Epilogue
“And in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, I now pronounce you man and wife.” Alistair’s father spoke those final words, and when he did, the entire parish erupted with applause and cheering so loud it seemed to rattle the walls and lift the roof.
Yvette barely heard any of it.
Her attention was focused solely on Alistair, as his was on her. They stood facing one another, holding hands, gazing into the other’s eyes as if nothing else in the world existed save for the two of them.
Indeed, despite the shouting and clapping that exploded from just a few feet away, it was Yvette’s heart that she heard most of all. The way it thumped in her chest, filling her ears with blood, trying to escape from her as if it wanted to reach for her husband.
She smiled at Alistair as he held her hands and eyes both. The love she felt in that moment was unlike anything she could possibly imagine. It did not feel real. It did not make sense. It was like a dream that she was scared to wake up from, because reality could not possibly match this new world.
Alistair’s smile grew as he looked down at her.
His eyes flicked to her lips. They had already discussed what they would do once their marriage was confirmed, and it was agreed that they would simply hold hands and accept their vows, as was proper.
Plus, with Yvette’s father standing right there, a kiss would be highly inappropriate.
And yet…
Yvette felt a pull toward her husband. She felt a yearning that she could not control.
She loved this man, and she wanted the world to experience this love – to see it for themselves.
For so long, she had hidden from it, denied it, refused to accept it.
And even now, she knew there were those who assumed a scandal was the reason for this marriage, because how could a duke ever want to marry her?
A smirk touched her lips as she continued to gaze at Alistair. And then a wickedness flashed behind her eyes, and she made sure that he took note. He frowned, unsure of what she meant to do… only for it to dawn on him a moment later.
Perhaps it is inappropriate. Perhaps a few people will judge us. If they do, I will just tell them it is my common upbringing that did it, that I do not know any better. Not that I give a damn what anyone else thinks…
With that decided, Yvette broke with tradition as she stepped quickly into her husband. Next, she was on her toes, leaning into him, and he did not hesitate to lean down and kiss her on the lips.
The kiss was felt not just by them, but by the entire parish. There were two scores of guests, and they gasped when they saw the kiss. Hugh burst into laughter, and suddenly the entire congregation cheered them on.
It was not their first kiss. It would not be their last. But the importance of this kiss meant the world to Yvette.
It was proof not only of Alistair’s love but that he meant what he told her when he claimed that he did not care what other people thought.
His only concern was her happiness, and this here proved it.
So, they kissed with passion and with love, the crowds clapped and laughed and cheered for them because they recognized the importance of the moment.
Yvette was married to the man of her dreams, her life was starting anew, and she could not wait to see what happened next. That was, of course, once she finished with this kiss…
Yvette’s heart was full, and she sensed this wasn’t about to change anytime soon.
“Hugh, what are you doing?” Yvette called to Hugh, who sat alone at a table just across from where she and Alistair were seated.
Hugh grimaced when he saw her waving him over, but he rose from his chair and sulked toward her. He was dressed in a fine suit, his hair was combed, and he looked more like Alistair than she could believe. A far cry from the orphan boy whom she used to know.
“Why so glum?” she asked when he reached the table.
He had his head bowed. “I – I am not.” The fact that he stuttered his response told her how nervous he was, as he rarely did such a thing nowadays.
“Have you spoken to any of the other children?” She indicated across the room where there was a table set for the guests’ children. There were a dozen of them, all between the ages of six and twelve. “Go and introduce yourself.”
His eyes widened with fear. “N – no, I… I am fine.”
“You might be surprised,” she said gently, with a smile to match. “What a little bravery can do for a person. Maybe your future best friend is sitting there right now, and he doesn’t even know it.”
“Or she.” Alistair put his arm around Yvette as he leaned into the conversation. “She’s right, Hugh. You can’t spend all day sitting alone.”
“I – I –I” He couldn’t even get his words out.
“There’s no pressure,” Yvette told him. “Just know, I will be so proud of you if you do.”
“As will I,” Alistair said. “You’re my blood, which means that you have the blood of a duke in you. There’s no need to be nervous or afraid. If anything, that’s how they should feel around you.”
Yvette rolled her eyes at the comment. “How about this? Give me five minutes and I will join you. If you are not having a fun time by then, I will happily steal you away.”
Hugh pushed his lips together and then looked at the table of children. “Five minutes?”
“Not a second more.”
She watched Hugh as he nervously wandered across the room, dodging the many guests who were by now well into the throes of drinking and merriment.
And she beamed with pride when he reached the table of children, only for one of the boys to stand up and pull out a chair for him.
Before long, they were locked in conversation, and Yvette was quite sure that there was no need for her to approach anytime soon.
“That was well handled,” Alistair said, taking her hand.
She tried to wave him away but couldn’t hold back her smile. “He’s a good boy. He just needs a little courage.”
“He’ll learn.”
She snorted. “Not from you.”
“And what does that mean?”
She raised an eyebrow at him. “What do you think?”
In response to this, Alistair brought her hand to his lips and kissed the back of it.
It was the day of their wedding and, having finished with the ceremony, they had returned to Alistair’s estate for the post-ceremony breakfast. There were two hundred guests throughout the ballroom, spread across the many tables, each enjoying the food and the liquor that was on offer.
Yvette and Alistair sat at the head of the room; a large table that itself was set on a small stage, so they were above everyone else. And while Yvette was not such a fan of being the center of attention, she did rather like the idea of everyone seeing her with Alistair.
This is your life now, Yvette, so best get used to it. Not just a wife, but a duchess. Nothing will ever be the same again… and that is something to look forward to.
Nearly all the guests were people whom Yvette did not know, but that changed as the day wound on…
“Your Grace…” One of the first people to approach was a stunning woman with blonde hair and blue eyes. She beamed when she saw Alistair, who was up and out of his seat, taking her hand as he greeted her.
“Lady Emily,” he crooned. “So good of you to make it.”
Yvette’s stomach dropped. She knew of Lady Emily Pierce, of course, but she had forgotten how stunning the woman was. And while she knew too that the woman was no threat… she was rather pretty, and certainly familiar with Alistair.
“And this must be Her Grace. Officially.” Lady Emily turned her attention to Yvette. “It is so good to meet you again.
Yvette swallowed. “As it is you.”
“Truly,” Lady Emily continued, her smile dazzling. “I always said that Alistair here deserves the best, and I see that’s exactly what he got.” She winked at Alistair, who laughed. “If you ever need anything at all, please do not hesitate. Us, women of the ton, need to watch out for one another.”
“Thank you,” Yvette said kindly. “That is so nice of you.”
“Of course,” she beamed. “And if you happen to meet any men while you are at it, please send them my way.” She laughed and shook her head. “Not to sound too desperate but…” She trailed off when she spied someone coming through the crowd. “Well, as you are about to see, it is tough going out there.”
Alistair frowned. “What does that mean?” Then he saw who she was speaking of. “Ah… right.”
“There he is!” Theodore Merrick, the Duke of Carrowell, lumbered toward the table. “And there she is! Your Grace. Your Grace.” He bowed deeply to both of them. “It is an honor to be here today.”
Lady Emily scoffed and rolled her eyes. Yvette eyed the reaction, finding it rather curious. And just as curious was the grin that the duke wore when he saw it.
“Carrowell,” Alistair sighed. “Who let you in?”
“I came in through the back,” he joked.
“Better that you stayed there,” muttered Lady Emily.
“Yvette, you know Carrowell –”
“Call me Theodore,” he cut over Alistair and bowed again. “As I am best friends with your husband, you and I are best friends too. Surely, Alistair here has done little else but talk wonderful things about me.”
“He hasn’t mentioned you at all,” Yvette said before she could help herself.
Lady Emily burst into laughter. “Oh, I like her.”
Theodore chuckled, too. “She is both the good-looking one, and the funny one. Tell me, Alistair, what do you bring to the table?”
Yvette could not stop herself from smiling as she listened to and watched the three of them banter.
It was a strange realization to have, but Yvette realized that she had never had anything like this growing up.
As the daughter of a vicar, she had few friends, no social circle, and nothing that amounted to what this really was: a family.
Soon, Lady Emily and Theodore walked away – bickering to one another as they did -- and Alistair sat back down with her.
“I worry that one of them will end up killing the other before the day is through.”
“Really?” Yvette frowned as she watched the two, who were now in a back corner of the room, still arguing. “I think they like one another.”
“Emily and Theodore? They loathe each other.”
She gave him a wry smile. “Maybe. But I would not be surprised either way.”
Her father was the next to greet them, and Yvette was pleased to see that he had remained sober. Better still, there was no sense at all that this would change anytime soon.
After that came more friends of Alistair’s, lords and ladies all, and each was beyond pleased to finally meet the bride. None were condescending. None were rude. And no one seemed to mind that she was born of common stock, not worthy of such a place among them.
It was a relief to be sure. While Alistair had long since accepted her, she still worried about her place among his peers.
And as was always a fear, that her world was not this one, and until it was proven otherwise, Yvette could not be certain how this new life would look.
Would she be a pariah? Trapped at home and unable to go out because nobody accepted her?
Or, as was now being proven, would her world become this one?
We are more similar than we realize, and once the expensive clothes are removed and the fancy homes are left behind, once we learn to accept one another for who we are and not what we want people to think about us, this is proven as true.
She smiled at the thought and looked at her husband.
He saw her smiling and frowned. “What is that look?”
“I just realized how happy I am,” she said.
“Only just now?”
She laughed and leaned forward and kissed him on the lips. It was just a peck, but she loved that she could do that now, just as she loved how right it felt.
Yvette’s life had been far from perfect.
With her mother dying when she was young, with her father’s drinking problem, with her having to keep her father and everything else together lest it fall apart, she had struggled more than she might have been willing to admit.
And in this struggle, she had never considered that she wanted to be happy – she had not even known what that might look like.
She had that now, the happiness, the love to share with others, the life that she did not know she wanted and would now not know what to do without.
It was still early days. There was the rest of her life to look forward to. But if this last month was any indication, this was not something that troubled her. Yvette’s happily ever after was there for the taking, she planned to snatch it with two hands, and then she would never let it go.
The End?