Morning, beauties! Let's jump right in!

Thank you so much to both Mel and Pamela!

VIII

BELLA

2 July 1897

London, England

"You have no business being here," Rosalie snarled quietly, a forced congenial smile on her lips as she hauled me away from her brother.

"I was invited," I told her, yanking my arm out of her grasp.

She turned to glare at me. "Do you see the man standing to your right?" she asked, surprising me. I glanced over at a smartly dressed man with brown hair. "That," Rosalie hissed, drawing my attention back to her, "is His Royal Highness, Edward, Prince of Wales, her majesties' eldest son. Speaking to him is Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov, the Czar of Russia." Rosalie's fingers squeezed around my upper arm, despite the bulk of fabric. "Who are you to be here?"

It was a fair question, one I'd be asking myself later when I processed standing next to the last czar of Russia at a ball I was likely about to get kicked out of. I turned to Rosalie, whose eyes were wild with her anger, and underneath that, fear.

It struck me then, what life must be like for the eldest child of the duke. She might have been born into wealth and power, but almost none of it was hers for the taking. She would never be afforded the same opportunities as her brother, never be given the chances he would. She would be used as fodder, part of the estate to broker deals. Rosalie's world was a prison, a glittering, terrible curse that she had no chance of escape from.

I could see from her panic that though she probably resented her younger brother, she was wildly, fiercely loyal to him, determined to protect and care for him.

She might be the only member of her family doing so.

"I'm so sorry," I said at once, my chest heaving with the emotions welling in me. "I truly don't wish any harm or hardship on your family," I said quietly. Rosalie's eyebrows pulled together, a flash of confusion and surprise. "I can appreciate how loyally you look after those you love."

I had siblings, years from now, who would grow up not knowing me. They might be told stories, and the oldest might even remember traces of me, but they would never know me. They would live out normal, human lives in normal, human timelines.

They would never know this life, and likewise, despite the peace I'd made with it, I would never wish it upon them.

Rosalie looked uneasy, and I wondered if it was because I'd called out her loyalty to her brother, or because I'd agreed with her at all. I gave her a small smile. "Will you do me a favor?" I asked, my voice quiet. Rosalie's eyes narrowed, but finally she eased her head in my direction. "Will you tell Edward, 'thank you' from me?" My fingers ran over the slippery silk gown. "The dress will be available to pick up tomorrow morning."

Rosalie nodded, leaning back from me. "I will pass along your message."

I gave her a small smile. "Thank you, Rosalie."

She looked annoyed, and I didn't know if it was because I was addressing her so casually, or if it was because she just wanted to be rid of me.

Giving her one last smile, I gathered my skirts and slipped past her, trying to creep toward the edge of the ballroom to make my escape.

This world was glittering and grand, and while it had been fun dressing up for the night, I knew this was no place for me.

I started along the south wall, trying to make my way toward the exit, when trumpets blasted through the room. I froze, looking up to see the queen's assembly filing into the ballroom to announce her.

I hesitated, desperately excited to glimpse the great Queen Victoria.

I could hear a man speaking across the room, though his words were muffled from this distance, and then a trumpet sounded again before the attendants shifted.

I caught sight of a graying head of hair, barely visible through the crowd, when long fingers wrapped around my elbow.

I gasped, spinning and gaping at Edward as he tugged me gently back through the ballroom and out a door I hadn't even noticed.

I could hear the commotion behind us announcing the queen, but Edward pulled me forward, out of the house and into the sprawling gardens.

How his estate managed to have gardens like this in the middle of London was beyond me. The plants were beautifully manicured, carefully planted to create symmetrical layouts. The effect was stunning, and I felt myself stumble behind Edward as I tried to take it all in.

"Edward, it's beautiful out here," I said, hurrying to step faster in order to keep up with him.

Edward glanced at me. "It is," he said, sounding distracted.

"Where are we going?" I asked, prying my eyes from trees in stunning bloom to look at him. In the moonlight, his face was hard to make out.

"Somewhere private." He sighed, shaking his head.

I let him tug me along until we were slipping into a greenhouse. The glass panes weren't exactly private, but it was dark in this corner of the estate, and likely, the most privacy we'd be able to get.

"Bella, I—"

"Edward—"

We both froze, looking at one another with small smiles.

"Please," Edward said, extending a long fingered hand in my direction. "After you."

I took a deep breath. "I just…" I looked around the greenhouse, trying to resummon my courage. "I wanted to say thank you," I said softly. "For the gown, and for the invitation." I looked at him. "I've had a lovely evening."

Edward's face was mostly shadowed, but I could see a frown across his face.

"You speak as if you are about to say goodbye."

I swallowed thickly. "It's clear I don't belong in your world," I said quietly, my gaze dropping. "And I don't want to make trouble for you."

I would keep traveling. It might not be tonight, it might not even be in a week, but at some point, time would pull me out of this place and deposit me sometime else. Edward's life would continue, and he would find a wife who could give him children who would all get to live normal lives, without this legacy hanging over them.

"Bella," Edward hesitated, one of his hands lifting as if to reach out to me. I looked up at him. "All my life I have done mostly as I'm told," he said, and I couldn't help smiling. He grinned in response before his face became serious again. "I've been told where to go, what to do, whom to socialize with. Everything in my life has been organized for me." He let out a breath. "Now, I'm being told whom to marry."

I wasn't surprised, and yet his words made me flinch. I sucked in a breath, my gaze dropping.

"I'm sure she is a well suited match," I said quietly.

"I wouldn't know," Edward said. "I don't want to marry her."

I could feel him tiptoeing to a conversation I knew he wasn't ready to have. He had no idea what being involved with me would entail.

"Edward," I said, my voice a warning as I shook my head. "You don't…" I paused, biting my lip. "My life is volatile," I said, wincing over the word. When I saw him frown in confusion, I let out a breath. "At any moment, I could be dragged away from here, never to return," I said, trying to make it as clear as possible without getting into the details. "Nothing about my time is certain."

Edward's eyebrows pulled together. "Is there no way that you can stay?" he asked, sounding confused.

I let out a breath. I should tell him there wasn't. I should break his hope now, rather than risk breaking his heart later.

It could never work.

"There is only one way," I said instead, and immediately regretted my words. I felt his hope flare, like a lantern in the dark.

"What is it?" he asked, his voice breathless.

I turned from him, shutting my eyes hard. Was I really going to do this? Was I really about to give up everything to risk things with him?

What if things didn't work out? What if I got pregnant, and he still had to marry his betrothed? What if I was stuck in Victorian London, raising a child on my own?

There were so many ways this could go badly.

I turned back to him, my throat tight. I could see his features in the moonlight, the width of his jaw, the playful kindness in his eyes that had drawn me in the first time I'd looked at him.

He was beautiful, but there was more to it than that, like I was being drawn to him on a cellular level.

It was an all-encompassing, inescapable feeling.

"I can stay," I whispered, my voice so soft I wondered if he could even hear me. "If I am with child."

I watched his body respond and saw him take a step back in surprise. I watched his shoulders drop, then rise again as he sucked in a deep, surprised breath.

"That is the only way?" he asked, his voice hoarse.

I swallowed thickly, tears threatening to spill over. "Yes."

It was too much. We didn't know each other; we couldn't possibly be at the point of discussing children yet. Edward was going to realize the price to know me was too high, and he'd go back to his predestined life. He would be a respected duke one day, and his children and his children's children would be remembered by history.

And I would be nothing more than a shadow of a memory, as I was meant to be.

Time would continue on, uninterrupted.

My fingers reached down, gathering up the fabric of the gown. If I could shed it here and now and spare him the effort of sending someone to collect it from Mrs. Cope's later, I would.

Maybe I'd travel north toward Scotland, or head east toward the continent. Surely I would enjoy time spent in Austria or Switzerland.

I had a plan in place, my mind made up, when Edward reached out, his hand blocking me by landing on my elbow.

"Bella," he said, and I looked up at him.

"It's okay, Edward," I said softly. "You don't have to say anything." I gave him a watery smile. "I truly wish you all the best in life."

Edward frowned, shaking his head. "No… I…" He let out a deep breath before falling to one knee in front of me.

I stared at him in stunned silence.

"Bella, it is inexplicable and irrational," he said quietly. "But I feel within myself an urgency to know you, the likes of which I have never felt before." He reached up, gently taking my left hand in his. "I know not what the future holds, but I know with unshakable certainty that if I have some sort of destiny in this world, you are central to it." He reached down, slipping a signet ring off his pinky and holding it up toward me. "If we must marry and have children so that I may be given the honor of knowing you, this is a path I very willingly choose. I have not much more to offer, and I may be disowned once my father hears word of our elopement, but I do not care." He took a deep breath. "Bella Swan, will you marry me?"

"Edward, I…" For a moment, I was too stunned to speak. He was looking up at me, his face hopeful, and I felt my heart squeeze in my chest. "Edward, you don't know what you're asking," I said softly, my hand reaching out to cover his fingers. "Marrying me means leaving everything you know, and I—"

"Bella, 'tis as simple as this," he said softly. "Would you have me for who I am? Without the title and the wealth and power? Would you have this man beside you, as part of your life?"

My chest was so tight, my ribs were hurting.

"Yes," I whispered. "Yes, I would have this man." It was too honest.

"Would you have me as your husband, to be by your side as we walk this world?"

I felt like I couldn't breathe. "Yes," I whispered. It was the most foolish and reckless thing I'd ever said in my life, but I found no part of me could be brought to regret it. I felt the vows slide into my heart, anchoring me irrevocably to this point in time.

Edward gently slipped the signet ring onto my finger, pressing a kiss to my hand before standing. My heart beat wildly with my recklessness, but I just couldn't bring myself to send him away. I was doing this. I was making this choice.

Here for now and forever.

"Bella," Edward said slowly. "I know that it is too forward, but given the circumstances, and well, given the restrictions of our time together being contingent upon—"

I leaned up, my lips pressing to his, cutting off his rambling. I could feel his surprise, his uncertainty, before his body sagged into mine, his hands finding my waist. My arms went up around his neck, the heavy weight of his ring foreign and warm against my skin.

The kiss was relatively chaste but worked to whip up in me a desire that was bright and hungry.

I broke the kiss, leaning back slightly to drag in a heavy breath.

Edward looked flushed, even in the darkness, and I could feel his body breathing just as hard.

"Thank you," I whispered. "For wanting to take this risk."

His hands squeezed around my waist, ever so gently, one traveling up to my face and cupping my cheek. "I suspect, Bella Swan…" His thumb brushed my lower lip, and I had to stop myself from licking at his finger. "That you are more than worth it."

I let out a small breath, praying to whatever force might be out there that he was right, that we were worth it.

"Edward," I said quietly,my eyes scanning his face. "If we truly mean to marry, you might never see your family again," I pointed out. "Do you wish to have this one last night with them?"

I saw surprise on his face as he considered my words.

"No," he said slowly. "I think it best if we just leave." I could see in his eyes a somber awareness of what it meant for him to walk away from everything attached to them.

It wrenched my gut to see that look on his face. "We don't—"

Edward kissed me again, cutting off the words that would try to argue once again that he should stay, that we should not be doing this.

"Bella," he murmured against my lips. "I am a man who knows his own mind." He pulled back gently, his face hovering over mine. "And my mind has been made on the matter. For the first time in my life, I am choosing me—what I want and desire—over what is expected of me." Edward smiled a little, rubbing a hand gently over my cheek. "I see no way this choice is wrong if my heart is so thoroughly in it."

I sucked in a breath, unexpected tears burning in my eyes.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, blinking hard. "I don't mean to keep doubting you. I just…" My voice grew quiet as my eyes swept his face. Edward was young, but he was right. There was clarity in his eyes, determination too. He was making this choice consciously.

Who was I to take that away from him?

I leaned up, capturing his lips once more. The kiss was firmer, a littler hungrier, and I felt him shift in surprise before his arm came around me, pulling me tighter against him.

I could feel the silk of his top against the exposed swells of my breasts, and it was all I had in me not to rub against him.

"We should go." I gasped, breaking the kiss. My breath was labored and I noted his was the same.

"Yes," he agreed. "Let me slip back into the house to retrieve some items," he said gently. "You head back to the ball and leave through those doors. I'll come around another exit and meet you in my carriage."

I nodded. "Okay."

Edward smiled, his hand coming up to brush over my cheek again. "Our new life shall begin this very night," he said softly. "Just you and me, without a title in between us."

I smiled at him. "Yes," I agreed quietly. "Yes, I'd like that."

…

In the ballroom, the crowd seemed to have doubled in size, though I wondered if that was anything to do with the guest of honor and all her attendants. I couldn't spot Queen Victoria, but I could feel by the energy of the room that she was present.

The temptation to stop and look for her was great.

The doors through which I tried to exit were clear across the ballroom from where I had come back in. I stuck to the walls, attempting not to draw attention to myself as I made my way across.

"Ah, Mademoiselle Rouge. You are looking simply wicked, my dear," Liam said, gliding over to my side.

I looked up at him in surprise. "Liam," I breathed, giving him a small nod. Unconsciously, my fingers curled into my palm to hide Edward's ring. "You always look wicked," I shot back.

Liam's smile was wide and genuine. "You have a good eye, tentatrice." He chuckled and I shook my head. "Have you been enjoying your first ball?"

I looked up at him. "How do you know that this is my first?"

He grinned. "Common spots common," he said with a shrug. "And people like us don't have many opportunities to come to balls."

I gazed up at him thoughtfully. "Somehow," I said slowly. "I don't believe that you've ever had trouble weaseling your way into something."

Liam laughed, and the sound was round and warm. "You are quite perceptive," he mused. "Far more than our friend." At this, his eyes lifted, scanning the ballroom, as if to look for Edward.

"Necessity has made me a fast judge of character," I said, pulling his attention back to me.

"Indeed," he agreed, his voice a little more somber. In his eyes I could see a shadow, some sort of troubled past that he had since been desperately trying to escape.

Then he blinked, and the shadow was gone.

"So," he said, clapping his hands. "Have you seen her?"

"Who?"

Liam grinned and spun around, his hand pointing toward a stunning blonde woman across the room. Everything from her perfectly curled hair and delicately shaped features to her dazzling ball gown told me that this was a girl of breeding. She was almost impossibly stunning.

"Who is she?"

Beside me, I saw Liam smile. "Grand Duchess Tatiana Alexandrovna, our dear Edward's betrothed."

My heart flipped over in my chest. It's not too late to walk away.

"They would make a handsome couple," I said, my voice dry.

Liam hummed. "Devastatingly so," he agreed. "But," he said after a moment. "They would be ever so boring."

I looked up at him to see his eyes back on me. "What do you mean?" I asked.

Liam let out a breath. "No matter the fallout of this decision," he said gently. "I do think you are far better suited for him."

I shook my head. "You don't even know me," I argued. "I could be a terrible fit." The fear of that curled in my stomach, making me feel queasy.

Liam shook his head. "It's as you said before," he said gently. "Necessity has also made me a fast judge of character." He paused, his eyes scanning my face. "You'll be good for him. Not too compliant, not too impatient, plus you're smart enough to keep him in line."

I wasn't sure what to make of that. "Thank you," I said after a moment.

Liam smiled a little. "I shall miss him, though." He sighed. "He's been a good friend, and I have loved living off his money."

I snorted and Liam shot me a cheeky grin.

"What will you do?" I asked.

"Oh, I shan't go out without a spectacular fight," he said with a shake of his head. "I am nothing if not a survivor." He winked. "Just look how many wealthy widows are here tonight," he said with a wave of his hand.

I laughed, shaking my head. "Take care of yourself," I said, my eyes flickering around.

"Oh my dear, I always do."

Across the room, a man was approaching the grand duchess, and Liam perked up. "Ah, yes, another scheme falling into place right on schedule."

I looked at him in surprise. "Your doing?"

He glanced at me and tapped his nose. "Just doing my part in easing the path for your elopement," he said under his breath.

I blinked in surprise. We watched for a moment as the man asked the grand duchess for a dance. Her face looked uncertain for a moment before she nodded and placed her hand in his.

"What scheme have you cooked up?" I asked, looking up at Liam.

"Just enough scandal to break their engagement," Liam said, glancing at me. "Possibly enough to shift some political connections as well."

I let out a breath, feeling nervous. "You'll be burned one day, playing with fire like that."

Liam's smile turned almost feral, a blank look coming into his eyes. "What's one burn when you've lived through an inferno?"

His words left me feeling cold, and I shivered a little. He blinked, as if coming out of some sort of revere and looked me over. "Best run along, tentatrice. I'm sure his lordship is waiting for you."

Despite his words, I hesitated.

"Liam," I started. He looked at me expectantly and I let out a breath. Liam had made his course, just as I was making mine. "Thank you."

He nodded, his face looking genuine. "I wish you every happiness together," he said softly.

Despite the taboo, I reached up and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek. "Thank you," I breathed, before turning and rushing out of the ballroom.