It's my shortest one yet but one I think you've all been waiting for... :)

The familiar tones of her phone's alarm clock were sounding and Lizzy was glad she'd remembered to set the alarm before passing out last night. You'd think that the eleven hours of sleep would have left her feeling refreshed but the effects from all the wine, combined with lack of food, left her feeling a bit queasy. A shower would hopefully be a good antidote.

The shower was definitely helpful, although the tall glass of water and two Advil likely helped even more. It felt good to pull a comb through her hair. Quickly, she wove it into a braid, slipped on her jeans and a chunky chocolate brown sweater. She was glad she'd brought along some makeup so she could add a little color to her cheeks and lips. Lizzy was not one to be fussy about her looks but she was willing to admit that she liked William enough that she wanted to look good for him. He was certainly good looking and rich enough that he could likely get any girl he wanted. Not wanting to extend that thinking too far, Lizzy instead tried to focus on the upcoming meeting on the beach.

Lizzy made her way down the stairs and was pretty proud that she'd managed to find the dining room all by herself. Coffee, muffins and fruit were sitting out and she eagerly helped herself to some food. Her stomach was growling after having missed dinner the night before and she grabbed an extra apple for her pocket just in case her quick breakfast didn't fill her up. She was just getting ready to head out towards the path that had been pointed out to her the prior afternoon when William entered the dining room. "Good morning!" she said as she smiled up at him. "Good morning! I'm so glad to see you up and about. How are you feeling? I was worried you might still be feeling the effects of the wine." William asked with concern.

"Oh I'm fine. Nothing that sleep, a shower and some Advil couldn't cure." Lizzy replied with a smile.

"I'm glad to hear it. Let me have some coffee and perhaps we can be on our way." William offered. Lizzy sat back down with a glass of juice hoping that the extra fluid would keep her feeling well. William finished the coffee quickly and grabbed a muffin to take with him in one hand. With his other hand he took hold of Lizzy's hand and led her out of the house and towards the path.

The air was bracing but the sea was calm this morning. The seagulls were out early to catch any fish foolish enough to come near the surface on this chilly November morning. The young couple set off on a leisurely pace walking on the firmer sand close to the waters edge.

"So was my absence last night troublesome? Your aunt seems like someone who doesn't appreciate having her plans disrupted." Lizzy asked.

"I wouldn't worry. The inconvenience of having me trapped in the wine cellar for several hours was a bigger nuisance to my aunt and might finally compel her to get that blasted door fixed." William sighed and then a small smile crossed his face. "I'll admit however, for once, I was actually pleased with my aunt's procrastination."

Lizzy returned his smile and squeezed his hand. They walked in silence for a few minutes taking in the calm sea. "Was everything ok with Professor Gardiner? I felt bad abandoning him last night. I'll have to come up with some way to explain last night to him on the drive back to Boston." Lizzy worried.

"I think Richard took care of that. He took Professor Gardiner aside and explained some part of Aunt Cathy's inquisition. The excuse of a headache was well understood. I think he might've felt bad for leaving you alone with her. He seems to have a good appreciation for my aunt's disposition and character." William assured her.

"I guess that's one less thing to worry about. I'll have to thank Richard later. He's pretty funny. Are you guys close?" Lizzy asked.

"Yea, he's like a brother to me. When my mom died I spent a lot of time with his family and we got to be very close." Darcy paused then continued, "he thinks you're pretty funny too."

Lizzy blushed, "I kind of gave him a hard time that first afternoon at lunch. He was asking me a lot of questions about you and me which I was uncomfortable answering. When I get in that situation I have a tendency to get a bit, well, snarky I guess."

"Richard responds well to that kind of treatment. I think it has something to do with being a middle child. At any rate, he was amused by your texts and your chat over lunch. I'm sure after finding us in the wine cellar, I'll be grilled on the car ride back to Boston tomorrow." William said as he was shaking his head as a smile crossed his lips.

"Speaking of which, what will you say to him when he asks?" Lizzy thought she sounded brave, at least she hoped so. She was trying to tease him but also understood that the answer really mattered to her.

William was about to tease her back but something in her voice made him pause. He looked over at Lizzy and noticed she was biting her lower lip, something he'd observed her do when she was nervous. He had been debating himself what to tell Richard and more importantly, what to say now and when to say everything he'd been thinking about to Lizzy. "If I'm to give you a thoughtful response, it will likely take some time. Are you getting too cold out here? Should we head back?"

"As long as we keep moving I'm fine, I think. I'll let you know when I'm getting too cold." Lizzy answered, curious as to his 'thoughtful response.'

They did turn back and began walking again in silence for a few moments. Taking a deep breath, William started to speak again. "Lizzy, you are an incredible girl. One that I would love to date for the next couple of years and get to know really, really well. You are truly one of a kind and I've never trusted or been attracted to some one as much as I am to you. I've dated before but this thing with you is different. But we are both in very difficult and precarious situations. Ones we did not create and can't likely fix on our own. We don't have the luxury of time to see how our relationship might develop." William paused and looked over at Lizzy to try and judge what she was feeling. He was shocked to see her biting her lip harder, tears streaming down her face and her eyes downcast. William stopped and pulled her into his arms but she pushed away.

"Please don't William. I get it. My life is a mess and you need to take care of yours. I wish we had time too but I understand it can't be that way. I, um, I think I need to go back now. I think I'd be better off with some time to myself." Lizzy wiped her eyes with the back of her hands and started to run back towards the house, tripping a bit in the sand.

William stood on the beach trying to figure out why she was leaving. 'Why was she running away?' Calling out to her, "Lizzy stop, I think you misunderstand me. Stop!"

She stopped in her tracks, eyes still downcast. William sprinted up to her and wrapped his arms around her. "Lizzy, I wasn't telling you to go away. I was, very poorly I guess, trying to explain something I've been thinking about. Something I want you to think about. Please, will you sit with me for a few minutes and hear me out?"

Lizzy shook her head in acquiescence and sat down on the soft sand. She could feel the deep cold through her jeans but decided that listening to William was far more important than a little chill.

"Lizzy the main reason I came to Maine for Thanksgiving was to try and convince my aunt to not take custody of Georgiana. To leave her with me. Those conversations, have not gone well and she won't seem to budge. Lizzy, you've met my aunt. I can't let her have control over my baby sister, even for a few years."

"No, no you really can't. I understand that. And it's why I think we shouldn't see each other anymore. You need to find someone suitable to marry." Lizzy acknowledged sadly.

"Lizzy, why are you being so thickheaded?!" William was frustrated but he had an idea. "Stand up Lizzy."

"What?"

Pulling her up on her feet, William stopped and looked down at her. He kissed her softly on her lips and then got down on one knee, "Elizabeth Benetez, will you marry me?"

A little cliffie but I won't leave you hanging for tooooo long. Did I do ok? Comments, reactions?