Chapter 14 - THE PROPOSAL BENEATH THE OLD OAK
One year later, Camille and Lucien returned to the Thibodeaux Center.
The building had become a respected historical institution.
Students visited.
Researchers traveled from across the country.
Families brought old letters and documents for preservation.
Camille had become known for her work in Louisiana archival history.
She no longer wore the gray housekeeping uniform.
But she kept it.
Folded carefully in a cedar chest.
Not because she was ashamed.
Because it reminded her how far she'd come.
One afternoon, Lucien invited her to the garden behind the center.
An old oak tree spread its branches over the courtyard.
Camille smiled.
"What's this?"
Lucien looked nervous.
"Something I've been meaning to ask."
She raised an eyebrow.
"That sounds serious."
He nodded.
"It is."
Then he lowered himself onto one knee.
Camille froze.
For a moment, the memory of Preston's wager returned.
A man promising to kneel as a joke.
A room full of laughter.
A woman in a gray uniform being treated as entertainment.
Now another man knelt before her.
Not to mock her.
Not to win a wager.
But because he loved her.
Lucien opened a small velvet box.
Inside was a ring with a pale blue sapphire.
"Camille Thibodeaux," he said, "you changed my life."
Her eyes filled.
"You taught me that power means nothing if it can't be used responsibly."
He swallowed.
"You taught me that love isn't ownership."
Camille covered her mouth.
"And you taught me that the truth is worth protecting, even when it costs us everything."
He looked up.
"Will you marry me?"
Camille stared at him.
Then laughed through tears.
"Yes."
Lucien closed his eyes.
She nodded again.
"Yes, Lucien."
He slipped the ring onto her finger.
Then stood and kissed her.
And beneath the branches of the old oak, Camille realized something extraordinary.
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The last time a man had promised to kneel before her, it had been to humiliate her.
This time, it was to honor her.
