Autumn arrived slowly.
Leaves changed color, falling one by one as if time itself were letting go of something it could no longer hold. And as in the year before, the air began to carry a familiar chill. Yet this time, it was not only the season that had changed.
Since being appointed Duke of York by Queen Victoria, George's life was no longer the same.
He still wore his naval uniform.
Still carried his old habits.
Yet everything felt… different.
The sea that once gave him freedom now felt distant. Not because he could not return, but because he knew… he would never return as the same man again.
Duty began to take over his days.
Meetings.
Visits.
Responsibilities he had never sought, yet could not avoid.
And in the midst of all of it… there was only one thing that did not feel like duty.
Mary of Teck.
Yet precisely because of that, everything became more complicated.
At Sandringham, their time together continued, though no longer as often as before.
Something had changed.
More careful.
More restrained.
One afternoon, they walked through a garden that had almost lost the colors of summer. The wind carried a thin, biting chill. Dry leaves crackled beneath their steps.
"Your new title…" Mary began softly, "…has brought many changes."
George gave a faint smile.
"More than I ever wanted."
Mary turned slightly toward him.
"You did not want it?"
George fell silent.
For a moment, he simply looked ahead.
"I wanted a simple life," he said at last. "But it seems… that was never a choice given to me."
Mary understood.
Yet this time, she did not immediately comfort him.
"And you will handle it well," she said calmly.
George turned to her.
"How can you be so sure?"
Mary offered a small smile.
"Because you do not have the option to fail."
The answer was honest.
Too honest.
And yet… it was true.
Inside the house, the change was also becoming clearer to the family.
Maud no longer only teased him, although she still could not entirely stop herself.
The sun was setting on that cold season.
The family sat down for dinner, and deliberately Maud shifted Mary's seat so she sat closer to George. She watched them with full meaning.
"The Duke of York looks very serious these days," she said lightly.
A few people smiled.
George looked at her flatly.
"Is that part of your new title as well?" Maud continued.
George exhaled.
"Not everything is meant to be a joke."
Maud rested her chin on her hand.
"True… but some things are too obvious to ignore."
George did not respond, and that was enough.
But this time, Maud did not laugh. Instead, she said quietly,
"You are not only afraid of your responsibilities."
George looked at her.
"You are also afraid of losing something… perhaps something you do not yet fully have."
The words were not met with laughter.
And not denied.
On the other side, Alexandra and Edward observed everything in silence.
They saw their son caught between two worlds.
The past he honored.
And the future that demanded him.
Dinner continued as usual.
Filled with laughter and light conversation from royal guests.
And George remained the same on the outside.
Night fell quickly.
And that night, George realized something:
He could not live only by remembering.
George stood silently at his bedroom window.
Outside, the winter wind had become more real.
Sharper.
Colder.
Meanwhile, in her private room, Mary of Teck sat with several letters in her hands.
One was open.
Neat handwriting.
Polite words.
A clear expression of interest.
Not love—but enough to be a beginning.
Mary looked at the letter for a long time.
She knew… she was a good match. And the world around her knew it too.
She would not lack opportunities.
But life was not only about opportunity.
She closed the letter slowly.
Because within her heart… there was still one answer that had not come.
And time would not wait much longer.
Outside, the winter wind grew more real.
Stronger.
Colder.
And for the first time, the fear in George's heart became clear.
Not about titles.
Not about duty.
But about one simple thing he had been avoiding all along.
That he might… lose Mary.