"Are you alright there Ma\'am?" one of the men from the stable called to Delaney upon hearing the glass shatter.

"Uh y-yes. Yes!" she called back raising a hand, not wanting them to come closer, "I\'m fine I just-just slipped in the dark. Carry on!"

The first man looked at another who had joined him, neither seeming to believe her, but they returned to the stables as Delaney had said.

Trembling, she turned back to the figure in the shadows that had given her such a fright.

"Good evening my Lady," Vincent spoke in a low tone, "I didn\'t mean to startle you."

Delaney\'s heart was racing, pounding in her chest like it was trying to escape. Vincent was in the shadow of the building but the moonlight shone down illuminating half of his face. The half with the webbing red scars running across it.

Delaney had hoped they might fade but she could see even in the dim moonlight that they had not. They cut across his face, ruining its perfection and instead, turning into something scary. His normally dark green eyes appeared black in the darkness, adding to his terrifying appearance.

Delaney swallowed and took a step back. Logically, in her mind, she knew this was Vincent. This was the same man she\'d gone to all those balls with and shared stolen kisses with. But seeing him now in the shadowy night made her blood run cold in fear.

Seeing Delaney\'s alarm clear on her face as she stared at him, Vincent looked away, feeling his cheeks grow warm. He took a step back from her, feeling the need to give her more space.

"I\'m sorry," he cleared his throat, "I know my appearance can be quite... unsettling..."

Delaney didn\'t reply. She didn\'t know what to say to that. It was true and she was still working to calm her racing heart because of it.

"I didn\'t plan to come here," he continued nervously, "I didn\'t want to upset your party or... run off your guests... I just wanted to see you. I knew you would look lovely for your birthday.  I watched you for a while with your friends and you were so happy you looked absolutely beautiful. I didn\'t want to ruin that. I just wanted to... I just wanted to see it I suppose."

"You\'ve been watching me?" Delaney managed to whisper, "This entire night?"

"No, no," Vincent shook his head quickly meeting her eyes again, his own wide, desperate for her to understand, "I\'ve only been here a short time. I came in a small carriage that doesn\'t have our family crest on it so it wouldn\'t draw attention. I stayed out of sight."

The idea of him lurking in the darkness watching her unsettled Delaney even more.

"Does Miles know you\'re here? Or Cora?"

"No. No one knows. I came alone long after they\'d left. I planned to leave before them as well. I was actually about to go for my carriage when I heard you on the gravel. I was trying to stay still in the shadow but when I saw it was you, I... I just moved towards you without realizing it."

His voice was different too, Delaney discerned. It was lower now. Deeper. She was glad he had remained hidden so far but now she was anxious him to leave before anyone saw him. Before anyone saw her with him. She glanced towards the carriages.

"I\'m sorry," he said again, "I didn\'t intend to upset your night."

Delaney knew she should say something. He had come all this way from Edgewood to see her. That was no small trip. He had wanted to see her but was trying not to disrupt her evening. She had sent him an invitation so he would\'ve been within his rights to show up and enter her party for everyone to see. That would have ruined everything.

She tried to force herself to think of something to say but couldn\'t take her mind off of the angry red slashes across his face and his inky gaze.

"I\'ll go," he looked down again, "But here. I did bring this for you. I had planned to have a man from the stables leave it for you."

Delaney looked down as he held out a large, fabric wrapped square she hadn\'t noticed before, too distracted by the rest of him. He held it out to her now and she hesitated. Seeing this, he pulled the fabric back to reveal the same worn red leather book with the Adair family crest he\'d shown her long ago on their carriage ride together.

She looked at him in confusion, "I can\'t take this. It belongs to your family."

A smile pulled at the side of his mouth, stretching the scar across his chin and cheek, making them seem to grow. His eyes seemed to lighten as he did so. "Well, it will be your family soon enough. You could consider it on loan if you..."

"Vincent please," cut him off, "Surely you don\'t intend for the marriage to go ahead as planned?"

He looked at her in confusion, "What? What do you mean?"

Now it was Delaney who looked away, "You were badly injured in the war. I didn\'t know if you would survive..."

"But I did."

"Yes," Delaney hesitated, remembering him throwing the mug at his brother, she found herself wishing there was more distance between them, "But even if you did survive, after I saw you at the hospital I knew you were going to be... different."

Vincent stiffened then.  "You\'re referring to my scars," he said coldly.

"Yes.  And also..."

"You think our marriage contract will be void because I look a bit different now?" he hissed, fighting to keep his voice quiet enough to not be heard by others.

Delaney frowned, "Vincent you look entirely different.  Besides, you\'re also..."

"So you thought I wouldn\'t expect us to be married now because I\'m not as handsome as I was before?"

"It\'s more than that," she tried again, growing louder as he did, "You\'re not the same!  You\'re not going to be the same man you were before the war.  Things like that change people!"

He shook his head, confused again as he took a step towards her.  "Delaney I\'m still the same man I was before.  I know I look different but I\'m still me."

Delaney stepped back, tears springing to her eyes unexpectedly.  This was the conversation she\'d been dreading.  "You have to understand," she managed, her voice cracking with her tears, "You\'re never going to be the same."

"Please," he moved closer to her again, now stepping out of the shadows so the moonlight showed down on him, bringing into view all the scars running over his face and down his neck, "Delaney I promise I\'m still the same man I was.  I\'m the same man you loved..."

"I never loved you, Vincent," she cried now, tears spilling from her eyes in frustration and guilt as she watched his face fall, "We were attracted to one another and we enjoyed being together but it wasn\'t love.  We barely know each other!"

Vincent looked away, "Maybe it wasn\'t love but it was something.  It was something we could turn into love.  Once we\'re married we can..."

"I don\'t want to marry you!" she couldn\'t stop herself now, "Don\'t you understand?  You\'re not the same!  You\'re...You\'re frightening!"

Vincent straightened abruptly then as if she\'d slapped him.  His eyes flashed with anger as he frowned down at her.  Delaney had never seen him angry like this before.  In this moment she saw his resemblance to his brother coming through even though he looked much worse with his damaged face.

"My appearance has no effect on our marriage contract," he spat in anger, "Monster or not, you are promised to marry me."

"But Vincent," she choked through her tears, seeing her future darkening, "Please!  Please don\'t make me do that!"

"Delaney?" came a voice from towards the front of the building.  They both turned and saw all of their friends gathered there.  Selina, Cora, Olive, and Constance as well as Miles, Bernard, and Duncan.  They were all staring at them in open-mouthed confusion.

"Vince?" Duncan asked in surprise.

"What are you doing here?" Miles stepped forward, "You said you weren\'t coming.  You said..."

He fell quiet then as he looked from his brother\'s furious expression to Delaney\'s tear-covered, fearful one.  "What\'s going on here?" he demanded.

"Nothing," Vincent\'s voice was dripping in his anger, "I was just leaving."

"Vince wait," Miles took his brother\'s arm but Vincent jerked it free again as he turned and stormed towards the carriages.  Delaney watched him, noticing he had a slight limp in the leg where he\'d been wounded.

"Vincent!" Miles called after him but his brother didn\'t stop.

"I\'ll go with him," Duncan said as he jogged past them to catch up with his friend.

"But Duncan!" Selina cried after him, face in an unattractive pout.

Miles watched until they were swallowed up into the night before turning his icy glare on Delaney.

"What did you do?" he hissed.