"What do you mean, he's run off? And why are you wearing those clothes?"

Will's heart was beating like crazy as he stood in front of the Duchess of Kent. After he helped his best friend flee, he rode around in the Duke's carriage for hours. Now, he was hear delivering Elijah's message.

"Your Grace, my apologies. He insisted we switch clothes earlier today. He said he needed a few days to think things over."

The Duchess rose to her feet. "To think things over? That is preposterous. We need to get him back here. Immediately."

As The Duchess went to get the footmen to search for him, Will got to his feet and tried to cut her off. "Please, Your Grace, give him some time. He seemed very out of sorts earlier today. He's given me his word that he will return before the wedding."

The Duchess frowned at William. "Out of sorts? In what regard?"

William looked at the few maids, servants, and footmen that were in their presence. "May we speak privately, Your Grace?"

The Duchess that out attired breath as she nodded in agreement. "Yes, of course. Follow me."

She led Will to the library which was currently unoccupied. Even though there was no one in the room with them, they still wanted to make sure no one overheard them, and kept their voices low.

"Please, William, tell me what troubles my son."

"I believe it is the upcoming marriage, Your Grace. He confided in me that it sits ill with him; the idea of marrying a stranger. He had requested to have some space for a few days, to accept the reality of his situation."

The Duchess grasped Will's hand and had a worried expression on her face. "What If something happens to him, William? He's out there alone, unprotected."

"Trust me, Elijah is smart and resourceful. He will not do something reckless."

Elijah groaned in pain as he regained consciousness. What the hell happened? He thought as he looked around the unknown surroundings.

"Please, don't get up."

He jumped at the female voice and cried out when a pain seared through his left side. "Christ, that hurts."

"I told you not to get up," came that same female voice.

Elijah looked to the left and saw the source sitting by a roaring fireplace. She had a blue evening gown on underneath a black cloak and a matching bonnet covering her hair.

After he looked at her for a few moments, recognition dawned on him. "You're the woman who got attacked." He noted the blood stains on the front of her dress and met her gaze. "Are you alright?"

She looked away from him then, clearly uncomfortable with the question. "Yes. This blood is from one of the attackers. From when I..."

As she trailed off, the memories of the fight came back to him. He had heard a scream and went to help. He rode up and saw three highwaymen trying to rob her. He had killed one and she had stabbed another to save him.

"May I know your name?" Elijah said roughly, "So I can properly thank you for saving my life."

"You saved mine first," she said with a smile. "It is I who should be thanking you. My name is Katherine."

"I'm Elijah," he said before he looked around the surprisingly barren cabin. There was a blanket laid out on the floor beneath him and two chairs in the corner. Other than that, it was as if nobody lived here.

"Is this your home?" He asked curiously.

"No, I found this after the attack. You were injured and needed safety. It doesn't appear anyone lives here."

He got injured. That explains why he could barely move. He looked down and noticed his shirt had been torn open. There was a piece of cloth covering the left side of his stomach and you could clearly see where some blood had started to seep through.

"How long have I been asleep?" Hopefully it hasn't been days...

She straightened her cloak before she answered. "A few hours. Maybe three."

Katherine watched as the man who saved her life, Elijah, assessed his injury. She was still in a bit of shock about the whole ordeal. She's never been involved in any act of violence. Now, she's taken a man's life.

"You didn't have a choice," Elijah said, interrupting her thoughts.

"How did you know what I was thinking?" She knew she hadn't spoken aloud.

"Your expression gave you away. If you hadn't done what you did, I would be dead."

Katherine rose to her feet as she became overwhelmed with emotion. Guilt for taking a man's life, happiness that she survived, fear that she's stuck in a cabin with a complete stranger.

"Perhaps, but it does not change the fact that I have ended the life of another human being, does it?" She gestured to her bloodstained gown. Even her hands had smears of red. "The blood is literally on my hands."

Elijah met her stare. "If you remember, I also took a life during that attack. And I, too, feel the guilt of my actions. We have to remember, it was self-defense."

Katherine sat back down by the fireplace, and she couldn't hold her tears back any longer. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you. I really am eternally grateful that you were there. It's just...a lot to take."

"You have nothing to apologize for," Elijah said with sincerity in his voice. "How did you get me here?"

"Those men also killed the driver of my mail coach. There was some rope he kept on the coach and I was able to use it to drape you over your horse."

Elijah processed what she said. He was uncomfortable and surprised by her actions. She had no idea who he was. To her, he was just a stranger; and she aided him.

"You must let me repay you. Your generosity--"

She lifted her hand, cutting him off as she rose and went to get a fresh cloth. "The only thing you can do for me is lay there while I clean your wound. We don't want it infected."

Elijah wouldn't have been more surprised if she slapped him. No one has ever interrupted him before. Well, no one has ever interrupted the Duke. Let alone tell him what to do. It was...refreshing to be treated like a normal person.

Katherine returned and knelt on the floor. She gently pulled off the blood soiled cloth and started cleaning the wound.

"Are you a nurse?" He asked with a little rasp to his voice now. She tried to be as gentle as she could, but he was obviously in great pain.

Without meeting his eyes, she confessed, "No. I'm...a maid. Just a maid."

"May I ask why you were traveling by yourself? It's not safe."

She gave him a light smile. "I left my family for a new job opportunity. I'm hoping it will make things easier for us."

"So, you don't have a husband?"

She met his eyes; unsure how to answer that. She didn't know this man. Sure, he seemed honest and trustworthy. Even though she was conflicted, she went with the truth. "No, I don't." She looked back at the wound and asked, "And you?"

He kept his face stoic as he said, "I don't have a husband either."

Katherine couldn't hold back her laugh. "You know what I mean. Do you have a wife?"

His face grew serious as Katherine continued to clean his wound. He seemed to be battling some kind of inner argument with himself. It was several moments before he answered. "No, I don't."

There was an odd note to his voice, but Katherine pushed it aside for now. "There, that's better. Keep this dry."

She got to her feet and Elijah caught her hand before she was out of reach. "Thank you." When she looked back at him, and he saw her startled expression, he released her.

She took the dirty rags and put them aside. Moving to the fireplace, she opened her trunk. "Are you hungry? I don't have much; just some bread and fruit."

"Fruit would be perfect," Elijah replied. He watched her as she reached inside her trunk and pulled out the bag of fruit.

"I only have apples and a few oranges. I hope that's okay."

She brought one of each over and held them out for Elijah to choose. He looked at the green apple and the orange. Such a simple choice: apple or orange. He couldn't help but compare it to his current predicament. Why couldn't it be that easy? Get married or don't get married? Tart or citrus?

"If you can't make up your mind, you're welcome to both," Katherine said, interrupting his train of thought.

When it came down to the two choices, Elijah preferred citrus. "The orange, please, Lady Katherine."

She had been leaning down to hand him the orange and shot upright at the formal name. "Katherine. Just Katherine."

Elijah took the orange and gave her an apologetic nod. "My apologies, Katherine."

As she went back to regular seat by the fire, Elijah started peeling his orange. He knew with his injury, he would have to heal a little before he could leave. He just hoped it wouldn't interfere with his getting back before Christmas. He still wasn't on board with this whole arranged marriage, but he didn't want to worry his mother. Or worse, disappoint the Duchess of Kent.

Elijah continued to peel his orange when he asked, "Do you think it will be okay for us to leave here tomorrow?"

When she didn't answer, he looked over at her and was surprised by her expression. "What? What is it?"

She got up and went to the window across from him. When she opened it, snow flew in and he couldn't hear anything over the howling wind.

When she managed to get the window shut, she looked at him solemnly. "We aren't going anywhere until that snowstorm stops."