Epilogue
Redcliffe Manor
Six Months Later
It was a wedding feast to end all wedding feasts.
Jareth and Desdra were literally entertaining the entire town at their wedding feast. They had friends at Redcliffe Manor, including the Guard of Six and about three hundred of Jareth’s friends from London, and then there was a spread of food and entertainment set up in front of the church that Chester had built.
Still more food and drink was at Aphrodite’s Feast and at the universitas that bore the name of de Long.
It had cost Jareth a huge amount of money but, as he’d said, what good was money if he couldn’t spend some of it to celebrate the best day of his life?
And the best day it was.
Jareth and Desdra had been married at the church with a mass said by none other than the Pope himself.
Not the actual pope, but the steady visitor to The Feast. He wore his simple priest robes for the mass, one that was attended by most of Bristol.
They spilled out into the streets. Although King Henry couldn’t attend, as he didn’t travel these days, he sent a few advisors, including William de Valence, and a document that gave Jareth the Barony of Bedminster.
As Lord and Lady Bedminster were introduced to the crowd to a host of cheers, Jareth also announced that he would be legally taking the name of de Long to honor Chester and the men before him, men who had created this unique and glorious legacy that now belonged to him.
It didn’t seem right that a de Leybourne should have it, so the de Leybourne name was put aside as Jareth became Jareth de Long, and his children would also bear the name.
The de Long legacy would continue.
For their wedding mass, Desdra wore a dress of pale blue that made her look positively luminous.
Her magnificent hair was left long except for a silver ribbon that secured it at the nape of her neck.
The rest trailed down her back. She wore a translucent gossamer cape that was anchored at the top of her head with a bejeweled comb that Marston had given her, and on her ring finger, her wedding ring of gold and sapphires gleamed.
Now, they were back at Redcliffe, at a feast that included not one but two whole sides of a cow, roasting over two spits in the main yard. Old Henbury was in charge of the feast, ensuring everything ran smoothly, and Jareth wasn’t hard-pressed to admit that the old man did a remarkable job.
Long after the feast started and evening fell, the new Lord and Lady Bedminster took a stroll out in the yard to get a breath of fresh air, accepting congratulations from everyone they came across.
On the narrow wall walk overlooking the river, they could see Aidric, Dirk, Britt, Hugh, and Stefan drinking and talking and admiring the clear night overhead.
But they were joined by two other men, original members of the Guard of Six, in Torran de Serreaux and Kent de Poyer.
They’d come all the way to Bristol for this momentous occasion.
“You’re going to miss your friends, aren’t you?” Desdra asked softly.
Jareth looked at her, realizing that she’d been watching him as he observed the men on the wall. “Not really,” he said. “I will see them often enough, but much like Torran and Kent, I now have another life now and I intend to live it.”
“No more Guard of Six?”
“Once a Guard of Six, always a Guard of Six,” he said. “I will be there if they need me. But let us hope they do not need me for a while. I’d like to spend time with my new wife first.”
He winked at Desdra as she giggled. She looked positively radiant after her brush with death those months ago.
Recovery had been a little slow, and she still hadn’t gained full mobility in her left arm because it had been crushed in the fall, but considering the circumstances, it could have been a lot worse.
Jareth thanked God daily for his wife and her miraculous recovery.
“They can come and visit frequently,” she said, her arms looped around his left elbow. “In fact, we cannot seem to keep Orion away. He and Anosia are quite a pair.”
Jareth grunted in agreement. “She finally gave up her position at The Feast for him,” he said. “She was well loved there, but I suppose she loves him more. Now, he needs to marry her.”
Desdra nodded firmly. “I agree,” she said. “I’ve told him so. He just smiles and says ‘soon.’ That is all he’ll say. It is most annoying.”
Jareth laughed softly. “The truth is that he’s not entirely certain about his position with the Guard of Six,” he said.
“Henry moved him in, but he could just as easily move him out, so I believe he wants reassurance from the king that his situation will be stable before he marries a woman and brings her, and her children, to London to live. I am proud of the way he is thinking of others before himself. The Orion I knew before our journey to Bristol would not have done that.”
“He has changed?”
Jareth nodded as he thought on the big blond knight who wasn’t quite so annoying anymore. “Aye,” he said. “Acceptance will do that. Love will do that.”
Desdra smiled. “Does that mean you have changed?”
“From what? I was perfect when you met me.”
She burst into soft laughter. “You are a confident man,” she said. “I love that about you.”
“Good,” he said. “It is too late for me to change my ways, so you had better.”
They had made it to the end of the ward, breathing in the cold, clear air, before turning around.
“Speaking of ways, I must tell you again that I am sorry I was unable to go with you when you inspected your properties,” Desdra said.
“You should not have had to go alone, but my recovery has been slower than I’d hoped.
Someday, I will visit them with you, I promise. ”
He patted her hand. “I was not alone,” he said.
“Remember? I had Aidric and Britt and Dirk, Stefan and Orion with me. They inspected everything right along with me. Moreover, there was no possibility that I was going to allow you to go, since you were still recovering, so it worked out for the better. And do not forget that Marston was an enormous help. I like him.”
“He likes you,” Desdra said. “I’m glad he has resumed his visits to The Feast. He used to come daily when Lord Chester was alive, but after his death, I think that, mayhap, it was a little painful for him to come. I am happy he has returned.”
Jareth nodded. “It has been interesting learning of Uncle Chester through his eyes,” he said. “He saw a different side of him than most, I suppose.”
Desdra thought on the small, white-haired man and how kind he’d always been. “I think he knew Lord Chester best,” he said. “There was a great deal of devotion and respect between them.”
“I sensed that,” Jareth said. “And if he and my uncle were lovers, I hope it was something that made them both very happy. I hope Marston was able to give Uncle Chester comfort in his final years.”
She smiled up at him, squeezing his arm gently. “I think so,” she said. “They were quite inseparable.”
He smiled in return, gazing into that lovely face. “We should all be so lucky as to have someone we cannot be parted from.”
She chuckled, laying her cheek on his bicep again as he kissed the top of her head. “True,” she said. “I’ve found my someone.”
“As have I.”
They continued to walk in warm silence, heading back toward the great hall of Redcliffe, hearing the noise and music emitting from the windows and doors, seeing people spill out into the night, drinking and laughing.
The truth was that there had been an entire week of feasting and celebrating before the wedding mass, so tonight was the culmination of a very busy week.
And one that they were both looking forward to.
“Now,” Jareth said, “I have a question for you, Lady Bedminster.”
Desdra smiled at the use of her new title. “What is that, Lord Bedminster?”
He pointed to the manse dead ahead. “Do you think we can make our way through those people to get to our bedchamber?” he said. “Or do you think we should take a short ride back to The Feast and spend our wedding night in peace and quiet? Because that lot is not going to give us any peace or quiet.”
He was jabbing a finger at the bright, noisy hall, and she started laughing. “I will do whatever you wish,” she said. “You decide.”
He fought off a grin. “It seems to me that we have earned the right to sleep in our own home and not be chased off by a gang of drunken fools,” he said. “But we should go in separately. If we go in together, there will be trouble.”
She could see the happy guests cavorting through the open door. “They will try to corner us,” she said. “We can go in through the kitchens and make it up the servants’ staircase. They will not see us.”
He thought that was a rather fine idea. “Good thinking,” he said. “Let us hurry, then.”
“Why? Are you anxious for something?”
He rolled his eyes. “Nothing at all,” he said drolly. “I have a wedding night every single night of my life. There is nothing special about this night.”
She laughed and he joined her. Then he put his arms around her gently, mindful of her left shoulder and arm, and kissed her lips tenderly.
“I have been waiting for this moment my entire life,” he whispered.
“Do not think for one moment you are not the most important thing in the world to me, now and forever. You are the stars that shine in the night sky, the sun rising in the east. I never knew what it felt like to love someone so completely, but I do now. This night belongs to us, Desi.”
She held him tightly with her right arm and a little less tightly with her left.
Jareth had helped her retrain her muscles again ever since she could start to move it, and it had been hard work, but it was paying off.
He’d been so good to her during her recovery, and he’d waited very patiently until she was physically up to the task of their marriage. Therefore, he was right.
This was their night.