Iris waited outside Amy’s bedroom for her to wake up, hopping anxiously from foot to foot while anticipation raced right through her system rapidly. Of course, she had not been able to get any sleep, but she had absolutely no exhaustion in her system at all.

She wasn’t sure what Ewan expected her to do while she remained under his roof, but she could not sit still and wait for things to happen around her. She needed to carry on as normal until something dramatic changed. Especially if she did not want anyone else to discover what was going on.

Well, as normal as she could be, while also constantly checking on Victoria. The moment her saviour lost her job, she would know. Then she would be certain that she should have escaped. She hated that someone so innocent had been endangered by her. It was not fair.

Iris bit down on her fingernails, she paced outside the door, her feet twitched impatiently with nerves. Of everything that she’d ever had to wait for in her entire life, this was officially the worst. It made her anxious down to the marrow in her bone.

The moment Iris heard movement in Amy’s room she entered. She didn’t have time for her Lady to wake up, she owed her an explanation as well and she needed to get it out quickly before she fell apart completely.

“Miss Amy, how are you this morning?” she asked in a garbled tone of voice. “Is there anything I can do for you? What do you need?” Her words were getting away from her, she had lost all control of her mouth. “Just let me know, whatever it is...”

“You are still here.” Amy’s chest swelled with glee. “I cannot believe it, I am so happy, I feared you might leave.”

“No.” Iris hung her head in shame. “I am still here.”

Amy twisted her body until her feet hit the floor, and almost immediately something caught her attention. There was a white envelope sitting on her dressing table that had not been there the night before. She pushed herself upright and padded across the carpet.

“What’s this?” she asked quietly as she fiddled with it between her fingers. She recognized her brother’s handwriting, but not the name written across it. “Who is Iris?”

Iris nodded slowly. Ewan knew her movements well, he understood that she would come and see Amy first. She was not sure if this was a way to make her confess to Amy, or if he simply knew that she would.

"I am," she breathed. "My name is not Daisy Jones, it is, in fact, Iris Warwick." Iris waited, to see if there would be any recognition, but she remained very blank. "I am not who I say, I am not even a maid. I am, in fact, a lady."

“So... why would you pretend otherwise?” In Amy’s mind, this made things even more confusing. If Daisy, or Iris, had a title, then surely it was even more likely that she could marry her brother without any issues. “I do not understand.”

“I ran away.” Iris decided to give the short version of events this time. She wanted Amy to know the truth, but not all of it. If she kept telling everyone everything, then sooner or later reality would be revealed and everyone would be affected anyway. “I left home to escape a situation that I did not want to be in. I came here to work, to earn an honest living. I did not mean for everything that happened afterwards.”

“So, you cannot be yourself or people will come looking for you?”

“Yes.” Iris was glad that Amy was starting to understand. “That is right.”

Amy paused for such a long moment that Iris prepared herself to be kicked out of her bedroom. If only she hadn’t fallen in love, she could’ve kept up this new life that made her really happy forever more.

“I suppose you better read the letter then.” Amy finally shot her a smile. “Let us find out what Ewan has to say.”

“You are not angry?” Iris asked quietly.

“Of course not, D... Iris.” Amy knotted her eyebrows together for a moment while she tried to get her head around that. “Sorry, it might take me a while to get used to your new name.”

“I do not mind you calling me Daisy. I have lived a very happy life as Daisy.”

“I do not mind,” Amy reiterated. “I understand that things happen, that there are sometimes things that need to be escaped. I am just glad that you came here, that is all.”

Iris tore at the envelope with a hammering heart. She had absolutely no idea why Ewan would leave her a message in written form rather than speaking to her face to face, but it seemed that she was about to find out.

Dear Iris,

Iris ran her finger over his cursive script. Ewan had taken the time to write this carefully, which had to mean the contents were very important. Iris was not sure how she knew, but she felt certain that this would be bad news.

I am sorry to leave you now, but as I am sure you can imagine I have a lot to get my head around. I need space and time to think things through.

Please, do not worry, your secret is safe with me, I am not considering revealing the information to anyone, I simply need to work out what it means for me. And you. For us.

Iris's heart beat faster, she could almost taste blood in her mouth. In a way, this was very good news, but in another, it was absolutely terrible. If Ewan was not here, then how could she make things right?

I would appreciate it if you stay while I am away, it would give me great comfort to know that you are still in my home for me to speak with, regarding my decision. My feelings for you have not changed.

He still loved her? That provided Iris with more comfort than she thought possible. If Ewan still loved her then they could somehow, maybe work things out, couldn’t they?

I hope that your feelings have not changed either, or that you feel less of me for needing this space.

Less of him? Iris completely understood, even if she did not like it.

Amy will take care of you, of that I am sure.

Kind regards,

Lord Ewan Oakley.

Iris did not need to reiterate what had been written to Amy because she had been reading over her shoulder. Upon finishing, Amy rubbed a reassuring hand all over her shoulder.

“So, what do we do now?” Amy asked. “Of course I will take care of you, but what should we do?”

Iris folded the paper up carefully and she tucked it into her pocket. “I suppose we carry on as normal. I continue being your handmaiden, we act like nothing has changed, that way no one will suspect.”

Amy nodded. "Right, I see. It will be strange now though. I do not know if I will be able to see you, in the same way, knowing that you are a Lady."

“In all truthfulness, I never felt like a Lady. I feel much better being useful, I truly enjoy being your handmaiden.”

Iris picked up a brush and she dragged it through Amy’s hair. She could do ‘business as normal’ it made a lot of sense. Everything else was out of her control, so instead of losing herself in that like she would have done once upon a time, Iris found it much more practical to focus on what she did have power over.

“Can I ask you something?” Amy started quietly, sounding about as shy as she was when Iris first met her.

“Of course, I will answer anything if I can.” Iris had learned the hard way that honesty felt so much better than lying, even if the lie was an essential one.

“Why did you run away? What were you trying to escape from?”

“A man,” Iris replied quietly. “I did not want to get married to the man my father had picked out for me.”

“And... he did not listen to your concerns?”

“It was written in his will.” Iris gulped as she recalled Ewan’s reaction to that particular lie. “I am sorry that I was not truthful about my father dying. I needed to speak with my sister to let her know that I am safe.”

“Oh, I see.” Amy did not seem as troubled by this as her brother was. “That is alright. So, you could escape your marriage in any other way?”

“Do not worry about yourself,” Iris did her best to reassure Amy. “I am certain your brother will give you much more freedom.”

They continued to get Amy dressed in an almost silence while they both thought things through. Amy looked at her life through a new lens, she was starting to realise just how lucky she was. She did not have anything excessive thrust upon her, and she felt certain that her brother would allow her to pick her own husband. Maybe it was a good thing that Iris had come into her life, it made her see how different things could have been.

She had always felt sorry for herself, having no parents, but things could have been so much worse.

Iris’s nerves were grinding, but she had managed to push them to the back while she concentrated on each task at hand: pull on dress, tie up hair, get Amy ready.

It was only when Amy left for her lessons that Iris’s mind took control. She sorted out the bed, tidied up the bedroom, took on mundane tasks that should have kept her mind occupied, but all the while she wondered. Where was Ewan? Where had he gone to think? Where was his mind set? What did he think about her now? Did he mean what he said, did he really love her?

And most importantly, where would they go from here?

* * *

“Are you alright, Daisy?” Alice queried later on that evening. “I do not like to comment on appearance, but I have to say you look quite ill.”

It might not have been a genuine sickness, but Iris did not feel well. How long did it take for someone to work out how they felt? She thought he would be back already, but Ewan had chosen to spend the night somewhere else. Somewhere away from her.

“My head does sting,” she admitted, believing that at least this was a better way to pass off her jittery fears. “I think I might need to get a good night of sleep tonight. I have not been resting well.”

Alice gave her an imploring look, Iris tried to keep her pale face as blank as possible. She could not deal with any more questions right now; she really did feel unwell.

“Yes, maybe that is for the best.” There was something in Alice’s tone, Iris could tell that she understood more than she was giving her. “Just remember I am always here. You have friends.”

“Th... thank you...” Iris stammered tearfully. “I really do appreciate that Alice.” Even if you would not feel the same way if you knew the truth about me. “You are a wonderful person.”

“Goodnight, Daisy.”

Iris turned before she could weep and she made her way into her bedroom. The fact that she had been given privacy in this house was wonderful, it had helped her out on so many occasions. This would be another one of those times.

She wanted to grab hold of the letter that had been burning holes in her pocket for hours and she wanted to read through Ewan’s words until she could not think anymore. It was wrong to want him, she hated to be so selfish, but she could not help herself.

He was the prince charming that she had spent her life dreaming about. She even had a bit of ‘damsel in distress’ about her. Okay, so it wasn’t ever as she imagined, but there was a sense that she needed rescuing. She certainly needed him to come back to her. She would not feel safe again until he was here, by her side in whatever capacity he wanted to be.

Come back to me, Ewan, she thought as she ran her eyes over the words in front of her. Even if we cannot be, come back so I know where you are. I feel so much better knowing where you are.

The fact that he could be anywhere in the country was awful, even if he had promised to keep the truth to himself. It was not that which concerned her anymore, it was him. She did not want him to go mad with the truth. She never meant it to destroy him.