Clara took his arm. "A considerable improvement over six weeks ago."
The air on the terrace was cold, and the ballroom lights shone in the windows behind them. They spoke about the new shelves for the school. The pupils had made a ridiculously long list of books, and Julian asked how many Clara meant to remove.
"None. You will pay for the other half."
"I knew saving that school would prove expensive."
When Clara turned, she found him watching her. Julian did not move closer. He only asked, "May I?"
She nodded.
The kiss was gentle. Julian held her hand afterward, his thumb resting against the back of it as if he wanted to say more. He did not.
Clara thought he would return her engagement ring the next day. Instead, on the morning her six weeks ended, the lawyer's black coach appeared below the front steps again.
They met in the same study. This time, Julian did not allow the lawyer to read the papers for him. He stated the terms himself:
The old engagement was fully dissolved. Clara owed him no promise, her dowry and marriage property remained hers to control, and her family would bear no blame for the broken match.
Clara took the old ring from its box and placed it beside the document. "You kissed me last night."
"Yes."
"And today you brought back the lawyer."
Julian looked at the ring. "The first time I ended our engagement, I was afraid you would stay. This time, I will not let a promise you made three years ago be the reason you do."
"And then?"
His hand moved toward the ring, but stopped before touching it. "There is no 'then' today."
Clara watched him for a moment, then picked up the pen and signed her name.
That afternoon, she and Aunt Miriam packed their trunks. Julian did not knock on her door. At dinner, he politely wished her a safe journey.
Clara nearly spilled her tea on his sleeve.
The next morning, the carriage waited at the entrance. Julian opened the front door for her himself.
The day was cold and bright. He wore a dark coat, his cane planted beside the threshold. "Safe travels, Miss Whitmore."
Clara descended one step, then stopped. "The old engagement is truly over?"
"Entirely."
"Good."
His fingers tightened around the cane. "What is good about it?"
Clara turned back to him. "I do not want to marry the Julian who made a promise for me three years ago, and I do not want to marry the Duke who tried to release me from it six weeks ago."
The color left his face. "I understand."
"You understand nothing." She climbed the step again. "The old engagement is over. If you still have something to say, you may say it now in your own name."
Julian stared at her. It seemed to take several seconds for the words to reach him.
"Clara."
"The name is right this time."
He came one step closer. He did not kneel, and Clara did not wait for a graceful, but entirely unnecessary performance.
"Clara Whitmore, will you marry me?" he asked. "Not to fulfill the old engagement. Will you marry the man I am now?"
"What about the school?"
"It stays open. Though I reserve the right to complain when the coal bill arrives."
"And when you lose your temper and try to send me away?"
"You may go. Then, when I can speak like a reasonable man again, I will come and find you."
Clara held back a smile. "May I disagree with you in front of Edmund?"
"Preferably while he is in the room."
She made him wait a little longer on purpose, then: "Yes."
Julian did not retrieve the old ring from the study. Instead, he took a small box from inside his coat. It held a pale blue stone with no family crest.
"When did you arrange this?"
"When I still had no right to show it to you."
"You managed to restrain yourself for once."
"It was not easy."
Clara gave him her hand. "You may now."
They married in early summer. Julian's leg did not return to what it had been before the war. It still ached in wet weather, and he still needed to sit after standing too long. Sometimes he asked for Clara's hand; sometimes he chose to walk the rest of the way alone.
Clara visited the school twice each week. After the second classroom was built, she and Julian argued more than once over books and coal. Whoever had miscalculated admitted it; when they had both miscalculated, they went together to find the steward.
After the wedding, they came out of the church. The last stone step was higher than the others. Julian stopped before it and looked down.
Clara stood beside him. "Do you need my hand?"
"I can manage the step."
"I know."
He looked at her. "But I want to take it with you."
Clara placed her hand in his. "You finally asked."
Together, they walked down the final step.