a boy would not have."

Lady Mai sighed, and finished her second slice of toast.

"My Uncle is going to be livid… First I reject Lord Sanditon, then I shout at Miss Matsuzaki, then I run away…"

"You shouted at your governess?"

"She shouted at me first," Lady Mai said with a pout. "She was being quite ridiculous. All 'you'll never find someone as good as him' and 'you're getting too old to turn down marriage proposals' and all that. She is merely jealous that with my fortune I could live in comfort without ever marrying. She is the one too old not to accept a proposal."

"If it eases any concerns you may have, I have a friend in London who is almost thirty, and she has been turning down proposals for ten years."

Lady Mai's eyes widened in alarm.

"Does she not want to marry at all?" she asked.

"I believe she does, in fact, she has shown interest in one or two men, but they tend to be men than her father most definitely would never agree to… There is hope for her yet."

"There is?"

I nodded.

"Mr Lin is a respectable man, and will soon have an income that might please her father."

"Will I have a chance to meet this woman?"

"I daresay you will, if you are to be in London for a few days. I'm sure she would love to make your acquaintance…"

She smiled.

"What will you do?" I asked. "When you return to Drifton Manor?"

Her smile dropped.

"I will carry on as I always have done," she said finally. "I will bear with Miss Matsuzaki's lectures and spend as much time as I can with Luna or out of doors."

I nodded my head and stood.

"I need to collect my belongings together. Once you are ready to depart, please meet us down here," I said.

And so an hour later, we found ourselves sat inside a coach and trundling towards London. My and Lin's horses were following behind on a long lead rope. Though we had taken only a full day to travel to Southampton, the return journey would take two in a carriage.

Lin, who knew some of the surrounding countryside, pointed out the occasional feature and made most of the conversation. Lady Mai asked him more about Miss Mori, a subject he was surprisingly happy to elaborate on. He had never been quite so open about his interest in the woman with me, but I supposed that Miss Mori and I did not always see eye to eye on matters. She was an intelligent woman, but she liked to meddle as much as Mrs Davis did, which was not always appreciated.

Author's note: Does anyone else feel like the fandom is shrinking a little? I don't know if it's just me/the people I normally speak to, but it just seems so quiet lately... I am also still ill, which super sucks because my brain doesn't work at the best of times and I can't think of ideas for writing and editing and *cries*

So if anyone wants to join one of the discord servers and talk to me that'd be great... I dunno, I just wanna complain about writing with people but oh well... Maybe I should go back to bed...