The silence lasted approximately half a second.
Then the entire table erupted.
"Oh my God!" Sophie shrieked. "I knew it! I knew you were being weird!"
"Finally!" Lady Charlotte's hands flew to her chest.
"About bloody time," Cathy said.
Archie was grinning. "Good man. Er, woman. Good woman."
"When were you planning to do it?" Ambrose asked.
"I was planning to do it two days ago! And then yesterday! And then this morning!" Victoria could hear her voice rising, but couldn't seem to stop it. "But first it rained, and then the flowers got eaten by a calf, and then Pani Kaminska redesigned the library, no offense, and then Sophie had a bovine medical emergency…"
"Fromage had colic!"
"…and I had this perfect plan, and it was supposed to be romantic and beautiful and everything was supposed to go right for once, and instead it's been a complete disaster!"
"Kochanie," Pani Kaminska said sympathetically, reaching across to pat Victoria's hand. She said something in Polish that sounded kind.
"She says all proposals are disasters," Lukas translated. "It's part of their charm."
"I don't want charm, I want perfection!"
"Well, that's your first problem," Grandmother Alexandra observed dryly. "Perfection is tedious. Sasha would hate it."
Victoria slumped back in her chair, feeling suddenly exhausted. "I just wanted it to be special."
"It will be special," Lady Charlotte said firmly. "Because you'll be asking the woman you love to marry you. That's special enough."
"Your mother's right," Sir Archibald said, which was rare enough that everyone turned to look at him. "Proposed to your mother in a garden. Meant to do it at sunset. Did it at noon because I couldn't wait anymore. Still said yes."
"That's actually quite romantic, Papa," Sophie said.
"Wasn't meant to be romantic. Just meant to be honest."
"When were you planning to do it?" Archie asked. "The proposal, I mean."
"Yesterday!"
"Right then." Archie stood up, suddenly decisive. "Let’s get started then."
"What?"
"We can help." He looked around the table. "Can't we? Family effort."
"Absolutely," Lady Charlotte said. "What do you need, darling?"
Victoria stared at them all. "You want to help me propose?"
"Obviously," Sophie said. "This is the most exciting thing that's happened all week. Well, except for Fromage learning to bow, but this is a close second."
"I can provide flowers," Lukas offered. "Real ones this time. From the greenhouse. I'll keep them away from livestock. I’ll light a bonfire in the garden so you’ll have magical lighting."
"I’ll take care of the snow," Ambrose said.
"Wait, snow?" asked Victoria.
