R. Mathewson - Truce: The Historic Neighbor from Hell

              “Please do join us,” James said dryly.

              “Thank you, I believe I shall,” Robert said cheerfully.

              “I’ll get us something to eat,” James said pleasantly to her before he sent a brief glare in Robert’s direction.

              Elizabeth watched nervously as James walked away. “Never going to happen,” Robert said around a bite of biscuit.

* * *

              “What?”

              “You and my brother. James will always think of you as the fat little pain in the ass that used to follow him around.”

              “And you’ll always be the annoying little boy who used to leave more puddles around the house than my dog.”

              His temper flared. “Why you little-”

              “Ah, Lady Elizabeth, may I join you?” a man with an eager expression that annoyed Robert, asked.

              "No, go away," Robert said, glaring at the man.

              The man opened his mouth, but quickly shut it as he scurried away.

              "That was rude!" Elizabeth hissed softly.

              He merely shrugged as he dug into his food.

              “Here you are.” James placed a small plate of food and a glass of punch in front of her.

              “Thank you, my Lord.”

              “James. Please call me James. Our families are old friends, after all.”

              “James, thank you,” she said pleasantly.

              Robert rolled his eyes and looked back down at his plate. Damn those biscuits were actually warm and pretty good. Not the norm for ball food. He reached over and snagged the biscuit off her plate. “Thanks,” he muttered.

              Elizabeth simple rolled her eyes.

              “Robert,” James hissed.

              “Oh, very well.” He reached over and snagged his brother’s biscuit as well, couldn’t have improprieties after all.

              “Are you enjoying yourself this season, Elizabeth?” James asked, pointedly ignoring him now.

              Her eyes shot to Robert. There was that blush again. He rather liked that blush on her. “Yes, thank you.”

              “Have you had a chance to see the sights?” James asked.

              They both knew that she’d been coming to London every year of her life. James really needed to work on his dinner conversation, Robert decided.

“Not yet,” she said with a polite smile.

              “You should really check out the orangeries. They’re very interesting,” Robert said before he could stop himself. Ah, well at least she blushed again.

              “What?” James asked, sounding confused as he shifted his gaze between the two of them.

              “Nothing,” he mumbled. This woman was his enemy. If he kept saying stupid things, they would be found out and then he would be stuck with her for eternity. He shuddered at the thought. For the rest of the meal he remained quiet, limiting himself to refilling his plate five times instead of his customary ten so that he could keep an eye on her. When they were finished with their meal they met up with their parents. Plans for the rest of the night were quickly made. It was decided that both families were going to his father’s house for a game of cards and a drink.

              Robert waited until their parents and James were ahead of them before he grabbed Elizabeth by the arm and dragged her towards the small hallway behind the grand staircase. It was dark and, most importantly, private.

              “Get your hands off me!” she demanded.

              “We need to talk,” he said through clenched teeth.

              “We have nothing to talk about.”

              “I beg to differ.” He forced himself to ignore her soft warm body pressed up against his. She tried to push past him, but he wasn’t having that. He gently pushed her back against the wall.

              “Robert, let me go! They’ll notice our absence.”

              “Too bad. I want to know why you tricked me.”

              “No one tricked anyone. It was just a mistake, one better off forgotten.”

              A mistake? The most passionate night of his life was a mistake? Her first time and that’s what she thought. That grated on him in the worst way. “Is that what you think, Beth?”

              “Don’t call me that.”

              “Why, Beth?”

              “You know I hate that name.”

              “Oh, so sorry, Beth. I do apologize, Beth.” He was being petty and he knew it, but he didn’t give a damn. She’d always brought out the very worst in him.

              She reached up and twisted his ear. “Ow!”

              “Out of my way, Robert Lemonade,” she said casually, pissing him off in the worst way.

              She released his ear just as she stepped back into the foyer after making sure that it was empty. “Good seeing you again, Robert.”

              He absently rubbed his ear as they rode through the city. His mother and father couldn’t say enough nice things about Elizabeth. He wanted to hurl. James seemed to agree with them. He nodded quite often and smiled. Dear God, the man was smitten with the little minx.

              James and Elizabeth, the idea was horrifying. Having her as a sister-in-law would drive him to drink. Poor James, the bloody bastard would be stuck with her day and night. Night. The idea of James experiencing his minx was not comforting. His minx? She wasn’t his anything. That didn’t mean that he wanted her to join the family, because he didn’t and she wouldn’t be. He wasn’t going to put a stop to it over jealousy. He had future generations of Bradfords to worry about after all. Just because the idea of her with another man made his blood boil did not mean that he was jealous. Just the opposite in fact. He didn’t want to see any man tied down with such a horrible woman.

              “What’s going on?” James suddenly asked, making him realize that he’d been glaring at his brother since they’d left the ball.

              “Fire!” their coachman yelled as the coach came to an abrupt stop, jolting them all.

              “Harold, it’s our house!” Danielle cried.

              “Nonsense,” Harold huffed as he leaned over to look out the small square window.

              “It is!”

              Robert was already jumping out of the carriage and running before the last word was out of his father’s mouth. Ahead of him Lord Norwood and, damn it all to hell, Elizabeth were also running towards the large blaze.

              Elizabeth stopped in front of the crying maids. “Johnny’s in there!”

              “Who’s Johnny?” Elizabeth asked, getting the attention of the maid closest to her.

              “He’s the cook’s grandson. He’s visiting. Oh, he’s so small!” the maid cried, her horrified gaze fixed on the townhouse slowly being consumed by flames.

              She grabbed the maid’s shoulders, ignoring the smoke and blaze for a moment. “Where is he?”

              “In the back! In the servant’s quarters!”

              “Elizabeth, get back!” her father yelled from the line of men handling the buckets of water.

              “You’re sure he didn’t make it out?” she asked the maid, ignoring her father's demands.

              “Yes! He was crying when they dragged me out!”

              “Okay, the back you say?”

              “Yes!”

              Elizabeth grabbed a passing bucket of water and poured it on herself. “My Lady?” the maid asked, stunned by the odd behavior, but Elizabeth was already off and running into the smoke filled house.

              “Elizabeth!”

              “Beth!”

              She ignored the shouts and pressed her wet shawl to her mouth so that she could breathe through the thick smoke. She ducked low and moved forward. Her eyes were already stinging by the time she made it to the front step. She had no idea where the fire had started, but she had a good idea that it had started on the second floor since she didn't see any hint of flame through the thick smoke. Old houses like this went up quickly once the flame took hold so she knew there wasn’t much time to guess. She moved to the back of the house, jumping over rubble and avoiding the crumbling ceiling along the way as she prayed that she was headed in the right direction.

              “Johnny!” she screamed, coughing as she made her way through the smoky kitchen to the back rooms. She hadn’t been in this house in over ten years, but she was able to get her bearings, she knew it as well as her own.

              “Johnny!” she yelled again when she reached the servants’ quarters. She remembered the cook had the room at the end of the small hallway and kept walking, praying that nothing had changed since she’d last been here.

              Halfway down the small hallway a hand wrapped around her arm and pulled her to a stop. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Robert demanded, yelling so that he could be heard over the loud crackling of fire and the sounds of timber crashing close by.

              Desperate to find the little boy, she pushed at his arm until he let her go and practically ran to the cook’s room. She threw the door open. Through the smoke she could just barely make out a small bed made up on one side and a small pallet on the floor on the other side of the room. This was the room. It had to be.

              “Johnny!”

              “Here,” a small voice said, sounding terrified.

              “Under the bed!” Robert yelled.

They both quickly dropped to their knees. Elizabeth leaned down and peered under the bed and nearly wept with relief when she spotted the small boy curled up beneath the bed.

              “Come here, sweetheart,” Elizabeth said softly around a cough as smoke threatened to suffocate her.

              The little boy shook his head. “Come here, you’re worrying your grandmother. You don’t want to do that, do you?”

              “No,” Johnny said, shaking his head. “I’m scared.”

              “I am, too. I need you to come out here, Johnny, and help me,” she said firmly, hoping the demand would be enough to convince him to come out.

              The boy thought it over before reluctantly nodding. Hesitantly, he reached out and took her hand. When a loud crack echoed throughout the room a few seconds later, the frightened boy tried to pull back, but Robert grabbed his arm and yanked the boy out the rest of the way before he could move back. Johnny shrieked in surprise.

“Good, let’s go,” Robert said, reaching back and taking her arm. He pulled her towards the kitchen where they both froze in horror. The way they’d come was now engulfed in flames.

              “Out the back!” Elizabeth yelled. She tugged on his hand and pulled him towards the door that led to the small garden. She managed to yank the door open and fled the house with Robert in tow.

              “I want my Grandma!” Johnny sobbed.

              Robert nodded sympathetically. “We’ll take you right to her.” He looked back at the house. Thankfully the house was made of thick stone. It would help slow the spread of flames to other houses and give the men a chance to put out the fire. They could hear the men shouting orders for more water while others screamed in fear.

              “We’ll have to go around the alley,” Elizabeth said, her voice raw from the smoke.

              “Let’s go,” he said in agreement.

Johnny wrapped his small arms around his neck while they charged through the thick smoke that poured into the alley. Water thrown on the neighboring roofs to prevent the fire from spreading dripped down on them. The cool water felt good on their overheated, ash covered skin.

              Elizabeth squeezed his hand, afraid she’d lose them in the smoke. She tugged none-too-gently to get them onto the street where they both collapsed in coughing fits. Their lungs cramped under the demand for fresh air.

              “Over here!” a man yelled.

              Strong hands suddenly clasped Elizabeth by her arms and hauled her up. In seconds she was cradled in someone’s strong arms. She looked up expecting to see her father. Instead she was looking at Robert’s soot covered face. She watched a muscle pulse in his jaw as he stared down at her.