Epilogue
Jack
The sun shone brightly on the grassy lawn beside Alastair and Lucy’s Cairo home, and Jack sipped his lemonade, watching from the verandah as the others played a lazy game of croquet.
Noah and Ginger would be leaving in the morning with Alex, catching the first train to Alexandria, then taking a steamer back to England.
They’d been away from home, the hospital, and Clara for too long.
Victoria and Ivy were, shockingly, not going with them.
While here, Victoria had announced she intended to explore a move back to Cairo. Reestablish herself, on her own two feet, alone. Ivy would stay with her for several months, then return to England to attend Roedean in the fall.
Jack wasn’t sure why Victoria had made such an abrupt about-face, but he couldn’t say he disliked the idea—it would be nice having a friendly face nearby.
He’d decided to stay in Cairo for now. Even accepted a job at a nearby dig in Giza. He and Alice had too much to work out between them and she would be safest here, continuing to stay at one of Alastair’s safe houses most of the time.
“Did you find something to spike the lemonade with?” Ruby’s laughing voice came from several feet away.
He grinned and stood straighter. “Is that what you think I came up here for?”
She shrugged, limping closer with a cane. She had a long way to go for a full recovery, but she made progress every day. “It’s a good guess.”
Jack swung her into his arms, and she squealed with a laugh as her cane clattered to the ground. He dipped her back, hovering inches away from her lips. “I don’t need alcohol, sweetheart. I’ve got you.”
He kissed her and she melted into it, her arms tight around his neck. Being with her here felt so right.
So good.
When he pulled back, he set her down gently, then lifted her cane and handed it to her. “I just came up for a quick break in conversation. Glad you missed me though. I’ll be right back down.”
“All right. But don’t be too long.” Ruby pressed a kiss to Jack’s cheek, and he smiled at her as she walked away, returning to the group.
His heart felt so unusually light. After everything, the idea that he could experience something like this again felt as if he’d entered strange, unchartered waters—ones he was willing to risk. For her. For them.
Jack set his hands on the rail of the verandah, the laughter of Alex and Ivy carrying from the lawn as they continued their game.
Only steps behind them, Ginger sat at a table with Alice, their gazes focused on the pair.
Both women wore similar expressions—curved smiles at the sight of young love, too innocent to realize how obvious it was to everyone but them.
Noah sat with Alastair, who smoked his pipe, a satisfied gleam in his eyes. Nearby, Lucy busied herself giving instructions to one of the servants, though Jack had seen her just moments ago speaking with Victoria.
As though she’d been summoned, soft footsteps beside him revealed Victoria approaching from the stairs. She gave him a warm smile, but something else flickered in her eyes as she stopped beside him. Uncertainty, maybe?
“You’re a hard man to catch alone,” she murmured with the same silky tone that had once captivated him as a much younger man.
“What can I say? My popularity has never waned.” He winked teasingly.
She chuckled. “Neither has your arrogance.” Her chin raised higher, then she stood shoulder to shoulder with him, her gaze focused on her daughter. “Being here in Cairo has been interesting. Reminded me a lot about the woman I used to be—the mistakes I made.”
He gave her a sidelong glance, his heart warming. “We all made mistakes. But we learned our lessons, didn’t we?”
“Sometimes.” Victoria shrugged, her expression sobering. “Jack, there’s something I need to tell you. Something I should have told you years ago—about Ivy’s father.”
Ivy’s father?
Jack frowned. Victoria had never spoken about that. He had been fairly certain Ivy wasn’t Stephen Fisher’s, but other than that, he didn’t venture to make guesses.
He set his hand on top of Victoria’s, though. “You know you can always tell me anything, Tori.”
Victoria’s smile faltered and she looked away, back at Ivy. “She’s yours, Jack.”
She spoke the truth softly—and it shattered everything.