Epilogue
SIX MONTHS LATER
“ M ontgomery Manor has certainly flourished,” Edwina noted as she walked through the hallways of her childhood home, taking in every new piece of furniture, every painted wall, and every piece of decor.
Her brother had set up a display of his medals from the war in the drawing room, and pride surged through her.
“Nicholas is doing well,” Lucien agreed, looking impressed.
“All thanks to you.”
Lucien shook his head as he led her further down the hallway. “I would never have known if you had not presented yourself in that room at the Raven’s Den.”
Edwina’s heart fluttered nervously at the reminder of her long-ago deal with Lord Stockton, but she smiled, knowing that the memory now only served to bring her closer to her husband.
“Well,” she sighed. “You did eventually get the truth about Nick’s situation out of me. We would not have come as far as we all have without your decision to help.”
“I never would have considered another option.”
“Are you quite sure I did not convince you with just my whisky-pouring skills?”
At that, Lucien almost tripped for how hard he laughed. “Oh, darling, your pouring skills were far from your best qualities, and they remain as such.”
“Was it my impressive flirting skills, then?”
Lucien kissed the line of her jaw before laughing softly in her ear. “It would tell you what it was, but I would not wish to scandalize anyone.”
“Perhaps you might show me tonight.” She smirked—a thing she had rather learned from her husband when he teased her—but was stopped from teasing him further by the call of her brother.
“Heavens, are you two bringing down the status of my party with your flirting already?”
Further down the hallway, the door to the sunroom was open, letting the sunlight pour from the garden. The terrace doors were open, and Nicholas strode through them, meeting Edwina and Lucien inside.
“Brother!” Edwina cried, throwing her arms around him.
It was the first time she saw him back in Montgomery Manor since his stay in Red Acre Lodge. She stepped back, taking in his dark hair, so like her own, trimmed and neat, as though he was preparing for war again.
Except this time, there was no war to snatch her brother away.
Only his earldom, which he had finally begun to manage responsibly.
“You look every inch the Earl of Montgomery,” she praised him, cupping his face in her hands.
Edwina brushed back a loose strand of hair that had fallen over his forehead. The last time she had seen him, his cheekbones had almost cut through his skin, and a heavy fatigue had resided beneath his eyes.
“Look at this healthy flush,” she gushed, her eyes twinkling with emotion. “I have dreamt of seeing you like this again, Brother.”
“Let us not get too emotional, Edwina.” Nicholas laughed, but then he smiled bashfully. “It has been too long indeed, but I feel good. I feel well. And it is all thanks to you both.” His eyes flicked to Lucien as he joined the siblings. “I am forever in your debt. I was in the clutches of a terrible darkness and could not see my way out. You both helped me, brought me into the light.”
“You look well, Nicholas,” Lucien noted, nodding. “Your progress has been admirable and honorable.”
The two held each other’s gazes, and Edwina watched as they nodded sharply to one another, an understanding of men who carried their pasts heavily. Yet, that weight grew less and less heavy with each day, and Lucien and her brother were coming along in their own way.
Nicholas beamed at the praise. “Coming from the man who I recall saying I was once a man of honor and lost that quality, it means a lot to me to hear that. Now, come, Your Grace. There is a full party out there of associates and acquaintances rather desperate to rub elbows with you and your wife.”
Nicholas clapped a hand on Lucien’s shoulder and made to steer him outside. But Lucien paused, glancing at Edwina.
“Go,” she urged, happy to see them close again. “I must find my aunt and Diana.”
“Diana Hughes?” Nicholas asked quickly, suddenly interested. “I believe she is outside, near the fountain. She is speaking with one of my accountants.”
A furrow appeared on his brow, and Edwina stifled her giggle.
Oh, yes, Brother. I have noticed your interest in my friend.
“How peculiar that you are so aware of her whereabouts,” she commented lightly. Rising on her tiptoes, she pecked Lucien’s cheek. “I shall see you soon. Enjoy your networking.”
Lucien gave her a deep, brooding scowl that she so adored before she stepped away. By the time she made it to the fountain, the man Diana had been speaking to was already striding away, frowning.
“Edwina!” Diana cried out, embracing her friend. “I cannot believe it has been a month since we last saw one another.”
“Indeed,” Edwina sighed. “I must get out more, but…” she trailed off, thinking of the news she intended to break to her husband that night. “Regardless, I believe my brother is jealous of your closeness with his accountant.”
Diana blinked, a small flush rising to her cheeks. “He is?”
Edwina bit her lip, nodding. “You are not doing it on purpose, are you?”
“Me? Never. Besides, I am still recovering from my disastrous experience with the Marquess of Highbury. What a terribly-behaved rake.”
Four months ago, after the Marquess had teased Diana around London, even courting her for a brief time, he had been caught in a compromising position with a baron’s daughter and thus was forced to marry so far beneath his rank. However, the Baron’s daughter was remarkably pleased with her rise in status, while the Marquess was miserable.
“It serves him right, although I am sure the Marchioness is most happy,” Edwina muttered.
“If his breeches were not so loose, perhaps he would have settled well. There is still time, I suppose, but I have been spared from a potentially humiliating adulterer.” Diana’s face brightened.
It had been several weeks now that Edwina had suspected something. Ever since Nicholas’s return to Society a month ago, as the co-manager of Lucien’s racehorse breeding venture, and the manager of some sort of transportation business that she did not fully understand, she had noticed something between him and her friend.
Every time they wrote to her, they asked about each other, and Edwina had found herself caught in the middle. Apparently, there had been one ball where they were reported to dance together, but neither had mentioned anything.
“See over there,” Diana whispered, pointing in another direction. “Lady Isabel and Lord Bartlet. Word is that their courtship is progressing rather well.”
Edwina followed her friend’s finger to find her aunt holding a tray of chocolates, and, as she made to refill her champagne flute, Lord Bartlet swiped a square of chocolate. By the time Isabel looked back to grab the delicacy, it was gone, and Lord Bartlet pretended to frown at a passing gentleman, as if blaming him.
“What a wonderful match.” Edwina laughed. “I am sure if their courtship continues, my aunt will have a long, happy life.”
“I never thought she would settle. It is lovely to see.”
Edwina couldn’t agree more.
Her aunt caught her eye and waved, excitedly gesturing towards Lord Bartlet.
“It is so funny that they met over trying to buy the last available box of chocolates.” Diana giggled. “What are the chances.”
“Well, Aunt Isabel did once say that was her one true love. Perhaps this was fate all along.”
Diana tucked her hand in the crook of Edwina’s arm, squeezing it.
Edwina’s eyes swept over the party. She spotted Lucien, Nicholas, and Jasper standing together. It was the first time the three of them had met up in many years. Lucien had fussed endlessly about it earlier, still unable to let go of his guilt over pushing Jasper away after Edwina had fled to Stormhold House.
But there they were, their faces bright as they laughed with one another.
On the other side of the party, among Nicholas’s associates, were Rose and Allan, and their father.
Edwina’s stomach twisted as she watched them whispering among themselves. Rose was twirling a flower between her forefinger and thumb. Rumor had it that her father had set her up with a rather admirable match.
Last month, she had written to Edwina with the news, asking if Lucien might be willing to help her with the match even further, or if he would visit their home. After some persuasion that did not involve carnal pleasure, Edwina convinced her husband to do it.
It was taking time, and it would take even more time, but when her husband caught sight of his family, that anger didn’t immediately cross his face. Instead, he looked hesitant for a moment, before wandering over to them.
Edwina excused herself to join them.
“Uncle Barnard,” Lucien was saying, still stiff, but he was no longer chasing the man away. “It is good to see you.”
“As it is for me, dear nephew. I am grateful you have agreed to write to us and visit soon.”
“Well, you have Edwina to thank for that,” Lucien said, tucking Edwina’s hand into the crook of his elbow. “She has seen something in our family that I have not. But she has helped me reconcile with my past, and that includes speaking through everything I have felt.”
“Lucien, I will never, ever be able to apologize to you enough,” Barnard offered quietly. Allan drew Rose aside, pulling her into another conversation. “I was blinded by my wife. I see that now, and I see how wrong it was.”
“Let us not discuss it here,” Lucien said quickly, not rudely but consideringly. “Barnard, how about you visit Stormhold soon? Perhaps we may have a drink and speak candidly. No arguing, no ordering you to leave, I promise. I feel as though I am ready to finally speak.”
“It would be the greatest honor.” Barnard nodded.
Edwina felt hope rise in her chest as she squeezed Lucien’s arm. It was all a massive start, and she only wished for her husband to find peace and happiness with his relatives once more.
“Everybody,” her brother called from the terrace, a glass of champagne in his hand as he looked over the gathered crowd. “If I may take a moment of your time to make a small speech. Oh, Jasper, do not roll your eyes at me.”
“We recall your speeches, Nick! Everybody may as well go to bed now.”
“At least they do not drag on for hours like yours,” Nicholas shot back, and they all laughed.
Edwina did not care if her brother’s speech was as boring as an empty, silent house, or if it dragged on. All she cared about was that he was alive and well and up there, making a speech.
Six months ago, she would not have dreamed of seeing that.
Now, Nicholas was holding court at his own party, beaming and healthy, and she had her family back. Her husband, her brother, her aunt, and her friends.
And soon…
Soon, there would be another addition.
“Lucien,” Edwina moaned, her breasts hitting the water in the bathtub as Lucien guided her hips up and down, impaling her on his length with a fierceness that stole her breath.
“I could not help myself,” he growled, his tongue sliding over her wet skin. He swirled it over her breastbone, around her nipple, then nosed at her neck. “The scent of your bath oil is too tempting to resist. I endure it well enough throughout the day, but right now, I must have you.”
“I believe—ah—” Her grip on the rim of the tub tightened as he hit a spot inside her that had her seeing stars. “I believe you are already having me.”
“Edwina,” he groaned, pulling her flush against him.
He pressed his face into her breasts, and she scarcely cared how the water was sloshing around them, how loud the slap of skin against water was, or how their voices echoed in the bathing chamber.
“How am I to contain myself around you?”
“You are not,” she gasped as he sucked hard on her nipple.
His fingers tangled in her hair and pulled. Her head tipped back, and her core clenched around his length.
“I am free to take you whenever I please, then?” Lucien teased as his hand drifted between her legs, seeking that bundle of nerves.
Whimpering, Edwina nodded.
“While I work, I may have you on your knees, beneath my desk? In the parlor, while our guests wait for us in the drawing room? In the morning, when the sunlight pours over this beautiful, naked body of yours?”
“Every moment,” Edwina moaned as shocks ran through her from her husband’s ministrations.
His hips pistoned, his length barely sliding out before entering her once more. Hard, short thrusts, and she rather enjoyed them.
“Then I shall,” he growled, kissing her throat. “Come for me, Edwina.”
And Edwina did, giving in to that growing pressure inside her, letting it overtakeeverything. When she shattered along with her husband, her cries bounced off the bathing chamber walls.
Later, as they rested, naked and sated, Edwina drew a pattern over Lucien’s thick bicep.
“Lucien, I must tell you something,” she whispered, nerves lacing her voice.
He sat up straighter, turning to look at her, already bracing for bad news. However, it was rather the opposite.
She did not hesitate, knowing that their future was beautiful and clear, that what had once been considered a responsibility he would not have made her bear had now become something she wished to possess.
“I am with child.”
The words were quietly spoken between them, and they slowly sank in.
“You are?” Lucien whispered. He leaned over her, grabbing hold of her waist. “Edwina—Edwina, are you teasing me?”
“About something like this? Never.” Her eyes met his, a smile forming on her face. “I do not quite know how far along I am, but my pregnancy has been confirmed.”
“We are going to be parents,” Lucien murmured, his eyes wide, a flush blooming on his pale face. “I… Edwina, we are going to be parents!”
Before she could laugh, he captured her mouth with his, kissing her deeply, and as she melted into his arms, she knew she was home.
And how perfect that home would always be from that day on.
The End?