Hey everybody! Sorry for the big delay in updating, but my life at the moment is so crazy and I have so many things to do. Next update might take a little while as well – my life is so hectic, I don't even have the time to sleep.

I hope though you're not angry with me by now for taking my time.

Anyway, here is a new update and I hope you readers still like the story!

Thanks for all the reviews, encouragement and support I have gotten till now, you have no idea how much that means to me! Keep them coming, it is so very much appreciated. Any constructive criticism this way as well – I will NOT bite your head off, I promise!

Oh, and as for pairings – I still don't quite know whether this should be a Bea/Flack story or a Bea/Hawkes story. How about you leave me a comment in your review on this and I let the majority decide? I have also created a poll on my profile page, for those lurkers that do read, but don't comment and still would like to have a little say in the matter!

Bea was still standing outside, alone by now. She heard footsteps approaching and tilted her head in that direction – it was Dr. Hawkes coming out onto the balcony.

"Aren't you getting a little cold, Miss?" he worried nicely.

"I'm fine, thank you very much, Dr. Hawkes," Bea replied.

Hawkes stepped over and stood next to Bea, looking out into the garden and the night ahead.

"I take it you're not a ball person?" he started up a conversation.

Bea smiled and turned towards him: "What makes you think that?"

"Well," he smirked "you're not inside dancing with all of the other ladies and gentlemen."

"Neither are you," she remarked and raised her eyebrows in a playful manner.

"Touché," Hawkes laughed. "I really am not a ball sort of person. I rather read," he then confessed.

Bea, who knew barely anything about Hawkes apart from his profession, was curious to find out more, seeing as they already had two things in common. "What sort of books do you read?" she asked.

"Lately I have gotten into Mr Dickens. Have you read anything by him? Or do you even read at all?" he wanted to know, knowing that it was always safe to assume of a lady in society that she didn't spend her free time reading.

"I do read indeed – sometimes I think that's all I'm doing," Bea let him know and then added: "I sometimes even write myself. But please, do not laugh at me for that." She had never let anyone but Lindsay know about her passion for writing. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but with Hawkes, she felt safe to share this little bit of information.

"Really? What kinds of books do you write? Novels?" he asked.

"Novels indeed. Most of my stories are inspired by the novels of Jane Austen herself," she admitted, slightly blushing.

"I love Jane Austen," Hawkes confessed. When he saw Bea looking at him, with eyes wide open, he went on: "I know what you might now think – that those are books for ladies alone. I personally do not read them for the stories or the romance, but for the wonderful talent that Miss Austen expresses in her writing." He looked at Bea and saw her smiling at him.

"I couldn't have put it any better," she said.

"Have you ever thought about publishing anything you've written?"

"No," Bea said and sighed. "My father does not appreciate of my writing and so I actually am hiding it from him, masking it as keeping a diary," she blurted out.

Hawkes had to laugh at this and then replied: "You shouldn't be hiding it from the world. I'm quite certain that your writing is worth reading and the world loses out on yet another fantastic female writer."

Bea didn't answer, but she felt her cheeks redden and thus turned away from Hawkes.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Hawkes apologized when he realized that he had embarrassed Bea. "I didn't mean to make you blush. I was merely encouraging you, that is all."

"Thank you, Dr, Hawkes," she said and wanted to add something else, but was interrupted by Lindsay coming outside.

"There you are," she greeted her best friend, clearly out of breath and her cheeks were red from dancing. "You have to come inside and dance, Beatrice. This is a ball after all!" she exclaimed.

Bea smiled at her friend and then took the hand that Lindsay offered her and walked after her back inside. Hawkes was left outside, alone with his thoughts. He was confused – he was meant to marry the Lady Lindsay and yet, this brief conversation with the Lady Beatrice had made him re-consider his marriage intentions – what if a girl like Lindsay was not the right choice for him, but someone like Bea was better suited to be his future wife?

Back inside, Danny was standing at the corner of the room, a tray in his hand. He was supposed to serve the guests, but just because almost all of them were dancing, he did not want to walk into the midst of them and risk the glasses being kicked off the tray. He noticed Lord Hammerback glaring at him from time to time and he attributed his master's anger to the dance he had shared with Lady Lindsay that morning. Danny wasn't sure whether he might not lose his job after the ball, but he was sure of one thing – he had gotten a dance with Lindsay and that was worth all the trouble which might be awaiting him later.

He still thought that he could smell Lindsay's perfume in his nose and he hoped that the smell would continue to linger on. He also thought that he could still feel the warmth of her back on his hand and he felt the sudden urge to walk over to her and touch her again. He knew he was not allowed to and so he remained standing in the corner, watching the most beautiful girl in the world from afar.

Deputy Chief Constable Flack had been on the dance floor with his wife Jessica almost all night and when another dancer asked him to have a dance with his gorgeous wife, he was more than happy to have him take over. Flack felt exhausted and he needed a break – preferably with a good old Scotch and good cigar. He walked over to the adjoining room and sat down in one of the old leather chairs. A servant walked over to him and Flack asked for a Scotch and a cigar. He settled back into the chair and closed his eyes for a moment.

He could clearly see his wife, in her beautiful red gown and flowing dark hair – he hadn't seen her as beautiful in a long time. He was happy to see her so gay and full of joy that he could hardly remember her being any different. And yet, at the back of his head, there was that one nagging doubt that once they got back home, she might sink back into her depressions. The problem of their childlessness still remained and no matter how often he kept assuring her that it didn't matter to him, they both knew that it did. He had always dreamt of having a big family of his own and now, those dreams seemed to shatter.

He loved Jessica, beyond a doubt, but sometimes – even if it was only for the glance of a second – he wondered whether love was enough to keep this marriage afloat. He wondered how other couples dealt with childlessness, but he couldn't think of a single couple among his closer acquaintances which had to deal with the same problems.

Flack sighed and heard someone clear his or her throat close by.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt, but you looked as if you needed some water, so I had a servant fetch some. Are you alright, Constable? You look so very pale."

Flack looked up and saw Beatrice looking down on him. He took the glass of water she held in her hands and assured her that he was just fine, maybe a little overheated from all the dancing.

Bea smiled at him and said: "I know what you mean. I took a break because I thought I would burst. It is so very warm in there, don't you think?"

"I have to agree. But please, sit down. No need to stand around there," he offered Bea the other leather chair next to his.

Bea sat down and let out a little sigh. Her feet were hurting and she wished she could just take off her shoes and walk barefoot. But she didn't even want to know what her father would have to say to such an affront and so she simply kept her shoes on her feet and suffered through the pain.

"I haven't seen your wife out a lot lately. But she seems to be alright tonight. Has she been ill?" Bea took up the question that Flack hadn't answered earlier.

"She has been a little ill, but all is fine again and she has completely recovered. Thanks for asking though," he said and hoped that Bea would drop the topic. He did not want to get into any more detail, knowing about the rumours that were already going around.

Bea sensed his reluctance to talk about his wife and so she didn't dig deeper. Both stayed silent for some time, till Flack got up and said:

"Guess I should head back inside. Jess is probably already wondering where I am." He walked over to Bea, bowed down and kissed her smooth, white hand as it was the custom when saying good-bye to a lady. Bea was then left alone, but not for long.

She heard someone coming in the room behind her, a man and a woman, going by the voices she heard. The female voice seemed vaguely familiar and she hadn't heard enough of what the man said to make out who he was. They didn't notice Bea, who was sitting in the leather chair, whose back was turned towards them.

"So it's not just me?" the female voice asked.

"No," the man replied and then added: "I've been having feelings for you for a while now."

To her utter dismay, Bea suddenly realized who the man and the woman were whom she was listening to – her very own father and the Baroness Bonasera. She sat higher up in her chair and listened more carefully to what was being said.

"So what now?" she heard Stella ask.

"I don't know. I have always had a very fair relationship with my daughter and I'd like to talk to her first before I fling this at her out of the blue," he father answered.

Bea did not know for certain what those two were talking about, but she had a faint idea and she didn't like the thought of what she thought was being discussed – her father marrying the Baroness. Did she finally get her way, Bea thought. She couldn't quite say why, but she didn't like the Baroness. It might have been that she simply didn't know Stella well enough or because she was childish enough not to want to share her father with anyone else – but she simply did not like the idea of Stella becoming her step mother.

"Let us just keep this quiet for a while longer and I assure you, I will talk to Beatrice," her father then announced. After that, there was a silence of voices, but the sound of two people gently kissing. Bea felt her stomach turn upside down – she simply didn't want to picture her father with another woman but her own mother. She was eighteen years old and not willing to accept some woman she barely knew as a new mother in her life.

Lindsay walked out onto the balcony, closing her eyes and inhaling the fresh air of the night. She was utterly tired and exhausted, but she had never felt so happy in her entire life. The ball was a total success and everyone was enjoying it, the music, the food and the drinks. She had danced with so many different men tonight and she had felt every single one piercing her with his eyes. It was a well-known fact that she was not yet engaged to anyone and only really close friends knew about her being promised to Dr. Hawkes. At some points during the night, Lindsay had felt like a piece of meat on the market whose price was discussed among the buyers and only the one offering the most would get her. Neither one of the men had looked at her for who she really was – a nice girl with deep, emotional feelings of her own. She wanted to marry for love and love only, but it seemed that in the society she lived in, this wish was not always granted.

Lindsay loathed London society when it was doing this to her – why was she not allowed to follow her heart?

Lindsay was frightened by a sound coming out of the dark. A shadow emerged from the corner and the farther the person stepped into the light, the more she could see. It was Danny, who had been hiding out on the balcony, trying to get some fresh air and trying to get away from the glaring stares that Lord Hammerback was shooting in his very direction all evening. He knew that he was neglecting his duties, but since he knew that he was already in trouble for the dance that morning, he simply didn't care anymore and took a little bit of time off for himself. He had never expected to walk into the girl of his dreams though and all of a sudden, Danny was completely tongue-tied and he had no idea what to say.

"Master Daniel," Lindsay was to first to say, holding her hand over her heart, signalling that he had frightened her.

"I'm sorry if I have frightened you, miss," he said and was about to walk past Lindsay back into the house, when he felt a tender hand holding him back.

"Don't," Lindsay faintly whispered and Danny stopped, his face only inches apart from hers. He could feel her breath on his nose and he stared into her deep, blue eyes. She was so very beautiful that he had trouble breathing.

He heard Lindsay say something, but the rush of blood in his ears was too loud for him to understand anything. He gulped and said:

"What did you say, miss?"

Lindsay repeated, whispering: "Kiss me, Danny!"

Danny's breath stopped for a second and he thought he was caught up in a day dream of his. But here she was – the beautiful Lady Lindsay, the girl of his dreams – begging him to kiss her under the clear blue sky of the night, beneath the stars.

Danny leaned forward and his lips lightly touched Lindsay's. He expected her to break the kiss off immediately, realizing the big mistake she was making. But instead, he felt her pressing her lips on his, harder and harder. He gave in to the kiss, which grew more and more passionate. His arms embraced all of Lindsay's body and he hoped that the feel of her lips would remain on his forever.

"Guards!" he heard someone call out in an angry and loud voice. Lindsay and Danny broke apart immediately, only to stare into the enraged face of Lord Hammerback.

Don't miss: Danny getting in serious trouble for kissing Lindsay, Lindsay getting in serious trouble for kissing Danny and Bea's conversation with her father!