By the time Ella had reached the last floor, she was panting like she had run from London to Scotland. How did Robert climb this flight of stairs every day? She leaned on the white walls of the hallway, hands placed on her knees. The creak of a door sprang her to her feet and she came face to face with a dark-haired man. His black intelligent eyes narrowed as he took a step toward her.

"State your name and business." His words were fast, with no hint of emotion.

Ella was caught off guard by his request but pulled herself to order. Manliness! More manliness! She held her chest high and hands to her waist which she knew was too wide for a man. But if Pontney downstairs didn't fish out her identity, this man up here wouldn't.

"I am Mr Law," she answered, "Snell Law."

His eyes widened. "Oh, apologies." He extended a hand to shake her. "I'm, Mr Lithstone. Howard Lithstone."

She had never shaken hands with a man before. Men were known for being naturally gifted with more physical strength, it was a known biological fact. If she were to shake him, she should do it the way a man would.

She grabbed Howard's hand and squeezed—

"Blazes!"—maybe too hard. Howard hissed as he retracted his hand, a glare binding his dark orbs. "Did I hurt you in your previous life?"

"Apologies, Mr Lithstone."

"Not accepted." He clenched his teeth as he gestured at a double door at the end of the hallway. "Lord Robert awaits you."

"Thank you." Bowing slightly, she dashed to the door, Howard's eyes of fury burning flames down her back. A door slammed with a heavy thud and a dictionary of curses erupted right after. She threw a glance over her shoulders and noticed Mr Howard was nowhere to be found. "Do men always swear like this?"

Shaking off the thought that she had made a bad first impression with Howard, she took a deep breath and raised her hand to knock. But she couldn't bring herself to. What was happening? Her stomach growled and sweat trickled down her oval-shaped face. The moment she entered this room, she would introduce herself to a new life. A life her parents wouldn't want her to be living. A life that society deemed inappropriate for a woman. Was that what she wanted?

Though no one believed what she was doing was right, she did. And Juliet did. It was more than enough for her. This was her dream and she would go for it, so she could finally make her family proud with her talent.

Taking another shaky breath, she lifted her hands to knock again and--

"You'll grow old if you keep standing at my door!" A voice came from inside the office.

Her heart clenched and she blushed rouge. Why did the previous happen? She didn't know. Knocking, she slipped into the office, not wanting to grow old.

Robert slouched in his chair as Ella walked in. He choked on his spit when he saw her. To say she was funny looking was an understatement. She had a thick fake beard covering the entire lower part of her face, a perfectly tailored tailcoat and a trouser which seemed to have a bump at its top. He didn't know her hips were this wide. The gown she wore last night did a good job masking her powerful curvature. One thought drifted through his mind.

How did she get men's clothing under such short notice?

"You look," he pursed his lips searching for the right words, " manly."

He had never given a woman such a compliment. Of course, he wouldn't. Any man who told any woman such a compliment should consider himself a dead man.

Ella tapped her top hat. "I have to agree with you on that."

Silence ruled the room and Robert took the opportunity to access the situation. There was a woman in his office dressed as a man and she also wanted to work for him and learn science from the master himself. This would be a bloody scandal if such news went public.

It would be worse if Gerrard found out. He would make sure he crushed Robert till all his hopes to create a moon lamp would be obliterated. He couldn't let that happen. So the best thing to do was to make her quit without necessarily doing it himself.

He was such a genius!

"Where are my manners." He gestured at the seat before his desk. "Please, have a seat."

She took brusque steps and slipped into the black chair.

"Why do you want to work for me?" Robert asked, leaning forward, his locks of blonde hair concealing the sides of his face.

Ella reclined in her chair and crossed her arms that were too small to belong to a man. "I've always wanted to be a scientist since I was a child and with time, I became addicted to making inventions. Even though all of them never worked. Your moon lamp is a genius idea and could change the whole of London. Who wouldn't seize such an opportunity to work with a man as smart as you are?"

Wow, she had a way with words. "But you are a woman."

"I own my body so I'm well aware of that."

Robert smirked. "And witty too. You're well aware of the reputation I have with the ladies I assume?"

She nodded.

What sort of woman was she? "And you still want to work for me?"

"If you worry you might affect me, I'm afraid I would have to disappoint you on that fact. I have no interest in men for I believe they'll be a distraction to achieving my goal."

Robert batted his eyelids not believing what she had just said. He had never had a woman tell him she wasn't interested in him. For some unknown reason, it made him angry. Who did she think she was? Jane Austen?

Maybe better.

Now was not the time.

Maybe later.

Get out!

I can't leave you, dummy. I'm inside you!

Shite! Robert couldn't believe a woman could make him have such chaos within his mind. Was it because he had never met anyone as smart and determined as she was? Nevertheless of how incredible he thought her to be, he couldn't deny the fact that her working under him could cause bloody chaos that he would be unable to fix. He could already visualize the headline of the Times;

A woman works as Lord Robert Stark's employee. He has crossed the line this time!

Oh, the horror. He could perfectly imagine the evil smile on Gerrard's face if he ever found out.

"Are you sure you want this?" He narrowed his eyes. "Working for me would involve you seeing things too dirty for women to see. Business isn't as beautiful as it seems, Mr Law."

A minute passed as she buried her eyes in the desk deep in her thoughts. He knew she wouldn't be able to handle it! Women were weak after all! Ha!

"I'll do it."

He was dreaming, wasn't he?

"I'm willing to do whatever it takes to make that moon lamp with you. Nothing is going to stop me now. Not even your petty threats." Her brown eyes churned with grim determination.

Bah! Why did she have to be so stubborn? Other women would be on their feet at the mention of what he had just said. But she, why would she want this so badly? A childhood dream wasn't enough for her to want this. What was the real reason? He doubted she would tell him even if he asked.

"I see you're determined." He observed her over steepled long fingers. "Are you sure this is what you want? There wouldn't be any going-backs after this. This job isn't for the weak."

This was his last effort at threatening her.

"Mhmm," she pouted her peach lips through her thick beard, "I am very sure that I want this."

Oh, heavens...

She did want this, didn't she?

It's as clear as day.

She was stubborn; a part of her Robert was beginning to hate. Why couldn't she have stayed back at home during the ball? Why did his mother host a bloody ball in the first place? If she didn't, he wouldn't be going through this right now. Too bad he was a gentleman and would have to keep his words.

Sighing, he rose from his seat and rounded the desk, tailcoat flapping behind him like bat wings. He stood behind her and her shoulders tensed.

"From now henceforth, you shall be known as Mr Law whenever you're in your uniform. Whenever you go back to the real you, we have never met, we have never spoken. The both of us are the only ones who know of this sneaky arrangement.," Robert didn't tell Howard because he knew his friend wouldn't be in support of it. His private secretary strictly abided by societal rules. And a woman working for Robert wasn't proper in the least, "Whatever that happens in this building shall remain a secret and if God forbid you spill any beans, you shall have your head removed." He held her shoulder and her breath hitched. "Am I clear?"

"Y-yes, Your Lordship." Her voice was weaker than a whisper. He grinned; she was scared of him. They were already off to a good start. Maybe after today, she would run away. "Can you please take your hand off now?"

"Oh." He realized it was there longer than he had planned. Rubbing his palm, he felt a soft sensation that sent a spark to his heart, making it tug. He rounded her and dropped into his chair. "You start work now."

"N-now?" Her brown eyes circled.

"I didn't have something in my mouth, did I?"

She frowned. "Of course not, Your Lordship."

"Good." He stretched his hand to his telephone and dialled. Resting it on his ear, he rested his back on the chair. "Mr Howard. Come into my office please." Settling the telephone, he breathed a heavy sigh.

In seconds, there was a knock. "Your Lordship?"

"Come in."

Howard came in and the moment his black eyes settled on Ella, he glared bombs at her. Would you look at that? Even Howard didn't like her. Robert was glad he shared the same feelings with his private secretary. How could a woman be so stubborn that she would insist on working as a man?

"You called me," Howard stated.

"Ah, yes, Mr Lithstone." Robert motioned at Ella. "Let me introduce you to your new colleague, Mr Law. I'm sure you two met outside."

"Yes, we did." Howard did a smile so fake since the history of counterfeit. "It was a very fond memory."

The corner of Ella's lip twitched. "Indeed. It was a... tight memory."

"I would prefer the word painful." Howard flexed his hand and Robert was beginning to wonder what had transpired between the both of them. "Very painful."

Robert cleared his throat, easing the tension in the room. But he couldn't ignore the glint of anger in Howard's eyes whenever he glanced at Ella.

"Mr Law would be the new archiver."

"Archiver? That doesn't sound scientific. I thought you would have assigned me to make a moon lamp."

Howard snickered and Ella sent him a poisonous glare. Robert would have laughed aloud but he didn't want to look like a joker. He wanted her to know that he meant business. She was wrong if she ever thought he would let her make a moon lamp with him. After all, his plan from the beginning was to make working conditions so horrible she would quit.

"Baby steps, Mr Law." She'll be out of here in a day. Working in the archives was one hell of a job and she was about to find out soon. "You don't expect me to let you make a moon lamp on the first day of work. I have to see what you're capable of."

"I agree with him, Mr Law," Howard chipped in, a devilish grin following after. "The archive is a great place to start working from."

"Hmm," she rubbed her fake beard and Robert wondered if Howard had picked on the fact that she was a lady. He highly doubted he would, since the only thing that gave her away was her big derriere. No rule stated women were the only ones with big behinds, so Ella was safe, "I'll take your words for it."

"Please show her to the archive, Mr Lithstone," The moment they left, he grinned, his blue eyes looming with ominous storms. If only she knew what she had walked right into.