"Well, let me get right on that," Blair smiled and casually drank her wine.
"Blair," Edwina's argument got cut off.
"Write him a letter," her sister's advice made her pause.
"What?" she'd expected more shenanigans. 
"Write him a letter, a brief one," Blair explained. "Come say this to my face and send him the ring box back too."
For the first time since she'd read the letter, Edwina felt her chest loosen, "I can do that."
"Good, now go do that, I need my beauty sleep," Blair waved her off and shuffled back to her bed. 
"Thank you, Blair," Edwina headed out.
"Don't thank me Eddy, you'll still have to explain to Alaric why your once mentor is proposing," Blair's warning chased her out. 
She headed back to her room, writing the correspondence as Blair had advised, and sent it off before heading to her eldest sibling's office. While their parents were on Expedition, Alaric was the interim Count, so it made sense that he used their parents' office, but Edwina still felt it jarring to not see her mother or father there. Her knock at his open door had Alaric looking up from his own morning post.
"Good morning, Winnie, what can I help you with this fine day?" he didn't seem to suspect a thing, and Edwina steeled her spine. 
"Lord Daro is likely to arrive, invited, to apologize and propose to me personally," she explained simply.
Alaric's icy blue eyes almost glared suspiciously at her, but otherwise her brother looked too calm, "and why is your former mentor coming to apologize and then propose?" he signed and rubbed his face, "no, don't tell me, I can already figure it out." And then, to Edwina's amazement, Alaric started to laugh. "I have run out of siblings, there is no easy sibling right now; you're all determined to age me prematurely. I think Calvin might be the closest to not giving me anxiety, and that man likes his secrets."
"You're laughing?" Edina was so shocked at his reaction that she had to sit down. 
"Winnie," he shook his head, still amused, "Blair's Courting my best friend, Calvin FINALLY realized he's in love with his, Derbie's about to get married, you're going to the university and will likely be shortly engaged, Farran's in Cador living with a Duke, Gavin and Eniola were married by the Queen, and Hida had nearly died twice this Season; if I don't laugh I'll scream."
Her laughter surprised her, but Alaric had left himself out of that list, "you're getting married the same day Derbie is, but I see your point," she sighed and leaned back. "I sent a letter and the ring back to Lord Daro and took Blair's advice about telling him that his apology needed to be said to my face, and so can his proposal."
"When did you send it?" Alaric looked at his time piece.
"Before coming to speak with you, why?" Edwina figured it's been maybe ten minutes, maximum fifteen.
"He'll be here soon then; if you want to prepare, now's your chance," Alaric dismissed her. 
"It's a fifteen minute carriage ride away, the letter I sent has likely only just arrived," she argued, doubting that Lord Daro would already be on his way.
If she'd bet on it, Edwina would have lost.
Lord Daro arrived less than five minutes later, not in a carriage but actually astride a horse without saddle. Edwina was privileged enough to see him all but leap off the horse's back to rush towards the front door. 
"He landed with good form," Hida's voice surprised Edwina, and she spun around to see All of her siblings except Farran somehow lurking nearby. "Maybe your Lord is more athletic than I gave him credit for." It was a lovely compliment, and then her baby sister kept talking, "of course, he'd have to be given the bruises I saw and the logistics of how..."