November 1854

The room was silent except for muffled sobs and the uneven rasps for breath of the old woman dying on the bed. Seated on her father's lap in a large armchair by the fire was a little girl. She was only three, but she'd remember this evening for the rest of her life, her family filling in the gaps of her memory so well that it played out in her mind exactly as it must have happened.

Bella could hear the soft crackle of flames from the fireplace and the steady drum of cold rain outside. On the table next to her, the oil lamp gave off a steady glow. She leaned back against her father's chest and he pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

The old woman stirred and everyone sat forward in their chairs. "Where… Where is Bella?" she asked.

Bella hopped down off her father's knee and the two of them walked over to Eliza's bedside. There was a small set of steps there, used to crawl into the tall canopy bed, but her grandmother hadn't been out of that bed in a while. Bella climbed up the steps. She took the bony hand from where it lay on the bedspread and clasped it in her own.

"She's here, Mama Eliza," her father said.

"Promise me," Eliza whispered. Bella leaned down closer to catch the wisps of words emerging from the thin lips. "Promise me."

"What is it? What do you want me to do?"

"Finish it."

Bella shook her head. She didn't understand. She looked up at her father and he gave her a pleading look. Bella didn't know what that meant, either, but she thought the safest course of action was to agree to whatever her grandmother wanted.

"… For the General. I wasn't able… I didn't get it done… the last thing…"

The elderly woman's daughter, Eliza Holly, edged forward. "She's becoming agitated."

Eliza wrenched her hand away and grasped the pouch hanging around her neck. Bella had never seen her without it. The doctor had wanted them to remove it when Eliza became bedridden, lest Eliza accidentally choke herself, but every time anyone reached for it, Eliza became a tiger. The pouch contained scraps of a letter, the last one Eliza's beloved husband had written to her. She'd carried it for years and when it finally fell apart due to folding and unfolding, she put the pieces into the pouch to hold it near her heart.

"I'll do it, grandmama. I swear." Bella watched as her father pushed a stray curl of silver hair back under the brim of Eliza's cloth cap.

Eliza focused her eyes sharply on Bella and took her hand again with surprising strength. "Finish it. Finish the General's monument."

"I will."

As if that promise had been the last thing left undone, Eliza fell back against the pillows and into a deep slumber. She never woke again. Around midnight, when the rain stopped falling, Eliza's breath's ceased.

Eliza Holly pulled the bedspread up to cover her mother's face. For a long moment, no one spoke. At ninety-seven, Eliza Hamilton's death was not unexpected, but it still left a raw, gaping hole in the lives of everyone in the room.

Spring, 1876

Edward Cullen paused to dip his pen into his inkwell and saw an interesting sight through the small windows framing the door to his office. A woman had come into the vestibule. A beautiful woman, pale with dark hair, dressed head-to-toe in unrelieved black, hemmed in crepe, the deepest stage of mourning. The bodice fit her snugly, the high collar brushing the underside of her chin. At the center of her throat was a glass brooch containing a lock of woven brown hair. Her voluminous skirts were bunched up over a bustle in back. She lifted the veil that had covered her face and flipped it over the back of her hat so it hung down her back. Over her arm, she carried a lidded wicker basket, also painted black.

She was accompanied by a second woman wearing a simple gown of gray, a black crepe armband pinned below her shoulder. A servant, then. A live-in maid, perhaps. Servants didn't wear full mourning, but they wore the armbands as a sign of respect for the sorrow that had afflicted their household.

He was curious, of course. Women in the deepest stage of mourning rarely left their homes unless it was a matter of some urgency.

He opened the door and inclined his head. "Good afternoon, ma'am. I must apologize, for I was unaware I had any appointments this afternoon."

Her cheeks flushed a little. "I confess I haven't an appointment. I've been unable to secure one through normal means."

Now he really was curious. He gestured with his arm. "Would you liked to step into my office?"

"Thank you." The rustle of crepe, a sound that instantly meant mourning to Victorian ears, preceded her. He held the chair for her while she sat, her dress pooling around her like black ink. She set the basket down by her feet.

"Mr. Cullen –" she started, but he interrupted by holding up his hand.

"I fear myself at a disadvantage in not knowing your name."

"Oh!" She flushed again, and settled herself. If anything, her posture became more erect. "I am Isabella Swan."

"I cannot help but notice you've been recently bereaved."

"Yes, my aunt passed earlier this month." She closed her eyes for a moment. "And while delicacy would discourage it, this is truly a matter on which I needed to insist."

"You have my interest piqued, Madame." More than his interest, to be honest. Her eyes were a soft brown color that reminded him of the bottom of a forest pool, a flecked with gold and green and gray. They held an intensity. "Swan… Swan… I cannot place the name."

Victorian society was an intricate web of family relation, patronage, and connection. He was trying to find where she belonged in that web. Her clothing and carriage told him that she was a person of means, someone from a prominent family, but the name wasn't familiar.

She tilted up her chin and he saw her jaw tighten. "My father was raised by Eliza Hamilton."

"Widow of the Colonel?" Edward was unable to keep the tone of surprise completely out of his voice.

"Yes. He and my aunt were orphaned at a young age and placed in the Asylum where she was directress. She became fond of my father and took both children into her home. I'm told that wasn't unusual when she thought a boy was particularly bright and deserving of a better education."

"Your father was most fortunate to have such a patron."

"My father was not the child of Eliza's flesh, but he was the child of her heart." There was a quiet ferocity to her words, as if she were defending something precious, something she'd been called to defend too many times before. "And after my mother died, she took me into her home while he went back to Ireland –"

"Ireland," Edward said softly. "You're Irish."

"As are you," Bella retorted. "That's why I came to you."

He was about to reply, but then her basket started to move. The lid opened a fraction of an inch and he caught a glimpse of a bright green eye before it shut abruptly again.

"Before she died, Eliza extracted a promise from me. A promise it has taken more than two decades for me to fulfil, but I intend to see it through. But I need your help."

He was still staring at the basket. The lid jumped again and the basket rocked on its base. Bella didn't seem to notice.

"Why would it matter that I'm of Irish descent?"

The basket by her feet was jouncing around and but Bella paid it no heed. Her eyes had that intent glow and she reached across the desk as if to clasp his hand but drew back as if she'd thought better of it.

"Sir, I need to know I can count on your discretion."

He blinked. Was she implying that she couldn't?

"You are an attorney as well as a senator, are you not?"

"I am, but I don't see –"

She took a dollar coin from the little reticule that hung from her wrist and slid it across the shiny wood surface of his desk. "There. I've retained your legal services and now you must keep my secrets… even if you don't agree with my methods."

Edward almost laughed. This woman was baffling. Intriguing, but baffling.

"Agreed, Miss Swan. I shall keep your counsel. But please tell me what we're about. I cannot stand the suspense any longer."

She took a deep breath. "Are you, perhaps, familiar with the American Party, also called the Know-Nothings?"

It was Edward's turn to flush, and he felt his own jaw tighten. Yes, he was familiar with them. They'd made his life hell. When he'd first run for office, they'd trumpeted his Catholicism to the voters, condemning him in articles and editorials and letters to the editor. He'd even seen handbills plastered to walls and lampposts. The Know-Nothings claimed that a Catholic's first allegiance was to the Pope and they could never be true Americans because of it. They put all of their support behind his opponent (himself a son of an immigrant, but in his case, German) and let it be known that they believed Edward's candidacy was part of the conspiracy to turn the country over to the Pope's rule once the Catholics had a numerical majority. Edward had won, but it had been by narrow margins.

"That's why I came to you," Bella said. "I thought you might perhaps have some familiarity – maybe even enmity - with my adversary."

The lid of the basket flipped completely open and a small gray head poked out. A kitten with bright green eyes looked around and tried to climb from the basket. It fell over on its side. Bella picked up the kitten in one hand and righted the basket with the other, plunking the feline down inside. It gave an inquisitive meow.

"I have greater than a passing familiarity," Edward said.

"They stole something from my grandmother," Bella told him. "I have stolen it back."

"I fear I've never been involved in criminal defense –"

She shook her head. "I've broken no laws. Perhaps some ethical boundaries, but one does what one must."

The basket opened again and the kitten jumped out, darting beneath his desk, but Bella's head was turned while she dug in her reticule. He tried to think of a polite way to interrupt her to point this out and failed.

"But your efforts will be the greater part of my plan, should you consent. If you do not, I shall not bear a grudge, but I do hope that you will."

He felt a brush against his ankle and jumped as tiny claws dug through his sock. The kitten began to climb its way up his leg. Edward shook his foot, trying to dislodge it.

Bella finally found what she was looking for and pulled it out. It was a pamphlet that she laid on his desk. Its cover featured an image of the National Washington Monument as it stood now, only a third of the way built, capped clumsily with a ridiculous little roof. It looked like a fat, slightly tapered chimney. It was supposed to be surrounded by a circular colonnade. It was supposed to be 600 feet high, but for nearly 20 years, it had sat virtually abandoned, still unfinished, with no end in sight.

"The Monument of GEORGE WASHINGTON remains unfinished in the capital of the Republic he founded. Do you revere his name and memory?" It asked. "Shall we prove recreant to the obligations this imposed on us? We cannot believe such a thing possible."

"My grandmother joined with Dolley Madison to help create this monument. It broke my heart, even as a young girl, to see what happened to her project."

"Somehow the Know-Nothings seized control of it, that I know. But I do not see how I can help you with that."

Bella smiled, a tiny smile of satisfaction. She sat back in her chair. "That's what I stole. I stole it back."

Bella played with the end of her bonnet string while she watched Edward try to digest what she was saying. She wondered, briefly, how old he was. Surely he wasn't 35, but that was supposed to be the minimum age for a Senator.

He spoke slowly. "You … stole back the Washington Monument?"

Bella tilted her head. "I did, actually."

"How is such a thing possible?"

"It all started with a stone, believe it or not." Bella told the story as briefly as she could. Some of it he already knew, but she helped him to fill in the gaps.

The Washington Monument Society had been the ones raising the funds to build the Monument. Memberships to the society could be purchased for a dollar. States and organizations were encourage to donate stones.

Pope Pius had donated a stone to be used in the Monument. When the Know-Nothings heard about this, they were enraged. For a full year's time before the stone arrived, they ranted and raved in the media.

When Bella mentioned this, she saw Edward's cheeks flush a little and suddenly he didn't meet her eyes. She had a suspicion that he'd read or at least knew of the "convent exposés" that had circulated, claiming licentious behavior at convents and parochial schools between the priests and nuns, "unnatural" relations between the nuns themselves, and sometimes lurid tales claiming the sacrifice of infants to drink their blood. Dozens of riots had been stirred up by material such as this. But the pope's stone seemed to particularly stick in the craw of the Know-Nothings.

One pastor even warned that placing the stone in the Monument would be the signal to the Catholics in America – who were overwhelming "real" Americans with their numbers – to begin their violent insurrection which would end with the country being handed over to the pope.

A few days after the stone's arrival a group of masked men overpowered the night watchman at the construction site. They stole the stone. What happened to it next was a mystery, but most believed the version of the tale that they'd smashed it and thrown the pieces into the Potomac.

They attended the next meeting and bought up memberships, which gave them voting rights. Seven hundred and fifty-five of them, in fact, which was enough to give them a majority. They claimed there were too many Catholics and foreign-born members on the board, and immediately elected members of their group to head the society, vowing to re-Americanize the Monument.

When Congress learned of this, they decided not to follow through with the large donation that was supposed to fund the rest of construction. The Know-Nothings were reduced to what funds they could solicit from their own members. Their support was smaller than they liked to admit. The secretive, hostile party wasn't popular with the majority of Americans, a substantial percentage of whom were either immigrants themselves or the child of one.

To prove they intended to continue construction, they used scrap stone from around the site to add another three feet to the height of the uncompleted monument. And there they were stuck, unable to gather enough money to continue.

They complained in their newsletters that the media was unfairly slandering them, which was why they weren't getting enough donations to finish the project. If it wasn't for the media, they claimed, they'd have tens of thousands of dollars.

"That's where I came in," Bella said.

His eyes widened a fraction of a second before an ear-splitting screech filled the room. Edward leapt to his feet, yelping, pawing at his pants leg.

Bella stared as he backed away from his chair and shook his leg. The screech sounded again and Bella jumped to her feet. "Dewie!"

She ran around the desk to Edward's side. He had stopped shaking his leg and was now frantically yanking at the fabric of his pants leg, pulling the cuff up past his knee. His sock was revealed all the way up his calf, attached to his sock garter, and the poor kitten was somehow wedged beneath it and was clawing at Edward's leg to try to free himself.

He got a hand around the kitten's midriff but when he pulled, the kitten scratched harder, trying to retain all the stability he knew at that moment. Edward bellowed and pulled harder. Bella saw the hairy skin of Edward's leg peeking out above his sock garter and was torn between turning away to preserve her modesty or rescuing her kitten. When Edward and the kitten yowled again, simultaneously, she made her decision.

"Wait!" She stepped over and crouched down, her skirts billowing out around her. "Let me, please."

She flipped the garter tab off its button, freeing the kitten's head, but before she could re-button it, she was treated to a view of his calf almost all the way down to his ankle as the sock sagged. His skin was crossed with tiny scratch marks.

"Should we… erm… bandage that?" She asked.

Edward pulled his sock back up and buttoned the garter. "No need."

"But you'll get blood all over your sock," Bella protested.

The door opened behind them and Alice stuck her head through. "Bella, I thought I heard –"

She saw them both crouched on the floor behind the senator's desk.

"Oh," Alice said, and her mouth was twitching.

"Oh, nothing." Bella said, standing. She held out the wriggling kitten. "I was just saving the Senator from a vicious beast."

"I told you not to take him in there." Alice picked up the basket from the floor beside Bella's chair and pushed the protesting kitty inside.

"Senator Cullen, I don't know how I can possibly apologize. " Bella said.

Edward waved a hand. "It's nothing, Miss Swan."

"Bella, we really need to—" Alice flicked her gaze toward the door.

"Oh! Time does fly." Bella took the basket from Alice and balanced the handle on her forearm. "I'm sorry to have to leave it here, but I must go, sir."

The senator looked genuinely disappointed, which surprised her. Even had Dewie not decided to venture up his pants leg, she'd barged in on him asking for favors, and she imagined politicians had no shortage of that.

He took her hand in his and bowed over it, pecking his lips above the back of her hand. "I hope to see you again soon and hear the rest of this story. May I see you to your carriage?"

Bella nodded and allowed him to take her arm, they stepped outside and Alice darted forward to hold an umbrella above Bella's head as they walked toward the small phaeton standing at the curb. Edward helped Bella in and then turned to assist Alice, which she thought was quite polite of him. Some men seemed not to notice ladies' maids.

"Good day to you, sir, and thank you."

"The pleasure was all mine, Miss Cullen." Edward tapped the brim of his hat and Alice touched the reigns to the back of the horse. The phaeton swayed as it rattled forward. The leather rain curtain was down, leaving only a small rectangle of space to view the street ahead. Alice frowned as she steered, craning her neck as she peered around.

"You still seem to feel as though we may have been followed," Bella noted. "Alice, please, there's no way Uncle James could have known we were doing this, so he'd have no reason to have us followed."

"If our plan is foiled, it won't be because of my over-abundance of caution," Alice retorted.

The basket at their feet rocked again and Bella bit her lip, trying not to laugh.

"Did Dewie really climb –"

Bella nodded and lost the battle to hold back her mirth. She laughed until tears stung her eyes. "Y-you sh-should have s-seen his face!"

"Of all the days to adopt a stray kitten, you had to choose this one."

"On the contrary, the poor thing was getting soaked, which made it an excellent day to choose to take him home."

"James is going to …" Alice stopped.

"James won't know," Bella replied, her tone firm. "We keep him in my rooms. It's my house, anyway."

Neither of them said anything further on the subject, but the unspoken thoughts hung in the air between them. The sudden and inexplicable death of Bella's aunt, who'd opposed her husband's plans – and Bella's last blood relative – made them both unsure of just how far James would go to get what he wanted.

Jasper was waiting by the carriage block when they pulled up in front of the house. Bella stepped out first and held the umbrella for Alice while Jasper took the reigns in his hands and patted the horse. "Did he behave for you?"

"Far better than his trainer ever has," Alice said, tossing a smile over her shoulder as she walked to the door. Jasper made a small lurch, as if he had started to follow her but then remembered he had to put the horse in the stable. He sighed and trudged off. Alice hid a giggle behind her glove and unlocked the door. They slipped inside.

"What do you think he—"

"Where have you been?" James demanded.

Bella felt like someone had thrown cold water over her. She turned, drawing herself up to her full height and gave her uncle a look as cool and imperious as she could make it. "At church."

"Church?" James repeated.

"Praying for my dear aunt's soul."

It had been so many years since James had attended church that he didn't remember prayers for the dead wasn't part of their Episcopalian faith. "Oh." His outrage was deflated; church was a perfectly acceptable place for a woman in the first stages of mourning.

Unfortunately, Dewie chose that moment to meow and James' gaze locked on the basket. "What is that?"

"Nothing. Alice, would you please take my things upst—"

James grabbed the basket from Alice's hand and yanked open the lid. He lifted the kitten out with an expression of disgust. Dewie splayed his tiny claws and hissed.

"What is this?" James demanded.

"It's a housecat, I believe."

"Don't be glib with me. What is it doing here?"

"This is my home, and if I wish to keep a cat, I shall." Bella stared at him, her jaw clenched so hard she feared she might crack a tooth. She could feel her hands trembling and she hid them in the folds of her skirt. She had to remain calm. She hated this man with every fiber of her being after what he'd done, but she had to remain calm. If she let it show, if she let it slip she knew, it could destroy her plans.

"Alice, do go upstairs and draw me a bath," Bella said. When Alice remained frozen in her spot, Bella laid a hand on her arm and said firmly, "Go."

Alice obeyed, casting worried looks over her shoulder.

"Until you are twenty-five, I am your guardian," James said, "and I won't have this thing tearing up the house." He opened his hand and dropped the kitten like it was a rock, apparently not understanding the fundamental nature of cats. Dewie twisted in the air and landed lightly on his feet. He moved so fast, he was only a dark streak as he darted across the room and dove beneath Bella's skirt. She could feel him climbing up the wire frame of her bustle.

"I will keep it contained," Bella said. She turned and started up the stairs.

"Bella," James called up to her. "Are you acquainted with anyone from the Corwin family in Boston?"

Bella tried to keep her face impassive. "Not to my knowledge."

James's face was also unreadable. "I see. Good night, then."

Bella hurried into her room and shut the door behind her. She twisted the key in the lock and sagged against the polished wood. Her heart was hammering and she felt sick.

Alice rushed over to her side. "Are you well? You look so pale."

"Yes… I'm…"

"Let's get you unlaced, and you can breathe a little better."

Alice's trembling hands untied Bella's bonnet strings and then began working on the hooks on the back of her bodice. Bella slipped out of it. When her skirts fell, both of the women laughed at the kitten jumping around under the layers of cloth. Bella dug him out and he snuggled under her chin.

"I think Jasper has some sand in the shed he uses on the icy sidewalk," Alice said. "I'll get a pan after the house is quiet. Did you want a bath, or was that just a way of sending me out of harm's way?"

"No bath tonight." Bella gave a long, soft sigh of satisfaction as she unhooked her corset. "I just want to lie down. Alice… he knows."

Alice stared at her. "He couldn't."

Now stripped down to her shift, Bella sat down on the bed to untie her garters. "He at least suspects something. He asked if I knew the Corwins."

"He knows nothing." Alice's eyes flashed as she gathered up Bella's discarded clothing.

Bella put Dewie on the pillow beside her and watched as the kitten attacked a corner of the blanket. She pulled out her hairpins and laid them down one by one on the table, in a neat little row.

Perhaps Alice was right and James was just tossing out bait to see how she reacted. Perhaps…

At noon, Edward stepped outside of his office and turned to lock the door, as he turned back to the street, a barouche pulled up to the curb. He glanced up at the coachman, a blond man with small scars on his face and hands, and had the strangest feeling he'd seen the fellow somewhere before.

"Senator Cullen."

He'd heard that soft, melodious voice in his dreams the night prior. He turned to face the passengers. Bella was seated on the back seat of the barouche and Alice was perched on the seat facing her. Both women held parasols above to shade themselves from the bright sunlight.

"Is this your lunch break, sir? Won't you please join us? We were off for a picnic in the park and there's plenty here to share."

There was no way he could possibly refuse. The coachman started to get down to open the door for him, but he waved him off and climbed inside under his own power. "I do hope you left the tiger cub at home this time."

The two women exchanged a glance and then burst into laughter. Alice pushed one of the baskets behind the hem of her skirt.

The horse tossed its head and started down the street, its hooves clopping rhythmically against the cobblestones. To his surprise, they weren't going far. The carriage pulled up at the Mall, and he couldn't conceal his surprise as the coachman got down and began to spread blankets beneath the small trees that lined the grassy expanse. The spot they had chosen looked directly at one of Washington's greatest eyesores, the unfinished Washington Monument.

Many people wanted to pull the ugly white, square, column down if they weren't going to complete it. It looked like a white chimney that had wandered away from its house. During the late War, they'd used this area as a cattle yard, though that had ended, thankfully. Now it sat, derelict, weeds grown up around its base. Piles of discarded stone, like pale graves, jutted up from the muddy grounds.

Edward nodded toward it as Bella laid out a number of cushions beside the picnic basket. "During our last conversation, you said you stole it, but there the Monument still is."

Bella smiled and pulled a loaf of bread from the basket. "You remembered."

"I must confess, Miss Swan, that our conversation was one of the most memorable I've ever had."

The main reason for the indelibility of the memory – and the marks on Edward's calves – had been released. Dewie hopped out of the basket and began to frolic in the grass beside them, hunting a butterfly and having little success at it.

"Edward, you remember Alice, but you haven't met Jasper yet."

Edward tried not to let his surprise show at being introduced to the coachman, and shook his hand with a how do you do.

"He's Alice's fiancé," Bella explained. "Alice is my cousin, to whom I gave the job when James said he was going to hire a maid for me. She's known Jasper since they were children."

"It seems nothing is as it appears with you," Edward said. "I should start taking notes."

Bella sank gracefully to her knees on one of the cushions and then settled over on her hip, tucking her feet behind her. The toes of her shoes were visible beneath the crepe ruffle of her skirt. It was innocent, yet somehow alluring, reminding him that under that staid morning garb, there was a woman who fiercely longed to live and be free, a woman of passionate conviction… and perhaps other passions.

Alice distributed plates and then laid out dishes of fruit and cheese, sliced ham, cold roast duck and other delicacies. "We didn't know what you would like," Bella murmured.

"Oh, so you didn't just happen by my office at the time I was leaving for lunch." Edward smiled to soften the accusation because, in truth, he was ridiculously pleased by it.

"We'd been waiting since eleven," Bella confessed. She gave a piece of duck to the kitten, who attacked it ravenously.

Though he was waiting for her to introduce the topic, she said nothing about her supposed theft of the Washington Monument or the issue that brought her to secure his legal services. They ate their lunch and chatted lightly of the usual topics that circulated at a social gathering: the weather, the city traffic, and the latest show at the theater.

When they finally had packed their plates away in the basket, Bella rose to her feet and asked if he'd join her on a walk. They didn't stroll far, just through the small stand of trees, still within sight of Alice and Jasper – all quite properly chaperoned. Dewie had followed them and was occupied with climbing a slender tree nearby.

"All right. Tell me how you stole the Washington Monument."

Bella took a deep breath. "As I told you when we last spoke, the Know-Nothings seized control of the Monument association by having their party members buy memberships and then voting in their own people. I decided to play their same trick on them."

"After they used it to seize power, they didn't change the rules?"

She smiled faintly as she shook her head. "When I turned sixteen, I began buying memberships. Fortunately, most of their agents didn't insist on a name, but when they did, I supplied the name of a friend, a character from a novel, or even one I made up on the spot. I have eight hundred votes, Senator Cullen. Now I need your assistance to complete my plan."

"Miss Swan, I say this with the utmost respect: I do not believe you need anyone's assistance."

She gave him a small smile. "I appreciate that, sir. But I truly do, but your assistance is necessary."

"Because I'm a lawyer?"

"Because you're a senator. Because, like me, you're Irish and we can't let these – these – monsters do this. These Know-Nothings are unable to do anything but smash and ruin, to tear down and destroy and not to build. They'd rather see this monument remain unbuilt than allow the pope to contribute a stone. They say this country belongs to 'real Americans,' and I say we are real Americans."

"I agree with you. But why have you sought my help?"

Bella cleared her throat. "I may have … committed a bit of fraud to get the funds for my scheme."

"Fraud!"

"And forgery."

"Perhaps you'd better tell me everything."

"My father died shortly after my grandmother. He was not a rich man, but he left behind enough for me to have a home and modest income if it was managed well. Sadly, he entrusted it to my uncle James until I was twenty-five years of age, or married. While I've found no one I wished to marry, Uncle James made it clear he'd withhold permission. He wanted control of my money as long as possible. At night, I would sneak into his office – which used to be my father's – and look over the records. I saw my assets disappearing into a black hole and knew I had to act. So I secured the assistance of a few friends, and inserted addresses among my father's papers, indicating they were men of means looking for investment partners. James wrote to them, and I was the one who answered his letters. I presented him with multiple opportunities to invest, buying shares from downtrodden widows who didn't know their worth, or pretending I'd overheard valuable information about companies about to become extremely wealthy. I repeatedly sold him shares of worthless stock I'd purchased with my pin money."

"How were you able to purchase stock without a husband or father present?"

"I approached the Clafin and Woodhull agency. Didn't understand, of course, why I wanted to buy worthless shares, but they completed the trades for me."

He gaped at her. "Woodhull… the woman who ran for president?"

Bella nodded. "She and her sister opened a brokerage backed by Cornelius Vanderbilt. They cater to ladies wishing to invest. They're very successful."

"But they're –" Edward stopped. What he was about to blurt out wasn't fit for the ears of a respectable woman.

"… Free-Lovers?" Bella asked. "Yes, I've heard that too."

Edward shook his head. She was the strangest woman he'd ever met, but certainly the most fascinating. "And you… You still went to them."

Bella sighed with impatience. "I needed an investment firm, not someone to attend a dinner party. They were the only ones who wouldn't insist on speaking to a man instead. Yes, they invest the money of actresses and even women of ill-repute, I've been told. If I let delicacy stay my hand, I'd be a bankrupt."

"Go on, then."

"I re-sold him the stocks for an astronomical sum, pretending I knew of secret plans the companies had which would make everyone rich. The Clafin and Woodhull agency helped me store the proceeds in bonds. After that, all I had to do was wait. I knew that James had a terrible gambling problem. After he ran through the bulk of my fortune through poor investing and gaming, he needed to mortgage the house. My house. The house my father built for my mother, the house I grew up in."

Bella's eyes blazed. "I know you will think me a terrible person, and perhaps I do, indeed, deserve that title, but he tried to steal the fortune of a young girl and then to sell her home from beneath her feet. I stole it back … I let him find his own ruin."

"What did you do?"

"I bought my own house. James wrote to one of my aliases and begged for a loan. A large one. I asked for the deed to the house as security, and predictably, he didn't repay the money he'd borrowed. He hasn't yet told me he lost the house. He discovered the stocks are worthless. He's frantically trying to swindle everyone he knows, and the whole town is buzzing about his behavior. Solicitors are pounding on our door night and day. He is as pale as a ghost and jumps at small noises, and he starts to perspire whenever I ask him ever-so-innocently if all is well."

Edward shook his head. If it wasn't rude to do so in front of a lady, he would have whistled. "I think we might dispense with some proprieties at this point, so I will be presumptuous. How old are you?"

"I turn twenty-five next month."

"And you've been working at this plan for—"

"Ten years," Bella finished. "It took me seven years to secure the bulk of my father's legacy."

"And nearly as long to defeat the Know-Nothings and take back control of the Monument." Edward was in awe. "And you conducted these raids from the comfort of your own writing desk."

"I fought with the weapons I have." Bella plucked at the bow of her bonnet strings.

"What amazes me is the length of the campaign. Few would have the patience or the foresight for either. Your grandmother would be proud."

Bella chuckled. "I think she would. If anyone could continue a sustained campaign, it was my grandmother. She spent fifty years gathering Col. Hamilton's papers, interviewing those who knew him, and hiring writers to help rehabilitate his image. And she never forgave those she felt had wronged him, even after half a century."

"I heard that," Edward said. "It's still talked of in tones of horror today. When President Monroe went to visit her, she left him standing."

Bella nodded and Edward was still bowled over by the ice-cold brutality of it. To not offer a guest a chair in her home was one of the greatest insults a lady could give, and make a man who'd once been the president remain standing in her presence was a powerful slight indeed. "What did she say?"

"That no lapse of time or nearness to the grave made any difference if he had not come to offer his sincere apologies. He was stunned. He picked up his hat and left."

Edward was silent for a moment. "I think I see where you get it from."

"And here is where I must secure your assistance. I need you to introduce a bill to take control of the Washington Monument and secure the funding for its completion."

"You have control now. Why would you want to give it up to the government?"

"Because the Know-Nothings could take it back. They could outwit me, find a way to buy up more shares. I don't know what sort of plan they'd devise, but once they find out a woman of Irish descent has seized –"

"They don't know yet?"

Bella shook her head. "Jasper is going to the meeting tonight. He has a few friends that have offered to serve as officers once he uses my proxies to vote them in, but if you agree, they shouldn't have to serve long."

"Bella… the country still hasn't fully recovered from the late war. What makes you think that there's the political will to take on this project?"

"It's actually the perfect thing! Something that can unite all Americans, even the southerners. They loved George Washington, a Virginian. They see him as one of their own. You should even have their support."

He couldn't argue with her logic.

"Congress once agreed to give the money, but they didn't pay it out because the Know-Nothings had seized control. I know you can get them to at least supply the funding that was once promised. They can do that much without any political turmoil."

Edward was silent. He rubbed his bottom lip as he considered.

"Do you have a grandmother?"

He blinked. "Everyone has a grandmother. At least one."

Alice laughed, but Bella's eyes were intense, boring into Edward's. "My father's real mother died when he was a child, but I loved Eliza Hamilton very much. I couldn't have loved her more if she were my blood. She ensured my father was able to complete his education and because of that, I've had a comfortable and stable life. I don't know what would have happened without her, but I wouldn't be sitting here speaking with you, Senator. Is your grandmother still living?"

Edward nodded. "She is. She lives with my father and I. She came over with the rest of the family when they immigrated from Ireland during the Famine."

Untold scores of Irish had come during the Potato Famine, rather than watch their families starve. That flood of hungry, destitute people was what had created the Know-Nothings, who were repulsed by these foreigners and convinced the "dirty Irish" would out-breed real Americans and the demographic shift would put Catholics in power, Catholics whose allegiance would be to the Pope and not the Constitution.

But there was no way to stop or limit this flood; the only immigration laws dealt with disease, though some individual port towns had their own laws refusing entry to Jews or people of Chinese descent. Edward had the feeling he would see that change. There were too many people alarmed at what they saw as changes to their country, hearing other languages in their streets, and the cheap labor they blamed for keeping wages low.

"If your grandmother asked you to fulfill a promise to her –"

"- I would move heavens and earth to do it." His voice trailed off as the strangest thing began to happen. The back of Bella's skirt began to dance and bob behind her. Bella's eyes widened and a hot flush bloomed in her cheeks. She stood stock-still but still the back of her dress bounced wildly.

"What in the world…"

Bella closed her eyes. "It's Dewie. He's climbing around in my …"

"In your…?" Edward had a pretty good idea where the kitten was, but it was so entertaining to see Bella's face grow even redder as she whispered a word.

"Pardon?"

" … my bustle…" she whispered.

"Your…"

"BUSTLE!" Bella shouted and then clapped a hand over her mouth in horror. She looked around to see if anyone had heard, but the only person staring in their direction was Jasper. Alice was embroidering as if she frequently heard Bella yell about underclothing.

Edward was pretty sure he would never forget the sight of Isabella Swan standing there, face bright red, with her skirt bouncing and swaying behind her. "You… you are a wicked man."

"Oh, madame," he murmured. "You have no idea."

Bella seemed to stop breathing for a moment. Her skirt still hopped and swayed, but she was motionless. Her eyes fluttered shut and she waited.

Edward took her upper arms in his hands and leaned forward. He tried to smother a grin.

She opened one eye, perplexed and that's when Edward kissed her.

It was swift and chaste, as it had to be in public. He was violating propriety as it was but he didn't want to harm her reputation. Bella sighed as he drew away.

"Meet with me tomorrow," Edward implored. He took her hands in his.

"I really shouldn't," Bella murmured.

He pressed a kiss to the back of her hands and then turned them over to kiss her palms. She let out a soft gasp and he wanted nothing in the world but to hear that sound again. In many contexts. "I'm your attorney. You're meeting with me to tell me how the takeover went."

She nodded. He glanced around and pressed another quick kiss to her soft lips and then led her toward the carriage.

"I've drawn you a bath," Alice called.

Bella went into her bathroom and shut the door. When her father had built this house 20 years ago, he'd had the latest technology installed, including plumbing on the second floors, something that was an incredible luxury compared to the old method of requiring buckets to be carried up and down the stairs for every bath. Bella's tub was oblong, white enamel with the exterior encased in wood paneling.

She took off her nightgown and hung it on the hook on the back of the door and slipped into the hot water with a sigh. The evening had gone just as she'd hoped, Jasper had reported.

The meeting had been sparsely attended, as they had been since funding and donations had dried up. All of them had been excited to see Jasper and his friends join them. When it came time to vote for the board members, Jasper had stood, holding up his sheaf of memberships, each neatly signed with a proxy giving him the right to vote for the member. The Know-Nothings had been frantic, Jasper said, searching through the papers to try to find an irregularity, and then checking to see if they could quickly change their own by-laws with a vote of the existing board officers, but their terms had technically expired. Jasper had eight hundred votes. His friends took their places at the high table, and the Know-Nothings could do nothing but rage and seethe.

"For you, Eliza," Bella thought, and hoped that her grandmother's spirit had been able to see what transpired in that room.

Alice perched on the closed lid of the toilet and propped her chin on her fist. "I think you have a new beau."

Bella ducked her chin down into the water and smiled. "Saw that, I presume."

"I tried to give you the illusion of privacy. But yes, I spied avidly."

Bella giggled. "Do you think he –"

There was a loud knock at the door. "Bella!"

They both froze, eyes wide, as they heard James's voice. He shouted Bella's name again and they heard the locked knob rattle.

"Uncle, I am indisposed at the moment," Bella called. Her voice wavered a bit.

"Get out here, now."

"Uncle –"

"Get out here, or I will come in and drag you out."

"Just a moment, please."

Bella sloshed up out of the water and Alice ran to get her dressing gown. Bella shrugged into her drawers, chemise, and petticoats, pulling them on with difficulty over her wet skin. Alice brought in her dressing gown and combed out Bella's hair while she fastened the buttons at the front.

"Courage," Alice whispered.

"Stay in here," Bella urged.

"I will not." Alice took her hand.

They went out into the bedroom. James was still knocking and shaking the knob like he expected the lock to change its mind. Bella turned the key and he shoved the door open so hard, he nearly knocked her down.

He held up a sheaf of papers. "I know what you've done."

Bella kept her face blank. "I'm sure I don't –'

"Don't lie to me," James spat. "Look!"

He held out one of the papers and Bella saw her own handwriting. Catching a few words before he snatched it away again was enough for her to be able to identify it. It was a letter she was in the middle of writing but hadn't finished, a letter to one of the friends who forwarded her correspondence with James. That letter had been safely locked in her desk until now. She looked over and saw the drawer of her writing desk in splinters, papers he must have deemed uninteresting scattered on the floor.

"You mention Mr. Corwin selling stock," James said, a note of triumph in his voice. "You claimed not to know any Corwins."

Bella didn't answer. She tried to think of what else had been in the desk. She had a policy of not keeping anything except the letter to which she was replying, burning it after she'd composed her reply.

"You said you knew no Corwins!" James shouted. "Were you in a conspiracy with them? A conspiracy to steal my money?"

"My money," Bella retorted. "You haven't any."

She didn't see the blow coming in time to dodge it. James struck her across the cheek, full force, and she crashed to the floor, staring up at him in dull shock. His words barely registered, but he was saying something about keeping her in this room and not allowing her to send letters.

Alice's face appeared in her line of vision. She said Bella's name again and again and slowly Bella's hearing cleared. Alice helped her sit up. James was gone and the door was shut again. Alice had pulled the chaise in front of it.

Dewie climbed up Bella's stomach and peered down into her face. "Mew?"

"I'm all right. I'm all right." Bella lifted a hand to touch her cheek.

"Here." Alice handed her a cold cloth and Bella pressed it to her face, hissing in pain.

"I'm so sorry."

Bella nodded and then burst into tears. "I don't – I mean – I'm not –"

Alice pulled her into a hard hug and said nothing as Bella cried. She let her weep until her sobs had turned to hiccups and she sat up, using the cloth to wipe her eyes. "No one has ever struck me before." She didn't know how to explain it, but the shock of it was almost worse than the pain.

"He's locked us in," Alice said, "but I think I can reach the ground from the porch roof."

"That's far too dangerous."

"I don't think so."

"Alice, no!"

Alice went to the window and slid it open. "We need help. What else can we do? Wait inside this room for a month? Do you think he's simply going to surrender the moment you turn twenty-five?"

Alice slipped out of the window and walked, arms spread out, toward the edge of the porch roof. She looked down over the side and Bella could see her flinch. "Come back!" Bella called in a stage whisper. "We'll make a rope."

"What good will that do me? I can't climb a rope!"

She watched as Alice sat down and gripped the gutter. With a twist, Alice slipped off the roof. Bella heard a thud and a grunt and in a moment, Alice stepped out into Bella's line of sight. She gave her a brief wave, and then slipped off into the darkness.

Bella went back into her room. Obviously, she'd have to leave here, but she'd never imagined leaving. Even when she imagined marrying, it was to come back to this house and raise her family. She looked around, wondering what to take, what was most precious to her.

When Alice returned, Bella was waiting at the window with a carpet bag beside her feet and an angry kitten trapped in her sewing bag. The bag contained only a black dress, few changes of underclothing, and the daguerreotype her parents had taken together when they married.

Alice wasn't alone. She had Jasper, as expected, but she also had Edward. Bella was so surprised by that she ducked behind the curtains for a moment.

"Bella!" Alice hissed. She threw a pebble at the same moment Bella slid open the window, but Bella barely noticed the sting because Edward was motioning to her. She stepped out of the window and made her way down to the edge of the porch roof. Edward smiled up at her and Bella felt her heart hammering.

"Are you ready to make a leap of faith?" Edward asked.

"Yes." Bella meant that with all her heart. She closed her eyes and let herself fall forward.

Edward grunted as she toppled into his arms, stumbling back and then collapsing down to the ground. She looked up at his face from her position laying across his lap. "That was… that was more of a metaphorical question."

"Oh."

"I wasn't ready. But I still caught you." He smiled.

She reached up and stroked her finger along that beautiful jawline she'd always longed to touch. "You did."

He helped her to her feet and then stood. Dewie was growling as he tried to fight his way out of Bella's sewing bag.

"Come." Jasper motioned to them and they all hurried to the carriage. Jasper had taken the barouche, its top up and closed. They climbed inside and Bella let out Dewie, who immediately dived beneath her petticoats. It was at that point, as the carriage began to move, that Bella realized she was still wearing her dressing gown, which wasn't exactly appropriate attire for being out on a carriage ride. But she decided it was probably perfectly appropriate for running away.

"I want to ask you something, Bella," Edward said. "I know it's sudden, and I know it might not have been exactly the life you wanted but –"

"Yes."

Edward stared at her. "You don't even know what I'm asking yet."

"You're asking me to be your wife. I'm saying yes."

He cleared his throat. "I – I swear that I'll do my best to be a good husband to you. As I said, I know it's sudden and perhaps you have no reason to trust me, but I'm a man of simple habits. I don't drink. I don't chew tobacco."

"And he doesn't visit houses of ill repute," Alice announced. "I checked."

Everyone in the carriage turned to stare at her. Jasper even craned his body around and ducked down so he could look inside at her. "Checked with whom?" Jasper asked.

"I know people," Alice replied.

Both Edward and Bella had red faces, but they smiled at one another. Edward reached out to take her hand in his. "We'll be happy," he said.

Bella nodded. "I think we will."

They pulled up in front of Edward's law office. Inside, a man was waiting by Edward's desk, illuminated by a sole oil lamp on the table. "Edward!" he said, and the two of them clasped hands.

"Isabella Swan, I'd like you to meet my brother Emmett, a priest serving at St. Peter's Catholic church on Capitol Hill."

Bella smiled and gave Emmett a curtsey. "How do you do?"

"Very well. It's not every day you meet your new sister and officiate at her wedding."

Bella blinked up at Edward.

"Is this all right?" he asked softly. "Is there anyone else you would rather—?"

"No, but I'm not Catholic."

Emmett shrugged. "No one is perfect. Do you promise to raise your children in the Catholic faith?"

Bella thought about it for a moment and nodded. "But don't we need to get some… permission?"

"Better to ask forgiveness than permission," Jasper said. "On with it, man."

Bella's breath came short. She felt a little dizzy, a little afraid and excited all at the same time. She could be making the mistake of her life, but as she looked up into Edward's gentle green eyes, she was certain that she wasn't. The seeds of love were already firmly planted in her heart, and they promised to grow into a wild and lush garden of delights. She couldn't wait to explore it.

Alice offered a ring from her own finger, a silver band engraved with two hands clasping a crowned heart. Edward slid it on her finger and Bella felt tears spill down her cheeks. Edward wiped them away and gave her a kiss so sweet she thought her heart would burst.

Alice kissed her cheek. "I know you'll be happy."

Bella giggled. She felt a little light-headed. She'd really just married a man she'd met yesterday, but somehow this all felt so right.

Alice and Jasper headed back to Bella's house, intending to pretend they had no idea where she'd gone so they could keep an eye on James. Bella watched them drive away and that small shred of nerves surfaced again. As if Edward felt it, he slipped his hand into hers. "We're in this together," he said.

Edward's apartment was above his office. Simple and neat. She didn't see much of it before his lips found hers and his hands wove into her hair, holding her head as he kissed her wildly.

They came together in a heated rush, and Bella had never imagined such pleasure was possible. Edward was gentle and tender, but there was a barely constrained wildness she met with her own. Afterward, they lay on the bed, tangled together in the remnants of the clothes half-removed, trying to slow their panting breaths.

A tiny head poked itself up over the edge of the bed. "Mew?"

"Dewie!" Bella laughed and reached out to stroke the kitten's head. "I thought Alice took you."

"Alice probably thought the same," said Edward, raking his hair back from his face with a hand. "I think that cat is a familiar."

"That would make me a witch," Bella pointed out.

"I'm not disagreeing with that, for I have surely been bewitched to elope on two days' acquaintance."

"Did we really do that?" Bella gasped as he turned to kiss his way slowly down her throat.

"I think we did."

"Oh my. Perhaps I should reconsider."

"Might I persuade you to remain?"

She gave a soft moan before she answered. "Keep trying."

Alice tapped on the apartment door and Bella opened it and swept Alice into a hug all in one motion. Questions came pouring from both of them in an excited babble and they stopped to laugh at themselves before Bella gestured to Alice for her to start as they settled down on Edward's small sofa.

"How are you finding married life?" Alice asked with a twinkle in her eye.

"Delightful," Bella said. "I wish things could be like this forever."

"Hidden away from the world, you mean?"

Bella sighed. "Has James been –"

"Of course. He has the police involved."

Bella felt a chill in the pit of her stomach, but she reminded herself if she could just stay inside for two more weeks, she would reach her majority according to her father's will and be free. "Have they spoken to you?"

"Tried. I just broke down crying for worry for my dear employer and they couldn't get anything sensible from me. I use the same tactic for James. He's been avoiding me. But I hear him at night, pacing muttering, banging around as he searches for something."

"Searches for what?"

"I don't know. A clue to your whereabouts? Hidden money?"

She took Alice's hand. "Are you safe? Please tell me he's left you alone."

"He has, actually. I don't think he credits me with the brains to arrange your escape, but he knows about the Monument now."

Bella's hands flew to her face. "No! How?"

"They were trying to track down who'd purchased all the memberships. You must have used your real name on one of them."

She had, but out of so many… She closed her eyes. "And that will lead him to Edward now that he's introduced the bill to take over the Monument."

"How is that faring?"

"It goes to a vote at the end of the month. There shouldn't be much opposition, but I'm planning to go watch the vote."

Edward had brought the bill to her to read before he introduced it on the floor. "Are you sure?" he asked. "Absolutely sure? You have control right now, Bella. Your grandmother's dream. Are you sure you want to give that up and trust the government will do it right?"

She'd nodded. She trusted the government a lot more than she trusted the Know-Nothings not to try to take it back.

The vote was scheduled for two days before Bella's birthday. She kept telling herself all would be well, but there was a sense of nagging dread in the back of her mind that she couldn't ease.

The day of the vote dawned bright and clear and Bella smiled up at the sky as she walked toward the carriage, driven by Jasper. He removed his hat and bowed as he opened the door for her. "Mrs. Senator," he said.

She giggled. "I don't think that's correct."

"Pardon me, your worship."

Bella laughed and rolled her eyes as she climbed into the carriage.

"Did you check your skirts for Dewie?" Alice asked.

"Mercifully kitten-free," Bella reported.

Their carriage had to join a long queue of people disembarking to go watch the vote. The halls were crowded with people milling around. Bella and Alice headed up the stairs to the Ladies' Gallery and Jasper headed off to the men's.

They found an empty spot on the wooden benches near the front of the balcony and settled down. Bella was surprised to see it so crowded. Today wasn't a heavy legislative session and nothing controversial was up for vote. Edward had joked about the crowd on the men's side. "The gallery known as the Gentlemen's is generally filled with masculines who have little or nothing to do; but as they do not impede the wheels of legislation, and are kept out of the way of mischief in the meantime, the country is obliged for their attendance."

They talked and joked through the session. Bella cast them irritated glances. When the bill for taking over the Washington Monument came up, they seemed to barely notice.

But it was momentous for her. She saw Edward cast his vote and then he turned to smile up at her. She smiled back and wished she could burst into cheers, or perhaps tears. She wasn't sure which. But her heart felt so full of emotion that she could barely contain herself.

"The ayes have it and the bill is passed."

Bella and Alice turned to one another with smiles. Bella would wish for more ceremony and grandeur in this moment, but it was done. The sense of relief was like a physical weight lifted from her shoulders.

"I have to go," Bella said softly. "I need some air."

Alice moved to gather her things and Bella put a hand on her shoulder. "No, stay. I shouldn't be long."

She walked slowly down the marble stairs, taking a moment to glance up at the beautiful skylight above, and perhaps that's why she didn't see him when she reached the bottom of the stairs.

James stepped from behind a column. In his hand was a large Bowie knife. He didn't need to speak a word to make his intent clear. She looked around swiftly, but there was no one else in the lobby, no one she could call out to for help.

He charged toward Bella.

She spun and ran in the opposite direction, her slippers pounding against the polished marble. She saw a staircase and turned to run down it, gripping the rail for dear life, lest she trip over her skirts and fall. Down the winding steps she went, as far as they would go.

She found herself in a corridor with whitewashed brick walls and a low ceiling. At the end of it, she skidded to a halt because she was in the strangest place. White plastered arches soared overhead, supported by pairs of marble columns. It was eerily beautiful with the tops of the arches in shadows. The round shape of it made her guess she must be under the Rotunda. She walked slowly forward across the polished floor and found a star embedded in the center of it.

Shaking herself out of her daze, Bella realized she couldn't just stand there in the middle of the room. She had to find a place to hide. She darted off to the side and saw a small room, shrouded in gloom, with an iron gate across it. Behind it sat a low black pedestal with sloping sides.

A memory clicked into place. This was the catafalque which had held President Lincoln's coffin a decade ago. She'd been fifteen, but like most Washingtonians, she had stood in the long line to file past his coffin.

And then she remembered what this was, where the catafalque was stored. It was General Washington's tomb. He'd died long before the Capitol could be completed and it had been built around this structure, intended to contain what was mortal of the first president, but when it was finally completed, Washington's family refused to have his remains exhumed for a move to a new site, especially since Washington had asked to be buried on his estate.

It seemed right, in that moment, that she would be standing here in front of this unfulfilled monument, moments after legislation was passed to finish the Memorial. This one had never come to fruition, but the white, marble obelisk would.

She was still staring down at it when she heard her name.

James stood there, his knife held loosely in his hand. An indecisive flicker passed over his face, replaced by hard determination. He grasped the knife more tightly and stepped toward her.

"Uncle James, please," Bella said softly. "You don't want to do this. My father would –"

"Your father was a fool," James spat. "His sister was an even greater fool, which might be why your father neglected her in his will. The only reason I married her, and we were left out in the cold when he died. Because of you. But if you're dead, my dear departed wife would have been the heir, and I am the sole inheritor of her estate, so…"

"Not any longer," Bella said. "My husband is the one who inherits."

"Husband?" James blanched, and then his eyes narrowed. "Never mind that. You didn't have my permission and I can get it annulled."

She had no idea if he could really do that. She backed up against the gate.

"What I don't understand is why you did it," James said. He stepped so close to her that their chests were nearly touching. He lifted the knife and Bella cringed back, but she had nowhere to go. A cold sense of despair washed through her. Would she really die here at the foot of Washington's intended tomb, macabrely appropriate as it was?

"What I don't understand is why you set out to ruin me." James touched the knife to her neck, cold and sharp.

"Wh- what?"

"Why you would devise a plan to destroy me," James said. "Elaborate as it was – that much is impressive. But such an evil thing to do, to lure a man into ruin."

She hadn't lured him. She'd planted the names and addresses among her father's papers, yes, but she hadn't made him write to them and try to invest Bella's inheritance in wild schemes and scams.

"You stole from me," he said and pressed the knife into her throat just a little harder. Bella felt a warm trickle seep under her collar. She tried to breathe shallowly, so she wouldn't prick herself.

How could I steal my own money? she thought. But he saw it as his own and probably never intended to pass it on to her.

Was this how it was always going to end, with Bella in a crypt?

Her hand brushed the knot of hair at the back of her head and she tried to keep her eyes from widening as an idea formed in her mind. She moved her left hand to draw his attention and as soon as he turned his head, she yanked out a hairpin. It was only about four inches long, but it was sturdy and wickedly sharp. She jabbed it as hard as she could at his face.

She didn't know where she'd been aiming for, but he screamed and recoiled as she'd hoped and she was able to dash away from the gate. She glanced over her shoulder and saw him clutching at his eye as blood poured down over his cheek.

Bella fled, but she didn't have as much of a head start as she'd hoped. A hand tangled in the hair that was tumbling loose over her shoulders and yanked her back. Bella crashed to the floor with a scream of pain. A flash of metal caught her eye and she saw the Bowie knife laying beside his feet where he'd dropped it.

She twisted as he pulled back on her hair and she dug her nails into his hand while frantically scrambling toward the blade. Her fingers extended – she almost had it – she pulled harder against his grasp and her fingers brushed the handle. With another lunge that felt like he was ripping off her scalp, she managed to grab it and swing it toward him wildly.

She'd never been taught to use a knife correctly and she didn't have a good grip on it. The blade buried itself into his inner thigh and the impact with the bone jarred it out of her fingers. He let out a ragged cry and yanked it out. A bright fount of blood followed, spurting across the floor in arcs. He stared at it and then looked up at her in horror.

Both of them were frozen for a long moment. He sagged to his knees and swatted the knife toward her, missing her by several feet.

From Hell's heart, I stab at thee, Bella thought. She used her elbows to propel herself back across the floor, but it wasn't necessary. He fell flat on the stones, the knife clattering from his loose grip. One last time, he tried to lift himself, but was unable.

"Bella!"

She heard the sweetest sound she'd ever heard, Edward calling her name. Alice echoed it. She heard the pounding of footsteps.

"H- here." She was surprised at the way her voice quavered and broke on the word and she tried again.

"Oh Bella, thank God." Edward knelt down beside her and pulled her into his arms. He looked at the blood with alarm and she shook her head. He kissed her then, deeply, sweetly, his lips lingering against hers, their breath mingling.

"When you didn't come back – when you didn't come back I pushed my way onto the floor and grabbed Edward," Alice said. She appeared to be in greater shock than Bella was, her face as white as marble. Edward put an arm around her shoulders and they all huddled there for a moment, clinging to one another, to that which was precious and could so easily be lost.

"I love you," he said, and though she might have wished for better circumstances to hear those words, they made her heart soar.

February, 1885

The cold winds seemed to be coming from all directions at once, sweeping around small gusts of the snow that covered the ground. A wooden shelter had been erected over the pavilion, but it did little to ward off the intense chill.

Bella pulled her fur wrap closer around her and wished she'd worn a warmer hat. The children, at least, were bundled up well. She could see them seated out in the audience with Edward. Renee, barely visible in her thick coat of shearling, sat on her father's lap, and her older brother Jacob looked solemn as he watched General Sheridan at the podium.

The dedication was well-attended, but she had to admit many of the spectators were probably here for the grand military parade that would follow. She knew her own son found that to be the most exciting part of the day.

In the rows on the stage beside her were many of the original Washington Monument Society members. The Know-Nothings had elected not to join them, she noted with relief. But some of those who'd been members even back in 1833 when the monument was first conceived were sitting here.

Behind them soared the completed Washington Monument, the completion of Eliza Hamilton's dream. Two months ago, the capstone with its aluminum tip had been fitted into place.

General Sheridan introduced her to the audience as Eliza's granddaughter and the driving force behind the bill that had assigned the completion to the Army Corps of Engineers. The audience politely applauded her, their claps muffled by gloves and mittens.

Her speech stared with Eliza's dream of a monument befitting the first president, but Bella thought the monument was also memorializing something else.

"When the Corps of Engineers took over the project, they ran into a problem. The quarry that had supplied the marble was closed and the stone had to be ordered elsewhere, and though heroic efforts toward that end were made, matching the stone to the original wasn't possible.

"This monument will always bear a scar, and let this scar remind us how hatred and bigotry can destroy the purest of dreams."

She looked up at the Monument, finished at long last, and hoped that her grandmother could see it.

They drove home, rolling up to the Georgetown brownstone erected by Bella's father. The children ran inside and Bella smiled to think how happy her father would be if he know its halls rang with laughter again.

Love had prevailed, as she hoped it always would.