Why did he come here if all he wanted to make sure was that she was unharmed? An owl could have sufficed, though Diana found herself pleased that he deigned it important enough to see her in person. Perhaps this was all in her head; perhaps he had ulterior motives and making sure she was physically unharmed was just a pretense to coming here? She observed him with a questioning look as he struggled with his words.

If she'd forgotten anything from their time together, it wasn't that he had a tendency to stumble over his words when flustered. She knew him inside and out; and she knew that he tended to stick his foot in his mouth on the most inopportune of occasions. His sudden steps forward saw her automatically take two steps backwards, small as they were given her dress. She reached out to grip the mantle. Whether it was instinct or the fact that she just knew him, Diana found herself saying loudly, "Mr. Maxwell!" at the same moment as he voiced his request – well, it wasn't really a request, was it?

Merlin help them.

Hoping her voice had overpowered his in this instance, Diana shot him a warning look before walking to the door. "Mr. Maxwell, I believe you'll find Wellington about to make her way up. Please ask her to bring a spot of tea for us." Once Maxwell had bowed, Diana moved back to Will, her heart pounding in her chest as she peered up at him. "Marriage?" she hissed under her breath. She wasn't exactly angry, but it seemed her turn to be the reasonable one amongst the two them now, though the longer she processed his request, the longer she felt a swelling of happiness in her chest.