Author's Note:

Welcome to my 4th story to those who have author-alerted me. As for those who are unfamiliar with my name, just a simple welcome, then!

For those who know my style of writing, you'd know that I like my mixture of angst, a lot of humor, some naughty bits inserted here and there, some childish pranks or games, corny/cheesy dialogues, some mystery, drama and my cliffhangers. Oh, the wicked cliffhangers. *wink*

You'd also know that I'm totally out of my comfort zone here in this story set in the Victorian era in England, and attempting to write British English. Serves me right for trying to challenge myself and do something completely different. I sometimes want to throttle myself, truth be told. In fact, I might even have been successful at one point or another had it not been for my survival instincts.

I felt that a little warning would be appropriate here, since I do not know what I'm doing, and after some research, the situation has NOT improved in the slightest! So, throw out your high expectations, because I WILL sorely disappoint you. The characters may seem totally OOC in this story, and of course, do not even get me started on fact versus fiction. Oh, and it'll also have an incestuous theme so if you are not a fan of that, then please stop reading right…..now.

I just have a story to tell, a DELENA story, and for some reason it has to be set in England. I'm tweaking a little bit of history and basic common sense for this story, so please throw all your prior knowledge or notion of the past and just take in this story for purely entertainment/boredom values. In other words, just check your brain at the door and you'll have it back by the end of the story. Thank you!

SINS OF OUR FATHERS - Introduction

-Damon Salvatore, Marquess of Hartington-

People say sometimes one cannot help with whom they fall in love.

I would have thrown my head back and laughed at them had I been told of that absurdity. Surely, there's such a notion as willpower? It boggles the mind how weak-minded people can be, unable to control their baser emotions, or simply confusing intoxicating lust for the delusion that is love. If one has their wits about them, surely such a frivolous concept is unnecessary?

As the eldest son and heir to the dukedom of Devonshire – a title and honor currently held by my father, Giuseppe Salvatore or better known as His Grace, the Duke of Devonshire - I stood atop the very height of nobility but found myself neither needing nor wanting love or marriage. Marriages among the ton are for no other reason than to fulfill a duty to beget an heir and carry on the family lineage.

Perhaps that responsibility should fall onto the shoulders of my younger brother, Stefan. I had no such interest, nor the time to put such efforts into a marriage of convenience.

I have witnessed with my very own eyes what a life of marriage is akin to. I've lived it. A man marries a woman of acceptable social standings, impregnates her, and then leaves her in a mansion full of servants while he carries on his dalliance with his numerous paramours. This is deemed an appropriate and gentlemanly behavior amongst the ton. The ton, being the upper class society of England who held esteemed titles that were passed down from generation to generation. People who hold their noses up in the air by doing nothing but attend endless balls and plays and gossip among themselves about the latest scandal to besmirch a member of the realm.

How is it not scandalous for a man to conduct an affair with a woman other than his wife out in public? Hypocrites, the lot of them.

In case it isn't obvious, I have become increasingly jaded and cynical in my years of living the privileged life I have led. I worked tirelessly and performed my duties to my estate diligently, increasing my wealth twofold as soon as I've come of age. I found immense satisfaction in reaping the benefits of my lifestyle; from the women who came to my bed willingly, to all the comforts money could buy. It used to be enough.

Until I fell in love.

It seems as if people were right, after all. One cannot help with whom they fall in love.

So, this is my story, of how I fell head over heels for my own sibling; my youngest sister - and how I lost her.

Nay, this is OUR story.

Shall I tell it to you?

Prologue (through the eyes of Damon Salvatore)

~.~

1866, December Twenty-First – Chatsworth House, Derbyshire

~.~

With a deep shuddering breath, I collapsed onto her, my body melting against her soft and pliant flesh that I had thoroughly explored just moments ago. Her body trembled against mine, still wracked with aftershocks of our stolen moment when we had finally succumbed to our passion; one that had been steadily building for a time, only to burst into a full inferno that engulfed us on the night before the wedding.

Only, I wasn't the blessed groom-to-be.

Placing a soft and tender kiss upon her bare shoulder, I lifted my head a little to peer down at the woman in my arms, watching her face flicker with remnants of rapture that we invoked together, her eyes clenched tightly shut. Her lips were still swollen from my earlier assault, her skin covered in faint red lines from being scuffed by the coarse hair along my jaw line.

My evening began with the usual festivities that occur before a union between two of the most prominent families in England. As visitors from afar arrived in droves, I found myself tucked away in one of the corners of the many libraries in the house, a half-drunk bottle of the finest bourbon in one hand and a hand-written letter meant for the bride clutched tightly in the other. I had been at war with myself, uncertain if I should quietly slip away unnoticed in the midst of the merriment, or if I should bid one last farewell to the love of my life.

Despite my brain telling me otherwise, I chose the latter.

I showed up in her bedchamber after everyone had retired to see her one last time. I went with the intentions to announce my immediate departure and to wish her a lifetime of happiness, but I lingered to allow her to convince me to stay, at least until I could bear to physically tear myself away.

After the events of the night, how the hell was I supposed to leave her behind now? But how could I stay and watch her marry another man who couldn't possibly love her as much as I did? It was a dilemma of epic proportions, and I couldn't fathom how something that felt so right could be deemed so wrong.

I lifted my hand and brushed my thumb over a stray tear that escaped from the corner of her eyes, immediately regretting the brief pain I had caused her as I took her virginity. Nay, when she offered it to me, her beautiful warm brown eyes pleading for me to make her a woman in her own bed. I could never deny her anything, not when she flashed those doe-eyes at me. Not when I could see the need in them as if she'd die if I didn't give in to her pleas.

Those unique eyes of hers flew open at my touch, and I saw my own reflection in their shimmering depths. I had never seen myself so at peace, even with the internal war raging inside my head.

"I love you," I selfishly declared.

Another tear spilled over her lid, and her lips quivered before they parted. "And I love you. Always and forever."

I dipped my head to claim her lips again, tasting her for one last time before she belonged to another man for the rest of her life. My heart twisted violently at the thought of her with him, her skin touched and caressed by a strange set of lips and hands, her body writhing under his on another bed. I imagined her vowing to love him for an eternity, even bearing his children and that caused me to break the kiss to groan out in pain, my own eyes tearing up at the thought of losing her.

"Damon, I will never love another as I love you. This I promise you," she implored in a soft whisper, her arms wrapping me tighter to her. She remained the only woman who was able to read my inner thoughts like an open book, keenly deducting the reason for my inner turmoil. "I will never want another as I want you. I will never belong to another as I belong to you. Tonight was proof of that."

Yes, she was mine for the night, but what of the future? It was beginning to seem so bleak and empty already, and we were still intimately connected for the moment. Tomorrow would be yet another day, one that would permanently take her from me as she bore another man's name.

"I can't let you marry him," I choked out when the ache in my chest became too unbearable that it was beginning to get harder to breathe.

"W-what?"

Her bewildered gaze made the decision for me. She had already resigned herself to be stuck in yet another marriage of convenience that seemed to be acceptable amongst the ton, all because she thought we couldn't be together. Traditionally, we couldn't but there was a small flicker of hope that we could change that, provided we were willing to make sacrifices. Substantial ones.

"Run away with me, Elena," I suddenly blurted out, my voice strengthening with resolve. "We could leave England and settle down in a foreign land where no one has ever heard of us. We could travel the world as man and wife under a different name, see all the things that you've always wanted to see, learn things that you've wanted to learn. We could leave all this behind and start anew."

"And what of our family?" she asked, her forehead creasing as she considered my rather insane proposal. "Your title, your lands?"

I pulled her upright so that we now sat facing each other, her long caramel-coloured tresses spilling delectably over her shoulders and chest. I had to pull myself together when my attention was momentarily distracted by her nakedness.

"We leave everything and everyone behind," I stressed, forcing my gaze to return to her face, watching her with pensive eyes. I could see her mentally struggling to grasp the idea of us running away together, and essentially losing everything else in the process. It may be too much to ask for, too much to hope for.

"We can never come home again," she whispered. It wasn't a question but more of a foregone conclusion. I nodded in agreement, knowing the enormity of the sacrifice we'd both be making, all for the sake of being together. Then I realized that she still didn't know the truth about her past.

"Before that, there is something you need to know...something very few people know. It's about your birth-"

"Damon," she said urgently, shaking her head at me as I was about to launch into the whole tale. "There is no time for bedtime stories now. The servants will be awake soon, and there is a wedding that requires my presence as the bride in a matter of hours. The entire house will be filled with guests and relatives, so if we want to slip past everyone unnoticed, it has to be right now."

I stared at her with my mouth agape, admiring her composure despite the decision she had made on her own and then I realized that she was right; it was now or never.

"Are you certain? Do you really want to do this? You do understand that there will be no turning back after this, don't you?" It was ridiculous how much joy I felt that she was willing to put her entire life aside just to be with me. I was just as astounded to find that I was also very much willing to give up everything I had worked for to have a future with this one woman, even if I had to live without the comforts of life that I had taken for granted.

The old Damon Salvatore would not approve. Of course, the old Damon Salvatore was also a lonely and pathetic fool.

"There's a reason we have eyes at the front of our heads, my lord. We are supposed to look ahead, to see where we're heading instead of where we've been. Otherwise, we'd all be running into walls and stepping on animal droppings, wouldn't we?" she teased coyly, making me chuckle at her quip. She had to be the most courageous woman I had ever known, and she was mine.

I couldn't help myself. I kissed her again, my heart thudding now for entirely different reasons. It was now filled with hope and joy, something only Elena had been able to invoke in my cold, jaded heart. I had to force myself to reluctantly release her after promising to make it up to her in the not-so-distant future, and untangle our limbs from each others' as we left her bed.

I saw the evidence of her commitment to me on the sheets we had lain on, the crimson-stained silk providing a glaringly obvious reality of what had transpired in her bed tonight. Her virtue was supposed to be reserved for her husband, but I had robbed him of it, just as our decision to run away would now be robbing him of a wife.

I felt no guilt as I gathered her into my arms for a quick embrace, silently telling her that it would all be all right. She had given me two very precious gifts; her innocence and her heart. It was now my turn to bestow my gifts upon her, if she would have them. By the end of our journey, I intended to marry her when we finally settled down in one place. I wanted to give her children and build a life with her, provide a future where we no longer had to hide our relationship. I planned to propose as soon as I told her the truth about her identity.

Pressing my lips against her forehead, I smiled down at her as I then wrapped her nude form with a discarded robe that I had peeled off of her earlier. "I will return to my quarters and gather a few essentials, so I need you to get dressed and meet me at the stables in a quarter of an hour. Take nothing with you and do not say a word to anyone of our plans. Pretend that you're going out for a walk if you meet anyone on your way out. If someone were to see us leaving together on the eve of your wedding, they might think that something is amiss and sound an alarm. You need to act as if-"

"Damon, you seem to have forgotten that it's me you're talking to. Elena Salvatore, troublemaker with a penchant for disappearances, remember? I have managed to sneak out of the house before….numerous times, in fact," she gently reminded me with a small smile. "Remember when I ran away in an attempt to visit you when you went off to boarding school when I was a mere child of six? I could have gotten away with it, too, had it not been for that awfully tall horse that refused to let me climb him."

My lips curved upwards at that fond memory. She had caused such uproar when the stableboy caught her trying to negotiate with the horse to sit down so that she could reach its mane. "You were utterly adorable, even back then," I complimented sincerely before reminding her to be careful and to use the northwest exit of the house to minimize risks of detection.

"'Til we meet again, Brown Eyes."

After a very hasty attempt to pack several items of importance in a small satchel, I managed to slip past a dozing footman at the north entrance, taking a different route to my destination to avoid attracting attention to Elena's escape. It pained me to resort to stealthy behaviors just to have a semblance of a future with my beloved, but I knew that it was inevitable.

Keeping an eye and ear out for any staff who might have ventured out for a midnight stroll along the grounds, I hurried over to our rendezvous point, eager to be reunited with my love. The night seemed to have fallen under a darker cloak than usual as there was not a single star that I could see. The air seemed too heavy, too still, as if it too, was holding its breath until I was once again with Elena. I heaved a sigh of relief as soon as I spotted her standing half-hidden in the shadows, waiting by the doors of the building.

"Damon!" she exclaimed in relief as soon as I reached her, her arms embracing me hungrily as if we hadn't just seen each other just minutes prior.

My eyes narrowed as soon as I caught sight of her apparel when she drew back from my embrace. "Elena, what are you wearing? You will catch your death of a cold if you go around in that," I told her.

Under a bright red hooded cloak that reached her ankles, she wore a simple cream-coloured flannel nightgown that appeared to be loose on her small frame, and under it, what I assumed to be a camisole over a pair of drawers and a thin chemise that did nothing to provide much of a protection against the winter wind. Her attire was finished off with stockings and half-boots that were at least appropriate for the amount of travelling we would be undertaking. But that red cloak of hers made me kiss the idea of stealth goodbye.

"Well, I had to keep up the ruse of only going for a quick stroll for some air. I can't very well be wearing my travelling clothes when I am supposed to be retiring early for my wedding day tomorrow, can I?" she reminded me as she swiftly covered herself with her cloak, fastening up the buttons up to her neck when chills swept over her body.

"Lucky I did so, too, as I wasn't as sneaky as I thought. Giles was having a smoke right outside the doors when I accidentally collided withhim as I was leaving and I had to lie that I was going for a walk to calm my nerves," she admitted, referring to our butler, Rupert Giles.

In a nutshell, Giles was the last person that either one of us wanted to run into. He was the head of staff and exceedingly meticulous in his responsibilities of running the household. He was also very astute, and would most likely be searching for Elena even as we speak!

I quickly pulled her into the stables, thankfully finding it much warmer on the inside. I led her over to her horse, Spirit – a tanned handsome and docile Peruvian Paso known for their strength, stamina and ability to provide its rider with a smooth ride with its natural four-beat footfall – and immediately began to saddle the beast, and then making sure that the bridle was properly secured. Meanwhile, I was busy issuing directions for the first leg of our journey.

"We'll stay off the roads for now and follow along the banks of River Derwent. We will be riding over to the town of Matlock where we'll ditch our horses and charter an unmarked coach to London."

A gasp escaped from her lips. "We can't leave the horses behind! What if somebody steals them? Or harms them? Spirit and Knight shall come with us," she insisted, her chin lifted up in an unwavering certainty.

I threw her an exasperated glance before starting to work on my own horse, Knight. He was a majestic-looking Hanoverian warmblood, its coat a shiny midnight black colour. I was inclined to agree with Elena about the horses as I was extremely fond of him myself, having personally trained him from foal, but I had to be practical as much as it saddened me.

"I wish we could, Elena, but the horses have to stay behind. They are too easily recognizable and it would be far too risky to be spotted with two missing horses. It would be more practical to travel without any links to our former identities so as not to attract unwanted attention," I explained with a heavy heart. I knew I was right but it didn't make it any easier. "I'll make sure that they are taken care of and sent back here before we leave for London. Once we get to there, we'll decide our next destination that can either be reached by train or a ship."

It was time.

"Come along, Brown Eyes, it's time to go," I called over to her as she gazed sadly at her horse, her hand stroking its neck lovingly as she prepared to say goodbye. "With any luck, we'd be at Matlock within the hour and hopefully before anybody realizes that you're gone. That'll give us some time before they start the search party."

As she moved closer to me, I pulled her to stand before me, my eyes sweeping over her features to see if she'd changed her mind about leaving. She could still go through with the wedding with no one the wiser about what we almost did tonight. No one, except me. Suddenly, I didn't feel very confident about our decision that was made on a whim.

"I want to do this, Damon. I want to live my life without being told what to do and who to be with. I don't ever want to look back and wonder if I should have left when I had the opportunity to be happy. I love you and I'm coming. Just try and stop me," she announced haughtily before attempting to mount Spirit herself.

My hand shot out to stop her, not to convince her to reconsider but to bury my lips on hers yet again, for what seemed like the hundredth time today. When I pulled back, I had the widest grin on my face and I said nothing more as I reached up to remove my dark blue greatcoat and draped it over her shoulders, making sure that she was bundled up tightly before I lifted her onto her saddle.

There, at least she was camouflaged under it, her own red cloak now hidden from view. I stifled her objections by arguing that I would rather lose her to a duke than to lose her to pneumonia.

As I mounted my own horse, I looked over at her expectant expression and nodded briefly, signaling for her to follow closely. I kept my horse on a consistent trot since we were still within earshot of the occupants of the house, keeping within the cover of the woods that surrounded the vast property. We were just about to speed up when the fog around us thickened, covering over us like a pressure-filled container. The chilly wind picked up speed, blowing over us and making me shiver from the absence of my greatcoat.

"I think it's about to rain," I called back over my shoulder at the hunched figure on my left, finding her bracing against a particularly strong gust of wind. Leaves rolled around the ground and at the feet of the horses, a sure sign that a storm was rapidly approaching. No sooner than that thought had crossed my mind that the sky lit up in a sudden dazzling flash of light followed by a low rumbling akin to a deafening roar of a wild beast.

The brief lightening of the sky provided me with a clear view of Elena's terrified expression and I slowed down so that she rode aside me, knowing her irrational fear of water and thunder ever since she was a little girl. There was a time when I knew a moment of pure terror when she almost drowned in a pond that my brother and I were exploring in.

"You all right over there?"

She cast worried eyes at the sky and then turned her troubled gaze at me. "I don't much like the rain," she admitted, raising her voice to be heard over the howling breeze. "Or thunder."

I nodded my understanding, moving as close as possible to her as much as the distance between our horses allowed. "If it starts pouring, we'll stop to take cover. I don't think anyone's foolish enough to brave a raging storm during winter to search for us. Not unless they would like pneumonia as a Christmas gift."

She smiled in relief and agreed. "Where do you think we will be by Christmas?" she asked excitedly, eager to keep her mind off the weather.

"I don't know. That's the beauty of this plan; there is no plan. We'll just go where the wind takes us…we have nothing but tim-" I broke off abruptly at the sound of hooves behind us. It was still faint which meant that the pursuer might still be quite a distance away, but it alerted us to the fact that we were running out of time. I certainly didn't expect for the so-called cavalry to be on our trail so soon.

"It must be Giles," Elena called out in a panic, her speed gaining as soon as she realized that we were most likely being followed. "He saw me leaving and he must have thought that he was coming to save me from the storm."

I could not argue with her reasoning. "We should make haste! Head to the river!"

I felt the first drop of rain on my forehead and soon, the sky opened up as the heavens poured over us, drenching us within mere seconds. Slightly behind me, Spirit neighed loudly, its ears stiffening and nostrils flaring when the sky lit up again, another angry bellow following it almost immediately.

It was not a good sign.

I dug my heels into Knight's sides, urging it to quicken its pace even more so that we were now galloping across the woods, stealth be damned. The rain was falling in heavy pelts now, their drumming masking our progress from our pursuers.

Visibility was a challenge, and so was the fact that Elena was becoming more and more anxious with the constant rumblings around us. She was a competent rider on her best days, even better than some of the men I had ridden with, but on this night, she was battling with Mother Nature as well as her own personal irrational childhood fear.

Out of concern for her, I attempted to slow down in order for her to keep up, forcing Knight to go around fallen trees instead of jumping over them. That caused us the lead we had over Giles or whoever it was that was trailing us. And then I heard it.

"Lady Salvatore!" a man's voice had yelled out, sounding like it was coming from just under fifty yards behind us. "I think I see her! She's on a horse!"

Damnation! It appeared as if Giles had called the cavalry to 'rescue' Elena. And they were almost upon us.

Instinctively, I veered off course towards a particularly dense part of the woods, searching for some form of shelter. I led her right behind the thickest bunch of trees and leaped down from my horse just as she came to a stop beside me.

"Why are we stopping? They are gaining on us," she wondered fearfully, her eyes widening as she peered around us.

"Change of plans; we'll have to split up," I said hurriedly, already starting to help her down to the ground. Without wasting precious time, I hoisted her up to Knight's saddle and secured her in place as I made my explanations. "Forget about Matlock. We can't risk being seen there now. Stay on this side of the river but keep heading south towards Leicester. Look for a village named Mountsorrel just south of Loughborough. There's a castle that belongs to the Earl of Leicester right in the village centre off Watling Street. Tell the staff that you are a friend of Alaric and that you need to send word to him to meet you there. They should provide a refuge for you until I get there. If anyone asks, your name is Elena Gilbert."

"W-what?" she blinked in shock. "No, I'm not going anywhere without you! We'll wait here quietly until they give up and then we'll both leave together. Don't send me away alone, Damon," she beseeched in hushed tones, aware of the sound of approaching hooves.

Shaking my head regretfully, I had to make sure that she understood the situation fully. "Giles loves you and he's not going to stop searching for you, especially when he thinks you're out here alone and in danger. If we both stay or leave together, then we'll be as good as caught. Trust me; I'll catch up to you. Just wait here until the coast is clear while I lead them away and then you can make your move. There'll be looking for your horse, not mine. Keep your head down and your hood up, don't talk to anyone, don't turn back, don't look for me, and for God's sake, be safe!"

She didn't argue but I could see her fighting back tears when she pressed her lips tightly together. I lifted my hand to grip hers tightly, feeling her frozen fingers shaking from the cold. I patted the satchel I had packed earlier with the other hand. "There's some money in here if you need any. And you can trust Alaric…he knows about us. He'll be able to provide you some assistance if you need anything else before I come for you. And I will come for you, Elena. I promise."

She nodded stiffly, unable or unwilling to say anything else for fear of losing control over her emotions. I was just about to pull her to me when we heard men's voices, three of them just several stones' throw away from our hiding place. I held a finger against my lips, indicating for her to remain still. With one last look at her terrified face, I grasped Spirit's reins firmly in my hand, leading him quietly away on foot.

As soon as we reached a flatter clearing, I jumped onto his back, tugging his reins as I brought him into a full gallop to the opposite direction of where I left Elena and my heart behind. I could hear the sound of the men changing course when they heard the racket I was making and I hope to God that my distraction would give her the chance to escape.

In fact, I was counting on it.

1866, December Twenty-Second – Mountsorrel Castle

~.~

The sun was at its highest point in the sky by the time I had crossed over the border of Mountsorrel. The journey from Derbyshire to Leicester should have taken little more than three hours for a carriage ride on a typical day. The previous night's volatile weather had left massive devastation everywhere I went, the rain only starting to let up just after dawn had broken.

I managed to evade Elena's pursuers soon after we separated, but the persistent rain forced me to seek shelter while I tried to calm Spirit down. It was ironic that the horse was as skittish as his mistress when it came to lightning and thunder storms. Confident that I had given Elena a solid lead time towards our new rendezvous point, I decided to wait out the storm until visibility improved.

So, I spent the most part of the night bonding with her horse at an old abandoned barn just outside of Rowsley, a town situated right about the midway point to Matlock, our original destination. Without my coat, I was freezing to death so I curled up against the horse in a desperate attempt to get warm even though sleep evaded me.

There I was, a former nobleman of the realm, choosing to throw away my inheritance and the various comforts of life, all for the love of a girl. Although, she was some girl.

At the break of dawn, I was on the move again, the orange skies provided me with a clearer view of the destruction left behind by Mother Nature. Roads were flooded, paths blocked by fallen trees and heavy rocks that were loosened by water. I guided Spirit through muddy trails on our seemingly endless journey, stopping only briefly to nourish the weary horse. Even so, we arrived much later than I had anticipated, my spirits lifting only when I caught sight of the stone walls of the castle I had often visited in the past.

I rode directly to the stables where I must have caused a sensation with the stable hands with my appearance, looking a little worse for wear. I left instructions for Spirit to be tended to, patting its neck for bearing with me on such a perilous journey. Peering around, I searched for my familiar black beauty, Knight, but there was no sign of him anywhere. Puzzled, I made my way to the main part of the house, where I was quickly ushered in by a footman who knew of my acquaintance with Alaric.

"Has the Earl arrived yet? I imagine that he would have arrived before me but I did not see his carriage outside," I asked by way of greeting as I attempted to scrape the mud from my boots.

"B-but Lord Salvatore, his lordship is not expected here until after they return from Derbyshire for a wedding," he answered, looking surprised by my question.

"Well, that wedding's cancelled," I replied drily, "so I suspect he'll be arriving at any moment. Did Lady Gilbert not send word to him when she arrived? Where is she?"

"W-where is who, my lord?"

I should probably speak to Ric about hiring a more competent staff, if this one was any indication. "Lady Elena Gilbert? A pretty brunette with large eyes, about yea high?" I indicated to my nose with my right hand, my patience wearing thin. Surely the Earl doesn't have strange women appearing on his doorstep on a regular basis. "She should have arrived early this morning on a horse, in her nightclothes, no less."

My slightly more detailed description didn't seem to have any effect, it seemed like. "We have received no such woman that befits your description, my lord. Perhaps her ladyship is late?"

Late? Surely not, when she had quite a head start before me. Although, she could have also sought shelter somewhere along the way, preferring not to continue on in that dastardly weather. Perhaps she would be arriving soon. Perhaps she had gotten lost as she was unfamiliar with places outside of home.

"No matter, I shall wait here for them if you don't mind. I would appreciate an opportunity to clean up, even a set of clean clothes? And then I would like to send a note to your master as well, if he's not already on his way home."

Apparently relieved that I was no longer demanding answers to my complicated questionings, he hurriedly agreed and issued a few instructions to several staff to see to it that I was attended to. Despite being anxious to see Elena again, I did appreciate the chance to freshen up and be attired in dry clothes, for a change. At least that footman had the sense to send up some soup and a plateful of ham and potatoes after a long night of having nothing but salty rainwater in my mouth.

And then nightfall came, and I was at once worried and restless when both of them remained elusive. Now nursing a glass of bourbon in one hand, I paced the length of the drawing room that had a large window overlooking the wide expanse of grounds leading up to the entrance of the building. Every so often I would peer out into the darkening night, only to be repeatedly disappointed when the drive remained empty.

A servant had just cleared a full tray of supper that remained untouched when I heard the sound of clip clops; an approaching coach that bore the crest of Leicester.

"Ric!"

My relief of seeing my old and most trusted friend was evident as I hurried over to greet the sandy-haired man, my hand clapping him on his back as soon as he entered through a set of double doors.

"Damon, I'm so sorry," he mumbled, appearing a little harried when he met my gaze.

"No need to apologize, old friend. Better late than never," I assured him, thinking that he was referring to his tardiness after receiving my summons. I was certain that his delay was due to the conditions of the roads from the night before.

He gazed at me worriedly for a moment, his eyes taking in my appearance and then a look of understanding dawned on him. "Oh God, you don't know, do you?"

I started shaking my head, my forehead creasing when I realized that he was alone. "Where's Jenna? Didn't she return with you?"

He took a deep breath and sighed before dismissing the staffs that were lingering in the hallway, awaiting for instructions. "There's something you should know, Damon. The wedding…it was called off," he explained and I stood there, waiting to hear what was happening back home when they discovered that Elena and I had run away. Or perhaps they thought that she had run away, and I was simply being myself; pulling a disappearing act without any warning during the most important event of the year.

"There was an accident last night, and they fear that - God, I don't know how to say this - they fear that Elena may have drowned."

What?!

1866, December Twenty-Third (early morning) – Chatsworth House, Derbyshire

~.~

The entire house was bathed with lights despite the hour. There was no one to rush forward to greet us, no one to open the door to Ric's coach when it pulled up right at the entrance of my home. It seemed eerily quiet as even the wintry wind stopped howling around us.

Ric was right beside me as we alighted down the steps to enter the building, not knowing what we would find. I walked in to see several servants huddled in a far corner with tears on their faces, whispering in hushed tones as our presence remained unnoticed. After a brief search to find most of the rooms at the front of the house empty, I finally spotted a subdued Randy, my father's valet exiting from the nursery.

"Randy," I called out, hurrying over to intercept him. "Is my family in there?"

"My Lord," he whispered with a sheen of tears in his eyes, his face looking like it had aged greatly since the night we left. "You're home…Her Grace would be pleased to see you," he nodded at the room he just left, and then with a downcast expression, slowly shook his head as he walked on, his shoulders suspiciously heaving silently.

"I'll wait out here while you talk to your family. I wouldn't want to intrude," Ric spoke from behind me, and I nodded absently as I braced myself for my family's reaction to my appearance.

I never expected to see any of their faces, or to step foot inside my childhood home again when I left that fateful night. Of course, there were a lot of things that came to pass that I never expected. I certainly didn't anticipate the embrace my brother Stefan bestowed upon me as soon as I entered the room. I didn't return it because my gaze was riveted on something other than him.

My mother was sobbing hysterically in a corner near the window, one hand clutching Elena's favorite toy, Lord Cuddleworth – a stuffed bear that I had given her when she had turned seven - in one hand while the other was gripping a familiar item; a bright red hooded cloak she had been wearing when we made our escape. Only now, the fabric was torn and tattered.

"No!"

My denial escaped me in a tortured moan before I realized it, and I was on my knees, my heart breaking into pieces as reality finally struck me. It didn't seem possible when Ric had broken the news to me earlier, but now, seeing her jacket in that state, and my family's grieving faces….

All I could think about was the last time I looked upon her, surrounded by darkness, and trees and rain. There wasn't time for a goodbye, only a whispered promise that I would come for her. She looked terrified that I was leaving her, but it had to be done for her to make it out of there.

But she didn't make it out. I had sent her on a journey that had resulted in her death. I had been selfish by wanting to keep her for myself, unwilling for her to be married to someone else because I loved her. I had practically forced her to venture out alone during a dangerous storm, handling a horse that she wasn't familiar with.

All because I had kept Father's secret all these years from my mother, my brother, the rest of the world and most importantly, Elena herself. All because I was afraid of how my Mother's failing health would take it if she had found out that she wasn't her real daughter, that her real baby girl died as a still-born.

How was I supposed to know that I would end up losing her either way?

Oh God, what have I done?

Hey, are you guys still awake? Helloooo? *crickets*

So it's not really incest, see? In the next chapter, we'll see their history, how Elena came into the family and their childhood. Imagine a 7 year-old Damon?! AWWWWW.

Many thanks to my new beta Mara (AnglcDmn1986) and pre-reader Kate (ThisIsMyEscape). Your support and enthusiasm for this story means the world to me. Please read their stories as they are both kick-ass authors, too!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

And oh, I'd appreciate a review if you don't mind! In other words, DO IT, DO IT, DO IT! DON'T CLICK THE X!

Thanks for reading!