My sincere thanks go to LMM as always.

Thanks for your patience, I am so grateful to everyone who has been reading and reviewing this story. I can only beg your forgiveness for the delay with this update.


When Marguerite placed her little hand in mine, with her lips swollen from my kisses, I was brimming with love and the hopeful promise of our future together. I was still drunk on the feel of her skin, my heart was beating wildly in my chest and my once-unfamiliar laughter had been summoned so frequently that day that the smile no longer felt strange on my face.

That self-same smile was firmly in place as, slowly and carefully, I drew Marguerite to her feet, with my gaze never leaving her. I was drowning in the sparkling blue depths of her eyes as I placed my hands on her waist and pulled her towards me until our bodies were pressed against each other. Even an inch was too far away from her.

I recalled waiting for her impatiently by the fountain that morning, and wondered if it had truly only been that same day. The hours we had shared together since then had exceeded my expectations to such an extent that I was beyond even my wildest dreams now.

Marguerite loved me. More than that, she had agreed to marry me. I could scarcely believe it. I was burning with my excitement to announce to the whole world that she was going to be my wife. I would write Mother and Dad to tell them the news tonight. I knew Rilla would be so thrilled. I must remember to write to her about how much Marguerite enjoyed the candy.

"I'm afraid I have to get back to camp. I think I'm late," I said regretfully.

"I don't want you to leave," she replied, reaching up to gently smooth back the hair that had fallen forward over my forehead.

The tender look in her eyes accompanying that simple gesture made my body feel like it was on fire, and my arms slipped around her waist as I lowered my head to crush her soft lips against my own. I heard her sigh, and I marvelled at how quickly that had become my favourite sound.

"I don't want to leave you, either," I murmured against her mouth. "But I promise I will come back to you."

"How can you know that?" she asked, drawing away a little so she could see my face.

One of her hands was caressing my jaw while her other hand was curved around the back of my neck, and I could see that her lips were trembling slightly as she waited for me to answer.

I gazed into her deep eyes, my hand cupping her jaw and my thumb gently caressing her soft cheek. My throat tightened at the thought of leaving her.

"I know because I love you," I said hoarsely.

"I love you, too, Walter," her voice was soft, her eyes telling me more than her words ever could.

My heart thudded against my ribs. Surely I was the luckiest fellow on earth that she could be looking at me like that.

I caught her hand in mine and raised it to my mouth, pressing a kiss reverentially on each soft little dimple in turn, our eyes still locked together. My lips caressed every inch of the back of her hand and then gently brushed along each of her fingers. Slowly, I turned her hand over to kiss the inside of her wrist, and my lips moved up to lavish equal attention to her palm before releasing it.

I reached out to grasp her other hand and bestow the same loving care to the soft skin I found there, my eyes never once leaving hers. Her chest was rising and falling rapidly, her breath coming in soft little pants, her lips slightly parted and her eyelashes fluttering as she watched me. A trembling had settled deep in my belly. How was I going to walk away from her?

I slid my arms around her and kissed her tantalising lips with a little more urgency this time.

"Marguerite… Marguerite, I love you," I muttered in between heated kisses. "I adore you. I never want to leave you."

My lips kissed a thrilling trail from the corner of her mouth along her jaw to her delicate earlobe and then down to her nape, inhaling the scent of roses. I lingered at the base of her soft white throat, unable to drag my lips away from that enchanting little hollow.

"Walter. Oh, please, Walter," she breathed.

Marguerite's hands were clasped around the back of my neck now, pressing me closer, with her head thrown back so that her throat was better exposed to my lips, and I was murmuring words into her skin. My fingers were threaded through the soft curls at the back of her head and I desperately wanted to touch all of her.

Marguerite slid her hands over my back and shoulders, and then I felt her adorable little hands on the buttons of my shirt pulling me down with her. Slowly we sank to the ground with my lips still pressed to her throat. Her fingers skimmed across my chest and she gasped when one of her hands slipped inside my shirt. The sound of her sharp intake of breath along with the feel of her soft fingers caressing my skin elicited a groan from deep within my throat and I grew more frantic.

"Darling, darling Marguerite…"

Suddenly, she was underneath me, and I felt her shiver as my lips touched the soft skin beneath her ear. Each heavenly caress on her velvety skin wasn't enough.

"Walter… chéri," she whispered in my ear.

The sound of that endearment sent another tremor of desire through my body, and I only wanted to touch more and more of her. She was sighing against my lips as I trailed the back of my fingers down the length of her arms, and then my fingertips were lightly tracing a path along the soft cotton of her blouse covering her ribcage, coming to rest at last on the enticing buttons at her throat. Before I knew what I was doing, my trembling fingers were frenziedly unfastening her blouse. Her fingers were threaded through my hair, her back arching so that her body was closer to mine, and my hips were pressing against hers, with her skirt fanned out between us.

My fingers had begun loosening the second button of her blouse, and my face was buried in her hair with my breath gusting against the side of her neck, when the import of what we were doing finally struck me.

I couldn't dishonour her this way, no matter how much I wanted her. If I didn't stop now, I knew I wouldn't have the strength to stop myself in another minute, or if she allowed one more sigh to slip from her delicious rosy lips. My hands stilled in their progress with her buttons.

"Marguerite, we can't," I muttered against her throat, moving my hands so that they were supporting my weight on either side of her head, and lifting my upper body away from her. I clutched smooth blades of grass between my fingers. Her skin was much softer. My face was only inches from hers, and we were both breathing heavily as I gazed intently into her eyes, willing her to understand.

Marguerite had never looked more tempting. Her face was flushed and her eyes were half closed as she stared at me. Her hair had come loose, with her curls tumbling across the grass behind her head. Her breasts were rising and falling rapidly with each gasping breath she took, the buttons that I'd hastily undone revealing more of the expanse of soft white skin at her throat that I so desperately wanted to kiss.

"Yes, we can. Please," she breathed, attempting to draw one of my hands back to touch her.

"No. We can't." My body was still hovering over her, and I was trying to avoid looking at her lips in my determination not to kiss her again.

"Touch me, Walter." Her hands were anxiously trying to pull my body back down to her.

"Please, Marguerite," I groaned, rolling away until I was lying on my back next to her, my face still turned towards her and one hand resting on my chest as I struggled to catch my breath. "Please don't make this more difficult than it already is."

She turned her head to look at me with such want in her eyes that I could barely stop myself from kissing her. I caught her sweet little hand in mine.

"But I thought… Don't you – don't you want to?" Her eyes looked hurt now and she tried to withdraw her hand. But I clasped it more tightly to my chest so she could feel the hammering of my heart.

"Of course I want to, darling girl," I told her, as I pulled her hand up to my lips. "More than anything, believe me. But not like this. Not now. I'll be going to the front soon, and we're not married yet. I'd never forgive myself…I couldn't live with myself not knowing if… if you were…" My voice trailed off. "I want to know you'll be all right, Marguerite," I finished a little awkwardly.

"But I must just watch you go and not know that you'll be all right? What if … what if you don't come back?" She closed her eyes and turned her face away from me. "Just like my brothers didn't come back," she whispered.

I pushed myself up to lean on my elbow and reaching out I gently placed my finger under her chin to tilt her face back towards me. Her dark lashes fluttered open and I saw a tear trickle down her cheek.

"I'll come back for you. I promise," I said, looking intently into her eyes.

"But, you don't…" she faltered.

"I will come back for you," I repeated steadily. "You are the reason I want to come back. It's our future together that gives me hope that this war won't kill me after all. Will you promise to wait for me? Please?"

"You know I'll wait for you," she whispered. "But, Walter, I don't want to wait. Could we be married before you go…away?" She hesitated slightly on the last word.

I sat up, dumbstruck for a moment as I considered her question. Could we really be married so soon? It was a tantalising thought. Slowly, Marguerite sat up, too, and her beautiful eyes were huge, silently pleading as she watched me.

"I would marry you today, if I could," I said. "But what about your father? I won't have time to ask him today - I'm already going to be late getting back."

"I could talk to Papa by myself."

"No, it's my responsibility to ask him for your hand," I protested, shaking my head. "I want to do this right."

"You already said that you don't have enough time, so I must do it. Please, will you let me?" Her gaze was so tender, with her soft fingers caressing my jaw so that I felt myself wavering. Did she know how irresistible she was to me?

"I don't like the idea that you would ask him without me." When this war is over, you will never have to do anything alone ever again. "I should be the one to ask for his permission."

"I don't mind. I'm sure he'll agree when he sees how happy I am. Please, Walter?" Marguerite's smile was distracting, her lashes fluttering appealingly.

"I might have one more day of leave..." And we could be married. You would be my wife.

"Please, mon ange?" Her blue eyes were pleading with me again, her hand still caressing my face. "I don't want to wait to be your wife."

"You know I want to, but…" I want you. I adore you.

"Please let me talk to Papa?"

The look in her eyes was too much. I was still unhappy that I wouldn't be the one to ask her father for Marguerite's hand, but how could I refuse her anything?

"Well," I said slowly, "I suppose there's nothing else for it if we're to be married before I go. But I will speak with your father the very first moment I can. I don't want him to think me a complete cad."

"So we can be married before you go?"

"Yes, I think so. If your father agrees," I nodded, laughing as she squealed in delight and threw her arms around my neck, covering my face in kisses.

"He will agree," she said confidently.

"And you will be my wife," I could barely comprehend the words as they left my mouth.

"Oui," she breathed.

I drew her into my arms and I wondered how it would be possible to wait another moment to make her mine. So I kissed her sweet lips to seal the promises we'd made to each other.

"I truly must get back now," I opened my eyes and smiled, still kissing her. I was already so late I was going to catch hell from the Sergeant.

I stood up again, extending my hand to help her.

She was hastily tying her hair back as I bent down to retrieve her hat. I noticed the rosebud I'd given her lying on the grass next to it, so I gathered it up, too, gently tucking it into her hair as I gazed adoringly into her smiling eyes. Then I placed my cap on my head and slung my jacket over my shoulder as I swept my arm around her waist and turned to walk her home.

"We'll be married before I go," I murmured once more, as if to confirm the idea to myself.

"Do you promise, Walter?" I knew she was asking about more than the wedding.

"You have my word," I said as I turned my head to smile down into her sparkling blue eyes. I was pledging her everything I had.

We walked out of the little clearing and onto the path that would take us back to the village. Marguerite's beautiful face was turned up to me as we walked, her eyes brimming with love. I held her to me as tightly as I could, grinning and occasionally leaning down to kiss her.

At last, we were facing each other on the street outside the café. I was bursting with love for her.

"I can't wait for you to be my wife. I love you, darling Marguerite," I whispered in her ear before I leaned in to kiss her, trying to convey everything I felt for her.

"I love you," she breathed, as we finally drew apart.

"I must go," I said, reluctantly. "And you have to talk to your father. I'll send you a note as soon as I know about my leave."

I let her go and my arms felt bereft as I jogged across the street. When I reached the corner, I turned back to look at her once more.

"Au revoir, Walter!" she called. "Remember, you promised." Smiling, she blew me a kiss.

"I promise," I smiled, blowing a kiss back to her.

She lifted the folded paper with my poem on it from her pocket and placed it against her lips before slowly lowering her hands to clutch it against her heart. Silently her lips mouthed, "I love you."

I couldn't remember ever being happier than I was in that moment. I hoped to have leave in another week or two, and then Marguerite would be my wife. My wife!

I was just turning away, still smiling broadly, when I heard a sharp noise to my left and abruptly, it was as if everything around me was moving in slow motion.

I watched, puzzled, as Marguerite's body slowly crumpled to the ground without warning. She fell so gracefully, landing on her side with a sickening thud.

The smile died on my face at the same time that I felt a crack opening in my chest.