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Seven

"Well, if whatever fellow she's been sneaking off to see doesn't propose to her soon, I might have to stop her from seeing him out of respect for the family." Grumbled Sara's great aunt to one of her friends. "Heavens, if it gets out that I've been letting her sneak out at all . . . I thought by Christmas he would've proposed! And she's been missing so many parties!" she sniffed.

"Oh, give him time! It'll be soon though, mark my words. You can't hold her back now, right when she'll be close to getting off your hands, and becoming a respectable wife. Then she'll give up all that business that's better left to men." Assured another lady, noticing how grumpy her friend was. "After all, she's sneaking out far more often now. And as soon as they get married and have a few children, she'll be far too busy to continue with this ridiculous campaign."

"Goodness, yes." Sara's aunt sighed. "As long as she gives up this nonsense and becomes a wife soon. Otherwise, I will put a stop to this. Mark my words."

In the mirror, Sara could see the reflection of herself, in a gorgeous turquoise gown. She smiled brilliantly, approving of her reflection. Sara had tried on every dress in her closet, the simple and the extravagant; fretting over what the Dodger would like the most on her. She had eventually settled on this new dress, because it was the most exquisite, beautiful, and simple dress she owned.

Sara pulled out a long, dark blue coat. It would completely cover her dress, and hide her wealth from the people of the lower city. Looking into her reflection, she thought about the night she had spent lying awake, in excitement after Christmas Eve. She had given the Dodger, as well as her life and what she wanted from her future a great deal of thought that night. Sara pulled back her hair and put in two pale pearl earrings into her ears, smiling and remembering. That night, she had decided that she was in love with the Dodger. Sara knew that he may well have another girl, but she also knew that she was not a person to go down without a fight. She smiled again, tapping into a narrow strain of emotion at the back of her heart that thought that he might just love her back. She knew that he was the only person she had ever met that made her feel like more than just a pretty face, and he was the only person she wanted to give the rest of her life to.

Over the evening noise, the boys could still hear the knocking on the door. They quieted down at the sound, smiling to each other. They knew it would be either Sara or the Dodger, as they saw each other many days a week now. They heard the Dodger's voice call his name, and a smiling Charlie opened the door.

"'Ow was your day?" Grinned Charlie, knowing that the Dodger would know what he really meant by that statement.

"No, I 'aven't seen Sara yet." The Dodger grumbled, hanging up his hat. The weather was dreadful, as the snow melted and the rain poured down.

"Well, some'un ain't too 'appy, is 'e?" Charlie countered mischievously.

"Someone isn't too happy about what?" Sara asked as she entered, shedding her long, soaking coat to reveal a beautiful turquoise gown that had been hidden under it.

As the Dodger opened his mouth to reply, his breath was caught in his throat. Sara looks beautiful. He thought, completely forgetting himself in awe, and smiling inwardly at his knowledge that she was not only beautiful, but an amazing person.

Charlie responded before the Dodger could collect himself, breaking into his best friend's stupor. "Dodger misses you, Lady Sara." He said with a wicked grin, and then dodged the Dodger's half-hearted attempt at cuffing him across the side of the head, and winked at Sara as he walked away.

The Dodger stood up and turned to Sara, to see her smiling. "I missed you too." She replied, and kissed him. For a moment the Dodger was in shock. Sara was rarely so outright with anything, much less her hidden feelings for the Dodger. The Dodger kissed her back after a moment, pushing away the warning at the back of his mind.

Charlie grinned from across the room, and hurried to make sure that none of the boys distracted them.

Sara pulled away and smiled inwardly, glad of her previous decision. Then her smile faltered, remembering what she had overheard just before she sneaked out.

"Wha'?" asked the Dodger, suddenly painfully aware of how he should not have kissed Sara, and also aware of her faltering smile.

"I was just . . . remembering something." At the change of the Dodger's blue eyes, she quickly continued, in case he had thought that their kiss had made her remember something about him that had made her smile falter. "I heard it on my way out," she continued, and the Dodger's blue eyes made a different change. She now saw worry. "My great aunt, she was going to begin to make it harder for me to sneak away. She knows." She said quietly.

Sara saw a flare of panic flash across the Dodger's face, and she quickly continued again. "No, no, she doesn't know about this, or you." The Dodger visibly calmed, and again an anxious flare flew across his face, worried about Sara.

"Then wha' does she know? Or wha' does she think she knows?"

"She thinks I'm sneaking off to see some young man, as you know. But . . ." she faltered for a moment.

The Dodger gently replied. "It's alright. You can tell me."

Sara's eyes glued themselves to the floor, as she mentioned a topic they both had thought about in depth, but not spoken to each other about. "She thought that the man I had been going to see would have asked me to marry him by now." She took a deep breath, glad that she had quickly mentioned it, and it was mostly over. "She thinks that since he hasn't proposed yet, he plans to elope with me, since I'm always sneaking out." She grimaced and looked up at the Dodger, feeling that the topic of marriage was almost over with, and she could remove her eyes from the floor. "She doesn't want me to shame the family." Sara finished with disgust.

The Dodger's breath was caught in his throat again. His love was right in front of him, wearing the most beautiful dress ever, and mentioning marriage. I can't breathe. He thought. His heart sank as he thought of that. They could never wed. With 'er Great Aunt, she would be disowned, and what would a life o' this filth be for a toff like 'er? He thought, dismissing the topic, and severing his connection with his emotions, so that he could once again breathe.

"Well then, wha' do you think you'll be doin now?" The Dodger asked.

Sara bit her lip. "I'm not sure. I suppose I can't come as often now, and until I decide on a better plan, I guess I will have to sneak out through the servant's exit." She glanced up at the Dodger, and then smiled. "But for tonight, we can just forget about that. I'm already out now, and I need to get my mind off of all that." Sara smiled up at him again, and she saw something behind his eyes, despite his easy stance and smile.