After a relatively hectic week filled with tests and exams—Nancy had to worry about those now, much to her delight, since she was eligible for a degree—she was quite glad when the weekend finally came. She came home late on Friday night, having been delivering clothes that had been piled up for a few days now. Her mother was asleep by the time she returned and the house was quiet. She liked it that way after all the noise and chaos at school.

Stepping into her bedroom, she lit the candles and then froze when she looked into the mirror hanging on the wall. Slowly, she turned around. In the darkness of the room, she saw the silhouette of a tall, thin woman, watching her calmly. She was impeccably dressed and her head was covered with the hood of her robe, but Nancy could see her sharp features and knew who she was immediately. She watched her as a mixture of emotions rose inside her; she didn't know which one was stronger—her surprise, her fear of this woman, or her anger at the fact that she had let herself into the house without permission.

"Good evening, Duchess Grafton." She tried to keep her voice steady and polite.

The woman was quiet for a while before she responded. "You would almost be an impressive young lady if you belonged to the right family...considering your determination to succeed at Oxford, despite all odds, your commitment to helping run your mother's pathetic business...and still you maintain such high grades, despite your circumstances. You would be quite a match for my son." Her voice was smooth and chilly, almost piercing Nancy with its coldness.

"I take after my mother," she said, an edge in her voice.

"Well, she must be proud to have such an undignified, rebellious, mouthy daughter." The silence rang in the dark room as the duchess studied her. "But that is not what I am here for."

"Well, let's hear your ultimatum then." Nancy folded her arms. "Or your threats about the consequences I will have to face if I don't stay away from your son. Or rather, if I don't keep him away from me, because, in all honesty, he is the one who is so keen on pursuing me."

"Yes, he does enjoy waging a war against his family." Her voice was sickeningly sweet. "Miss Brooks, I am here to offer you an incentive. I am sure you have heard the story of my niece, Sarah Smith."

Nancy did not respond. She continued to watch the duchess with a neutral expression on her face. Truth was, William had told her the story of how Sarah's lover had mysteriously disappeared and she had been forced to marry someone respectable enough for her family, but Nancy was not going to let the Duchess know that.

"My niece has not stepped too much out of line ever since her little friend...disappeared." She emphasized the last word with a strange mixture of malice and amusement. "But I regret to say that the whole experience has left a defiance in the girl that I would rather not see in my son. However, if his little friend made the decision to disappear on her own..." Her voice trailed off meaningfully.

"What are you trying to say?" Nancy demanded.

"Miss Brooks, if you agree to keep your distance from my son, I will give you and your mother as much gold as you require every year on your name day. You would not even need this pathetic laundry shop anymore." The duchess looked pleased with herself.

Nancy felt like someone had slapped her. Of all the things she had expected the woman to say to her, that had not been one of them.

"Duchess Grafton," she began slowly, "despite what you may think of my family, poor as we may be, you cannot buy me. I do have some honor—and definitely more than you, considering what you have just offered me. If you want your son to stay away from me, you had better find some other way, because I will not accept any offer from you." Nancy walked over to the door and held it open. "And I would prefer if you did not invade my family's house in the future."

The duchess gave her a cold hard stare before moving toward the door. "You may want to reconsider, Miss Brooks. The next offer will not be so favorable."

Nancy smiled. "Oh, Duchess Grafton, I would rather take my chances than sell my dignity and integrity to you."

"Andrew's father passed away." William's voice was low as he sat down next to Nancy in the library. Nancy's head snapped up in shock. "He was my distant uncle—my mother's cousin."

Nancy was quiet as she processed this information. "I'm sorry. Was he unwell?"

William shook his head. "Not at all. It was a sudden accident on the road." He gave her a meaningful look. "You should go see him."

A quarter of an hour later, the carriage stopped in front of Andrew's house. Nancy stepped outside, expecting William to come with her, but he shook his head. "It would be better if you see him alone. I don't think he wants visitors."

Nancy nodded and went inside. It was almost as if the servants were expecting her. She thought they would make her wait in the lounge, but they directed her to his bedroom. She made her way upstairs and tentatively knocked on his door. When she didn't hear any noise from inside, she entered. Andrew was half sitting, half lying on his bed, staring straight ahead. At the sound of the door closing, he slowly turned to look at her. His eyes were red but completely dry.

"I'm sorry about your father, Andrew." She sat down carefully on the bed next to him.

He nodded without saying anything. She took his large hand in her smaller one, and he gave it a gentle squeeze to show his appreciation for her presence. Nancy understood that he was not able to express it in words yet.

"My mother has summoned me to London," he said quietly, breaking the silence.

Nancy felt a coldness seep through her as she realized the implication of his words. "You are the Duke of Grafton now."

Andrew watched her carefully, measuring. "I have something to ask you." He stood up only to crouch down in front of her, his eyes level with hers. He took her hands in his.

She looked at him expectantly, her eyebrows raised.

"Nancy, will you marry me?" His eyes were deadly serious, and Nancy's widened in surprise. "And legitimize our scandalous relationship?" he added to lighten the atmosphere.

"Andrew...what about school?" She looked at him imploringly, wanting desperately for him to understand, but not wanting to let go of him, she held on to his hand tighter.

"I'll wait for you, as long as it takes." His voice was full of resolve. "But you will have to come with me for some time."

"To London?"

Andrew nodded.

"Andrew..." Nancy began again, uncertain how to go about it.

"I love you, Nancy." His voice was so uncharacteristically full of emotion that Nancy stopped, looking at him in surprise. "I know I am the duke now and I know I scare you at times. You came into my life and turned it upside down and made me so, so angry. You made me fall in love with you, and I have no choice now. Marry me, Nancy."

Nancy was about to be overwhelmed by the emotions building up inside her as she watched him. She cleared her throat, trying to focus. "How long do I have to stay in London?"

"Just long enough for my mother to know that I am not scared of her constant threats. And that neither are you; I know she came to see you."

Nancy snorted. "Came to see me. More like broke into my house." She sighed, looking into his eyes. His gaze was intense, almost as though he could see through her.

Finally, she nodded.

She entered through the back door, her cloak pulled up over her head. The large kitchen was dimly lit, but she could make out the silhouette that sat at the table. At the sound of her arrival, the figure turned around.

"Duchess Norfolk," greeted Duchess Grafton. "I have been waiting for you."

Cassidy Cooper bowed and took a seat across from the duchess. "I apologize for the delay, my lady. Does he suspect anything?"

Duchess Grafton shook her head. "He should currently be on his way to London, presumably grieved by his father's death."

"I have the documents from the hospital." She handed over the files. "This should be proof enough for him."

"Did you manage to get these without any difficulty?" Her voice was meaningful.

Duchess Norfolk half shrugged. "It was not too difficult to persuade George to get these fake medical documents. That was a relatively easy task—even if it is related to my dear cousin."

Duchess Grafton did not fail to notice the slight edge in the other woman's voice. "Who so happened to be my husband. Cassidy, you and your husband shall be rewarded for your services. Perhaps you would do well to make sure this does not reach young William's ears. You would not want everyone knowing about him and that writer girl."

"I don't think that is what you should be worrying about, Elizabeth," Cassidy Cooper said with a glance at the third person in the room, who was almost in shadow and would have barely been noticeable had it not been for the fact that she was silently sobbing.

"She's going to be a good girl, just like she always has been." Duchess Grafton turned around to look at the young woman in the corner. "Aren't you, Sarah?"

Andrew had felt exuberant as he'd said the vows just a clock turn ago. Now, as he paced in the sitting room in the Montgomery manor in London, he was becoming more and more restless. He waited for a whole hour before his mother entered the room.

"Kind of you to grace me with your presence," he shot at her. One look at her confirmed that she knew about the wedding.

"I had thought that your father's sudden death would bring some sense into you, Andrew." Her voice was dangerously calm and steady. Andrew had expected her to be outraged. "But instead, you decide to marry that poor daughter of a stitching woman and bring her to London with you. Do you have any idea what you are walking into?"

Andrew glared at his mother. "My father's sudden death, Mother? I wonder if it was all that sudden." He saw a fleeting look on his mother's face—almost of terror—before she rearranged it into the same cold mask.

"I do not have time for your immature nonsense. I have an estate to manage, until you decide to leave your childishness behind and take responsibility for everything your father has left you, like you are supposed to." And with that, she marched out of the room.

"Nancy," Laura said as she entered Nancy's room, followed closely by William, Roger, and Benjamin. Nancy had returned to her mother's house in Oxford after spending a surprisingly uneventful time with Andrew in London.

Nancy pushed her chair back from her desk to stand up, surprised. "What is going on?"

"We came to warn you," Laura said, taking a seat on the bed. "We have just had a message from Andrew, who told us to keep you safe."

Nancy frowned in confusion.

"We have good reason to believe that the death of Andrew's father, the previous Duke of Grafton, was not a mistake." William's voice was low, as though he were afraid someone would be listening. Nancy stared at him in surprise.

"You mean...his death was planned?"

William nodded. "Andrew has noticed some strange things while in London. For one, there has been no sign of a road accident. He got people to investigate. The other thing is that Sarah is suddenly very keen on helping with the family estate, and she suddenly seems to have fallen in love with her husband...after seven years of marriage."

"You believe Sarah is involved in this?" Nancy asked incredulously. She had never met Sarah Smith herself, but from what Andrew had told her, she was his favorite cousin and they were extremely close.

"Oh God, no." William shook his head. "We believe Sarah knows something she is reluctant to tell us, or that she had been silenced in some way."

Roger held out a small box, handing it to Nancy. "This is for you."

Nancy lay awake at night, the letter clutched in her hand. She had read and reread it until it had become crumpled. She opened it once more.

My dearest Nancy,

I hope you are staying out of trouble, although I am sure my hopes are futile. You always were difficult to handle. I send you this through Roger, because I am not sure if mail going to your house is being monitored or not. I will be back very soon.

The necklace is for you. Wear it, and do not dare take if off.

Yours,

Andrew

The second thing in the box had been a thin, delicate silver chain with a small pearl pendant that matched her wedding ring. She crumpled up the parchment again and closed her hand around the pendant of the necklace she now wore. For some reason, tears welled up in her eyes.

Soon, she would see him. Soon, she told herself.

For now, this necklace was enough.

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