Epilogue
‘Shall I tell you a story?’ William began in a low husky rumble matching the mood of the late-summer evening thunderstorm brewing outside.
Another flash of lightning cast a shadow through the sheets they had strewn about the furniture in his study to create the fort the three of them hid under in a sea of lush pillows and blankets.
Millie laughed aloud. ‘Yes, Father!’ she exclaimed clapping her hands together before crawling into Hattie’s lap, carefully gliding her small hand over the slight growing bump of the child she carried.
Their child. He leaned over and pressed a kiss to Millie’s head before meeting Hattie’s gaze.
Her eyes were glistening, the unshed tears matching the tightness in his chest.
This was more than he could have ever dreamed of. Being here with his daughter and new wife, joyful, healthy, and with a new baby on the way. Hattie squeezed his hand and he brought it to his lips and kissed it reverently. He was a grateful man with a grateful and overflowing heart.
‘Once upon a time,’ he began, pulling Hattie closer to his side, so they were all cuddled together.
Hattie chuckled. ‘Ah, you are a fan of the Brothers Grimm.’
‘I am. It was on my nightstand when I awoke after my accident, so I could not help but read it, and now my mind is full of tales although I have taken a few liberties with this particular story.’
‘How so?’ Hattie asked.
Millie laughed and tugged on his rolled-up shirt sleeves. ‘More, more.’
‘Once upon a time there was a duke,’ he continued. ‘A lonely, rather set-in-his-ways man, who lived alone with his daughter in a far-off manor. He had given up on love and hope, but then one day a beautiful woman arrived. She was a governess for his daughter, but turned out to be far more…’