Hello everyone! Sorry for the wait, I finally had the time to sit down and write and it feels so good to be doing it agian. I'll try to be better then I have been in the past and update for you guys. I am getting there! Thanks to all those who have kept with me so far! -wr

Chapter Seventeen

Heartache is something no one should ever have to go through. I know, I have been there and back. But with my newly healed heart, I could only prey that I would give it to someone that I cared deeply for, someone that I loved. Last night, the man who I once experienced heart break for stole it away again… and I can only hope that this time, it will end with happy ever after.

-Page from Diana Holland's dairy

Elizabeth moved into the foyer with a worried expression on her face. She had no clue as of what to do next. Her younger sister was nowhere to be found. It was already one o'clock in the afternoon and no one had seen her sense the night before. In the center of the room, she stopped moving and buried her face into her delegate hands. She tried with all her strength not to cry, but by now, she couldn't stop the tears from falling. She was scared. She had not talked to Diana sense she had left their childhood home the afternoon before. She had sent her sister home with her driver in order for Diana to get the proper rest that she needed. The past week had been filled with dividing property and selling prices and Diana's poor heart couldn't handle all of it at one time. Many things could have happened between now and then. Elizabeth didn't know what to do. Diana could be anywhere, lost and alone. The storm finally came to a stop a few hours before and most of the roads were still unusable. If she was to start looking for her sister, she wouldn't even know where to start.

Elizabeth lifted her head and used the sleeve of her dress to dry her watery eyes. She knew tears wouldn't help anyone now. She needed to stay the strong and positive woman she was; breaking down would only push them further back. It wasn't like her to be acting like this; it was like something was off about her but she couldn't put a finger on it.

Just then, she heard footsteps coming down the grand staircase. She turned slowly and met the gaze of Teddy as he quickly made his way down to her.

"Teddy," she started to say and she made her way to the foot of the marble stairs.

"She's not up there Liz, I have looked everywhere and I can't find her. I am so sorry."

"No, no don't be. It's not your fault. Its mine, I shouldn't have let her come back here alone." Once he came to the same level as his wife, he immediately grabbed her arm and pulled her into a hug.

"It's going to be okay," he whispered calmly in her ear as he stroked her long golden hair.

"I know," she managed to say. She closed her eyes and let herself get lost in their embrace. She couldn't imagine her life without Teddy and she was so grateful she didn't have to find out. She knew how much he loved her and she hoped he knew how much she loved him back. Teddy began to pull away but left his hands around her small waist.

"Are you okay?" he asked her looking for a straight answer. She nodded and managed to crack a small smile.

"Fine," she said as he brushed a loose hair away from her face.

"We are going to find her you know?"

"I know, she can't be that far away. I am just over reacting." Teddy shook his head are her response.

"You are not over reacting, you're reacting just enough. If anything, Di should be thankful you're as concerned as you are. It means you're looking after her which is something everyone wants to feel at some point. You care and I would be worried if you didn't. But we'll find her together. I promise you that." Elizabeth smiled proudly to his words.

"How did I get so lucky as to find someone as great as you?" she asked forgetting why she was ever worried in the first place. He simply shrugged.

"Must have been density."

"And since when did you believe in such a thing as density?"

"Since the day you agreed to be my wife." She looked deep into his eyes before slowly moving her lips onto his. It was a quick kiss, but there was no doubt that it didn't lack passion. They broke away but Elizabeth knew that it wouldn't end there. She gave a knowing smile as he took her hand in his. But as he took his first step, both of them heard a quick pair of steps walking towards them. They both looked up to find Henry wearing a clean white shirt tucked sloppily into his dark trousers. The first few buttons were not together, exposing some of his chest. It took him a few moments before he realized the two were watching him descend the staircase.

"Elizabeth, Teddy," he said once he saw them. He slowed his pace once he got closer to them.

"Nice to see you Henry," Elizabeth calmly. She had forgotten completely that he had been staying in their home and by the look on Teddy's face, so did he.

"And to you Elizabeth, I terribly sorry it took me so long up there, I had a slight –eh problem to take care of."

"Is everything alright?" Elizabeth asked sensing Henry's slight uneasiness.

"Of course, it was nothing really. I am just worried that I was too late to join the two of you for lunch."

"You were actually just in time; we were just heading to the dining room ourselves," Teddy said letting go of Elizabeth's hand. He took a step back to allow his wife and his friend to pass by him. Elizabeth was the first to go and started to make her way towards the dining room where lunch was being served. It wasn't like her to forget about this too but her mind has been anywhere but here for the past couple weeks that she allowed it to pass by her. She stopped abruptly and turned to face the two men that walked behind her.

"I will let the two of you go ahead, I need to check on Keller anyway. He did not sleep very well last night and I should see if he is alright."

"Is everything okay Liz?" her husband asked with slight concern in his eyes.

"Everything is fine; I just need to check on him. You two go ahead, I will be back soon." Before either of them could say anything else, Elizabeth was already making her way towards the stairs to see her sleeping baby. She made her way swiftly up the marble slabs with one hand on the smooth rail, just in case she was slip up or trip on the bottom of her dress. Once at the top of the stairs, she began to walk the familiar path towards the room of her son's. As she drew closer, she heard a faint cry from the opposite side of the door which made her heart sink inside her chest. She quickly pushed his door open to find a woman standing inside the room bouncing Keller softly in her kind arms. She was talking to him in a quiet tone which he responded to well. But once he saw Elizabeth with his big blue eyes, he held his small arms towards his mother, wishing for her to take him away from his aunt, Diana.

"Diana!" Elizabeth exclaimed as she walked into the room. She quickly turned at the sound of her name and smiled once she saw her older sister.

"Hello Elizabeth, I was just on my way down the stairs when I heard Keller crying in his room and I thought that I would just try to comfort him on my own before I came and got you."

"Where on earth have you been?" Elizabeth asked in a loud tone as she carefully took her son away from Diana.

"What do you mean?" Diana looked confused.

"I mean for the past half an hour that we have been looking for you. You had me worried sick!"

"Calm down Liz, I have been here the whole time."

"Don't tell me to calm down, I had the whole staff looking for you and no one knew where you were!" Elizabeth shifted Keller in her arms to a more comfortable position. He was being very quiet and cuddly which was just what she needed right now.

"I am sorry, I didn't mean to cause any alarm. But I swear I have not left this house ever sense I arrived here yesterday."

"Then how come you didn't hear any of us call out your name?" Elizabeth asked lowering her tone and resting a hand on Keller's back.

"I must have been sleeping-"

"At this hour?" Diana paused for a moment before answering her sister's question.

"The wind kept me up last night; I am sorry Elizabeth, really. I didn't mean for any of this to happen." Elizabeth didn't know whether to believe her sister or not but she wasn't in the mood to argue with her. She was just glad that Diana was safe and sound inside her home where she belonged.

"We will talk about this at a later time Diana, I am just glad to know you're alright." Diana gave her a bright smile which surprised her. Her sister hadn't smiled like that in weeks but today, she seemed in an extra good mood. Elizabeth had no reason to be concerned in fact; she was thrilled to think that Diana was finally getting back to her old self. It just seemed odd to her that it happened over night. "Shall we go find Teddy?" Diana suggested moving towards the door.

"Yes, that sounds like a-," Elizabeth trailed off as she remembered where Teddy was and who he was with.

"Liz?"

"Yes?"

"Is everything alright?" Diana asked standing by the doorway.

"Yes, everything is just fine but I just remembered that Teddy is in his office working so we shouldn't really bother him."

"Oh okay. Are you hungry? Maybe we should find something to eat."

"I already ate," Elizabeth lied, "why don't we go find Mary and ask her to bring us some tea in the fireside room."

"That sounds good," Diana said as she began to make her way towards the stairs. Just then, a knock came from outside the home which was strange. Most people were still stuck inside their homes from last night's storm and surely most drivers would not be willing to adventure out on the icy roads and in the cold temperatures.

"Who could that be?" asked Diana but Elizabeth couldn't answer her. She moved in front of her sister and hurriedly made her way down the stairs. There were no signs of any of the maids so she put it upon herself to answer the door. Besides she was curious as to whom it was. She made her way across the foyer with Diana following immediately behind her. Once at the door, she motioned her sister to open it for Keller had begun to squirm in her arms. She set him by her feet as the wind from the outside replaced the warmth inside the nicely heated home. Two the sisters watched as a tall man stepped inside and quickly shut the door behind him, inviting himself in.

The man shivered and looked down on his snow covered jacket to brush all the freshly fallen snowflakes that had fallen on him. When he was done he looked up and smiled warmly towards Diana.

"Good afternoon ladies," he said kindly as he removed his hat, revealing his black locks.

"Good afternoon sir, what can I help you with?" Elizabeth asked moving towards this stranger.

"I am looking for a Mrs. Elizabeth Cutting or a Mr. Edward Cutting," he said.

"I am Mrs. Cutting." She watched as the young man's checks turned red.

"My apologizes Mrs. Cutting, I should have realized." Before she could respond, he began to search in the bag that he had carried in with him. Once he found what he was looking for, he pulled out a neat cream colored envelope address to her home.

"This is for you," the man said handing over the parchment to Elizabeth.

"Thank you sir," she said smiling at him. She could tell that both of them were torturing this poor bashful man. It was obvious he hadn't been around women too much. He placed his hat back on his head and opened the door for himself.

"You're very welcome Mrs. Cutting," he said to her then gave a slight flirtatious smile towards Diana, "if you will excuse me I must be off for I have a few more things to drop off. Good day ladies."

"And too you," waved Diana as the man shut the door behind him. The sisters then giggled at each other before Elizabeth looked down at the envelope she was given. As she examined, she realized that she had seen one like it before and she knew exactly what it was. Diana, on the other hand, had no clue.

"What is it?" she finally asked and Elizabeth looked up smiling.

"Do you feel like attending a party?"