"You are requesting to cancel the engagement?"

Elijah glanced to his mother as she held The Duke if Sussex's stare. There had to be an agreement to break up the engagement. Elijah understood his hesitation. If they did that, it would not only be a scandal, but it could make things worse for Lady Elizabeth. If it went as planned, hopefully that wouldn't happen.

Elijah had rounded up Lady Elizabeth and William as fast as he could. He found them in her secret spot in the middle of an intense kissing session. He couldn't help but smile and laugh when he saw them. William had always been somewhat of a free spirit, so it was interesting to see him so smitten with Lady Elizabeth.

Elijah cared for Lady Elizabeth in a sisterly way, and if he didn't believe William really was in love with her, he would not even be considering this. Elijah wanted to tell Katherine about The Duchess' plan before they had this meeting, but time was of the essence. He wasn't worried about it; if all went well, he could tell her after.

Then they could start the rest of their lives together. He couldn't help but smile at that. The thought of going to sleep and waking up next to her every day made him ecstatic. There would be no more sneaking around, no secrets. Although that was fun, he wanted to show her off to the world.

When Elijah glanced to Lady Elizabeth, who was sitting next to her father, he thought she was looking at him. It took him a second to realize that she had her eyes on William, who was standing directly behind Elijah.

"This is not the way of things," her father stated.

"We understand that, Duke. But this is a rather interesting situation." The Duchess replied.

"How so?"

"Our children appear to be in love. With other people."

Elijah tensed when he saw the Duke's reaction. The Duke appeared surprised...and angry.

"How is this possible?" He asked the Lady Elizabeth.

Lady Elizabeth smiled as she kept her eyes on William. "I met William the night of the masquerade ball. We talked for hours. After that, he...courted me."

When Lady Elizabeth met her father's stair, Elijah could tell she knew her father was suspecting that William might have ruined her.

"He is a gentleman, Father. He comes from a good family. His father is a hotel developer."

Her father's eyebrows rose with interest at a glance to William. "Well, that is something."

William stepped from around Elijah and approached the Duke. "Your Grace, I am in love with your daughter. I can provide for her and give her a happy life." William looked from Elizabeth to the Duke and offered his hand. "With your blessing, I would like to marry her."

The Duke got to his feet and hesitated before he shook William's hand. He looked down at his daughter as he said, "All my life, the one thing I wanted was for her to be happy. If this is what she wants, I accept."

They were relieved sighs from all parties in the room as Lady Elizabeth got to her feet and hugged her father. "Thank you, Father!" She exclaimed as tears of joy tears streamed down her face.

Elijah couldn't do anything except stare as shock and excitement filled the room. It actually worked. Lady Elizabeth could marry the man she loved and Elijah could marry the woman he loved. Even though he was determined to make sure this was the outcome, there were still doubts in his mind. That's what led him to ask Katherine if she was willing to run away with him.

William's hand suddenly clapped Elijah on the shoulder, startling him from his thoughts. "Looks like we are both getting what we want for a change."

"Yes, I-- I can't believe it, actually," Elijah said with a frown. He knew he should be ecstatic right now, but for some reason he had a bad feeling.

"Congratulations, my son," the Duchess said, "you get to marry your Katherine."

"Yes," he said with a smile. "I still can't believe it."

"I suspected you would be more thrilled."

"I am, its just a lot to take. I hoped this would work and I'm a bit taken aback that it actually did."

The Duchess laughed before she placed her hand to his cheek. "You are in shock. Go find her, Elijah. Bring the future Duchess of Kent here to meet the family."

Hearing his mother say those words brought a smile to his face. He took off at a run and headed to his chambers. He wanted to change clothes and grab something before he went to find her.

When he finally stepped inside his chambers, he quickly changed his clothes into something more... Him. At least, something he knew she would like. He went in his closet to retrieve the small box that he kept in there with the letters he wrote to his father. Elijah also kept something else very precious to him in that box. He pulled out the beautiful sapphire and gold ring and could picture it on Katherine's finger so clearly.

He slid the ring into his pocket before he walked over to the bed. He frowned when he saw the book Great Expectations on his bed. He could have sworn he just saw it on his desk. He got a sinking feeling as he opened it and saw a letter inside.

He already knew it was from Katherine. He didn't want to read what it said, but he had to:

My dearest Elijah,

I'm so sorry that I had to write this letter. I just want to tell you that these past few days, since I met you, have been a gift and I will cherish these memories forever. I regret nothing between us. Please, do not blame yourself. After our last night together, I did some thinking. As much as I would love to marry you and spend the rest of my life with you, I'm afraid that is impossible. You are a duke who is arranged to be married, and I am a maid. I felt leaving was my only choice, because if you came back to me with bad news that we could not get married, I knew you would ask me to run away with you again. I would not have been able to say no to you. I could not bear the truth that because of me, you would leave your family behind. I love you so much, Elijah. You have my heart, now and forever. I know you already have a copy of this book, but I am hoping when you read this one, you will think of me.

Yours,

Katherine

Elijah must have read her letter almost one-hundred times before he could look away. She left. Katherine...Is gone. He couldn't seem to get his thoughts straight in that moment. He felt betrayed, angry, hurt, and heartbroken.

He stuck his hand in his pocket and pulled out the ring. Looking at it, he thought back to the night before. He had spent most of the night telling her his dreams about the future he saw for them together. She had agreed with him and laughed with him. But, she never spoke of her own dreams, he realized. This was why. She knew last night that she had doubts. Doubts that his plan would work, doubts that they could be together forever.

He understood her reasoning. After all, he did feel guilt about suggesting she leave her mother and sisters behind. But now, they didn't have to do that. They didn't have to run away to be together. They could get married, and she would become the Duchess of Kent. His wife.

Great determination coursed through him as he folded the note and put it in his pocket. He didn't know where to start looking for her, but he knew who might have the answers he was looking for. He had one day to find her before the wedding. He wasn't going to waste a moment.