Friedrich arrived at nine o'clock that morning, as promised, and was very surprised indeed to be greeted by Daphne and the Duke of Hastings.

Having not anticipated their being there, the Prince felt slightly thrown at Diana's twin's presence.

What if she had persuaded Diana against the match?

His nerves that he had spent so much of the morning suppressing were once again returning with new vigour, causing his stomach to knot further.

"Welcome! We were expecting your arrival," beamed Daphne, having seemingly forgiven him for whatever had transpired over the summer.

And in truth, how could she feel anything but happiness at his coming to Bridgerton House. After all, she was quite content with Simon and their little secret, and she could not wait for her sister to experience her own portion of married bliss.

Simon gave the Prince a broad smile and offered his hand to shake. The action steadied Friedrich a little and he felt once again reassured.

"Do come in," ushered Daphne. "I hear you have requested a walk with my sister... well, the gardens are lovely this time of year and she does have such a habit of taking early morning strolls through them. I'm sure she could name ever flower for you if you asked - although I'm sure you'll have better things to discuss."

Daphne had, by now, looped her arms through both Friedrich's and her husband's and was presently leading them down the hall and along to the drawing room.

The Prince merely listened to her, a little baffled, and was greatly relieved when Simon - in all politeness - told his wife to 'be quiet as you're scaring him.'

Taking that as a sign that she should probably leave the pair to talk amongst themselves, Daphne entered the drawing room where the rest of the Bridgerton family awaited the prince's arrival.

Outside, Simon took the opportunity to have a brief conversation with his - hopeful - soon to be brother in law.

"I should warn you, they're quite a handful the Bridgertons," chuckled Simon.

Friedrich let out a sharp, awkward laugh in response.

"But I'm sure you're making the right decision. I can't say I've spent much time with the girl but I hear she's nothing short of a delight."

A short silence befell the pair before the Prince dared to ask what had been plaguing his mind ever since he clapped eyes on the Duke.

"You don't mind what happened before, do you?"

At first Simon was confusing as the what the Prince might be referring to, but the realisation quickly dawned on him.

"Not at all. I quite understand, and I'm sorry that it's hard such an impact on your - well -" he jerked his head toward the door.

"You seem happy. I hope that my own marriage is as successful as yours."

Simon smirked as he replayed images of his life so far with Daphne over in his mind.

"I'm sure you will," he responded, opening the door to the drawing room.

After being offered to take part in the Bridgertons' breakfast, Friedrich and Diana were finally left to themselves to stroll through the gardens.

In many ways, it seemed as though everything was quite lovely, the bees and the birds were flying around creating an atmosphere of content. The last of the autumnal flowers were still in full bloom, providing the gardens with a more natural kind of beauty than could be seen in summer. Even the sun's rays beamed down in early morning grandeur, causing the dew on the lawn to glisten like diamonds.

But in many ways, it was not. The autumn mud had set in causing everything belong mid-shin level the be coated in thick brown sludge. Whenever the sun passed behind a cloud, the once warm air turned hauntingly cold. And, if one were to look closely enough, the rotting fruits and flowers could be seen lying amidst the leaves.

For sure, it was nice... but was it nice enough?

They wandered for several minutes through the greenery, with uttering a word, until finally Friedrich felt compelled to speak.

"I have to admit, this is not as romantic as I had imagined," he paused for a moment and stopped walking. "I have thought of ideas for months now, all of them much better than this. So I'm sorry to have disappointed you."

Diana let out a laugh at his embarrassment.

"Disappointed me? No! No, not at all, I do not care for lavish parties or whatever."

The Prince nodded his head gratefully, still feeling a little annoyed that the situation had not turned out to be as perfect as he had wanted.

He had hoped to surprise her somehow, a picnic or a stroll along the river. Something picturesque and perfect.

After all, Diana Bridgerton deserved no less.

Opening his mouth to speak, Friedrich hesitated for a moment, thinking over the situation. After briefly examining his thoughts, he came to a conclusion.

He would not propose to her now.

"Miss Bridgerton?" The Prince began, "I am sure you must be aware of why I asked to speak with you?"

The girl in question nodded her head, a small smile creeping onto her face.

"Well, the truth is that I do not possibly think I can propose to you here, not when it is so... average. Your Austen writes stories of men who propose in such beautiful ways, summer strolls and the like. You deserve more than I simply question in the gardens of your own home with half your family watching from the windows."

Diana glanced up briefly at his comment and, indeed, could clearly make out the faces of Colin, Hyacinth, Eloise and Daphne pressed against the window whilst two mops of chestnut brown hair struggled to pull them away.

"Let me make it romantic. Let me make it a story that we can tell throughout our travels of Prussia."

Diana turned her gaze back to the Prince and caught his eyes with a smirk.

"What exactly did you have in mind, my Prince?"

****

Dearest readers,

I must say, I had no idea that you all came from such a diverse background! I thought that most of my readers were British but apparently not - regardless, you are all welcome!

The warm weather appears to be continuing which is very exciting indeed and I have been rather enjoying it I must say.

Furthermore, I'm returning to school next week so I should warn you that updates may be slightly slower than they are at present. But I shall endeavour to keep on writing.

Yours faithfully,

V