A few minutes later, the drawing room door opened again. Eliza stepped across the threshold, expecting to find an acquaintance of her aunt's. When she saw the tall, familiar figure standing near the fireplace, she stopped completely.
For a moment, the civilized noise of Bath outside the window seemed to vanish.
Andrew did not cross the room. He did not crowd her or attempt to overwhelm the quiet space between them with a grand, breathless speech. He simply looked at her, allowing her the time to realize he was truly standing there.
"Lord Andrew," she breathed, her voice betraying a rare fracture in her usual composure. "I understood you were bound for Dover."
"I was," he answered softly. "My trunks were packed. My passage was secured. And then, as I stood in the agent's office, I realized I was following the plan simply because it had always been the plan."
Eliza's hands tightened around the silk fabric of her skirt. She did not dare to assume what his presence meant. Not yet.
"And now?"
"Now," Andrew said, his voice steady and deeply anchored, "I wish to be here." He closed half the distance between them, stopping when he was near enough that they did not need to raise their voices. "The continent has not disappeared, Miss Harkort. I do not pretend that I have suddenly lost all desire to see the world, nor do I intend to abandon the life I possessed before I met you. But I also do not wish to continue building a future in which all my decisions are made as if no one else could possibly matter."
Eliza looked up at him, her heart beating a rapid, hopeful rhythm against her ribs. She remained silent, giving him the space to finish.
"I did not come because I expect anything from you," he said gently, ensuring she felt no pressure, no obligation to return his sentiment simply because he had made the journey. "I came because I did not wish my silence to make the decision for us."
It was enough.
There was no desperate proposal of marriage after only a few weeks of acquaintance. There was no demand for eternal devotion. There was only the quiet, profound offering of intention.