Grinning like the fool he was, Barnabas gave her hand another squeeze before releasing it and shuffling back into his office for his hat and cloak, ”We’ll go at once - only… the ring is at my home in Bartonburg. And I’ve got to do something with Queenie-” He pointed at the small corgi still bird-watching out the window, ”But then, we will be joined together in matrimony that no man - or woman-” Ever mindful of what had started the rift between them in the first place, ”-can separate.”

He didn’t mention that the ring had been meant for another woman at one point - worn even, however briefly. None of that would matter. It had always been meant for Maeve.

Oh, to be in love and wed! He’d been waiting his whole life for this. Granted, it wasn’t a stuffy wedding like he’d always thought it would be - but that was all for the better. They could move on with their lives and not have to worry about etiquette and guest lists and financial burdens. The practicality of it all had a romantic, not-a-care in the world feel to it.