He turned a corner and nearly ran into Miss Spencer.

"Miss Spencer," He said as he steaded her. "It seems we are forever in danger of bumping heads together."

Miss Spencer shook his hands off.

"I see you've discarded your maids uniform."

Miss Spencer side stepped to move around him.

Avery quickly blocked her way.

Miss Spencer looked ready to throttle him.

"Let me pass." She whispeared.

Avery smiled pleasently. "You forgot please."

Miss Spencer's foot came forward and hit him in the leg.

"Owww!!"

Avery burst out laughing. It seemed Miss Spencer's silk slipper didn't offer much defense, and she had in fact been the one injured by her attack.

"There now," Avery said as he watched Miss Spencer bounce around quite commically. "You see what has happened?"

Miss Spencer turned to him, eyes blazzing. "You sir, are the son of a gutter-"

Avery placed his fingers over her mouth to silence her.

"Please, Miss Spencer, I am sure you don't want to say those words."

Miss Spencer steped back, but Avery followed, taking her arms in his hands.

"Let go of me sir, or I will shout the house down!"

Avery smiled confidently, "We wouldn't want that would we."

Miss Spencer's mouth opened on a protest and Avery took advantage of it.

His mouth came down, pressing into hers. His arms shifted from her arms, to behind her back, pulling her up against him.

Emily was stiff in shock. Her arms lay helpless by her side, she didn't struggle, but didn't join in the kiss.

When Avery lifted his head at last, he stared into wide, violet eyes. Violet?

Avery still held her limp body against him.

She stared at him, in quite a daze of wonder. Had Miss Spencer never been kissed before? The idea puzzled him, she certainly was preety. And at three and twenty she should have had at least a kisses.

"Moppet?" He whispeared, their heads still close together. "Are you alright?"

His voice seemed to knock her out of her shock.

She struggled to pull herself out of his arms.

"You...you...let me go!!"

Avery did as she asked, and she nearly stumbled onto the ground.

She righted herself and turned around.

Avery crooked his head to one side. "Have your eyes always been that shade of violet?"

Miss Spencer didn't seem to understand his question. "My eyes are grey sir."

Avery moved a little forward, Miss Spencer held her ground. "No moppet, they are a stunning violet."

The two stood for a few seconds, unspeeking, mearly gazzing into each others eyes.

Mrs Matham caused Miss Spencer to jump away from Avery.

"Miss Spencer? Oh...good morning your grace." Mrs. Matham curtised. Then turned to Miss Spencer. "One of the sheep has gotten stuck in between the fences."

Miss Spencer turned, her cheeks a sweet shade of blushing red.

"Yes Mrs. Matham, I will be right there."

She turned as though to say something to Avery, but instead turned and fled down the hall after Mrs. Matham."

Avery smiled to himself. "Little coward."

Things were defenitly looking up! If he could seduce his little moppet, he would win this fight hands down.

*************

Amelia felt like her cheeks would never stop burning.

Even through tonights evening meal, she couldn't look at Lord Harker without feeling heat rush her cheeks.

Each time he'd caught her looking at him with her flushed cheeks, he'd smiled with an almost casually air.

Amelia slamed her hair brush on her night stand.

"Insurferable man." she snapped.

She picked up her journal and began to write her entry for the day.

She stopped when she heard a shuffeling around her door.

Putting her journal down and picking up her night rail, she walked over to her door and opened it.

"Miss Spencer."

Amelia tried to slam the door shut in Lord Harker's face, but his booted toe stoped the door.

Amelia positioned her body to stand behind the door.

"What are you doing sir!? This is highly iregular!"

"What is?" Lord Harker smiled as he pushed his head through the door crack. "I am mearly visiting my fiance. Many would not object to that."

Amelia pushed her full weight against the door. "I bloody well do!!"

Lord Harker made a tsk tsk sound. "Such language Miss Spencer. Harldy the vocabulary of a future duchess."

"Ha! I will NEVER marry you, you ugly toad!"

Lord Harker began to move the door forward with ease, "Ugly toad?"

Amelia pulled back from the door with an angry noise. "Stop this sir, I am in no mood for your bizzar humor."

Lord Harker walked right into her room, looking around ignoring her comments.

When he moved behind her bed and saw the outstreched journald, he picked it up.

"And what are you reading Miss Spencer, a dictionary on foul language perhaps?"

Amelia ran forward to yank her journal from his fingers. But he turned his back and began to flip through the pages.

"Ahhh, a journal. I wonder perhaps if I am in here?"

Amelia tried to grabbed the journal, but he kept turning away from her.

"Of course you aren't, I never knew of your exsistence until yesterday."

"Yesterdays entry...hmmm..yes I see. Here I am..."

Lord Harker seemd to be reading the last entry she wrote.

Amelia jumped onto her bed and with her new hight, snatched her journal from his hands.

"What sort of manners were you taught Lord Harker!? One does NOT read anothers personally affects."

Lord Harker had turned his head, and a smiled appeared on his lips.

He was not looking at her face, but rather looked her night clothes up and down.

"I do so enjoy you at this hight, makes everything much more acesable to the eye."

Amelia gasped and nearly threw her journal at him. Realizing however that she didn't want it back in his hands, she instead turned and jumped off her bed.

"Please, leave my room immediatly."

Lord Harker, actually had the nerve to sit down on her bed and lean against one of the bed poasts.

"I thought perhaps we could talk; become better aquanted."

"In my bed?!" Amelia nearly shriked in outrage.

Lord Harker smiled, and patted the spot beside him, "Why ever not?"

"You sir, may talk to the walls for all I care! I will sleep elsewhere tonight, away from you."

Amelia turned and ran out of the room.

Lord Harker called out after her, "Oh, do come back Miss Spencer. Really, it's quite rude to run out on a guest."

Amelia picked up her pace, heading towards the staris. "You are no guest of mine sir." She whispeared.

She reached the servants passage way behind the tapestry and quickly slipped through.

She stayed still, and waited until she heard Lord Harker walk past her.

"Miss Spencer? Come back out, this is childish."

Amelia waited for him to move further away and then she moved through the dark corridor, her hand against the wall.

She was near to the guest room, her destination when she tripped and fell onto the stone corridor.

Amelia raised herself up and turned to find her dropped journal. These corridors we're so uneaven some times.

Her hand touched a piece of cloth, strange.

Her hand moved over the stiff cold object, was this what she had tripped over?

"What?" Suddenly Amelia froze, she felt it, she was touching a cold hand, it was like ice.

Amelia yanked her hand back. Her breath came a quick short gasps. It couldn't be!

She stood up, wobbled a bit and began to scream.

She ran down the corridor to the guest room exit, still screaming, not caring that she sounded hysterical.

*************

Avery heard her scream just as he reached the second floor. She sounded as thought someone was killing her!

"Amelia!" he shouted, running towards her screams.

Her screaming continued. Avery ran faster down the hall, he opened a few doors, but coudn't find her.

Suddenly a door opposit him, burst open and Amelia jumped forward, screaming, eyes wide.

Avery quickly shoot over beside her.

She saw him and threw herself on him, half crying and screaming now.

Avery held her tight. "Shh. Amelia, please, calm down."

She couldn't seem to stop, she was half hysterical.

Avery could hear the servants coming up the stairs and hallway.

"Amelia, please, what is it? What happened?"

He stroked her head against his shoulder like a childs.

Amelia screaming turned to gasping breaths and hicuping sobs. "Body...there was a body."

Avery looked over her head at the servants who had gathered around.

"Where Amelia? Where?"

"In the servants corridor...be..behind the guest..."

Avery understood. He tried to pull Amelia off of him, but she clung to him even tighter. "NO!"

He looked down into her pale face. She looked absolutly terrified. He turned to the buttler and one of the footman. "You two check it out."

Amelia clung to him, her face buried in his shirt. "Don't leave me, please."

Avery hugged her, rocked her gently. "I won't."

***********

Avery moved his hand out from under hers. Amelia had finally fallen into a restlest sleep, it had taken some brandy and laundnem to do the trick.

He pushed back a wet curl from her face, she looked pale and scared. Even in sleep.

Dr. Sampson knocked on the door and came in. "Has she nodded off yet?"

"Just a few miniets ago."

"Horrible shock for the young Miss."

Avery nodded his head.

He couldn't have imagined her horror at discovering the dead body in the corridor. The buttler had identified it as one of the maids.

It seemed, the young girl had killed herself, probably with poison.

Amelia had still been next to Avery when Dr. Sampson had told them about the maid. When she heard those words she had turned into a dead weight against him, all her strength gone.

He'd carried her back up to her room and put her into her bed. She had clawed at his hand, making him promising not to leave.

Dr. Sampson shook his head. "She just needs some sleep, and I'm sure she'll get over the shook."

Avery looked at Amelia's pale form in the bed, he felt that it wouldn't be that simple.

He turned to the Doctor motioning him outside of Amelia's room.

"You've been a doctor here for how many years?"

"Nearly thrity years, your grace."

Avery nodded his head. "Did you know Miss Spencer before she came here?"

"But of course your grace, Miss Spencer has lived in the village only five miles from here all her life."

"You knew her parents then?"

The doctors face darkend. "Yes. I did."

"I think that is what caused such a shook, she probably fears death a lot."

The Doctor coughed discritley.

"Do you know the truth about her parents?"

"They died in a carriage crash."

The Doctor shook his head. "No. That was what we told the village."

Avery crossed his arms, "What happened?"

The doctor lowered his voice, as if afraid someone would over hear them.

"Your grace is Miss Spencer's fiance, so I think you should be told. Mr and Mrs Spencer were not killed in a carriage accident. This is what the world was told."

"Then what happened?"

"When Amelia was nearly ten years old, her father came home drunk from the village pub. He accused his wife of cheating on him, there was a fight. Amelia was taken by her father and thrown out of the house into the rain. He called her a bastard child, not his own. The next thing, Mr and Mrs Spencer were both dead."

Avery's eyes went wide. "My god! He murdered his wife?"

"And then turned the gun on himself. Poor Miss Spencer, she went back inside the house."

Avery closed his eyes, "Bloody hell."

"That's what she saw, a bloody hell. She ran from the house, screaming through out the town. A few of us went to the house and found the tragedy. Those who knew voved to keep it a secret, for Miss Spender's sake, hopping she'd forget over time."

"Did she?"

Dr. Sampson nodded his head. "I'm afriad however that this incident, might bring back those memories. I pray to God it doesn't. I still have nightmares of that night, I don't want to think about the nightmares Miss Spencer might have."

Avery nodded his head. "Thank you for telling me Dr. Sampson, I'll take care of Miss Spencer."

Dr. Sampson looked very tired all of a sudden. "Thank you your grace. Miss Spencer may look and act tough as nails some times, but she really needs some strength at the moment. She'll be glade to have you with her."

***********