Epilogue
Caspian looked around the garden, taking note of the guests scattered throughout. There were dozens of them, most of whom he knew, many of whom he did not, and none of whom he felt the need to avoid as he might have once wanted to do.
It is quite bizarre how quickly things can change… And how grateful I am for it.
He thought back to the last time that his cousin had hosted a garden party—it was, in many ways, a replica of the one he was attending now. He had spent most of that event inside, trying to avoid socializing as he counted down the minutes until it was acceptable for him to leave.
Today, things could not have been more different.
Caspian stood near the center of the garden.
Beside him was his wife, across from him was George, and with them were many other lords and ladies with whom Caspian enjoyed engaging in pleasant conversation.
Some of them even had their daughters with them, but for once, they were not trying to force his attention on those daughters in a desperate attempt to see them married.
“I thought you said it was going to rain?” George pointed out as he looked to the sky. It was nothing but clear skies as far as they could see, no indication at all of a turn in the weather.
“I said that it might,” Caspian noted.
“He wished that it did,” Arabella chuckled. “So that we might have had an excuse not to come.”
“Lies,” Caspian sighed. “I never said such a thing.” He scowled at his wife, and she grinned wickedly. “Where is Timothy?” he asked, searching the garden.
He was not worried about the boy, nor did he think Timothy was hiding as he used to. Again, Caspian could not help but recall the last time they had attended a party like this one. Timothy had spent it hiding, which had been the final straw needed to change Caspian’s mind about marriage.
“He is with Penelope,” Arabella said. She indicated with a nod across the garden, through the crowds, where Timothy had his cousin watching him as he tried to do a handstand.
Caspian laughed. “He spent all week desperate to perfect it.”
“Oh, I know,” Arabella sighed. “I was with him for two hours yesterday. He refused to let me leave until he held it for thirty seconds.”
“Did he manage?”
She looked at him flatly. “Not even close.”
They laughed, and Caspian slipped his hand around her waist. He wanted to kiss her. More than that, he wanted to drag her inside and pick up from where they had left things this morning…
Careful, Caspian. Do not go down that path, for you might never leave it.
Typically, he caught his wife’s eyes, he saw the wickedness in them, and he knew that her mind was in the same place as his own. Where Caspian loved exploring with his wife, doing so whenever they had the chance, she loved it more.
In fact, if it were not for this garden party today, there was a good chance they would still be at home, in bed, making the most of their newfound passion and eagerness to prove who desired the other more.
“There you are!” Penelope swept toward them, and she looked frazzled. “Please, do me a favor and entertain the boy! I am too old for this.”
Caspian scoffed. “And here I always thought that you adored Timothy.”
“I do,” Penelope said. “But there is a limit!”
“Where did you go! Penelope!” Timothy raced in behind her, darting between legs until he put himself in the middle of the circle. “You were not watching! I almost did it!”
Penelope raised a questioning eyebrow at Timothy. “Now, why do I get the sense that you are exaggerating?”
“I was not!”
“Easy, Timothy.” Caspian rested a hand on Timothy’s shoulder and pulled him into himself and Arabella. “Let her rest a moment. She is older than you realize…” She smirked at Penelope.
“Oh, now you go too far!”
They all laughed together, none more than Arabella. It was an effortless conversation, a familiar one, and a perfect example of how far they had all come. Caspian looked from his cousin to Timothy to Arabella, and his heart swelled as he decided what they really were: a family.
“Did you know that this is where Caspian and Arabella met!” Timothy announced proudly as he stepped into the middle of the circle again.
“Oh, tell us more,” George cheered.
“It was thanks to me,” Timothy continued as he puffed out his chest. “Caspian was searching for me when he found Arabella. Without me, they would never have met.”
Arabella laughed. “Is that what Caspian told you?”
“It is the truth!”
“In a fashion,” Caspian agreed. “A tad more complicated than that, but… Well, let us give this one to him. Thank you, Timothy. We owe you.”
Again, they all laughed, and Timothy beamed.
“Caspian!” Timothy took Caspian’s hand. “Come watch!”
“Watch what?”
Timothy scrunched his face. “My handstand.”
Caspian looked pleadingly at Arabella, and she shrugged. “Go on then. I will not stop you.”
“I wish that you would…”
It was all in good fun. Caspian stepped forward and kissed his wife on the cheek. He rolled his eyes at Penelope. And he scowled at George, who laughed gaily. And then, he allowed himself to be pulled away and toward a patch of grass so that he could watch Timothy try to do a handstand.
Caspian’s life had changed so much these last couple of months.
And it was more than just the fact that he was happy. As he watched Timothy tumble and fall, laughing all the while, he looked back to find Arabella watching with a smile. Happiness was one thing, but it was that sense of completion that came with it.
He was more than just a husband. He was more than just a father. He was both, one piece of a whole that made up his family. As a boy, his father had told him that he would never have such a thing. Caspian had believed it, and he had spent his life living with that belief.
Not that this upset him. In many ways, he was glad he had given in to his father’s lies for so long, because if he had not, he would never have met Arabella, and that was a life not worth living. Just as having her to spend the rest of his days with was one he could not wait to live.
The End?