Epilogue
SEVEN MONTHS LATER
“ D o you think he will propose tonight?” Rosaline asked as they watched Henry on the other side of the room.
Adam glanced at her with a severe expression, but it was rather ruined by the smile she could see at the corner of his mouth.
“He has danced with her twice .”
“And he looks at her as though she were the most beautiful woman in the room.”
Adam took a sip of his drink. “Well he can continue looking at her that way, but I am married to the most beautiful woman in the room, so he is mistaken.”
Rosaline laughed as Adam inched a little closer to her. She sipped her drink, her eye following the line of distorted candlelight as it played over her scarred skin.
It had been a long time since she had felt the need to cover herself.
Without the constant jibes and cruel words from her aunt and uncle, Rosaline felt as though she had thrown off the shroud of pain and anguish she had carried with her since her mother and brother had died.
She could be herself in a room full of people, show her scars to the world and understand that no harm could come from it.
Occasionally, she would notice a furtive glance from a stranger, but it no longer upset her as it once had.
“You look beautiful,” Adam said sincerely, and she dragged her eyes away, looking up at him to find him watching her carefully.
“Thank you, my love, I know I do,” she said teasingly. “But it is pleasant to hear you say it.”
He smiled as she absorbed the deep affection in his eyes that was reserved for her alone.
“What is the name of Henry’s dance partner?” Rosaline asked, watching Henry speaking animatedly with the woman across the room. She was tall with beautiful red hair and a dazzling smile.
“Lady Esther; she is the daughter of a marquess,” Adam’s tone sounded a little off.
“You do not approve?”
“On the contrary. But she is rather young—only twenty—and Henry could do with someone a little more experienced to keep him out of trouble.”
“He has not been in trouble for some months,” Rosaline protested.
“No. Because you have had a good influence on him. He wishes to impress you, and therefore has toed the line.”
“Oh nonsense,” she said, chuckling. “Henry has only ever wished to impress one person, and that is you.”
Henry had blossomed over the last few months, applying himself to several tasks about the estate that Adam had given to him.
The specter of war had faded, and Henry was less prone to taking risks now that his future was secured.
She watched him as he led Lady Esther to the floor and Rosaline hid her smile behind her glass as Henry laughed far too loudly, making some other couples turn to stare at them.
“He is being too obvious,” Adam muttered. “She has a fortune of her own, thankfully, or I would think she was courting him for his inheritance.”
Rosaline sighed. “Would you prefer he were aloof and cold, like someone I knew once?”
Adam tensed, turning to her with an apologetic look in his eye and sighed.
“Touché, my dear.”
“I think sometimes it is pleasant to know that a man admires you. Henry looks happy with her. Although his dancing leaves much to be desired.”
“Yes, what is he doing with his arm?”
“I know not. Perhaps you should give him some lessons.”
“I think you would be a more suitable partner for him. If I danced with him, we would both try to lead.”
“You would not mind seeing me in the arms of another?” she asked playfully and watched Adam’s knuckles turn white around the stem of his glass.
“On second thought, hang his technique, it does not look as though Lady Esther minds it.”
Rosaline snorted and leaned in closer to him as their bodies brushed against one another.
Genevieve and Wilhelm were standing on the other side of the room, chatting happily behind the dancers.
Genevieve had now met Adam several times since the infamous occasion he had stormed into Ravenshire, and Rosaline was pleased to see her cousin warming to him—although it would take some time for her to really like him.
She wondered when Sophia would get the chance.
Perhaps one day she will return from Scotland .
Adam could still be austere and cold, stubborn to a fault and irritable. But he treated Rosaline with such care and attention that there were no longer any rumors about the haste of their marriage, or about her curse.
Society knew that the duke was in love, and it was the only gossip Rosaline would happily entertain.
Phineas sidled up beside her, bowing gracefully, sipping his champagne and eyeing the dance floor.
“Your Grace,” he said reverently. “Henry has lost his heart, it would seem.”
Rosaline ignored Adam’s snort from beside her and grinned at Phineas. “Isn’t it romantic?”
“I am glad of it. That boy needs a woman in his life.”
“And you, my lord?” Rosaline asked. “What of your heart?”
Phineas’ cheeks pinked a little as he glanced to the side of the room where Lady Cynthia Westbury was standing beside her mother. She was elegant and beautiful and much sought after, but Rosaline had noticed Phineas admiring her many times.
“I see you miss nothing, Duchess, I commend you for your observation skills. How you ever won Oldstone’s heart is beyond me; you are far too clever for him.”
Rosaline glanced at Adam, who looked down at her with an expression of such heat that she swallowed and had to look away.
“Has there been any more news of Lord Claridge?” Phineas asked, and the warmth in Adam’s eyes faded instantly.
“Enough,” Adam muttered, keeping his voice low. “The witnesses at the inn all made their statements. It was simply luck that the rooms at the back of the establishment were not occupied—had they been, Claridge would have killed many other innocents that night.”
Adam swirled his glass, the same aura of satisfaction coming off him in waves.
“He is to hang. The trial was unanimous on that account.”
Phineas nodded, any sympathy or pity quite absent from his face.
“I am pleased to hear it. That man would destroy us all if he could gain something by it. He has received the sentence befitting his actions. And what of your aunt?” Phineas said, turning to Rosaline curiously.
“She has fled the country. The last I heard, she was headed for the Americas.”
“Excellent, I shall drink to the absence of them both, then,” Phineas said cheerfully, draining his glass. “Now if you will excuse me, I have a lady to court.”
And he headed through the crowds toward Lady Westbury, who blushed prettily as he bowed and offered her his hand.
Rosaline watched them twirl in the center of the room, dancing around the other couples. Henry and Lady Esther were in the throng, looking happy and content.
Around the edge of the dance floor, Genevieve was making her way toward them. As she came up alongside Adam, he bowed formally to her. Rosaline found their relationship rather amusing—Genevieve was one of the few people Adam seemed to actively wish to impress.
Rosaline embraced her cousin as they turned to watch the dancing.
“I have heard from Sophia,” Genevieve said quietly, and Rosaline’s gut clenched at the memories that name instantly conjured.
“Is she well?” she asked, her throat suddenly dry as Adam’s hand snaked around her waist reassuringly.
“She is. She is still in Scotland with her aunt, but has written to tell me that she wishes to find a way to return to London as soon as possible.”
“Does she wish to see us?” Rosaline asked nervously.
The sounds of the ballroom faded around her as the cries of men and the screams of the horses flooded her head.
She was brought back to the present as Adam’s fingers tightened around her waist—a constant pillar of strength.
“Of course she wishes to see us, Rosaline. You know Sophia does not blame anyone for what happened.”
Rosaline sighed. “It will be good to see her.”
“I have longed for us all to be together again. You and I are both in such happy situations. I only hope for the same for her.”
“So do I,” Rosaline said, feeling her husband’s hand holding her close, a silent reassurance she had never known she needed.
When they arrived home, Adam was strangely quiet, and Rosaline watched him curiously as they made their way through the entrance hall.
He spoke with the butler briefly before turning and holding out his hand to her, leading her out of the house and into the gardens.
Rosaline exclaimed in delight as they walked around a corner and came upon some torches stuck in the ground surrounding a blanket and a tray of cheeses and wine spread out before her.
There were sweet meats and small cream cakes for her to try and she clapped her hands with excitement as Adam laughed at her enthusiasm.
“I thought you might like a quiet night under the stars.”
“As long as you are with me,” she said, pulling him to the blankets and pillows and lowering herself down.
She took a square of cheese into her mouth, moaning at the taste and turned back with a knowing smile as Adam’s eyes darkened.
“I have never eaten outside before,” she said wistfully looking up at the sky.
It was a new moon that night, and the stars were twinkling overhead.
“Then I am glad to be the first to share it with you,” he said, pulling her into his arms as she fed him some fruit from the tray.
They lay in the darkness for a long while, the silence of the night and the peace of Oldstone settling in her bones.
Rosaline had never felt so contented in her life. She sighed happily.
“I love you,” Adam muttered, his hand stroking her arm.
“And I you,” she responded, as he rolled over, his eyes black beneath the sky.
“I never would have guessed how happy I could be with you, Rosaline. I am grateful every day that your despicable uncle forced you upon me.”
Rosaline snorted, hitting him playfully on the chest. The topic no longer upset her. If anything, it only cemented her love for him that he could tease her in such a way.
“I am glad he forced you upon me too,” she conceded, just before he leaned down and captured her mouth with his, thrusting his tongue between her lips as she moaned happily.
“You have never eaten under the stars before, Duchess. Therefore I would wager you had never lain with a man beneath them, either.”
Rosaline could not help a soft laugh escaping her lips.
“And if I said that I had, what then?”
“I would find him and kill him for touching what is mine,” he said darkly as his fingers began to untie her gown and pulled it away to reveal her corset beneath.
“Is that so?” she asked breathlessly as he loosened the next layer, pulling it down just enough to expose her breasts to his hungry lips.
“It is,” he said sternly, and proceeded to bring her body to life with his touches and the feel of his tongue across her flesh.
After a little while as she writhed beneath him, desperate to feel him within her once more, he pulled back, unbuttoning his breeches and pulling her skirts up to her thighs.
“You are hasty tonight, Your Grace,” she panted.
“I am always desperate for you,” he murmured, before he lowered his body over hers.
She raised her legs upward and felt the hard length of him press against the entrance of her body.
“I love you,” he said again.
He slowly pushed inside her as she moaned low in her throat at the exquisite pleasure of it.
“You are more beautiful today, beneath this starry night, than you have ever been.”
She smiled as she felt him push home inside her, her body welcoming him as he sighed, beginning to rock against her as they panted together, their lips finding each other in a perfect dance.
It was not long before Adam was thrusting in earnest, one hand braced against the ground as the other cradled her head. Their eyes connected and she felt the first wave of pleasure take her.
He pushed against her a few times more before he froze, groaning deep in his throat as she felt him reach his peak, collapsing down on top of her with a contented sound.
“You are perfection itself,” he muttered, pulling free after a few moments, and lying beside her.
He reached over and pulled her skirts down to ensure she was comfortable in the night air.
“I am glad you think so,” she said, allowing a different tone to creep into her voice.
He frowned. “And why is that?”
“Because I imagine our child will take after me. I am hoping he or she will be two thirds duchess and a third duke to enable him or her to have the best start in life.”
Adam was still for a long time, before he rolled on top her again, his eyes alight with excitement and joy.
“Our what?”
“Our child. Did I forget to tell you? The doctor was quite certain.”
Adam gave a great shout of excitement as he kissed her fiercely.
“Our child!” he cried with joy, his arms embracing her tightly as they collapsed into the blankets.
“I cannot wait for the rest of my life with you, Rosaline. And with our child,” he beamed.
Rosaline melted into his caresses, her soul singing with glee as the stars twinkled overhead.
She smiled, excited for all the wonderful starry nights to come.
The End?