―Edna St. Vincent Millay

"'Tis quite the morning, isn't it?" Rhea asked, gazing out of the window in her adjoining room to the master. She didn't usually frequent this room, but most of her things had been placed here, so she was forced to visit a time or two. Now, seeing that Hadrian had been gone for so long, Rhea was feeling desolate and melancholy. It seemed strange that Hadrian wouldn't send word of his well-being.

"Yes, mum. Very beautiful; ne'er seen nothing like it," Lilly agreed, brushing out her mistress lovely blonde hair.

"Yes," Rhea said absently. She had woken up this morning, eager to hear of any forthcoming news, but alas, nothing had been delivered. Rhea felt herself giving up hope. Perhaps Hadrian did not care for her anymore? The thought left Rhea sick to her stomach.

She mentally shook her head. Hadrian did not seem to be a man to avoid issues. It must be something grave to keep him away from his estates so long. Rhea had been toying with the idea for a while, dreading the question and pushing it away whenever it seemed to come up: was Hadrian in trouble?

Rhea put a hand to her chest, trying to settle her thundering heart. She couldn't bear the thought of Hadrian in harm's way. But, perhaps, this was what all the secrecy was about. Mayhap he didn't want to distress her so. Though, couldn't he see that not confiding in her was worse?

Her mind kept tumbling forth new possibilities until she couldn't rightly take it anymore; surely she would go mad conjuring thoughts of Hadrian lying in pain somewhere. "I must leave this dreaded place," she whispered.

"What was that, mum?" Lilly inquired.

"Lilly, please, arrange my hair for an outing. I believe I need to call on some friends. Prepare some parchment for me in Hadrian's study. I think some time spent in town shall help."

"Are you sure 'bout that, m'lady? I don't think the duke would care for you to go out in your condition, mind me saying so meself," Lilly worried her bottom lip, afraid she'd said too much.

Rhea sighed, "As much as I know the duke means well, he is not here to see to me himself. Indeed, I believe an afternoon out should help my condition wonderfully. Oh, Lilly, don't be so concerned, I shall only be out for but a few hours or so, nothing to worry yourself over," Rhea observed that Lilly was still undecided on the matter and smiled reassuringly, "I shall take one of the footmen with me!"

Though the danger was still somewhat present from Lilly's point of view, she conceded to her mistress wishes; seeing that objecting would be a form of insult to her superior. Lilly nodded and continued with her task.

Hadrian tirelessly slaved at the desk in front of him, piecing through old documents, determined to find some small mention of the man he was relentlessly pursuing - Beckham. It could not be mere misfortune that erased his history from London's records.

"Damned place," Hadrian muttered. Truly, this office was damned, for there seemed to be nothing atall on the name or person by Beckham or Utteridge. "How a man can erase his existence continues to elude me."

"Indeed," Dalton murmured. He himself was paging through another system of documents for the same purpose.

After failing to find or retrieve Beckham from the warehouse, Hadrian retired to the Bowstreet Runners' office in Windsor and stayed there for two more nights when they heard not a peep from the offending party.

Hadrian himself was growing quite agitated for numerous reasons; one obviously being the situation with Beckham, and the other, most frustratingly, was the distance between he and his wife. He had not seen her for just nearly over a month now. He had sent correspondences to his manor where she was safely residing, yet he received no reply to his letters.

He wondered how she was faring; was she angry with him for being away so long? Did she miss him as much as he yearned for her?

He did not realize how familiar and comfortable he had become with her in his bed until she was no longer in it with him. He tapped his fingers relentlessly along the oak desk in front of him; anxious to not only see his wife again, but to catch this blasted criminal that had cause their lives - his and his wife's - to be threatened.

He could not go back to his wife's warm and caring arms until Beckham was eliminated from their lives completely, otherwise how could he possibly keep her safe from harm? How could he possibly fulfill his vow to her?

No, Hadrian shook his head mentally, vowing, I will not stop my pursuit of Beckham until Rhea is safe.

"'Tis useless," Dalton sighed, just as frustrated as Hadrian, "We've no clues to go on, nothing to give us evidence of him being anywhere at any given time, other than the little that we know now."

Hadrian tsked, shoving himself up and away from the desk, "We need to know what his next move will be. I still do not know the connection he has to me or my wife. She said she'd never met him before, I trust that, but if he has been lurking in the shadows, how does she know she might not have bumped into him?"

"We don't," Dalton admitted, "Perhaps it is best to start back from where we started?"

"Where? In London? What reason would he have for going back?" Hadrian argued.

"I must say, I was quite surprised when you sent for me to this outing," Leia grinned. "I would've thought married life was in the way of our friendship."

They were currently strolling down a street occupied by carts filled with local and exotic wares. Apparently, there was a festival taking place in downtown London and both Rhea and Leia were pleasantly surprised to have happened upon it. They were now perusing through the shops and exploring the exotic merchandise.

"Oh, Leia, I feel as if you are purposely drawing a line between our friendship because of my marriage," Rhea smiled, glancing sideways at her friend as she lifted an Indian silk cloth, rubbing the soft material between her fingers.

Leia chuckled, "Indeed, you are no longer the maiden you once were."

Rhea nodded, "In that, I will agree with you."

"Truly, though, my friend, you have been troubled for quite some time, is everything all right?" Leia enquired. Leia's eye caught on a cart that was filled with arms and weaponry.

Rhea sighed, "Hadrian has yet to return from his trip, I fear that he is in danger, but I'm completely helpless here, not knowing anything. I haven't received any letters from him for nearly two weeks, I do not even know if he had been receiving mine. Oh, god, Leia, what if he is hurt? Dear lord, what if he is dead?" Rhea practically shrieked.

Leia glanced away from the cart filled with blades and guns, and turned to her friend, alarmed at the hysterical tone in her friend's voice. "Rhea, you mustn't worry so. 'Tis not good for you, or the babe. Even so, I do not believe Hadrian is dead, perhaps the letters have been lost, you know how messengers get lost these days."

Rhea anxiously bit her lip and nodded, "Perhaps," she allowed.

Leia stopped her friend from moving on to another cart by turning Rhea to face her, "Listen, love, Hadrian is fine, nothing has happened to him. You would know, right?"

"How? I have not heard a word from him!" Rhea objected.

Leia smiled gently, placing her hand over her friend's heart. "You would know here. Do you truly believe he is dead - here, in your heart?"

Rhea remained quiet for a moment, looking down momentarily before looking up. "No, I don't feel he is gone, not in my heart."

"Then, there, simple, am I not right?" Leia grinned, "Psh, what am I saying, I am literally always right. I believe I'm known to be the most intelligent of us three, including Beth."

Rhea smiled reluctantly, "I have a feeling Beth would disagree with you,"

Leia tucked her arm between Rhea and commensed steering her towards the cart that had caught her eye before, it was tucked a little ways away from the traffic of the street.

"Leia," Rhea started, wondering where her friend was taking her.

"Oh, hush, let me just take a quick look around. Isn't it fascinating?"

Rhea eyed her friend warily, "Perilously so, I'm afraid."

Leia shot her another quick smile. A man with large forearms and wide shoulders came into their view from around the cart. Rhea was startled by his appearance, but Leia was still quite entranced with the blades on display.

"Hello," Rhea murmured. The man shot her and Leia a look.

"Are you looking to purchase?" His voice quietly boomed. It was gruff and low and Rhea nearly had a hard time hearing it.

"Uh, no I don't-" Rhea stuttered

"Ah, yes, I believe so," Leia spoke up from behind Rhea, interrupting her friend. She held a blade that was a few inches longer than the span of her hand. Rhea's eyes went wide.

"How much for this, mister . . .?" Leia questioned, raising her blade up to the seller. He gazed at her for a quiet moment before looking at the blade she held.

"Two pounds and a pence." He stated. Leia smiled at him, regardless of the fact he did not supply his name to her. She opened her coin purse and delivered the amount to him. He pocketed the money and walked over to another display and grabbed something resembling a holder.

When he came closer, Rhea saw that it was a small sheath for Leia's hand blade. He handed it to her without a word and she thanked him. He turned abruptly and walked back around the cart out of sight.

Leia and Rhea exited the small shop and walked around the bend.

"Leia, I cannot believe your audacity sometimes," Rhea gasped out, clutching her stomach on a chortle.

Leia giggled, "I found myself in need of a weapon; should I ever need to defend myself."

Rhea gasped again at the thought, "Surely you will not actually use that? Cannot you rely upon a man to address your woes?"

"A man?" Leia scoffed, "My dear Rhea, I would not, for one second expect a man to lend me help at any time."

"Surely-" Rhea was interrupted when a hand closed around wrist from behind, halting her and Leia to a stop.

~~**~~