Ewan sighed in the half-light of the now quiet chamber once Victoria had departed. Their perfect night had been ruined – and even more critically – her reputation may have been as well. He shook his head as his mind played out the number of potential outcomes from this disaster. The only item in their favor was that their discoverer was Victoria’s own daughter. If she leaked this information the stain of the offence would scar her as well as her mother. He reckoned that unless the child was daft there was a chance their affair may remain secret, after all. He chuckled to himself as he wondered if the child would ponder who her real father was. Of course Ewan was too young to be her father, but not her siblings. He wondered if they would find out at some point. The irony of the whole situation was that if the affair did go public, the fallout for him personally would likely be minor. He, the grieving widower, might be considered somehow a victim of an ambitious and unscrupulous noblewoman. Of course he would take responsibility, but it wouldn’t take much for people to believe what they wanted. Be that as it may, Ewan dragged himself out of bed more disappointed than words could tell.<br/><br/>With an incredible sense of regret weighing him down Ewan began to get dressed. It took him several long minutes to accomplish his without the help of an assistant. After doing so he poured himself a glass of wine that was on the table and sipped it, wondering if he should wait or not.<br/><br/><br/><div><hr style="height:2px; width:100%; border:0; color: gray;background:gray;"/></div><br/><br/><br/>Allena melted at the genuine, heartfelt words that he offered her without hesitation. She pressed her lips together so that he wouldn’t see them tremble while blinking away the mist that was forming in her eyes. Never, ever, had the young girl been so happy. All of her life she begged and pleaded for God to deliver her a kind man who treated her well. She would have been happy to spend her life with Alexander even if he were a pauper – but he most certainly was not. She felt for the first time that all of the hardship and unfairness life had dealt her was finally turning around. Her heart sang as her eyes stared deeply into his. Even in the dim light she could see how much he loved her, and it made her feel dizzy with joy and expectation. She was so lost in her emotions that she didn’t even realize that she was guiding his face towards hers. Her eyes closed and they kissed deeply, sweetly; fully. She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into her as the kiss grew in intensity.<br/><br/>When they finally broke for air she buried her face in his neck and breathed hard. She knew in that moment that she couldn’t let him get away. “Let me… make you happy…” she whispered breathlessly as her hands began to slide their way from his back to his chest where they began to unbutton his shirt.