Louisa hadn't removed her dress. She wouldn't go down in her nightgown to meet Michael. Walking around the house in her nightgown seemed completely absurd, especially since those people weren't her parents, no matter how good they were to her.
She opened the door, glanced around the aunt and uncle's room, and the lights were off. She heard some noises, but believed they were just talking before bed.
Louisa made her way down the stairs carefully and when she looked down, Michael wasn't there. She frowned, but kept going down. She reached the bottom of the stairs and looked this way and that, but the house was dark. Suddenly, a hand covered her mouth and an arm wrapped around Louisa's waist.
"Calm down, it's me." Michael said in her ear and Louisa felt something very strange in her belly. A different feeling. The hairs on her arms and neck stood on end.
