But a prince in distress needs a damsel to test
What he always feels...

4th April, 1888 — Backus Family Bakery

Work had been busy, as March had progressed - lots of people stuck together turning up at the hospital, lots of people a vibrant shade of green. (Very few of those he'd treated had been best pleased to hear his Irish lilt, he had to say.)

So he hadn't had much time to visit the bakery in Hogsmeade lately, though he'd thought about it a few times. 'Course, after Maeve's little interrogation, it had seemed advisable not to show up again too quickly (though, he thought, it would be rather a funny story to retell to Maggie). Who knew what snippet of their conversation would get churned wildly away by the poor, bored citizens of Hogsmeade next?

At the same time, he'd been keen to come by again, if only to make sure that things had returned to normal, and that she didn't think he was annoyed with her (or to see whether she was annoyed with him; he had made light of her problems, he knew that, and regretted it a little too). Lorcan, however, had left their last encounter unbruised and as breezy as ever: if his joking hadn't so tickled the gossip mill, he was sure most of their discussion would have slipped from his mind altogether by now.

No, but that wasn't all - he did want to see how Maggie was faring now, whether her excitement about all the possibilities of opening her own bakery had all worn off now in the face of reality. Perhaps she would need some cheering up.

It was near closing time when he slipped in through the bakery door, holding it open for another customer on their way out. "Evening," he called out sunnily, since no one was at the counter. (Maybe they'd have some day's leftovers for him to eat.)

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The moment Maggie had finished up with what she had perceived to be the final customer of the day, she had dipped into the back of the shop to get one of the empty bread racks so she could start cleaning up the front of the shop and putting away the now day old products. She had just about to come back into the bakery when she heard a familiar voice that sent an instant wave of anxiety but elation through her. She had been waiting for Lorcan to come back, there was surely much to talk about. But..would he be receptive to what she had to say.

With a deep breath, she stepped into the bakery with the rack and smiled at the frequent gentleman. "Prince Charming," she said, unable to prevent the humor in her tone as she said it. She nearly stumbled when she offered him a fake little curtsy. Once recovered though, she made her way from behind the counter to start loading up the leftover loaves of bread. Luckily it didn't look as though there were a lot left over which was always a good sign.

"How are you this evening?" she asked pleasantly enough as she busied herself but not without positioning herself to where she could still see him and be able to converse without being rude but still being able to do her job.

  

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Lorcan barked out a laugh of pure delight when she called him Prince Charming once again, not only because this meant she must be in a good enough mood to joke around with him - and so couldn't be too put off by their last encounter - but also because she had even curtsied, and even if she was doing it sarcastically, it was downright adorable.

His cheery mood spilled over another fraction more in his next smile, hoping she'd caught it before she went back to her bread. He certainly didn't mind that; it wasn't as though he were in any hurry. It'd be harder to observe her demeanour if he found a way back to inquiring about her dashed bakery hopes from here, but Lorcan wasn't sure how to bring that up again, anyway.

Instead, he answered her question as he sauntered over to her side. "Oh, I'm excellent," he replied. "But I'd be even better if I had a snack," he added innocently, not sure she'd fall for it but cupping his hands out at her as though he were a poor, pleading beggar child all the same. He'd try batting his eyelashes to butter her up, but after the 'beggar child' motion, that might just be sending mixed signals.

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Maggie couldn't help the flush in her cheeks at his laughter. Not from embarrassment but from happiness. She really did love the banter that she had with Lorcan on occasion. Which..made her decision to talk to him all the more worrisome to her. She really didn't know how he'd take to what she had to say but there was no harm in continuing some playful banter before getting down to business.

It was her turn to laugh, a cheerful and unrestrained laughter. She'd never been forced to do the whole proper debutante titter so many young women did so simply allowed herself to laugh when time called for it. Which typically was whenever Lorcan was around. She'd just picked up a roll that wasn't too hard and was going to go into a bread pudding when he'd come over and acted the part of a poor beggar boy. With a flick of her wrist, she threw it to him but wagged a finger at him afterward. "Now don't go getting used to hand outs," she said with a smirk, "An excellent man's gotta earn his keep."

  

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He caught the roll she'd tossed into his hand and gave her a wide grin, then lifted the bread to his mouth and tore into it with his teeth, chewing a large chunk of it with exaggerated abandon.

Once he'd swallowed, he snorted at her wagging finger and straightened up. He'd meant to ask Maggie how she was in return next, but he couldn't resist stretching their fun a little bit further. "Is that so?" Lorcan put in, one eyebrow raised in amusement.

Recalling her curtsy, he now bent down into a lavish bow, giving it an extra flourish with a twirling hand gesture, as though he were a loyal servant. "Well then, how can I be of service?" He teased, once he'd pulled out of it, and nibbled on some more of the roll; but he did also glance at her expectantly, because there probably was something he could do to help her out. Wipe down the counter. Help with the bread racks. Something like that.

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Maggie grinned widely at him, quite pleased with their banter as it continued. She couldn't help but to laugh at his deep bow but his next question was the exact thing she needed as an opening to what she really needed to talk to him about. It was terrifying, however, and she instantly felt her whole body heat up. She was pretty sure that she was flushing a bright shade of crimson but there was nothing to be done about it. She had to ask it.

"Marry me," she said quite abruptly as she forced herself to keep looking at him, her work paused for the time being as she took in his demeanor and response. She had more to say, plenty more really, but she couldn't find the strength to say it just yet. She needed to see how he reacted to such a blunt response, one that surely would catch him off guard as she herself felt quite off guard.

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   Lorcan Byrne

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His gaze had already drifted towards the bread racks in an attempt to anticipate her answer, weighing up the remainder of the roll in his hand in the overwhelming temptation to toss it to his other. Not that he knew how to juggle -

It was a fortunate fact that he hadn't thrown the roll up before she spoke, and it somehow still felt as though he'd managed to drop the ball, because whatever he'd been expecting, it hadn't been that.

The rest of the bread roll found itself rather a casualty of Lorcan's surprise, either way: his grasp on it tightened suddenly, squashing it into a mould of his fingermarks so deep that it distorted the whole thing. His attention was not, admittedly, on bread at the moment, but rather on the fact that she'd brought up all his earlier joking (and not-so-joking) again. And out of the blue - if the gossip hadn't gotten back to her, that was. Everything they had said so far to each other today had been in jest, Lorcan was aware: so he was clearly playing tricks on himself now, had digested it wrong, had almost thought that she sounded serious.

"Hah, that's my line," Lorcan countered, to try and recover his easy air before she spotted that he'd fallen for her teasing hook, line, and sinker. All that said, he wasn't sure he managed to disguise his disconcertedness as his gaze tore back to her.

He looked at Maggie peering at him, wide-eyed. Her grin had faded, her face replaced with a different sort of flush: not the kind from suppressed laughter, it was more... self-conscious than that. Lorcan struggled to voice his confusion - but he could feel his eyebrows lifting ever higher, and perhaps that said enough. "Or..." he started slowly. Or, it wasn't a joke this time.

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Maggie couldn't help the slight twitch of her lips and the small smile that formed as he tried making a joke of it. It did make her a bit self conscious though, thinking that maybe she had gotten it all wrong. Maybe he really had been meaning it all was a joke. Joke or not, he did have good points to it all. Points that she had pondered on since that day. And now, well now it had been said and she couldn't back away from it.

"You made good points last time," she said, trying to remain as calm as she could even though she felt as though her heart would beat right out of her chest, "It could be simply a marriage of convenience. I get the inheritance and can start the bakery. The shop I want has apartments above it so we could live in London. In separate rooms, of course." She continued to watch him and though her face was still flushed, she was smiling at least slightly. She knew enough about him to know he lived with his father still so perhaps the thought of having his own home would help.

  

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Lorcan blinked. You made good points last time, she said.

He had, hadn't he? Lorcan thought, without quite remembering what on earth he had said last time. He'd meant what he said, hadn't he? Or had he been arguing with her for the sake of it? Well, it didn't matter. She thought he was right. She wanted to marry him!

...For convenience. Suddenly, their roles had been reversed, and somehow Maggie sounded like she'd given the matter plenty of thought, had everything already figured out; Lorcan, meanwhile, was having some difficulty digesting it all at once, rather dazed at the thought. Separate rooms, really?

This was a bad idea. A bad, bad, terrible, awful, really bad idea.

Lorcan knew this, somewhere at the back of his mind, somewhere deep down in his gut, wherever it was one's self-preservation instincts originated from; but the feeling was so far away that it was indescribably small, like the itch from a flea bite, a speck of dust to brush away.  

His family was going to crucify him, probably.

He had thought about living in London often enough before, though, he considered; he'd be close to work. There'd be more to do in London. With Maggie's inheritance, he might even be better off than before, living off his lacklustre mediwizard pay and his father. People might talk, but what did he care about that?

Lorcan, his head awhirl, finally focused on Maggie's face. She was looking at him expectantly, still blushing, but also smiling - that, he thought, was what to blame. She was smiling like that, warm and hopeful and a little anxious... And they had fun, didn't they? And this, this was what she'd dreamed of. This was what she wanted. It would make her happy.

And, after all, it had been his idea. Maybe a joke, maybe a serious thought; maybe this was what he had meant and maybe this wasn't what he'd meant; all the same, he had offered.

And it would make her happy.

Lorcan nodded at her, the gesture feeling more foreign than usual, like he was a marionette on a string. "Okay. Alright -" he heard himself say, mouth slipping into a broad grin, to convince himself of the feeling. He let out a huge exhale and added - "yes. Let's do it."

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   Fortuna Bixby

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Maggie seemed to be something of a mimic after he did finally speak. She hadn't realized until that moment that she'd actually been holding her breath as he'd thought about what she'd said, which felt like had been ages. But then he'd said yes and she exhaled suddenly herself as her own grin mirrored his own. The widening of her grin certainly reached her eyes as she beamed happily at him, her whole face lit up with happiness and excitement.

And..without thinking, she threw her arms around his neck and gave him a hug. She even went so far as to brush her lips across his cheek in her excitement before blushing furiously and stepping back. Her hands still rested a bit tentatively as she looked up to him, face still flushed but eyes bright still. "You're sure?" she asked, wanting to make sure he really was, "I promise the money won't all be just mine. Certainly most so that the bakery can get a good start but there should be plenty for us to live comfortable. Especially with your income and the income the bakery will bring it."

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   Lorcan Byrne

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See, look at that, it had already been worth it.

And that was just her smile. If that hadn't been enough, she'd thrown herself into an embrace, kissed his cheek. Lorcan's doubts all scattered away at once on the winds of his utter surprise. (Of course, he might have expected that if this had been a real proposal, but this wasn't real, this was just a means to an end.) Still, his surprise had slowed him down, and by the time he had digested the situation and gone to return the hug, she'd already stepped back.

He looked at her rosy cheeks as she began to babble about money and practicalities and assurances (that he should probably be listening to, given they were getting married). Disregarding that niggling feeling, Lorcan reminded himself once more that it had been his suggestion to begin with, and really he should have started as blasé as he meant to go on. So; now it was time to go on, and be blasé about this: he could manage that, surely.

"I don't mind about the money," Lorcan answered honestly, his arms snaking around her waist now, just to tease her. "I am entirely sure. This was my idea first, you know." He shot her another grin. Since she was going to be much richer than before because of this, however... "But you'd better be buying the rings," he joked. (Did this even call for rings? When exactly were they even getting married? Had she planned any further than this? Because he certainly hadn't.) 

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   Bella Scrimgeour

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Feeling his arm snake around her waist only made chills run down Maggie's spine. Good chills, but chills nonetheless. The kind that set the hairs are her arms to stand up and her skin to appear as gooseflesh. And to top it off, she blushed even more which was really saying something. Her first instinct was to pull further away but her feet felt like lead and she couldn't move in the slightest. She decided then that she didn't really want to anyways.

She was grinning when he said it had been his idea, something she'd surely remind him of if things ever did go south even if she'd been the one to finally push for it. She never would have though if he hadn't brought it up to begin with. But then her brow furrowed when she mentioned rings. That was something she hadn't actually thought of.

"Are they necessary?" she asked, chewing on her bottom lip as she paused to think. She finally did take another step back so her hands were no longer resting on his shoulders but it felt decidedly chillier with their proximity not so close anymore. "I hadn't thought of them. I don't know that I'd wear one much while working. Jewelry and baking don't really go hand in hand," she said with a slight shrug, "But I'm sure we could get some simple bands if you'd like."

  

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She hadn't planned everything, then.

Maybe it was all that distance between them as she stepped back, cool air rushing in or something - maybe it was I don't know that I'd wear one - but there was something in Lorcan's chest that deflated, as quick as the rush of it had ballooned up, whatever the feeling was. In any case, he was grateful she couldn't see it, all these ups and downs. She'd think he was mad.

"Oh," Lorcan answered, with an easy shrug, one that mirrored hers. To be honest, that made sense; he just hadn't thought about it. "Not on my account. I don't care." (Was this too blasé?)

"So..." he continued, positive that he had a hundred questions about going forward - he was by no means going to go back on this, she could be sure of that - but suddenly unable to formulate even one. "What are we going to tell people?" He asked, his mouth slipping into a grin at the sheer ludicrousness of this situation. Hadn't he just promised Maeve that marrying Magdalena Backus had only been a joke? "Are we going to tell people?" He added, raising an eyebrow.

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Maggie was a bit hurt at his "I don't care" but it was stupid to feel that way. It wasn't like they were actually marrying for love or anything. It was convenient. For both of them. That was all. Or at least, that's what she'd continue telling herself. And really, it was for the best. They could live their best lives this way. She wouldn't tie him down to unrealistic expectations another wife might. He'd be free to keep doing..whatever it was he did. She'd be delusional to think she was the only girl he flirted with the way he did after all so certainly there were others out there.

"I..don't know," she answered a bit lamely. That was something else she hadn't thought of. Her family was going to be furious. Not because she was marrying him but because she was doing so abruptly and without including them in any of it. Her parents had been a love match and defied all the odds to get married but they'd done so because of the love they had for each other. Not because of money. They'd come around eventually, she was sure, but she imagined it was going to be rough for a time.

"Maybe after we've been able to finalize things with the shop?" she asked, looking at him expectantly hoping he'd agree to the idea, "I'll need to speak with the solicitor to get things arranged but I think we could make it official in a week. Then it'll probably take a little bit of time to actually get the money. Then when we move it we can tell our family." It made the most sense in her mind but probably sounded as if she were just rambling. Pack up her things and say she was married now and had her own shop. Better to do it all bluntly and while she was on her way out otherwise the ensuing fight could prove disastrous.

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   Lorcan Byrne

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For a moment there, a split-second in all her uncertainty, Lorcan wondered whether she was reconsidering the whole thing. She'd had all her qualms about it last time they'd thought about it - she had been so sure it wouldn't work.

Turned out she must want her shop rather a lot, he supposed, if she was seriously stooping to marrying him to get it. (Stooping - well, not socially. If anyone was stooping socially, it was him, marrying a girl from a bakery; or so people would say.) And this was all about the shop, just as she'd promised him it would be in theory. Funny, wasn't it, that the shop and the inheritance were now the things that would run their lives. It was... not what he'd imagined, to be getting married.

And it would be a shame to miss out on the celebration side of it all, because Lorcan had always liked a party. 'Course, it wouldn't be much of a party if Uncle Pádraig and the rest were there, probably staring daggers at the very least. And Lorcan's own father... well, he was a hard bloke to disppoint to begin with, but would this be the first time Lorcan managed to piss him off? That'd be something special. (But no, Lorcan moving out; Desmond would probably be pleased.)

Well, at least Lorcan could frame all this as an adventure. Uncharted territory for them both, and at least Maggie wouldn't have to go it alone. Whatever the other consequences, they'd had fun before, and they'd make this fun too, real marriage or sham. "I like it," he announced, swinging back towards overzealous enthusiasm, just so her doubts didn't get the better of her. "Rip off all the bandages at once," he said, cocking his head approvingly. "Liven things up a bit, give everyone a surprise." This would be a better way to shock Finnian than any prank he'd ever pulled for his brother's birthday.

Still, he wasn't sure what precisely he would say to his family. Would he have to tell the truth about it all? Surely I'm married wouldn't be the end of it. Was he going to have to share the whole story, the money, the shop, about it being for convenience? He supposed it'd be obvious they hadn't eloped for love...

He reached out and touched her wrist, having been going to take her hand and squeeze it but thinking better of it. "I... can't wait," he said, his smile fading into something a little more sincere.

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Maggie couldn't help the laughter that bubbled from her about giving everyone a surprise. It would most definitely be a surprise. As far as her family was aware, Maggie hadn't had feelings for any boy ever. She'd never even been kissed in all reality. The very thought made her blush. Her first kiss would be when she got married. He couldn't have picked a more virginal bride if he had tried. Though, she'd probably remain as such for quite some time. The marriage was for convenience after all, not love. And why would he want to take someone as innocent as she was to bed when he could surely have someone far more experienced. And now she was really blushing.

"Oh it will certainly be a surprise," she said with another light laugh, trying to mask the embarassment she was feeling over her own inner thoughts. She smiled up at him as he reached out and touched her wrist though. At least he was a gentleman for the most part, clearly trying to comfort her when he said he couldn't wait.

It almost made her feel bad, shackling him to her for her own selfish reasons. She did feel some guilt over it but she'd given him a chance to say no and forget about any of it so she'd try not to feel too bad over it all. "I'm sure you'd rather be married to someone else," she said softly, blushing all over again, "But I'll be forever grateful you accepted me."

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