Winter slowly began to shift toward the beginning of spring.
However, within the royal family, the period of mourning had not truly ended. Everything was still carried out with caution.
With the awareness that the loss they had experienced was not yet far enough to be forgotten.
At Windsor, Queen Victoria received reports about the condition of her family at Sandringham. As usual, no detail escaped her attention.
She knew about Alexandra's health, about George's changing life, and about one thing that had begun to draw her interest…
Mary of Teck.
Mary remained present, remained close, and continued to show the same demeanor as before.
Calm, loyal, and full of responsibility.
For Queen Victoria, that was not a small thing.
In a world often changed by emotions and scandal, stability was something deeply valuable.
And Mary possessed it.
In one private conversation, Queen Victoria expressed her thoughts simply.
"May is a very good girl," she said.
There was no long explanation, no direct command.
Yet for those who knew her, the sentence was already clear enough.
Meanwhile, at Sandringham, life slowly began to return to a more orderly rhythm. Although the shadow of loss still lingered, duty never truly stopped.
George began to take on a greater role in the family's life.
He attended more meetings, spent more time by his mother's side, and without realizing it, he also found himself more often near Mary.
Their meetings were never planned, yet never entirely coincidental either.
Sometimes in the sitting room, sometimes in the garden, sometimes in brief conversations after dinner.
Always simple, always proper, and always… leaving something unexplainable behind.
At times, Queen Victoria also invited them to her residence in Osborne, simply to accompany her in reading or for short walks in the garden.
This was intentional on Queen Victoria's part. She was still very fond of Mary and still wished for Mary to become part of the family. But she never forced George to propose directly; instead, she allowed everything to unfold naturally with only subtle intervention.
One afternoon, they walked together in the garden again.
The weather was slightly warmer than before. The snow had melted, replaced by damp soil and grass beginning to show hints of green.
"I will soon return to the sea," George said suddenly.
Mary turned slightly.
"Do you want that?"
George fell silent for a moment.
The question was harder than he had expected.
"I don't know," he replied honestly.
It was perhaps the first time he had said such a thing out loud. For so long, the sea had always been his answer. But now… it was no longer that simple.
Mary understood more than she showed.
"Many things change in a very short time," she said softly.
George nodded.
"Yes."
He paused, then added in a lower voice.
"And I'm not sure I'm ready for all of it."
For a while, they walked in silence. But this time, the quiet did not feel empty.
Instead, it was filled with things left unspoken.
Elsewhere, attention toward them slowly began to grow.
Not openly.
Not officially.
But clearly enough for those who were watching closely.
The relationship between George and Mary of Teck was beginning to look different.
Closer than before, more frequent, and more… meaningful.
Yet not everyone felt comfortable with the possibility. There was something that felt complicated. Almost improper.
Mary was the fiancée of George's brother.
And although time had passed, that shadow still lingered.
Mary herself was aware of it.
She carefully guarded her behavior. Never crossing boundaries, never showing anything that could be misinterpreted.
Yet within herself, she could not completely ignore one thing…
That near George, she felt… calm.
In a different way than before.
George felt the same. But as someone accustomed to discipline and responsibility, he did not allow himself to think about it too deeply.
Not yet.
Between them, there were no promises, no confessions, no grand words.
Only small steps that kept repeating.
Simple meetings, brief conversations, and a presence that slowly became important.
In Windsor, Queen Victoria continued to observe, and as always, she would not allow time to move without direction.
Spring was drawing closer, and with it, a possibility that had never been imagined before slowly began to take shape.
A possibility born not from original plans… but from loss.