Caught my heart about one, two times
Don't need to question the reason I'm yours, I'm yours
I'd move the earth or lose a fight just to see you smile
'Cause you got no flaws, no flaws
I'm not tryna be your part time lover
Sign me up for that full time, I'm yours, all yours

April 13th, 1890 — Fawley Manor, Wellingtonshire
@'Diana Fawley'

News of the bizarre shop opening in Hogsmeade spread like wildfire through London. Two hurt debutantes, some insanity about an axe...and the presence of one Miss Diana Fawley. William's heart had skipped a beat when he read her name, and several more when he realized the article hadn't specified which debutantes were hurt. Diana's awareness to danger was not the greatest, if history was anything to judge by. It wouldn't surprise him in the least if she was hurt, but that tidbit of knowledge also didn't do much to quell his racing thoughts.

She had to be alright. He was planning (and replanning) how best to ask her to court. He had letters drafted to her father and mother, pleading his case and humbly requesting they not send the love of his life to Singapore. Hell, William even had Julius calling him all sorts of names for having waited this long. Diana wasn't aware of any of this, of course, but he hadn't thought she would roam into some shop and injure herself. If he had, well Will would've married her years ago to protect her from harm.

He arrived on the doorstep of the Fawley home with his curls wild and his suit only minimally pressed. His appearance today wasn't going to do him any favors in earning Allegra Fawley's approval, but Will could hardly think straight. Diana — his Diana was possibly injured. Injured and being shipped off to Singapore. There was no more time to waste.

The butler showed him into the parlor, the tight lipped smile an obvious sigh of disapproval. As soon as he knew she was alright he would leave. He just had to know.

  

---

Amazing Set by Lady <3

Diana was grateful she'd had the mind to tell her family what she'd gone through yesterday before news broke throughout town about the incident she and Melody had been involved in. True to her assumptions, she knew they'd be upset that she'd made contact with Melody, however, Diana pointed out that she could have hardly helped it seeing as it was not pre-planned (it wasn't) and their arguments fell rather flat. Besides, Allegra had been receiving owls all day from relatives asking about Diana and Diana knew that Allegra thought this was only good seeing as it didn't paint Diana in too negative of a light.

She'd escaped danger there, but apparently it wasn't over yet. While in the drawing-room working on her embroidery their butler had come to tell her she had a visitor. Diana blinked, perplexed at show could be calling for her as opposed to contacting her mother, and so she followed Maxwell to the parlor. The fact that Maxwell stayed at the door as she entered gave her some clue as to who was calling.

Nevertheless, she was delightfully surprised to see a familiar figure waiting for her. "Mr. Abbott!" She exclaimed, knowing that Maxwell was simply waiting at the door until Mrs. Wellington arrived for her. "What a delightful and unexpected surprise." She knew Will knew his calling wasn't exactly proper, but that wasn't the worst transgression that had occurred in this house, so she knew the servants wouldn't balk too much.

— outfit —

  

---

It took every ounce of his restraint not to gather her in his arms as soon as her melodic voice filled the air. She was alright, then, or at least not so grievously harmed that she couldn't receive visitors. Will breathed a massive sigh of relief, a smile taking over his previously stressed expression. She was alright. She was alive and well and definitely not mutilated by an axe wielding debutant. He quickly scanned her for any obvious injuries, though her dress hid more than he could properly assess. Perhaps she was injured and hiding it? Will's eyebrows tensed again at the thought.

Nevertheless, Diana was here and he shouldn't have been. The butler lingered at the doorway with the same tense smile as he had plastered on upon admitting Will, and her chaperone was to arrive any second. "Miss Fawley, I apologize for the suddenness of my visit." He replied politely. News of his visit would be in every household from here to Singapore before noon. Will knew he couldn't stay long. "I read about the er...incident yesterday... and the report didn't specify who was injured..."

Merlin, this was hard. Will bit the inside of his lip and kept his eyes trained on hers. "I thought it might be you."

The following 1 user Likes William Abbott's post:1 user Likes William Abbott's post
   August Echelon-Arnost

For the most part, Diana didn't consider herself a dreamer (she was) but there was something about the way that Will looked at her when she entered the room that made her heart swell with expectation and she beamed at him. With his staring at her, she thought he was going to compliment her on her dress - after all, it was new; Tavie had helped her pick it out on their last Hogsmeade trip. Her expression faltered a bit as she saw his expression fall; doubt crept back into her stomach and she laced her fingers together in front of her as she listened to his explanation.

He - he was here about the Daily Prophet? "Oh," She said, momentarily crestfallen before she remembered the events of yesterday. The blood from Miss Gallivan had completely disappeared from her hands, however, she'd had the maids burn the entire outfit. A pity, as it had been one of her favorites, but the sight of blood....was not something she could get out of her mind. "Ah - yes," Merlin help her, if he made her lose this much of her intelligence this early on in the conversation she was in trouble.

Of course, he hadn't just come here to see her and compliment her on her dress. How would he have known she had even acquired a new dress? "Yes, thank you Mr. Abbott!" she said. "I am quite well, as you can see."

The following 1 user Likes Diana Abbott's post:1 user Likes Diana Abbott's post
   August Echelon-Arnost

---

"Yes." Will said dumbly. He knew he ought to take his leave. If he had any sense (and hope to make a favorable impression with Mrs. Fawley) he would thank Diana for seeing him so urgently and flee as quickly as he arrived. However, all Will could manage was a smile in her direction. She was alright and presumably not injured in any way. The pressing weight on his chest lifted abruptly, and for the first time since that morning Will felt as though he could breathe again.

Try as he might (as if he was even trying) Will remained still as a statue before her. Merlin, she was gorgeous. The pale green of her dress complimented her well, though she could wear a flour sack and Will would still believe her beautiful. "Yes." He repeated again. Behind him, the butler cleared his throat, an obvious sign to either get on with it or leave. Fuck, he really ought to go.

Instead, Will ran a hand quickly through his hair before taking two large steps towards her. They were still further apart than he would've liked (they were never close enough) but her chaperone might have a complaint or two about his actions. (Distantly, Will silently prayed it wasn't Mrs. Wellington who was set to join them.) The butler coughed again. Fuck. This wasn't how Will wished to ask her.

Oh well, best get on with it.

"Marry me." He blurted, his cheeks reddening at his blunder. While he hoped to one day marry Diana there were several steps to make between bere and there. Steps he knew she would be required to take. Will had ruined it all with her once, he wouldn't risk it a second time.

The following 1 user Likes William Abbott's post:1 user Likes William Abbott's post
   August Echelon-Arnost

---

Amazing Set by Lady <3

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.

The following 1 user Likes Diana Abbott's post:1 user Likes Diana Abbott's post
   August Echelon-Arnost

---

Her hissed response wax definitely not the one Will had hoped for. Then again, this wasn't how he envisioned asking her, either. That plan consisted of flowers and romance and a long speech about why she had to forgive and marry him. It also was supposed to follow after months of courting and receiving the Fawley's permission. The slip of the tongue request (demand more like) was a far cry from anything worthy of her.

Still, he said and meant it. There was no walking it back now. Will waited until the butler scurried off to take her hand gently in his own. "Yes, marriage." The panic he felt this morning was one slip from becoming a reality. Diana needed someone to look out for her, to care for and cherish her, in the ways she seemed incapable of managing herself. (Afrer all, who stood inches away from an angry, violent bird and not even sensed it!) Will didn't know how he would cope if anything were to ever happen to her.

"Your parents won't send you to Singapore if you're engaged. And I'll be there to protect you from chaos such as yesterday. A weight heavier than the universe itself settled upon my chest when I thought it was you who was hurt. Diana...you should know my feelings towards you remain very much the same."

The following 1 user Likes William Abbott's post:1 user Likes William Abbott's post
   August Echelon-Arnost

---

Amazing Set by Lady <3

The entire speech she had on the tip of her tongue died at the minute he took her hand in his. Gloved as it might have been, there was no mistaking the tenderness with which he took it. Every argument she had died as she attempted to respond. He wanted marriage. Her heart should have been fit to burst, but propriety had to control some amount of order here, and Diana was determined to maintain it. "But it wasn't supposed to happen this way!" She burst out, breaking their grasp and moving away from him. This was too much. He wanted marriage.

All her training being a debutante, all her schooling at Pendergast told her this was not the right order. "We're supposed to court first!" She said, whirling to face him again, her eyes wide as she paced towards him again. "And then you propose marriage, Will, that's how this is supposed to happen!" She could feel her heart rate climbing, despite the fact that the only thing she was doing was pacing a few feet back and forth between him and the door.

"And I cannot accept your proposal," she continued, her breath quickening as she gesticulated. "I accept it after you talk to my father, but it's not my place to even accept such a proposition!"

The following 1 user Likes Diana Abbott's post:1 user Likes Diana Abbott's post
   August Echelon-Arnost

---

Will was rarely the most eloquent man in the room, but he had thought (however minimally) given the circumstances she might agree to it. When had they ever followed the proper way of doing things? Not while they were in school. Certainly not during her first Season (Will hadn't been able to stay away from her then). There was hardly any propriety left to maintain when he knew what it was to have her lips against his own.

A frustrated frown settled upon his face. How was he to convince her when she was so deeply rooted in her opinions? Hell, she hadn't even allowed him to hold her hand for more than a minute! "Forget how it's done. Just for a moment, please." He pleaded quietly, fully aware of how little time alone they had left. Soon, Mrs. Wellington would be seated across from him as she had on the train with a glare as cold as ice. Soon — too soon — Will would be asked to leave.

"Forget Society and the rules. I will leap through whatever hoops you set out for me. I'll ask your father, I'll even follow you to Singapore if that's what it takes. If you'll have me, that is." Just because he didn't presently have business interests in Singapore didn't mean he couldn't acquire any. Such business would take months to fully establish, too. Months in which he could convince Diana he meant it this time. "We can call it courting or whatever other title you want. You just have to say yes."

The following 1 user Likes William Abbott's post:1 user Likes William Abbott's post
   August Echelon-Arnost

---

Amazing Set by Lady <3

"But!" She began, another argument on the tip of her tongue. His expression halted everything once she turned back into face him, her cheeks flushed.

Singapore.

Her heart fell, and she slowly sank onto the chaise at the fire. Singapore. She had told him that her family had more than sealed the envelope for her one-way ticket to see her relatives. Well, this is what she wanted him to do, wasn't it? So why was she so adamant about sticking to the rules of society now? She certainly hadn't where blissful, stolen nights of their youth were concerned.

Because she wanted to do this properly - she wanted her family to be proud of her accomplishments. Diana knew her mother would have her concerns about her being involved with someone who was involved in sports. But it wasn't a disrespectful career for a man of leisure like Will. And though he had been a flirt with her in the beginning, his advances were far from lascivious; and besides, she'd flirted right back.

Merlin, she wanted to reach out to him; fall into his arms. He wanted her. Wasn't this what she always wanted? For him to tell her all of this, all this time they'd circled each other in Society? She fixed him in her gaze, her hands laced firmly in her lap. "Why now, Will?" she implored, her gaze darting to the door. They didn't have much time until Wellington came back with the tea. But she had to know.

She stood up again. "We've known each other for so long..." Unable to help herself, she reached out a gloved hand to him, placing her palm on his cheek.

  

---

Hadn't they wasted enough time? Why had Diana mentioned Singapore to him at all if this wasn't what she wanted? Drudging their history back up these past few months had him all sorts of confused, and now she was going to leave and he was supposed to what? Let her? Without even trying to give her a reason to stay? Five years apart was enough, he determined. History couldn't be allowed to repeat itself.

He placed his hand on her waist within seconds of her gloved hand touching his cheek and pulled her into a short kiss. The kiss was chaste compared to the many they shared years ago, but hopefully it would say what his words couldn't seem to express. Hopefully, he hadn't just ruined them more with his forwardness.

  

---

Amazing Set by Lady <3

If anything, Diana prided herself on her logic in the face of confusion. Answers were something she always searched for; something to calm the barrage of questions that always surfaced in her mind like bubbles in a pool. Of all the answers she expected from Will, it wasn't this.

For all the times during this conversation that she'd been rendered near speechless, unable to voice the millions of thoughts swirling around in her head, she wasn't prepared. Diana's hand moved to curl around his neck and she clutched at his jacket as her knees threatened to buckle. They hadn't been this close since she'd broken it off with him the last time. This one was so much different than the others, though...soft and gentle, but she could feel by the way he'd pulled her in that it was no less urgent.

"Will..." she murmured, though breathless as she was it might have sounded like a whimper. Oh, she didn't want to pull away, she wanted to grab him and pull him closer, closer until there was nothing left of them. "Will..."

  

---

He had to suppress a groan as she damn near whimpered his name. This was the first time they were alone in recent months and he was getting lost in the bliss of it all. Will's hand tightened around her waist as he softly kissed her once more. He was slipping into recklessness — he was forgetting about the chaperone about to descend on them like a hungry vulture.

"Diana..." he murmured in response as he rested his forehead against her own. "Marry me, please...I don't want to be without you anymore." She could ask for the world in this moment and he would grant it so long as it meant they'd be together. "Or allow me to court you. Say the word and I'll do anything." He would have to visit Mr. Fawley tomorrow to ask for permission, as the guilt of what transpired these last few minutes would be plain on his face.

The following 1 user Likes William Abbott's post:1 user Likes William Abbott's post
   Diana Abbott

---

Amazing Set by Lady <3

Diana caught his lips with hers again, pressing more firmly into him and inhaling. His scent was intoxicating, clouding over any previous thought she'd had about the propriety of it all. She knew at any moment Wellington and Maxwell were going to come in, but she found she hardly cared in this instant. She wanted Will and him alone.

She bit her lip as he pulled away, letting out a small sigh of content as he rested his forehead against hers. Say the word. "Yes," Diana beamed up at him, she couldn't get the word out fast enough and her head spun as she pulled away even further, grasping his hands as she did so. "Yes, Will a thousand times yes." He would do this properly for her. He wanted to marry her, to live with her and grow old and have children.

Tears of joy prickled at her eyes as she clutched at his hands, wanting to pull him close again and embrace him even more deeply than previously.

  

---

His grin threatened to split his face in two. The genuine joy he felt surpassed any thoughts of fear or regret. Yes, they (he) wasted five years when they should have been together, and yes it took her nearly being sent to the other side of the world for him to act, but that didn't matter now. She said yes and that was all that mattered. The only obstacle in their way now was her parents, and with Diana so close to spinsterhood they had little cause to deny him.

With one final elated press of his lips Will dragged himself away from her. The Fawley's were a proud family — prouder than even the Lestrange's Will sometimes thought. Sullying their daughter's reputation in their own home seemed a surefire way to squash any dreams of his suit. "Thank Merlin." He said, still smiling. "I didn't know what I'd do if you said no."

Behind him, Mrs. Wellington stood with the tray of tea. Splitting from her when he did had proved thoughtful, after all.

  

---

Amazing Set by Lady <3

"I wouldn't have," she returned softly, hoping dearly that she would remember every moment of contact she had with them until they would be allowed to do so in public. "You are who I want, Will."

Even as they broke away Diana ached to reach out to him once more. She knew, however, that they'd risked enough with the past stolen moments, and she took a few breaths to regain her composure. Lacing her fingers in front of her, she stepped away, letting the distance between them help her remember where she was. "It was always you." she said softly before the clatter of china told them that Wellington had arrived.

"Ah, thank you so much, Mrs. Wellington," she said, allowing calm to settle into her voice as if they'd just merely been discussing the matter of the weather. "Mr. Abbott was just telling me about the most beautiful work of embroidery his sister has completed." She turned back to Will as she headed to the chaise. With her back again to her chaperone, Diana found herself overcome with another surge of brazenness, she threw him a wink.

  

---