Elodie’s recent placement on staff duty had been noted by Lord and Lady Atwood. Already wary of Elodie’s choice to pursue military service, Lord Atwood had determined perhaps this was the perfect opportunity to deter Elodie for good. Both were loving parents, ones that had always handled their daughter with a light touch, but one night a frank conversation had turned into Lord Atwood chastising his daughter in no uncertain terms—leaving Elodie stunned speechless.

Once tempers had cooled, her father apologized for his behavior. Elodie accepted, hugging her Papa tightly, before going to bed. She lay up all night thinking. She was a woman who valued both service and family in equal measure. Never before had she doubted her priorities, but now? Her resolve was weakening.

So, when her mother inquired as she always did about the prospect of arranging meetings with some of Nevermere’s most eligible suitors, Elodie—much to her mother’s surprise—agreed.

It didn’t take long for Demelza to strike while the iron was hot. The subsequent morning, Elodie was informed she would be spending the afternoon with @alden . The name ‘Thornhill’ was recognizable, as the family had high status, but Elodie could not recall having ever met one of its sons.

Elodie dressed in an appropriately fine gown and set off in a carriage for the Thornhill estate. Approaching its gates, she found herself unexpectedly excited. Elodie was always so far out of her comfort zone with military matters. It was nice to finally be somewhere she knew she could thrive.

Elodie would be escorted to where Alden was waiting. She was able to take him in upon her approach. He was handsome she supposed, but not aggressively so. A little more boyish in face and stature than she typically preferred. But Elodie was resolved to approach with an open mind and a sense of adventure.

“Lady Elodie Atwood for you, sir.” The footman announced her presence. Elodie greeted Alden with an appropriate slight curtsy and a smile.

“Lord Thornhill—what a pleasure it is.”

Elodie, lady that she was, remained entirely ignorant to the scandalous meanderings of Alden’s mind. Her own gaze did drift over him, though in assessment rather than desire. Clean, well-dressed—every bit the gentleman of Nevermere her mother had promised he’d be. Still…when Alden offered his arm, for a moment, she stalled. To take it felt like an admission of defeat. Elodie had been so headstrong in her pursuit of a military career. She’d thrown herself into it with such blind resolve, that it took the ball to open her eyes.

And now, that resolve had wavered.

“We shall,” Elodie said coquettishly as she slipped her arm in his. Alden towered over the tiny witch who was appropriately distanced from his side—close, but not too close. She’d drift alongside him to the outdoors, smile enduring as she fell into the familiar rhythm of polite banter.

“You must know, Lord Thornhill, that the reputation that precedes you is one of mystery,” Elodie’s tone was spritely, like the tinkling of a glockenspiel, “Much to my mother’s dismay I’ve made a rather skilled investigator of myself when it comes to judging one’s reputation, but you, Alden Thornhill, put those skills to the test.” She sighed playfully, “I suppose I'll have to judge your character for myself."