Stepping forward, he made his way to where she stood frozen on the front porch. A boyish grin creased his clean shaven face as he approached, his hair slicked perfectly to the back so that he appeared more handsome than she had ever seen him.

"You look lovely, Miss Riverside." His warm baritone washed over her, causing her cheeks to burn. Thankfully, he didn't seem to notice her face turn red as he bowed his head slightly and held his hand out to her.

"Thank you." She took his hand, trying not to focus on the fact that her voice sounded raspy in her own ears.

She followed him to the parked carriage and he turned to help her in, before settling on the seat beside her.

For a second, she thought it was strange that he ignored the seat across from hers, choosing to sit next to her. But as quickly as the thought crossed her mind, she decided that she liked his closeness, even if it seemed to be the sole reason her hands trembled so much.

"Chilly?"

She shook her head and clasped her hands together, willing them to stop trembling. What was wrong with her anyway?! She groaned inwardly. Surely, Lord Williams' attention was born out of the fact that he felt regret for the way he treated her at first. Surely, he meant nothing by sitting next to her! She tried to reason with herself but her pounding heart would hear nothing of it. If anything, the speed of her heart accelerated the second they arrived at the theater and Ethan turned to help her down the carriage. His firm grip took hold of her waist, sending a shockwave of unfamiliar emotions down her spine as she settled on her shaky feet. Seemingly oblivious to her reaction to his closeness, he tucked her hand in the crook of his arm and turned to lead her into the building.

Surely, he was only being a gentleman! She scolded herself, noticing the fact that sweat was starting to break out on her skin.

It was a wonderful play, from the little Gretchen got to see. Focusing on the play long enough to understand what was happening was difficult considering the fact that Ethan was once again seated beside her.

When the play ended with Juliet's death, she was beyond happy at the thought of getting away from Ethan and the odd emotions his presence brought out in her. She was excited about the thought of being in the nursery with Ellie and not having to see Ethan, or confront her weird emotions, until the next morning. She took the time apart from him would aid in her attempt at ridding herself of these highly confusing emotions.

But her excitement was short-lived for she was suddenly thrown into confusion when Ethan placed a hand on the small of her back.

Gasping, she turned sharply to him but his attention was on something else... or someone else. Her gaze shifted to what it was Ethan was staring at just in time to find a brunette woman dressed in a rather fancy dress hurriedly making her way toward them. She held tightly to another brunette woman, who seemed much younger than her but bore a striking resemblance to her.