When they finally pulled apart, the crowd had gone silent, everyone staring.
Then Thomas's voice rang out: "FINALLY! I WIN SO MUCH MONEY!"
The tension broke, everyone laughing and cheering and calling out congratulations and good-natured jesting. But Alaric only had eyes for Marianne, who was looking at him with wonder.
"You kissed me in public."
"You kissed me back."
"The entire village saw."
"Good. Now they all know."
"Know what?"
"That I love you. That you're mine. That I'm yours. That this is real and permanent and worth everything."
"You can't just decide all that."
"I'm not deciding it. I'm recognizing it. There's a difference."
"Is there?"
"You tell me. You kissed me back."
"That was impulse."
"Was it?"
"No," she admitted. "It was inevitability."
"Good inevitable or bad inevitable?"
"The best inevitable."
He kissed her again, shorter this time but no less meaningful.
"I have something to say," Marianne announced suddenly, loud enough for the crowd to hear.
"Oh no," Alaric murmured. "Are you about to throw something at me after all?"
"No. Maybe. Probably not." She climbed onto the platform where the musicians had been playing, pulling him up with her. "I have something to say about forgiveness."
The crowd went quiet, everyone listening.
"This man," she said, pointing at Alaric, "lied to all of us. He pretended to be someone he wasn't. He deceived us and betrayed our trust."
"This is not the romantic declaration I was hoping for," Alaric muttered.
"But," Marianne continued, "he also stayed when the truth came out. He bled fixing my roof. He listened to your complaints for three hours without once looking bored. He's promised to stay, to be part of this community, to use his position to help instead of hide."
"Marianne..."
"I'm not finished. The point is, he hurt me. Hurt us. But he's trying to make amends. And if this village can forgive Fletcher for stealing, if we can forgive the geese for destroying everything annually, if we can forgive Mrs. Martin for the garland incident of '03..."
"That was art!" Mrs. Martin protested.
"...then we can forgive a duke for being human. For being afraid. For choosing connection even when it meant risking rejection."
