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“Probably for the best,” Danni said thoughtfully. “It’d be nice to have somewhere to live.”

“Ah, yes,” Eleanor said. She reached into her bag and pulled out a bundle of paperwork. “About that. I have something here.”

Danni flipped through the papers, frowning. “What is this?”

“An agreement to buy a section of the estate,” Eleanor said. “I cleared it with the trust. It’ll be yours. Farm it. You’ll buy it at a fair market price, this isn’t a gift, it’s dependent on nothing. You get to keep your independence. I get to keep you in my life.”

For a second, Danni’s expression was unreadable, then a slow grin spread across her face. “Pen.”

Eleanor handed her one.

“You know, romance involves an awful lot more paperwork than I was really expecting,” she mused as she signed the papers. “I thought it was all supposed to be flowers and wining and dining. Didn’t realize it was mostly contracts and agreements.”

“Speaking of which,” Eleanor said, heart still beating painfully fast. “You, um, didn’t answer my question.”

“Which question is that?” asked Danni.

Eleanor cleared her throat. “The, um, the one where I asked you to be my wife.”

“Ah, yes, that one.” Danni raised an eyebrow. “You see, there’s a small problem with that.”

Oh God. Eleanor felt like she might fall through the floor, like she might melt away into nothingness, like the world might end just right there and then. “What’s that then?” she managed to ask.

Danni grinned. “See, I’m already married,” she said. “And my wife, well, she’s the most wonderful person I’ve ever met. She’s prissy and correct, she drinks tea with her little finger sticking out, and she never gets her shoes dirty.”

“She sounds terrible,” Eleanor said, taking a step closer and feeling Danni’s warmth.

“No, no, she’s incredible,” Danni said. “She can cook and arrange flowers, she can run an entire estate.” She leaned in, lowering her voice. “She can make me explode in a second with one touch of her fingers.”

Eleanor felt a deep heat spreading through her core.

“And she’s funny and clever and caring,” Danni said, taking one more step forward. “She’s a princess, you see.”

“I see,” Eleanor said, quite seriously. “Well, I’m not sure I can compete with that.”

“I’m not sure anyone could,” Danni said, looking up at her with dark eyes. “I don’t think I ever stood a chance.”

“I’m not sure either of us did, to be honest,” said Eleanor, as she took Danni’s face into her hands. “Just as well we ended up together, I suppose. Stops either of us wandering aroundheartbroken for the rest of our lives.”

“Be careful what you wish for, Princess,” Danni said. “Forever is a very long time.”

“I’m not sure it’s going to be long enough,” Eleanor murmured, as her lips caught Danni’s in a kiss.

Epilogue

Eleanor sat in the newly-painted morning room stirring her tea as Elizabeth watched her carefully. Two years, it had taken to completely finish the house, and Eleanor still wasn’t completely used to it being done. Parts of it still felt like someone else’s house.

“Not sure yellow would have been my first choice,” Elizabeth said.

“It’s sunshine yellow and perfectly appropriate for the room,” said Eleanor crisply. “And isn’t every room in your house painted white?”

“It makes it far easier to choose furniture,” said Elizabeth. “Now, are you going to tell me what’s wrong? You’ve been like a bear with a sore head all morning. It’s not like you to be so snappy. Are you bored because the house is done?”

“God, no,” said Eleanor, putting her tea down. “I’ve got about a million things to do, an estate doesn’t run itself. The farm is making us half self-sufficient and we’re looking into expanding, the grounds still need plenty of work. No, I’ve got enough to do for a lifetime.”

“So…?”

She sighed. “It’s Danni,” she admitted. “She’s been distant lately, distracted. I wondered if maybe she’d said anything to you?”