The bird landed on the garden wall. It did not steal anything. For once, it simply watched. Then it flew away.
Julian and Eliza remained together beneath the old tree. The house stood behind them. Their children played beyond the roses. The necklace rested against Eliza's throat, and the promise that had begun as a foolish escape from marriage had become the most deliberate choice Julian Ashford had ever made.
He had once said he would marry the first woman who entered. He had been wrong. He had not married her because she entered first. He married her because she stayed. Because she challenged him. Because she made him laugh. Because she trusted him with her fears. Because she stood beside him when his family history became painful. Because she refused to let him hide behind his title. Because she loved him without worshiping him. And because when he finally asked her to choose him, she did.
That was the real story. Not the Duke, not the necklace, not even the bird.
A week before their wedding, Julian took Eliza to the old family estate records office.
"I want you to see something."
She followed him. He opened a drawer. Inside were dozens of letters.
"What are those?"
"Letters from people who wanted something from me."
She picked one up. "A marriage proposal?"
"Yes."
"And you kept them?"
"My aunt kept them."
"Why?"
"Evidence."
"Of what?"
"That society is insane."
She laughed.
He handed her another. "This woman offered to marry me if I allowed her brother to manage my northern properties."
"That is not romance."
"No."
Another letter promised to improve his reputation if he funded a political campaign. Another offered him a family connection in exchange for a title.
Eliza put them down. "You were right to be cautious."
"I was. But you became too cautious."
"Yes." She looked at him. "Why did you trust me?"
He thought. "Because you wanted your necklace back."
She laughed. "That is your reason?"
"You were not interested in me. I was interested in leaving."
"Exactly." He smiled. "You treated me like a person before you treated me like a duke."
She touched his hand. "Perhaps everyone should."
"I wish I had understood that earlier."
She squeezed his fingers. "You understand now."
Their first public appearance as an engaged couple was supposed to be dignified. It lasted twelve minutes.
They were standing beneath a marble arch when an elderly countess approached. "I hear you were introduced by a bird."
Eliza smiled. "Unfortunately."
"Is that true, Your Grace?"
Julian sighed. "Yes."
"How romantic."
"No."