Disclaimer: It all belongs to the BBC.
Mrs. Regina du Coeur admired the tapestry hanging on the wall. "The Offering of the Heart," she mused. Early Fifteenth Century. A man offering a woman his heart, the sweetest of all notions. After spending the day as part of the crowds looking at the better-known offerings of the Louvre, she thought it was nice to look at something less popular. A glance around told her that only she and a young couple were looking at that particular tapestry at the moment.
Well, technically, only the woman was looking at the tapestry. She was petite, early thirties, with long brown hair and big brown eyes. The man only had eyes for his girlfriend. He was tall, mid-thirties, with curly black hair and sea-green eyes. He held his girlfriend's hand a little more tightly than Gina thought was necessary, but since the young lady wasn't complaining, Gina decided not to say anything about it. Still holding her hand, the young man turned to face the tapestry and cleared his throat.
"Against a somber background, blue as midnight,
More blank and dark than cloud, as black as storm,
The almost moving leaves are almost golden,
The light is almost warm."
He spoke in a normal tone, louder than the awed murmurs of the other visitors around them. Gina was about to hush the young man then she noticed how attentive his girlfriend was to his deep voice. She was a sweet young thing who reminded Gina of herself at that age, so she decided that if someone was going to interrupt them, it wouldn't be her. Regina turned her attention back to the tapestry. The young man continued.
"Seated, a lady, wearing a cloak with ermine
Holds on her hand, correctly gloved and bent,
A falcon, without feathered hood or jesses;
Her gaze appears intent
On what her hound, good little dog, is doing
Around her ankles, left front paw in air,
Regardless of the three white careless rabbits –
He does not see them there,"
Regina realized with a start that the young man was describing the tapestry in front of them. Now she fervently hoped no one would interrupt him.
"Or turn, as does the falcon, toward the gallant,
The gentleman, more elegant than smart,
Who comes, in crimson cloak with ermine lining,
And offers her a heart,"
The young man got down on one knee before the young lady and pulled a pink heart-shaped ring box out of the pocket of his black jacket. He held it up to his girlfriend. By this time, Regina noticed all the other conversations had ceased and everyone was watching the couple in anticipation. The beaming young lady had tears of joy in her eyes. Gina realized her own eyes were wet and that she was smiling. The young man continued.
"Holding it, chastely, between thumb and finger
Whose U it does not fill, a plum in size,
A somewhat faded strawberry in color –
She does not raise her eyes.
How can a heart be beating in the bosom,
And yet held up, so tiny, in the hand?
Innocence; mystery: an Age of Science
Would hardly understand."
He took a deep breath. "Molly, I know current social convention dictates that a couple go on more than three dates before becoming engaged, but considering we've known each other for several years now, I-"
"Oh, Sherlock…" Molly said, her voice shaking a bit but her eyes full of happiness. "Yes!"
Sherlock blinked in surprise. "You haven't seen the ring yet."
Molly laughed softly. "You silly man, I don't need to see it to know I want it, and you."
His hands trembling slightly, Sherlock opened the ring box and removed the ring. Molly held out her left hand and Sherlock slid it onto her ring finger.
"What does it look like?" someone in the back of the gathered crowd asked loudly. "We can't see from here."
Sherlock smiled a bit. "It's a heart-shaped fancy yellow diamond surrounded by small clear round diamonds. Yellow is Molly's favorite color."
"It's perfect," Molly said softly, awed. When Sherlock stood up, she stood on her tiptoes to kiss him deeply.
Everyone applauded and cheered. The visitors closest to them offered their congratulations.
Regina smiled at them both happily. "That was so romantic. Did you write that poem yourself, young man?"
Sherlock smiled a bit, his arm around Molly's waist. "No, it was written by a Twentieth Century American poet," he looked over at the tapestry, "based on that." He looked back at Regina. "Molly said it's her favorite tapestry so of course I looked it up. I found information about the tapestry then I found the poem. When I found out 'The Offering of the Heart' was on display here, I knew this was where I wanted to propose."
"And a fine job you did, young man," her husband Roy said as he approached them, smiling.
"Thank you," Sherlock said, smiling proudly.
Roy kissed Gina on the cheek and smiled at her apologetically. "Sorry, sweetheart. I tried to get back sooner but the crowd was a bit dense." He grinned at Sherlock and Molly. "It seems they were distracted by a proposal in their midst."
Regina smiled back lovingly. "That's quite alright, love. What do you say to us treating these two to dinner?"
Roy grinned. "That sounds ideal." He looked at Sherlock and Molly. "That is, unless you two already have plans."
Sherlock laughed weakly. "Actually, I haven't been able to think of anything past this moment for days now."
"That settles it, then," Regina said, grinning, "unless Molly has any objections."
"None at all," Molly said, smiling. "What are your names?"
"I'm Regina and this is my husband Roy. We're the du Coeurs."
"Sherlock Holmes and this is Molly Hooper."
"Soon to be Molly Holmes," Molly said, grinning.
"Not soon enough," Sherlock said.
A/N: "The Offering of the Heart" by Rolfe Humphries (1894-1969) is one of my favorite poems. You can find photos of the tapestry online. At the Louvre website, it's called "The Gift of the Heart." I thought the tapestry and poem would make for a perfect way for Sherlock to propose.