A light mist rained down upon the open turret and Elias rubbed his bare hands against his arms, wishing he had thought to find a coat before venturing outside but he heard the toll of church bells indicating the hour of nine. It was too late to sneak back inside.

If she comes at all. She may not. She may not have seen my note.

Suddenly, Elias felt very foolish.

Why did you do that?

“Elias?”

He whirled at the sound of Emmeline’s voice and exhaled with relief as she stole through the shadows toward him.

“You came,” he breathed. “I was unsure if you would find my note.”

“Of course I came,” she replied quietly, carefully closing the distance between them. She shivered slightly and again, Elias cursed himself for not having a coat for her.

“Forgive the covert surroundings. I feared that I would encounter Mrs. Baxter or Mr. Wesley with all the fuss.”

“No,” Emmeline replied softly. “Despite the cold, I relish the quiet.”

“I suspected as much.”

She peered at him quizzically.

“Why have you called me here?”

Because I am a fool, he wanted to say but he did not.

“I thought you could use an escape for a short time,” he said instead. “Forgive me for being presumptuous.”

“Not at all,” she said softly. “You were quite right. Were my sentiments that obvious?”

“Even from the confines of a grate,” he laughed but he knew the matter was not one for jesting. He cleared his throat and looked away shyly.

“Forgive me, Miss Balfour. I should be congratulating you on your betrothal.”

“Thank you.” Her response was stiff.

“Have you known Mr. Greene long?” Elias knew he was grasping at conversation and again, he considered that he had made a mistake boldly inviting her to such a private interview.

“I do not know Mr. Greene at all but to say he is an associate of my father’s.”

“Oh…I-I see.”

An uncomfortable silence ensued and they glanced at one another nervously.

“Did you know Christiana before you married her?”

Elias sighed.

“We were childhood friends.”

A small smile formed on Emmeline’s lips.

“How charming,” she offered. “You had always known you would wed then.”

Elias scoffed before he could stop himself and shook his head.

“Hardly. She is like a sister to me.”

His head jerked up and he met her stunned gaze, his ears heating amidst the cold.

“I-it is a complex matter,” he mumbled but he knew he owed more than his usual response.

She has gone out of her way to help me find Christiana. I can be frank with her. Christiana need not know I spoke out of school.

“Christa has always been difficult, even when she was very young. She is the last of six children and I suspect that she was very much lost in the fold which is why she looked for affirmation anywhere she could find it—and with anyone.”

He gritted his teeth together, less from the chill in the air and more because he realized he had never spoken the story aloud before.

“You need not explain it to me,” Emmeline told him gently. “Your personal affairs are your own.”

“If you’ll permit me, I’d like you to know,” Elias insisted. “It has simply not a tale I have spoken in words outside of my own head.”

She did not say a word and instead waited for him to finish the story he had started.

“She was unruly, never listening, never acting properly and soon she had earned a reputation for herself in Peterborough, one which was not befitting of such a sweet girl. You must understand, Miss Balfour, Christa was never cruel or malicious, merely wayward.”

“I have nothing but fond memories of her,” Emmeline conceded.

“She came to me one day, three years ago, sobbing. She was with child and the father had run off with another woman.”

Emmeline gasped, already sensing what he was about to say next.

“My family was in decent standing in Peterborough and hers could not withstand more shame brought upon them so I took it upon myself to marry her. I wanted to save her but Christa, she has no desire to be saved.”

“My word…you are a saint, Elias.”

“I am a fool,” he snapped back. “She lost the child or so she claimed. I have no way of knowing if he ever truly was and yet I was married to this unsound woman who resented me for the union. She came and went as she pleased. She had lovers, blatantly and without shame. My parents were furious with the way she besmirched our good name. But we were wed now and what else was I to do? In the end, she always came home, crying when something went awry. She knows I care about her, the way a brother cares for a sister and she knows I am the safest place for her to be.”

“That is a terrible burden for you to carry upon yourself,” Emmeline told him quietly.

“When she came here, I was relieved. She wrote me and I knew she was alive but whatever debauchery she was getting involved in, it did not affect the Compton name in Peterborough. I thought…I hoped that she would change, become a woman and stop being the spoiled child she had always been. And then, she abruptly stopped writing. I know in my heart that she is unsafe somewhere, Miss Balfour and I must find her.”

Emmeline nodded slowly and the mist of rain caught in her golden hair like diamond droplets.

“We will find her,” she promised. “At any cost. Thank you for telling me this, Elias. I feel as though I know you better now.”

“I must swear you to secrecy,” Elias told her. “Christiana were to know I told, she would feel betrayed.”

“Elias, I have not a soul to tell if I wished to,” she said and the sadness in her voice was nearly tangible.

“How can that be, Miss Balfour? You are surrounded by people, your family, the servants—”

“And none of them knows me in the least,” she interjected. “I am not alone and yet I am inconsolably lonely.”

“I would like to be your friend, Miss Balfour.”

She smiled at him wryly.

“My friends call me Emmy.”

“Emmy,” he said, trying the name on his tongue. “I daresay, I have not known one Emmeline in my life.”

“Is that a fact?” she laughed.

“It is. I would not lie to you.”

Her eyes locked on his and her lips quavered slightly.

“I believe that,” she whispered. “I cannot say why but I feel like we may have known one another before. Is that strange?”

“Not to me. I feel precisely the same.”

She cocked her head slightly sideways and stared at him.

“You mean to tell me that you are not merely a waiter then?” Elias laughed.

“I have been around enough waiters to know how they operate. I did not think it would be very difficult to fabricate experience.”

“Yet you did not make it through a single shift!” Emmeline teased and Elias laughed.

“Indeed,” he replied. “I suppose I will be forced to do better in the future.”

“Why did you not simply take a room at the hotel? This was a rather elaborate scheme, becoming part of the staff.”

“I considered it but I felt I would look suspicious questioning the servants as a guest. It is a moot issue now. I have barely learned anything about Christa’s whereabouts in the past two days except to know that she has taken yet another lover.”

“Here? At the hotel?” Emmeline asked, aghast.

“I am unsure. With the party, it was impossible to gather more information but Joshua assures me he will continue to investigate on my behalf. I have been learning the hotel but she has been gone for so long, I cannot expect to find a trace of her here unless she is still here.”

Emmeline was silent but Elias could see her eyes twitching as though her mind raced behind them.

“Emmeline?” he asked tentatively, unsure if she was listening any longer. “Are you well?”

“There are secrets in this hotel,” she murmured and Elias nodded.

“There are secrets everywhere,” he agreed. “In such a lavish inn with exclusive guests, I am hardly shocked to know there are dark whispers in the corners.”

“Indeed…”

Emmeline refocussed her gaze upon him and smiled warmly.

“I hope you will not think me rude, Elias but it is getting quite cold and damp out here and I fear it is only a matter of time before my family comes in search of me.”

“I imagine they will question why you are wet,” Elias chuckled. “Forgive me, Emmeline. You have been most gracious entertaining my whimsy.”

“No, you have been most gracious providing me with this escape and with your friendship. I cannot tell you how much it means to me.”

They shared a smile and Emmeline gathered her skirts to return to the turret stairs.

“Emmy…”

She glanced over her shoulder at him and Elias felt his heart stop beating for a moment. He was certain he had never seen such radiance, her glimmering strands of hair against the blackened sky, her glowing amber eyes warming him even from the distance between them.

“Yes?”

“You look very beautiful tonight.”

Her blush was apparent even in the darkness and she hung her head demurely.

“Thank you, Elias.”

She vanished then and Elias exhaled in a torrent of wind, his body suddenly feeling leagues lighter as though he had removed weights from his shoulders.

How long has it been since I have spoken to someone the way I have Joshua and Emmeline these past days? When Christa is around, we squabble and when she is gone, I am alone. How long has it been since I have had a friend?

It was daunting thought, one he had not considered until that moment. He had spent so much time chasing Christiana and ensuring her safety, he had forgotten to care for himself.

“No, Emmy,” he sighed to no one but the blowing wind around him. “Thank you.”

For even though there can never be anything between us, you have reminded me of friendship.