It had been a genuine privilege, the allowance the court had made when he brought Anne back with him. It had spoken to the entire kingdom's deep abiding love of their young king, really, that they had allowed the possibility from the start of properly accepting her as one of their own--and, what's more, that so many blind eyes had been turned on the King's obvious passion for her.

But it was time, surely, to stop testing everyone's patience. It was time to make things clear and lawful.

And it was beyond easy to know what he wanted, when he came upon her in moments like this. It was completely simple to know that his advisers were right when he saw her sitting so contentedly staring out over the waves.

"May I?"