Author's note: Because I didn't feel like waiting for Tuesday to update, here's chapter 2. A special thank you to FaBbEr0oZ, vestwearer, Jess82x, Martho and acaperfectbeauty. You guys rock!

"Honey I'm home!"

Sam closed the door behind him and put his hat on the peg, glancing around when silence was his only reply. Quirking an eyebrow, he called, "Myka?"

Myka came out of Sam's study, discretely whipping her hands clean on her apron. Meeting his eyes, she stated, "You're home early."

Sam took off his coat and put it next to his hat. Winking at his wife, he offered, "I missed you too much."

He went to kiss his wife but got her cheek as she turned her head, scolding, "Be serious, Sam."

Sam sighed. "I am serious! Fine, it was a slow day at the office and Mr. Dickinson told me that I could take my afternoon off. So I thought we could take the opportunity to work on that baby."

Sam looked hopeful and Myka's smile vanished. "Sam... I know what the pastor said but... I don't think it's going to happen. I'm sorry."

Sam caressed her cheek. "We don't know that. We have to keep trying."

Myka sighed and changed the subject. "Have you talked to Mr. Dickinson about the promotion and New York?"

Sam's eyes hardened. "Now is not the right time, Bunny."

Myka had to stop herself from sighing again. It was never the right time as far as Sam was concerned.

Pulling her back to his chest and wrapping his arms around his wife, Sam questioned, "What do you say we try for this baby again, huh?"

Myka nodded, and allowed him to lead her towards their bedroom, knowing it would be pointless to refuse herself to her husband.

An hour later, Myka slowly extricated herself from Sam's arms and got dressed. She quietly left her sleeping husband behind; closing the door behind her before going downstairs and back to the study. She quickly gathered the numerous sheets that were lying on the desk and put them in a wooden box; a box that she then carefully locked with a small key that she kept in the locket around her neck. She then dislodged a plank in the floorboard and hid the box in the empty space before putting everything back. With Sam coming back early it had been a close call. She would have to be more careful from now on.

The next evening, Sam was playing cards with his friends at the local pub as he did every Thursday night. Myka took the opportunity to go into town and do her shopping. As usual, she went to the newspaper office and gave several pages to the editor's wife in exchange for a few money bills. Amanda winked at Myka and called for her husband.

"Oh Peter! I just received Mike Wells' latest story! You want to read it before I type it or after?"

Peter came rushing out of his office and snatched the sheets from his wife's hands.

"Now! Now! I want to know what happens to Beckett and Ryan…" Blushing as he realized that they had company, Peter quietly added, "Oh hello Mrs. Martino."

Myka turned away from the door with a smile. "Good evening Mr. Lattimer. You seem very excited."

Peter looked sheepish for a moment. "I'm sorry. I'm just very happy to read the newest story by Mike Wells. Do you read him?"

Myka's smile faded. "I'm afraid not, Mr. Lattimer. I'm not very fond of horror stories. But my husband will be very pleased to know there will be a new story to read in tomorrow's paper."

"I'm sure he will." Laying the papers to the side with obvious reluctance, Peter questioned, "Is there something we can help you with tonight?"

Myka smiled at him. "I came to invite Amanda for tea tomorrow."

"And I accepted." Stepping close enough to link her arm through her husband's, Amanda teased, "You'll be alright on your own for a little while, won't you honey?"

Peter puffed his chest out. "Of course! Now if you ladies would excuse me..."

Lifting the stack of papers, Peter ran back to his office with the new story and closed the door behind him. Amanda had a little laugh and shook her head. "After all this time, he still doesn't have a clue."

"Nobody does, except you." Reaching for the door handle, Myka questioned, "I'll see you tomorrow afternoon?"

Nodding as she made a notation of the engagement, Amanda replied, "I'll be there around two."

Nodding, Myka added, "Alright. See you tomorrow."

Turning back to the work on her desk, Amanda absently called, "Bye!"

Myka left the office and headed home. When she passed near a dark alley, she heard a strange noise and stopped in her tracks. Peering into the darkness, she called, "Hello? Is there anyone there?"

The noise happened again, sounding very much like a wounded dog. Myka didn't hesitate and entered the alley, squinting in the dim light. "Here boy! Come to me."

She made several sounds in an attempt to attract the dog to her, but nothing worked. The alley was very dark and Myka had trouble seeing in front of her.

"Is there anything I can help you with?" a husky, accented voice said near her.

Myka jumped at the unexpected voice, automatically replying, "I thought I heard a wounded dog. Did you see it?"

The husky voice chuckled, replying, "There's nothing but rats here, darling. And me."

Myka laughed nervously and edged towards the end of the alley. "Are you a working girl?"

A snort of derision filtered from the darkness, the tone becoming crisp and clearly British as the mysterious woman retorted, "A working girl? Of course not!"

Frowning at the answer, Myka demanded, "Then what are you doing here?"

Silence filled the air for several seconds before the stranger confessed, "I... I was looking for food."

Myka was startled by the answer. "Food? How about you come with me and I'll feed you a nice, homemade meal?"

Myka felt a presence draw closer to her, seeming to circle her as it murmured, "You know, you are quite ravishing."

Blushing at the words, Myka replied, "Thank you, but you can't possibly know that since it's so dark in here. How about we step into the light?"

Myka suddenly felt that the other woman was directly in front of her, causing her heart to skip a beat. The British tone seemed to float around her as her companion said, "I can tell, even in the dark. You are really beautiful. Now, I want you to stay very still. This will only hurt a little."

Myka was suddenly unable to move but she felt very relaxed. She sensed the other woman was now behind her, but still very close. A delicate, yet cold hand moved her hair away from her heck. The puncture wounds hurt at first, but Myka soon found herself submerged by a wave of desire. When it stopped, she felt weak and would have fallen had the other woman not held her.

A few minutes later, Myka stumbled out of the alley and went home. Her head was fuzzy and she went to bed without waiting for Sam.

That night, Myka's dreams were vivid and filled with monsters. The next morning, as soon as Sam had left for work, Myka went to the study, took out her material and started writing. She only stopped when someone knocked at the door.

"Myka?"

Myka went to open the door to a worried Amanda. The other woman held her hand to Myka's forehead, questioning, "Are you alright? You look sick."

Forcing a smile onto her face, Myka replied, "I am quite well. Come in."

Amanda stepped inside and followed Myka to the study, frowning at the mess she found. "What happened here?"

Myka realized that there was a good amount of darkened paper scattered around the desk.

Shrugging, she replied, "I've been writing."

Amanda's frown deepened. "Since when?"

Running a hand through her loose hair, Myka shook her head, replying, "Since Sam left this morning."

Amanda raised an eyebrow at the response.. "I think it's definitely time for a break in that case. Come, I'll make you something to eat."

That night, Myka went on a walk with Sam. She was keeping quiet, listening to Sam talking about his job at the bank when her attention was suddenly caught by a woman on the other side of the street. She had long black hair, pale skin and red lips. Her black dress suited her perfectly and she looked mysterious. Without thinking, Myka crossed the street and was almost run over by a horse carriage. Scrambling out of the way, she stepped in front of the woman. "It's you, isn't it?"

The woman looked surprised. "I beg your pardon?"

Narrowing her eyes, Myka met the other woman's dark eyes, stating, "Last night. In the alley. It was you!"

The woman chuckled. "I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about."

Sam finally managed to cross the street and joined the two women. "Myka! Are you mad? You could have been killed!"

The woman gave a mysterious smile. "Ah! This must be your husband. Good evening sir, I'm Helena Wells."

Sam let go of Myka's arms, seeming to notice Helena for the first time. "Oh! Good evening! You must be Mike Wells' wife. Pleasure to meet you."

Helena's smile vanished. "I'm afraid you are mistaken. I am nobody's wife."

"My apologies." Brushing off the woman's brusque tone, Sam turned back to his wife, demanding, "Myka, what possessed you to step in front of the carriage like that?"

Myka finally snapped out of her trance. Smiling, she offered, "I'm sorry, Sam. I don't know what came over me."

Sam's concern was evident on his face as he carefully looped Myka's arm through his. "It's alright, Bunny. Let's go home. Good night Miss Wells."

Sam took Myka's arm and led her away.

Two nights later, Myka was sewing Sam's socks while he was reading the newspaper. When he was done, he slowly folded it and placed it on the table next to him.

"This Mike Wells is truly a great writer. Are you sure you don't want me to read it to you?"

Myka suppressed a smile. "No, thank you."

Sam looked at his wife with lust in his eyes. "You know, you look very pretty tonight."

Myka sighed softly. She really loved her husband, but his insistence in having children was annoying. Myka was fairly sure she would never get pregnant, and though she was starting to make her peace with it, Sam didn't want to hear it.

"Sam..."

Someone knocked at the door and Myka put aside her sewing to go answer.

"I'm terribly sorry to bother you. I am looking for Miss Myka Bering."

Myka was stunned to see Helena on the other side of the door. So stunned that she stood quietly in the doorframe and didn't move until Sam put his hand at the bottom of her back.

"Myka who... Oh good evening! Miss Wells isn't it?"

Helena nodded and smiled at them. "Yes, Helena Wells. I'm sorry, but I was told Miss Myka Bering lived here. Obviously I was misled. Right then, I'll be on my way. Good night."

Helena turned to leave and Myka pulled out of Sam's arms to stop her. "It's me! I'm Myka Bering!"

Helena stopped in her tracks. Myka stepped out of the house and walked to face her. "I'm Myka Bering, why are you looking for me?"

Helena smiled at her. "I am in desperate need of a good seamstress, and the people in town told me you were the best. So I came to hire you. I can pay, of course."

Myka lowered her head as Sam followed her out of the house and joined them, declaring, "I'm afraid the people in town were mistaken. My wife hasn't needed to be a seamstress since we got married five years ago. So you can take your money with you, we don't need your help!"

Sam forcibly took Myka's arm and led her back to the house, closing the door violently behind them.

Yanking her arm away from her husband, Myka snarled, "Sam! That was incredibly rude! And what did you mean we don't need her help? Why would we need help with money?"

Myka was still shocked to have seen Helena, but Sam's strange behaviour was very unsettling. The banker went to his liquor cabinet and served himself a whisky. He took his time to drink it, his back turned to his wife who was still waiting for an answer. Myka didn't move from her spot, her arms crossed over her chest and her eyes fixed on her husband. "Sam?"

Sam kept drinking, his back firmly turned on her.

Irritation filling her, Myka demanded, "Sam, are we in financial trouble?"

Sam's hand tightened on the glass as he growled, "This is not your concern. I will handle it."

Slamming her small fist into the wall, Myka yelled, "It is my concern if I can't pay the butcher, the baker, or the blacksmith! How am I supposed to pay for our food, for taking care of the horse, for the house?" Myka's face suddenly paled in fear as she whispered, "Are we going to lose the house, Sam?"

Sam put his empty glass down and turned around to face his wife. "We're not losing the house, Bunny! And we still have money for the butcher, the baker and the blacksmith and the food and taking care of Titania."

Disbelief filling her, Myka clenched her fists at her sides. "But we are in debt, aren't we? What happened, Sam?"

Sam went to his wife and took her hands in his. "Things have been quiet at the bank lately and Mr. Dickinson had to cut my hours. I tried to win money by playing poker but it didn't go so well."

Myka closed her eyes to contain her anger. Her father had warned her about this when Sam had asked for her hand, but she hadn't listened. She opened her eyes after a few seconds. "To whom do we owe money and how much?"

Sam had at least the decency to look sheepish. "Five thousand dollars to Mr Macpherson."

Myka paled even further. "Five thousand dollars... Five thousand dollars! Sam, it will take us decades to pay him back!"

Myka ran to the peg and took her shawl that she hurriedly put on her shoulders and ran outside, Sam on her heels.

"Myka, where are you going?"

Myka looked on both sides of the road, desperate to find the dark figure that had graced their doorstep only minutes earlier. "I'm trying to see if Miss Wells hasn't gone too far. Maybe I can convince her to hire me still, despite your horrible behaviour."

Pulling at her arm, Sam snarled, "Myka you're insane! Get back in the house this instant!"

Pulling away, Myka's eyes were blazing with righteous anger as she retorted, "Sam, we need her! I can earn a lot of money as a seamstress and you know it."

Despite her best efforts, Myka could not see Helena. Disappointed, she finally went back into the house, put her shawl back on the peg and went upstairs to their bedroom without talking to Sam. She needed time with herself to sort everything that had happened in the last hour.

Inside her bedroom, Myka started pacing. She needed to find out exactly how much they owed to Mr Macpherson, and how much money they still had. She needed to find Miss Wells the next day and convince her to hire her as a seamstress. Thinking about the dark-haired woman made Myka pause. There was something... peculiar about her, and Myka was sure that she had been the woman in the dark alley. There were not a lot of strangers in town and Myka had always been good at recognizing voices. The memory of that night was still fuzzy in her mind. She remembered going in the alley and talking to a woman but she couldn't remember what had been said. She also had no idea how she had injured herself to result into two bruises on her neck. Maybe she had fallen and her neck had hit some pebbles. One thing was for sure, Myka wanted to get to know the English woman.

If Miss Wells would hire her, she would be able to help Sam pay their debts. And then she would go see her former customers and offer her services as seamstress again. Sam could say whatever he wanted, but she would help him get out of trouble. She already had put aside five dollars from selling her stories. She had hoped to buy a first edition of Shakespeare's sonnets that she had seen in a bookstore when she and Sam had been on their honeymoon in New York. Now all she had to do was to get her sewing box ready and find Helena Wells.

Myka heard Sam's footsteps in the stairs and hurried to get out of her dress. Her corset took too much time to unlace and she was still working on it when Sam entered the room, smelling heavily of alcohol. Myka turned her back to him and finished undressing quickly. She put on her nightgown then went to her dresser and took off the pins in her hair before brushing it and braiding it. Once she was ready, she turned around to find Sam sprawled on the bed, fast asleep. Using all her strength, Myka pushed him on his side of the bed before getting under the covers and blowing out the candle. It was going to be a long night.