It's not surprising that Mr. Poe got it all wrong. Jacquelyn tried to explain it properly to him but the man was a bad listener and had an even worse memory.

Her mother didn't die, not recently. She had actually died years before, when Jacquelyn was just a little girl and before she was taken into the care of people she didn't know. She was not going to become a duchess, she didn't have even a drop of royal blood. The real new Duchess of Winnipeg was the woman she now saw melancholic, sitting in front of a lake.

Jacquelyn sat on her side.

"I came as soon as I heard."

"You shouldn't." R weakly protested. "The meeting-".

"Some of our bravest volunteers will be there." Jacquelyn softly said. "They got it. I wanted to be with you."

R showed her a sad smile. Jacquelyn approached so she could place a comforting arm around her back.

"I'm sorry for your loss."

"It's alright." R replied, in a voice that was tired of crying. "She was very sick. At least she is not suffering anymore."

Jacquelyn nodded. She would agree with any thought that gave R comfort.

Both women watched the calm waters of the lake for a while, each lost in her own thoughts.

"So," Jacquelyn said. "You are the Duchess now."

"I guess." R said.

"How are you going to do it?" Jacquelyn asked, finally the question that had been in her mind the whole trip. "They will expect you to have an heiress."

"I was thinking we could adopt."

"We?" Jacquelyn asked, pale face blushing.

R gave her a look that was tinted with fear.

"If you want to. " Jacquelyn asked, finally the question that had been in her mind the whole trip. "They will expect you to have an heiress."

"I was thinking we could adopt."

"We?" Jacquelyn asked, pale face blushing.

R gave her a look that was tinted with fear.

"" Jacquelyn asked, finally the question that had been in her mind the whole trip. "They will expect you to have an heiress."

"I was thinking we could adopt."

"We?" Jacquelyn asked, pale face blushing.

R gave her a look that was tinted with fear.

"How are you going to do it?" Jacquelyn asked, finally the question that had been in her mind the whole trip. "They will expect you to have an heiress."

"I was thinking we could adopt."

"We?" Jacquelyn asked, her pale face blushing.

R gave her a look that was tinted with fear.

"Well, yes. If you want to."

"That's not it!" Jacquelyn quickly clarified. "It's just, that in your position... people surely expect a more traditional wedding."

"They surely do." R said. "But that is impossible. At the moment there is no one I would want to marry except for you. And you know I couldn't marry a man."

Jacquelyn nodded. R continued:

"I know this is not what they would expect. We both saw how strongly against it my mother was. But it's not illegal anymore, thankfully. I can take whatever hate they would throw at me for not fitting into their expectations, if I get to live the life that makes me happy."

"I understand what you l mean." Jacquelyn agreed. Their friends, the people that really mattered, they all respected and supported their relationship. For all its flaws, VFD had a progressive view of gender, sexuality and love. The people of Winnipeg would have to learn to live with a lesbian Duchess, married to another woman, mother of an adorable adopted girl.

"Would you share this life with me, Jacquelyn Scieszka?" R asked, extending towards her a hand holding a ring.

Jacquelyn knew that ring. It was a family heirloom. To see her lover offering it to her brought tears to her eyes.

"Of course I do."

R smiled and pressed a quick kiss to her lips, before sliding the ring on Jacquelyn's finger. Then she rested her head on her shoulder.

"We don't need to stop at one child." R said. "We could adopt two or three."

Jacquelyn chuckled.

"Three is a good number."

"They don't have to be babies."

"They don't." Jacquelyn nodded.

She often told R about what she considered the worst part of her job: seeing all those children in danger or in otherwise unpleasant situations. She often wished she could do more to help them.

"After the meeting and all of this is over, we should throw a ball for everyone." R said. "In celebration."

"If all goes according to the plan..." Jacquelyn said sadly. For the first time since she left her job she thought the maybe she should have stayed.

"It will go." R said. "We have some of our bravest volunteers there."

At the same time, Jacquelyn could even stand the thought of not being with R in a moment like this.

"We do." She said, smiling a bit.

"So, tell me what I missed." R asked.

Jacquelyn started telling everything.