Enola POV, Autumn 1889

Their compartment on the train was fancy, if not a bit crowded with four people and a few luggage items. The seats were upholstered in deep red velvet, and a small chandelier hung from the ceiling. Other than the permanently locked window, it was extremely luxurious in comparison to the second-class compartment where Tewkesbury had sprung out of a carpet bag on their first meeting.

While Enola did enjoy the book she was reading; a novel she had packed herself, not the highland history book. She kept rereading a paragraph describing the heroine hanging on for dear life to the side of a runaway omnibus, unable to take in any of the words. She was restless and in desperate need of space while she mulled through the current information on the disappearance of Miss Villiers. Enola was also desperate for more information. She looked up at Tewkesbury, who was sitting across from her, staring out the compartment window and fiddling with his pocket watch. She could tell he was feeling just as restless.

"Julia," Enola caught her governess's attention, "I am going to get some fresh air, I will be back in a few minutes."

Julia, engrossed in a book as usual, simply nodded, allowing Enola a glimmer of freedom. As she stood, Enola winked at Tewkesbury who had now turned his attention to the brief conversation. Hopefully, he would understand the message.

Being less of a fool than Enola would call him, Tewkesbury followed her out to the end of the carriage a minute later. It was beginning to get dark, so Enola had to squint to pick out his face as he swung the door open. His long hair was blowing in the cool wind, making him look more worldly and rugged.

"Is this air fresh enough for you?" Tewkesbury teased, wrapping his coat around himself.

"It is better than the stuffy cabin," Enola allowed, staring out into the greyed fields, "Though I more came out to have privacy."

"Privacy?" he smirked mischievously, obviously having an intriguing thought.

"To think," she corrected, rolling her eyes, "And to ask you if you had any more information on Miss Villiers."

He looked slightly disappointed, but Tewkey helpfully thought for a minute. "I don't know much more than you do," he explained, "I can only tell you what Francis has told me."

"He mentioned that she is estranged from her family," Enola asked, rifling through the pockets of her dress for a notepad, "Do you know anything about that?"

Tewkey leaned against the railing casually, with his arms folded across his chest. "It was just over a year ago," He explained with a tinge of something between awkwardness and sadness, "Adelaide had a precarious relationship with Baronet Villiers, that is her older brother, even before her parents died."

Enola nodded to encourage him to keep speaking while she scribbled notes in her book.

"He is quite liable to vice and not a pleasant man. So when Francis and Adelaide were caught in a sensitive situation, and Francis wouldn't marry her, the Baronet threw her out. It was quite the scandal after the Baronet accused Francis of being an ' ungentlemanly dowry hunter '." He said the last words sourly, like he couldn't believe they had been said.

"But Francis is an earl?" She asked, confused, "Should he not have enough money that he would not notice the difference of a baronet's daughter's dowry?"

"He does, that's why most people who actually know him scoffed at the line." Tewkey responded.

"Interesting," Enola gnawed on the end of her pencil in thought, "Then why did he refuse to marry her?"

"Because he has been betrothed to a foreign princess since he was fifteen," he explained tiredly, "And because it was done in the Catholic church, breaking the betrothal is a sin."

Enola paused a moment to consider whether she should ask her next question, but her dauntless nature intervened. "Why did Francis find himself in a sensitive situation with Adelaide?"

Tewkesbury blushed as if the question was too much. "Do I really need to answer that Enola?"

"I need all information that could prove vital to the case," she explained superciliously, then added, "Even if it is an uncomfortable topic for you."

"For one thing, he is completely in love with her," Tewkey replied, obviously choosing his words carefully, "And for another, he cannot marry Princess Marie-Elise as she is only just turned fourteen."

The emphasis he put on 'completely' and 'marry' implied to Enola a deeper meaning that she was just about to get to the bottom of when she heard Julia's voice from inside.

"Miss Holmes? Miss Holmes?" She called out, "Where are you, you little wilding?"

Julia had taken to calling Enola this whenever she was being particularly evasive towards her lessons. It always came with a dose of frustration, but Enola knew she meant it affectionately. Tewkesbury, who had never heard the name, however, guffawed and readied himself to call her out as she walked through the door.

"My Lord," Julia bowed elegantly toward Tewkey before turning to Enola scrutinisingly, "Miss Holmes, why are you at the back of a train unsupervised, with the Marquess of Basilwether?"

"I was unsupervised with Viscount Tewkesbury, Marquess of Basilwether because he is a witness in the disappearance of Miss Adelaide Villiers." Enola replied back in a tone that was both ladylike and daring Julia to scold her, "And we were at the back of the train because it was the only place that was quiet, and private, except for the ladies' room."

Instead of responding Julia just grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her back into their compartment, grumbling something about a volatile mix of brains and daring. Enola looked back over her shoulder as she went through the door, seeing Tewkesbury struggling to contain his laughter.