With Love in Their Corner (The Boxers of Brook Street #1)

Epilogue

May 1, 1820

Stapleton House

Marylebone, Mayfair

London, England

L ewis whistled as he came into the townhouse from a visit to the boxing salon. Though he no longer boxed professionally since that bout when he’d asked Cecilia to marry him, he was still involved in the salon’s operations. Truthfully, he didn’t need to be, for his brothers ran it like a well-oiled machine, but he simply couldn’t walk away from the boxing world permanently.

Not that it mattered. Never had he felt as personally fulfilled as he was now.

Each day that went by, he counted himself fortunate to live the life that he did. Two months shy of celebrating a third year of marriage to the most stubborn, supportive, strong woman he’d ever met, there was every reason to grin, for in a few months they would expect their first child after a couple of miscarriages.

Both of his brothers had found love as well, but their stories were more complicated and rockier than his had been. Still, the women they’d each wed were strong and full of integrity in their own rights, and perhaps they needed to be, for it took a certain kind of woman to put up with a Stapleton man.

As for his mother, since she became the Dowager Countess of Lethbridge upon his marriage, she’d had a bit of a renaissance a few months following. Not wishing to live with the newlyweds, she’d moved into a smaller townhouse in Hanover Square that she was able to acquire with the inheritance her father had left her when he’d died years before. With Lewis’ assistance, she bought the property and then enjoyed herself decorating the residence and filling it with furnishings.

Now he suspected that she might be searching for a new husband, and he supported her in that endeavor, even though he worried over her making a smart match. Odd, that, in the reversal of roles.

With a nod to the butler, he handed over his greatcoat and top hat, for the day was quite rainy, then he gave the man his gloves. “Where is Lady Lethbridge this afternoon?” Usually, his wife’s daily schedule was full, but she’d promised him that she would slow down now that she had been increasing for six months.

“I believe she is in the morning room. She wished to do some numbers work until Lady Wexley comes by later for tea.”

“Ah, thank you.” After making his way up to that room, he peered inside, and a grin split his face to see Cecilia perched on a delicate chair behind a secretary desk with a ledger book open in front of her. A couple of years earlier, she’d taken over the accounting duties from his brother Alex, and since she enjoyed wrestling with numbers, no one bid her nay. “Lia, don’t you think it’s time to take a rest?”

“That depends.” She lifted her head, and when her gaze collided with his, she smiled. As always, when that certain suggestive light entered her eyes, awareness shivered along his skin. “Do you have plans for how I should spend my time?”

“Mmm, I can think of a few things.” Once he reached her location, Lewis held out a hand. “Come sit with me for a bit.”

“All right.” When she slipped her fingers into his palm and he pulled her into a standing position, the familiar warmth went through his limb. “How is the salon going?”

“Well enough.” After he led her to a low sofa, he saw her settled before sitting beside her. “Alexander is a shrewd manager, and since he no longer enters prize fights, all his focus is on the salon. Under his management, the client roster has grown each year.”

“Your brother certainly has a head for business, which is a good thing, for his wife wouldn’t stand to have a husband who wasn’t at least somewhat clever.” She heaved a sigh as she snuggled into his side. “By the way, the workmen finished painting the nursery suite earlier.”

“Excellent news. We’ll have the furniture moved in tomorrow. Did you select a nursery maid?” For the past several weeks, she had interviewed prospective candidates, for hiring help for their infant was a much sacred task.

“I did, thanks to Alex’s wife.” The woman had trained under a doctor, and though she couldn’t formally attain a degree from a medical school, she was in the process of setting up a small practice out of their home. “There will be no need for a wet nurse; I will see to our child’s feedings myself. I just couldn’t bear to hand off our sweet baby to someone else and rarely see them.”

It was progressive for the time, but he wholeheartedly agreed with her thinking. “Then all we need to do is wait.”

“It seems an eternity.” When she grinned, he felt that against the skin of his neck. “This life has been amazing is so many ways that I never anticipated,” Lia said softly as she pulled back and peered into his eyes. “Who would have thought that after the horror of my previous engagement, something wonderful would eventually come my way?”

“I feel much the same.” Slipping his arms about her, Lewis pulled her close. “And I fully believe everything comes off the way it is supposed to without our bumbling interference.” After he pressed a kiss into her hair, he sighed. “To be honest, I had doubts as to whether I would ever marry or start a family.”

“Isn’t it a lovely feeling when fate manages to surprise us?”

“Yes, I suppose it is, and none of this would have been possible if you’d not come into the boxing salon three years ago.” He often thought about those early days of their relationship, and knew it was a miracle unto itself that they hadn’t been run out of Town for the scandal of it all. “It also shocks me that you still adore boxing now.”

“I do. It is good exercise, though I don’t indulge as much these days.” She caressed a hand over her belly that grew more swollen with every passing week. “At least I can be near the sport thanks to the lessons we do each Wednesday.”

“That was another lovely decision you guided me into.” For his wife was living a dream of hers. Last year, they had finally opened a modified salon in the rear of their townhouse to provide private lessons for clients who preferred that sort of thing. Many of those who paid for the weekly lessons were the daughters of peers, simply because they’d heard Lia’s own stories of how she’d come to boxing, and they wanted the same for their girls. “In fact, every positive change that has come my way has been instigated by you.”

“Well, you tell me all the time what a managing baggage I am.” As she chuckled, love reflected in her eyes. “Boxing and you are all I need in my life to keep me happy.”

“That is good to know, for I feel much the same, though I do rather like my family even when they aggravate me.” He snorted with laughter. “And I’m looking forward to meeting this babe. Whether we have a boy or a girl, our lives will change once more.”

“Fate does enjoy leading us on a merry chase, hmm?” She shifted in his arms so she could better press her lips to his throat above his cravat. “I have about ninety minutes before Alex’s wife comes to tea. Oh, and Duncan mentioned his wife wished to come for a visit soon; I have no idea if that is today. But would you mind spending some private time with me? We haven’t been intimate for a few days.”

How much did he adore his wife? “I think that is a splendid way to pass the time, but only if you’re certain it won’t harm the babe.”

“I am quite certain. The midwife says it is safe, even soothing for the baby.”

“Good.” Then, with his fingertips gliding over her cheek, he dipped his head and claimed her lips with his. “It is amazing how well everything worked for the good, and I can’t wait to see what happens next.”

“Neither can I,” Lia said as she wriggled from his hold and then stood. “But then, I’m not surprised. After all, I suspect we had love in our corner all along. It made all the difference.”

Indeed, it did, and he hoped he would never take anything he’d been given for granted.

The End