"Alice darling," Ralph called, before entering their chamber. His wife was by the fire place, drying her hair.

"You're back," she breathed, coming to him.

She sounded relieved, but why?

"How did it go at the war office?" she asked, pulling him with her to sit on the carpet.

"It was easy enough. But training the new spies was tougher than I'd initially thought," he sighed.

Wolf had asked this of him when Ralph had resigned. He hadn't been able to say no. Besides, it was harmless.

"You must be tired," she looked at him, her eyes clouded with concern and a hint of something else.

"Not too tired," he smiled lewdly, trying to make her smile.

It worked.

"Let us have supper and then go to bed, shall we?" she suggested.

Ralph nodded, finding her slightly despondent.

After they were done, Ralph was undressing to go to bed when Alice came to him in a rush. She hugged him before she began kissing him feverishly.

He didn't mind, obviously. But there was a desperation in her kiss.

He pulled back and searched her face.

"What's wrong, Alice?"

"Nothing! I only want the memory of your touch on my body, no one else's," she whispered before pulling his head down for another mind numbing kiss.

While he found her statement cryptic, he obliged her. Maybe she'd just missed him...

Alice watched her husband sleep. She was tired, but she wanted to memorise every detail of his handsome, dear face. She couldn't sleep, not now.

That afternoon had been awful. She'd felt debased and unclean. She'd thought that Ralph's touch would wipe out the memory of Bates's, however brief the later's had been. And it had.

Yet, she couldn't relax, she couldn't find peace. There had been something on Bates's face. The sort of madness she'd read about in gothic novels, something that scared her beyond reason.

For some reason, she felt as though her time with her husband was limited, as if they would be torn apart.

She wanted to tell him about the incident in the afternoon, she really did. But he'd been so tired when he'd come home and she hadn't wanted to burden him or spoil his good humour. And if Ralph knew, he'd hunt down Bates and put his safety at peril.

No, he couldn't know. She'd have to keep this a secret for as long as she could, until that Bastard Bates, as Ralph often called him, was away from her and everyone dear to her.

Alice leaned forward to place a soft kiss on his lips. She was pulling back when his hands came up behind her head, holding her in place.

"You're still awake," he murmured, his sleepy eyes clouded with concern.

"I'm not getting any sleep," she whispered back.

He laid her back onto the bed and gathered her close to him.

"Is there something that's bothering you?"

She shook her head, no.

"Go to sleep, darling," he cooed, rubbing tiny circles at the base of her back. Alice felt some, if not all of the tension leave her body.

And before she knew it, she was fast asleep because of her husband's comforting voice acting like a sooting lullaby.

The next morning.

"My Lord, a missive arrived for you," Johnson appeared, extending a sealed envelope towards Ralph. He put down his fork and took the envelope, seeing the war office stamp on it.

He quickly tore it open and read the letter.

Ralph stood up in a flash, his jaw tight.

"Is aught amiss, my Lord?"

"Yes. Bates was seen in town yesterday," Ralph replied curtly.

"My Lord, about that..." Johnson began but stopped when Ralph turned his angry gaze towards him.

"You knew about this?" He demanded, his voice low, dangerous.

"He was here yesterday, my lord," the poor butler said, trying to be courageous. "Lady Woodbury received him in the parlour," he continued. He dared to look up at his master.

"Go on," Ralph urged when Johnson grew silent, the missive crumpled in his fist.

"He made an untoward advance on the Lady, but we arrived there on time and removed him. I tried to hold him hostage but he managed to escape."

Ralph was shaking with rage. He hadn't even known that he was capable of feeling so much anger.

"Why didn't I hear about this before?" He practically roared. Johnson recoiled a bit.

"Lady Alice didn't want to trouble you..." he was saying but his master's attention was on the doorway.

For there stood Alice. She swallowed visibly.

"Why, Alice?" Ralph asked, his voice deathly calm, bellying the roiling sea of frustration and anger in him.

"I can explain, Ralph..." she replied, her voice weak, defeated.

Johnson left the breakfast parlour, sensing their need for privacy.

"Explain what? Why Bates of all people was in my house, received by my wife? Why that bastard had the audacity to touch my wife? Why was I not informed about any of this? Why my wife tried to hide this from me?" Ralph shouted, giving up on the pretence of being calm.

"But..."

Ralph held up his hand, his face a hard mask.

"We could've caught him. But that's just not it. The fact that you didn't feel like you could confide in me is what kills me," Ralph said, his voice breaking. Alice could read the hurt in his eyes and it made her feel wretched.

How was she to explain herself to him when she was at a loss herself? When she couldn't put into words why she'd hidden this from Ralph? Would he understand if she told him that she didn't want to be a ninny?

Ralph waited a few seconds while Alice stood there, her head hanging.

"Excuse me, I have some business to attend to," Ralph finally said before stalking out of the room, not sparing her a glance.

She stood there as if in a trance, while tears streamed down her face. She pressed her fist to her mouth, trying to stop herself from crying, but to no avail. Why had it felt like Ralph had just walked out on her?

"Congratulations, Alice! You've managed to ruin the only good thing to have ever happened to you," she said to herself, her voice broken.

No, this can't be it. She'd tell him, she'd make him understand. Surely he would listen to her.

She hastily wiped her tears and ran to the door, but he was already gone. Alice left their residence, deciding to chase him on foot. It would be a waste of time to ready a curricle or carriage anyway.

The war office wasn't very far, she could do it, she told herself.

That was the last thought in her mind because after that, all she saw was darkness.