It had been three days since the ball, and that had been the last time she had seen William. Elizabeth felt both happy and sad that she had not seen him yet, but was too busy to worry about it. There was only one more day before the play had its first performance, and everything had to be finished by tonight. Tomorrow would be the last full rehearsal of every scene to make certain that every actor knew everything by heart.

As she was about to leave her bedroom for breakfast before the start of a busy day, she saw something that was normally not in her room. In the corner of her room was a chair she had placed there, but on top of it was a light brown teddy bear with a green bow around his neck.

She walked closer to it and picked it up. There was no note in sight, yet Elizabeth knew the bear was not usually there. She wondered who left it there.

Looking at the bear closely, she felt like she recognized it. But she did not know from where. The sight of the bear made her quite happy, but she did not know what memory brought it upon her.

She suddenly believed the bear had been stitched up on the back of his head. So she turned it around and look through his fur. And indeed, she could see a white thread keeping two pieces that met at the back of the head together. She felt like she knew this because she knew the bear, but she could not recall from where.

And then it came to her. A memory popped into her head from when she was a little girl. She remembered she was in the parlour on her father's lap. Her mother was holding a little boy in her arms while two older boys were running around the table. Father told them to be calmer, but they did not listen. The youngest of the two was faster than the oldest and caught up with him. To prove that he was stronger as well, he snatched a light brown teddy bear out of the oldest one's hands and threw it as far away as he could. The oldest boy cried and got angry at the other boy, slapping his arm, before he ran to fetch his favourite teddy bear.

Elizabeth almost dropped the bear when she realized who it belonged to. The teddy bear belonged to Arthur, her oldest but banished brother.

She had only been sixteen when her parents made the decision to disown their nineteen year old and oldest son. She assumed he had done more than what she had been told he had done: stealing. Mayhap Andrew knew, mayhap he did not. He had told her he had a bad influence, and that Andrew had fallen for it and followed his footsteps. But Elizabeth did not want to know what had happened to make lady Anne and lord Francis make a decision like that. Her parents had always loved every one of their children, so she believed they had made the choice to keep their other children safe.

She had long forgotten about Arthur. After all, it had been almost eight years ago. And a year later, their father passed away, making his echoes louder than Arthur's.

She shook her head and made the decision to try and forget about him once more. However the teddy bear founds its way to her chair, she did not know. But twas not to spoil her excitement for the play's first performance in two days. Arthur was a man of the past and no longer her family. She should not think of him.

Hiding the teddy bear deep in her closet, she went down the stairs to start the day on a better note than it truly had.

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Elizabeth was in the dressing room, hanging the dresses and other costumes in the right order so that costume changes could go smoothly. It was amazing to see how all the work had finished and was now ready to be shown to the world. She was excited to see what she had helped create look magical on the stage, but she also knew her work was not yet finished. After every performance, it was her task to look at every costume and see if one needed repairing, and do so if needed. Other people were to check on the decorations and background to make certain all looked perfect for the next performance.

While she was brushing off a coat, Emma entered. She looked happy and free of worry as she sauntered in the room.

"I believe you know the author of Pondside's book well," she said while taking a seat on a chair nearby. "William Hawthorne, is it not?"

"Lord of Hawthorne," she corrected. "Yes, I know him well."

"And is he courting you?"

Elizabeth looked at her, startled by her words. "No, he is not."

"Is he courting anyone then?" Emma wanted to know.

Elizabeth gave her a suspicious look, but did not voice her thoughts. "Not that I know of," she answered instead.

Enthusiastically, the woman jumped up from her chair. "So he is free to court me?"

It took her a while to respond. She felt a stab of jealousy at the thought of William courting someone else, yet she promised herself she would not court him. So why would she feel the need to forbid him from courting anyone else? Why did she want to tell Emma he was not to court anyone?

She said: "technically yes," and hoped she sounded convincing, and not jealous. "But as far as I know, he has not courted anyone in seven years."

Emma gasped. "Women are not fighting for him?"

Elizabeth shrugged. "He has lovers."

"But not a wife? Not a woman he loves?" She clapped her hands with a happy smile. "That is marvellous!"

"I would not count on him wanting to court you," Elizabeth said before Emma could walk out of the room. "If he has not courted anyone in seven years, I assume he has a reason for it."

Emma scoffed. "You do not think he is a nancy, do you?"

She suppressed a sigh. That was not what she meant her to think! She merely wanted to make Emma doubt about wooing William, not make her believe is was a nancy.

"No, I do not think that. But mayhap he has another reason for not wanting a courtship."

Emma gasped again. "He is in love with one of his lovers."

Elizabeth had to suppress another sigh. She immediately wanted to say: "of course not," but in truth, she did not know. She thought William had never courted anyone because he was still in love with her, but what if he was not anymore, and instead loved one of his lovers? She knew he had at least one, for he did not deny it when she mentioned it to him.

Besides, every man had lovers. Twas no surprised if he truly loved one of them, yes? And she should not be bothered about it, for she should not love him.

Yet she did, and it hurt her to think of him courting another woman. And that love she had for him was the reason why she had never courted a man but William.

It made her think that mayhap she should give him another chance. Mayhap she should trust him. Mayhap love is about putting your heart on the line and taking a leap of faith. But if he would break her heart again, would she feel like it had been worth it? Like she did not make a mistake by trying again and that she was grateful for the time she had had? Was she ready to give him her mended heart?

"I do not believe it, though," Emma said, realizing Elizabeth would not answer. "I do not think he is in love with a lover, or that he is a nancy. I believe you are jealous that I dare to woo him while you have been unsuccessful in your attempts."

"I have not tried to woo him," Elizabeth said, and she could almost laugh at Emma's words. All Elizabeth had been trying to do, was avoid the man.

"Then why would you always talk to him?" Emma asked like a wiseacre. "Why would you smile at him and look at him when he is near? I bet you have been trying to woo him, but he has not even looked at you."

Elizabeth scoffed and wondered where the kind Emma she knew had gone. She had no idea what she was talking about, yet she was blaming Elizabeth like she had done something wrong. What had happened to her kind friend that she suddenly became so competitive about a man – one Elizabeth should not fight for?

"You try what you want, Emma," she said, "but I would not count on a courtship with him."

With a scoff, she turned around and left the room, and Elizabeth hoped it would be the last she would ever see of Emma.