The laugh—a clipped, sardonic Ha!—left him unbidden; perhaps, Julius thought, he was still rather in a bit of shock.
"It was in my own dining room, believe it or not," he reassured her, as much as declarations of near-death experiences could be reassuring. "A long story that I but half-remember, but that I shall be happy to recount for you later—but the point is, I nearly died. I am still here, and damned if I am not still as in love with you today, Eloise, as I was when we were eighteen years old."
"It was in my own dining room, believe it or not," he reassured her, as much as declarations of near-death experiences could be reassuring. "A long story that I but half-remember, but that I shall be happy to recount for you later—but the point is, I nearly died. I am still here, and damned if I am not still as in love with you today, Eloise, as I was when we were eighteen years old."
![[Image: hcvhx7z.png]](https://i.imgur.com/hcvhx7z.png)
— graphics by mj ♥ —