Liz and I had spoken multiple times over the phone in the days before the Reichster's party. First I had apologized to her for Will's behavior, she had apparently found it hilarious and refused to accept my apology. Then we had fallen into discussion about what exactly to wear to the Reichster's party. Wearing our ugliest dresses had sounded tempting, a slap in the face to them for what they had done. But then another idea had wormed its way into my head at night, and I had called Liz in a panic. I had tried to control my breathing as I held the phone, "Liz, forget the potato sacks. Find your best ballgown, the most daring, and wear that."

"But then they'll be looking at us the entire time." Liz's voice had been rather crackled over the line.

"And then they'll see us not even want to speak to them." I had sounded almost giddy, "We'll try to ignore everyone but Will and Oscar, we could almost cut them completely!" The thought of wearing a daring dress, and spinning around in Will's arms, while Mr. Reichster had to stare and know that he couldn't have me, was tempting. "We can rub their noses in it, just our complete disdain for them."

"I'll send someone down for my diamonds." Liz had crowed over the phone, "Oh, this is the best idea I've heard. Oscar is going to hate it."

"Let him, the night will be even better if he's already angry." I had giggled, hanging up the phone. I knew exactly the dress I was going to wear, the jewelry too. I had purchased it when we had been in Paris, a daring dark sapphire dress that fell low across my chest and hugged my body until it fell straight to the floor. A flimsy piece of beaded organza provided some modesty along the neckline, but very little. And I had the sapphires Mother had given me, I'd had them packed into a trunk, just in case I needed them. Both were set out on my bed, ready for me for tonight. I had set them out myself, Louise was already going to have a fit when she saw the dress, I could only imagine what she would have done if I had ordered her to bring it out. But it was beautiful, laying against the white coverlet, a sea of dark blue silk.

Mr. Reichster had wanted to drape me in rubies, I'd face him again in sapphires, with Will at my side.

I held that thought in my mind as I sought out Will in the cottage, finally finding him in the upper parlor, or rather outside of it. He was sitting on the small balcony, smoking his pipe and looking out at the sea. He'd had me out on the yacht the day before, letting me steer until I felt comfortable. My arms had been burning by the end of it, and Mother had despaired that I might get freckles, which he had laughed at. I hoped that was what the small smile playing about his lips was about, although I saw it widen as I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, pressing my lips to his head and his head to my breast. "Will, what exactly are you up here doing?"

"Your mother doesn't like the smoke in the house," He muttered, leaning back so that his head rested between my breasts. "And I enjoy watching the waves."

"Hmm," I leaned down, my voice a whisper. "Will, do you think you could do my a favor tonight?"

"A favor?" He chuckled, reaching over to tug me to the front of the chair. With me securely on his lap, and in his arms, he breathed against my shoulder. "And what can I expect in return?"

My hand found its way to his thigh, "You don't even want to know what it is?"

"I'd rather know the payment you intend to give." His voice caught as I ran my hand even farther up his thigh. "Ana, is this it?"

"Perhaps, although I'll have to delay it." I murmured, withdrawing my hand. "For sometime after the ball."

"And what exactly will I be doing to get it?" Will stared at me, his blue eyes clear and dancing.

"Wear your uniform tonight, and your sword." I heard my voice rise, and I wrapped my hands around the back of his head. "Please Will, please. Just think of what they'll do when you show up with a sword." I pressed my forehead to his, "You'll be the only one there with a sword, and oh, you're so handsome with it."

His hands found my thighs, pressing against them. "Is there a reason that I will need my sword?"

"Isn't being around the Reichsters enough?" I whispered, feeling his hands slip up to my waist. "Do you really need more of a reason?"

"I'm going to have a knife," He suddenly crushed me to him, his face almost buried in my breasts. "What are you planning?"

"Something that you'll enjoy." I caressed his face, drawing my fingers slowly down his cheeks.

He leaned into my touch, "I'll have to see what it is before I agree." I couldn't help the sigh that erupted out of me, rising out of his lap. Will tugged at my hands, standing when I wouldn't sit back down. Instead he caught me up around my waist, "Ana, I know that look. You're playing a trick on someone."

"Not you." I raised my eyebrow, "Although I promise, you will love it."

"I'll be waiting in the uniform, and I'll decide on the sword once I see you." His brow was furled, but a smile was on his lips. It took only a moment before he crushed his lips to mine, holding me tight to him before he released me. "I'll have to go get dressed. As will you." Despite his warning about the time, he still managed to pull me into corner after corner, his breath on my cheek and his tongue in my mouth, before finally we were outside Father's old room. I left him with one last kiss, returning to my own room.

To say Louise was upset about the dress was an understatement. I was standing in my undergarments, waiting for her to bring it when I heard her gasp. "Miss Dalian, you cannot wear this!"

I came over, seeing her holding it as if it would strike her. "Louise, it's all the rage in Paris."

"For the bohemians!" She spat, throwing it back to the bed. "Your mother will have me sacked if I send you down in it."

I brushed it free of any wrinkles, picking it back up. "Please, Louise, I need to wear this tonight."

"If you're going to seduce Mr. Murdoch before your wedding you do not need clothes to do it." She snatched it from me, "The way that man looks at you sometimes, all you'd have to do is crook your finger and Mrs. Dalian would be a grandmother in an instant."

"It's not for Will." I sighed, "It's for me. This family we're going to has treated me horribly, I want to show them that they haven't affected me. That I'm stronger than they think."

"And practically revealing your breasts will do it?"

"It will show them what they can't have." I turned, showing her my back. "Louise, put it on. Please." It was not without a grumble that the dress was dropped over my head, and the lecture about my fashion choices continued even as she brought the jewelry to me. It only slowed when she began to apply my cosmetics, her face full of concentration as she applied the powder and rouge.

Once I was ready she took one last look at me, lingering on where the dress cleaved to my breasts. "Miss Anastasia, whatever it is you have planned, just be careful. Men lose themselves in lust, they drown in it, and I'm worried for you."

"Louise," I reached out, touching her shoulder with my shockingly bare hands. "I know that, better than most. I won't let anything happen, and Will won't either." She didn't say another word, merely holding open the door. It was a bit difficult to navigate the stairs in my dress, the skirt was a tad tighter than I was used to, but it was worth it when I reached the foyer. Will's entire face had gone slack, his eyes dark as he stared at every inch of me.

Mother, her lips pursed, turned to Reggie, waiting with Will's hat. "Go get a wrap for her."

"And my sword!" Will called after him as Reggie started up the stairs. He barely looked at me when Reggie came back, focusing on buckling on his sword as Mother herself tied the wrap around my shoulders. It covered me from the neck down, falling to my knees.

Mother knotted it one more time, "I hope you know what you're doing with this little stunt."

"So do I." I muttered, stepping up to take Will's hand. The carriage was already waiting, it would be a long ride to the Reichster house in the middle of Newport. Will handed me up, although as soon as he got in he pulled me into his lap, hardly waiting for the horses to pull us away from the house. I grabbed the lapels of his coat as the carriage started to rock, "Will!"

"Get that bloody thing off." Will, with his clever sailor's fingers, had Mother's handiwork undone in an instant. The wrap didn't even have time to pool on the floor before he was pulling me flush against him. I pulled his hat off, letting it join the wrap as he buried his face in my shoulder. "God woman, you will drive me mad."

"Mad with lust?" I questioned, leaning my head down to press against his.

He chuckled, "With worry, with jealousy. Every man is going to be staring at you."

"And I'll only be looking at you." I grinned, "And you are the only one who gets to touch me." And then, unable to help myself I added. "And maybe Oscar."

"If you dance with him tonight, I will kill him." He grumbled, his hands at the small of my back. "I don't care about the stupid plan, I am not letting any other man get close to you. It's a damn good thing I brought the sword."

"You going to use it on Oscar?"

"No, but I would not mind if Henry Reichster found himself on the end of it at some point during the night." He shifted, his sword clanking against the seat softly. His hand drifted down to my skirt, gathering it as his hand slipped beneath it. The feeling of his hand through my stockings was delightful, but not something I wanted at the moment.

I shifted off his lap, unwilling to get caught up in that before we got to the party. Instead, I curled up against him, trying to come up with something to distract him. "Will, since we have some time, I remember Charles at one point saying that when we first met he couldn't shut you up from talking about me. What were you saying?"

His brow furrowed. "Ana, Charles said that to me when I was hungover, in Southampton. How do you know that?"

I ducked my head. "I may have overheard the two of you talking when I was bringing you your aspirin. I didn't want to interrupt, so I just waited."

"And eavesdropped."

"Not on purpose!"

"You really are a sneaky, mischievous little thing, you know that?"

"Oh please Will, tell me."

"Fine, fine. I suppose you could say I was shocked when I came back from lunch that first day. I couldn't believe you'd asked me to keep you company, you were so beautiful and calming to be around. And fun! Except for when he touched your shoulder, you shrunk in on yourself then. I didn't like him from the start after I saw that."

"You're very perceptive."

"Well, when I got back to the bridge I let the others know that they might not see much of me, having had a beautiful heiress claim any free time that I might have. Charles didn't believe me, 'There's no way an heiress just happened to claim you for the entire crossing. You're having us on, I know it.' was what he said. The others started putting bets on whether or not you were real. He was rather contrite the next morning after you spoke to him."

I pressed myself further against him, "Who thought I was a fiction?"

"Well, Charles for the one. Wilde, Pittman, Boxhall. Moody and Lowe sided with me mainly because I think they were trying to get on my good side. The next day, when I held you in the revolving door." He sighed, his arm around me tightening. "It was heaven for me to touch you, to hold you close. And then I felt so ashamed, you'd only wanted a tour and I'd grabbed at you like a rake."

"I enjoyed it." I muttered, kissing his cheek.

Will chuckled, "Well, I was quite furious with myself until you showed up in the mess that afternoon. I was sure you were going to tell me to never come near you again, but then you bared yourself to me, told me everything that happened. God, my anger switched from myself to him after that. How dare he have done that to you? And then you asked about me, offered your condolences over the death of someone you'd never met. You cared about me." His voice caught for a moment, "That was when I knew I wanted to court you, so I figured I would start making my inquiries.

"And then I saw him, with you, that night. You looked miserable, thank God your mother sent someone to fetch me. And those other harpies, laughing at your distress as he pulled you along. I was glad to see you trip, to help you get away from him. And then when I held you in my arms," He leaned over, breathing in my perfume. "I thought I had died and gone to my reward, I only wished I was carrying you off to bed you rather than to comfort you over what had happened."

"You still haven't managed to bed me." I laughed, "At least not completely."

"You wear that dress again and I assure you, I will." His eyes lingered on my breasts, one hand brushing over them. "And at breakfast the next morning, you ate almost the entire table. Even that was charming though, and I was anxious for the dinner the next night. You were the most beautiful thing I'd seen in a long time when you came out of your cabin, and I thought that every man envied me when I came in with you on my arm. After seeing you face down Zachary, I drew on whatever courage I had to ask your father about coming to court you. When I got to the bridge, I passed Charles and he asked how my forays into becoming a passenger were going. I told him that I'd met the girl I wanted to marry, that she was beautiful, kind, and her family had agreed to a courtship."

"So you were bragging?"

"I was already in love." He pressed a kiss to my head, "How could I have not fallen in love with you from the start? And kissing you that afternoon, God I wanted that day to last forever."

"So did I." I placed my own hand on his chest, brushing my fingers along his lapels. That was the last day with Father, the last day where my family had been complete. If that day had lasted a little longer, I could have had just a few more moments with him. Enough to tell him that I loved him, over and over. I tried to concole myself with the knowledge that he knew that, but I still wished I could have said it to him one last time.

The carriage was slowing, having reached the streets of Newport while he'd been talking. The Reichsters had not built up out on the coast as everyone else had done, or searched out their own private grounds to build on, they'd simply bought the largest house in town, added on two extra wings, and filled it with the most expensive items they could find. Which meant the street outside was lined with carriages and autos, chauffeurs and coachmen unable to park their responsibilities in a convenient field where the horses could eat and the men could catch a break. It took some time for our carriage to get to a place where we could get to the house without having to wade through the waiting vehicles.

Will cast his eyes around the massive gilded hall we entered, furniture upholstered in the current shade of green that Samantha favored. It had changed since the last time I'd been here, she had probably had three different shades since then. He sniffed as we joined the line of people waiting to greet the hosts, "Awfully grand of them." I snorted, looking ahead. The line moved slowly, giving me plenty of time to see Zachary and his father, Sophie between them. She was dressed in a brilliant red, and as I got closer my stomach twisted. Curled around her neck was the golden peacock necklace, rubies glittering harshly in the electric lights. They even shone among her hair, ruby studded pins showing off how pale it was while the necklace made her snow white skin seem to glow.

I felt my breath hitch in my throat, "Will, the necklace."

"I know." He wrapped his hand around mine, holding me closer. "Don't look at it."

Finally the line brought us up to the front, revealing Samantha at Henry's side, a pair of unknown men in uniforms standing alongside Zachary. Judging by their pale hair and eyes they must have been related to Sophie, her brothers maybe. She gave a cry when she saw up, clapping her hands together. "Oh Miss Dalian! I am so happy that you came. And this must be Mr. Murdoch."

"Yes, Your Highness." I nodded, "Thank you for the invitation."

"Nothing for me, 'Stasia?" Zachary cut in, and I glanced to him. The worst of the bruises from Will's punch had faded, and his once straight nose had a decidedly noticeable crook to it. All it did was lend him a roguish charm.

"Congratulations, Zachary." I kept my voice clipped.

"Thank you, 'Stasia. The duchess and I are quite happy with each other. As are you and your sailor, I would assume." He didn't even deign to glance at Will, but his eyes lingered on my necklace, and what beneath it. "Such lovely jewels, did you purchase those for her?" He looked to Will, then barked out a laugh. "Oh, forgive me. I forgot you can't afford things like that. She probably paid for them, like she paid for your ticket back."

Sophie gently swatted at him, "Be kind, Zaza." She simpered, "You know it is not nice to make fun of those less fortunate than you." It took all I had to keep my lips from twisting, Zaza? It was sickening. I cut my eyes to Will, but he acted as if he had not heard her backhanded insult.

"Such a lovely dress, Anastasia." Mr. Reichster spoke up, his eyes roving along every inch that was revealed to him. "The color suits you so well, I'll have to arrange for my portraitist bring enough blue along for when he paints you."

Will stepped forward at that, his hand casually on the hilt of his sword. "Yes, between the two of us I imagine we'd run him out of every shade." He cast his eyes to Sophie, "That is a magnificent necklace, Your Highness. Wherever did you get it?"

"Oh, dear old Henry here gave it to me, as soon as I got off the boat." She smiled widely, brushing her fingers up against it. "Oh, I am so sorry but I must be getting to the other guests." She turned to the other men at Zachary's side. "Frederich, Otto, show them to the ballroom." The two nodded, and without a word began to stride away. I was sure that I felt Mr. Reichster's eyes on me as we followed them, and was grateful when Will put his arm around my waist.

"The ballroom is through there," One said, standing ramrod straight at the door. I could see a crowd inside, the ladies glittering in expensive jewels and revealing dresses. Thank God I would not be too out of sorts, not if the dresses I saw were any sign. It was rather disconcerting to have Sophie's brothers standing like guards as we entered, both turning on their heel and marching away in lockstep once we were in.

"Well, they seem pleasant." I mused to Will as we stepped inside.

He rolled his eyes, "One is definitely in the Imperial German Navy, I recognize the uniform. I'm guessing the other is in the army, it's a wonder they didn't spit on me."

"They aren't fond of the Royal Navy?" I spoke quietly as he led us around the edge of the crowd.

"The Kaiser is rather jealous of it, and it all bleeds down from him." He stopped for a moment, casting his eyes about. "I don't see the Vanderbilts."

"They might not be here yet." I pointed to a footman, in his powdered wig and breeches, circling with a tray of glasses. "Care for a drink?"

"Not for me." He did gesture for the man to come over, handing me a glass. "And not too many for you, not with this crowd."

"I agree." I sipped from the glass, almost angry that the white wine in it was sweet and smooth. It would have fit the party for it to have been vinegar. "Can you believe some of the dresses? I can almost see their knees."

"You have hardly any room to speak."

"My legs are covered."

He snorted, stepping in front of me and turning to block me from a group of men that were walking past. They had been very clearly ogling me. "And I can see almost all of you up above."

"That's a lie, I have a corset on."

"And thank God for that, I'd hate to see what they'd be doing if you were wearing a brassiere." Will sighed, his shoulders set as he slowly scanned the room. I followed his gaze, noticing that a few men were very clearly eyeing me. Instead of shrinking back, I tossed my head and stood proud. Let them stare, let them see what was only for Will. He looked down at me, a band had begun to play a waltz. "I think you owe me a dance."

"I don't recall owing you one." I mused as he took my hand, leading us out to join the couples on the floor.

"You're going to owe me a great deal for wearing that dress." He replied, already sweeping me into motion.

"And here I thought you liked it."

He winced a bit, "I do, but now I see why you wanted me to wear my sword. Otherwise I'd be beating them off of you with a stick."

"Yes, your sword will serve you much better."