Epilogue
Isabelle took a deep breath and pinned back another strand of her hair, lurching to the side as the ship took a particularly violent dip to the right. She would be grateful to be on dry land in a matter of days.
Then she would introduce the love of her life to her parents and hope that her marriage to Felix would be enough for her father to aware award him all the money and benefits he owed to him.
Felix appeared in the doorway to the chaplain's room. "It's nearly time."
"And here I thought that you were going to throw yourself overboard to avoid marrying me."
"How could I do that when I sprinted down a dock and was prepared to swim through the harbor to get to the boat, just so I could tell you that I couldn't imagine spending the rest of my life without you?"
Isabelle melted a little inside, their gazes connecting in the mirror before she looked away. "Can you swim?"
"Not well, but if someone on the boat saw me drowning, I'm sure that they would turn back for me."
She burst out laughing, shaking her head and taking out one of the pins she just put in, letting another tendril fall loose. Though she wasn't sure that sher liked the look of it better this way, Felix stood taller, a warm look in his gaze.
She reached for a different strand, slipping that into place. "Are you so certain that they would rescue you?"
He scoffed. "Are you telling me that you would let me drown?"
"Perhaps. It depends on how recently you had called me an angry old goose," she teased.
Felix chuckled. "I suppose that is a factor you should take into consideration when deciding whether to save me or not.'
"It's quite a good factor to consider, though, even if you were in the water and screaming to inform me that I was a goose, I would still save you. I'm afraid I love you far too much to ever let you go."
"And I love you."
She glanced at him in the mirror with a smile as she finished pinning the top half of her hair, the bottom still hanging loose.
It would curl in the salt air on deck, and she would treasure the sketches one of the other women was going to capture as they were married.
She and Felix would look like perfection in them.
At least, she thought they would until she looked down and saw the hem of his borrowed breeches climbing higher up his legs.
Isabelle smiled and looked at the short pants that Felix wore. "You shall have to find yourself a tailor before you meet my parents, since you did not see fit to bring anything with you."
Felix grinned and took her by the hand, leading her down the aisle to where the chaplain was waiting to marry them. "I will find one, I am certain, but if I do not, I am sure that there is no shortage of clothing I could borrow."
"You are a crazy man. I cannot believe that you got on this boat without even packing a small bag of things that you would need."
"I have been called worse." He lifted her hand to his mouth, kissing the back of it. "And now, if you will allow the chaplain to marry us, I can be called your husband."
Butterflies erupted in her stomach and she fervently hoped that they would never go away. "And then I shall be your wife, but we will have a proper ceremony when we arrive at my parents' house, will we not? They will want to celebrate with us."
"Of course, my love."
"Your goose."
He chuckled and stood with his hands linked with hers. "My goose."
Together they walked out of the chaplain's room and up the stairs to the deck. Though the ocean tossed and turned, and the wind filled the sails, and it was a beautiful day.
It was the perfect day to marry Felix.
After today, they would be tied together forever. They would be two halves of the same person, balancing each other out, being each other's best friend, and spending each day happier than the last.
They would have their troubles along the way, she was certain of it. Even the happiest couples in the world had their problems.
But she and Felix would get to work them out together.
"I've been thinking about the duchy and what we'll do when we return to England." Isabelle squeezed his hand tighter as they strode across the deck.
"You have?"
"If it is to be our home then I think I should be the one helping with some of the plans. It's going to be our home after all."
"You're going to continue to be the scandal of the Ton," Felix said, smirking as he gave her hand a tight squeeze. "Whatever you wish to try within the duchy to help, we will do it."
"I studied the maps of the land while we were at Windham House, you have two large parcels of farmland at the back of the Windham Castle property that are practically unused."
"And what do you suggest we do with them?" he asked, stopping near the largest mast and turning to her. "The land is overgrown and it hasn't been suitable for farming in nearly three generations."
"Which is why you aren't going to charge a purchasing fee after we divide the land into several plots.
" Isabelle smiled as she looked up at him.
"We will put the word out that we are looking for men who would like to start their own farm.
It will be on your land, of course, and they will be expected to pay rent for that land, but we won't charge them the purchase of their plot. "
"How do you propose we make the money back for clearing the land then?" he asked, his eyebrows pulled together.
"We're not going to be the ones clearing the land," she said, her voice raising in pitch with excitement as she let go of his hand and turned to face him. "You can see the plan, can't you?"
His eyes lit up. "You want them to clear the land and build their homes with the wood they clear from the land. It would certainly solve some of the problems."
"Mr. Peregrine would be able to recommend young men you should allow to settle on the land. He's in touch with all of the farmers when he goes to the markets."
Felix cupped her face in his hands and kissed the tip of her nose. "You, my beautiful future wife, are brilliant. I've been too focused on trying to do something with the land that is cleared, and I hadn't given much thought to those parcels."
Her chest swelled with pride as she laughed and looked up at him. Her heart beat faster and since the first time since going to England, she couldn't wait to spend the rest of her life there.
As much as she was eager to see her family, she couldn't wait to return home.
"Then that is what we'll do upon our return. And I suspect that some of the properties that border your estate will go for sale sooner or later. When they do, we could purchase them and use them much the same way."
He grinned and nodded. "We will spend several weeks with your family and then I'll book our return to England and the work will begin."
"I'm not afraid of a little hard work."
"I'm beginning to think that you aren't afraid of much," Felix said, his tone warm and filled with love. "Now, what do you say we go get married and we can work on figuring out the rest of our forever later?"
"That sounds perfect to me."
Felix took her hand once more, their fingers lacing together as they made their way to the box where the chaplain and several of the friends they made on the ship were waiting for them.
Isabelle bit the inside of her cheek, butterflies swelling up in her stomach and threatening to burst out of her. She couldn't believe that she was about to get married.
And she couldn't wait either.
She beamed up at Felix as they took their places in front of the chaplain. Isabelle glanced to the woman sketching them, happy to see that her charcoal was already flying over the paper.
When they returned home, she would have someone turn the sketch into a painting and she would be sure to hang it in Felix's study, right across from his desk.
The chaplain began the service, his voice filling the air, saying the words that Isabelle had to repeat, but she barely heard them. As she stood there thinking about the future she had with Felix, she knew that the path she had walked was the one that had always been meant for her.
After all, it had led her to Felix.