Epilogue #2
“I know you might have considered it, but I don’t think you would have gone through with it.
You both treated John as your own, and I’m so grateful he was with people who took that responsibility seriously.
I wish the situation had never unfolded like this of course, but Juliet was desperate and I was ignorant and…
well… I suppose that is all we need to say about it.
But I just wanted you to know that I appreciate it, and should anything ever happen to Juliet and myself—”
Victor put a hand on Harry’s shoulder, silencing him.
“There is no sense in thinking like that. Nothing shall happen to you and Juliet, and John is fortunate to have you as parents. I have no doubt that he will grow up to be as impressive as his father,” Victor said.
Whatever wounds had existed between the two brothers had now been healed.
Victor had been given a stark lesson that Harry was not some wayward, lovestruck boy, and his and Juliet’s love had always been a serious thing.
Victor hated that he allowed his fear of scandal color his responsibility to his brother.
Thankfully, that was a thing of the past and they could all move forward far happier and closer than they were, if not in distance, then in affection.
“To the Nightford men,” Harry said, raising his glass.
Victor smiled and clinked his glass against his brother’s, thinking not just of himself, Harry, and Theodore but also of his late father and of John, who he was sure would grow into a man befitting their name, a man who would be better than all who came before him.
“I’m glad she gets to relieve her youth one last time,” Charlotte said.
Edmund chortled. “I don’t think this will be the last time, sister. She will be the belle of the ball again, and I’m not sure Theodore will have it in him to refuse her requests.”
“Husbands should not be in the habit of refusing their wife’s requests. If that is how you act, then I feel sorry for Rose,” Charlotte said. “Don’t you agree, Lydia?”
“I think that is most enlightening, dear sister. Perhaps your next book should be on the ways of marriage. I’m sure many men would benefit from your advice,” Lydia replied.
“Nonsense,” Edmund scoffed. “If anything, I am the perfect exemplar of a husband. Rose has no cause to complain at all. She wants for nothing and I have never irked her.”
“That’s not what she said,” Lydia replied with a mischievous grin. Edmund looked positively shocked.
“What? What secrets have been whispered behind my back? I implore you to tell me now, Lydia, else you shall be guilty of keeping things hidden from the head of your household, and that is a most ignoble sin.” Edmund lifted a finger in the air and pointed it directly at Lydia, who just laughed.
“You cannot intimidate me as you used to, Edmund. We are no longer children. And Victor is the head of my household,” she said.
The color in Edmund’s face changed, his cheeks turning as red as a beetroot.
Lydia feared she had overstepped the mark, and he was genuinely upset.
“But if you must know, then you might think back to the last time you went to the club with your friends and returned at an extremely late hour.”
Edmund withdrew his finger, and his gaze shifted.
“Ah… I see. Well, it was a jolly competitive game, and when that happens it’s easy to lose track of time. Still, that was but a minor inconvenience, and I’m sure she will not hold it against me for too long… will she?”
Lydia merely chuckled in response. She stared at the large tree standing before them.
Its branches were long and gnarled, stretching over them with a protective air.
The leaves were rubbery and thick while in the shadows, they could hear the sounds of rustling and twitching.
All around them existed a city that thrived with life, and it occurred to Lydia that for animals, this tree might well have been akin to London, with its winding pathways, great heights, and hidden secrets.
Birds, squirrels, hedgehogs, and all manner of creatures had made their home in this tree that had been planted long before them but had grown along with the family. Charlotte sighed in contemplation.
“Imagine what they would think of us now,” she said softly, referring to their parents.
Lydia and Edmund bowed their heads. In this garden they used to play, scampering around, causing all sorts of trouble.
Edmund used to clamber up the tree like a monkey, hanging upside down and always going that little bit higher than he should.
Charlotte was usually with their mother, listening intently to all she had to teach.
Lydia used to be concerned only with her storybooks, dreaming of the day when she would find her happy conclusion.
“I imagine they would be proud that we found people to share our lives. It wasn’t always easy after the example they set.
There are so many dreary people about that I wasn’t sure I would find anyone who matched the affection they held for each other,” Edmund said.
Charlotte and Lydia nodded in agreement.
“Do you think about them often?” Lydia asked.
“All the time. I see so much of them in my children, and I wish that they were around to be grandparents, to teach them all they taught me. There is a hole in our lives that can never be filled.”
“We can only try to honor them with our memories. As we get older, I do think about them much more, though. It really shan’t be too long until I am older than Father was when he died. What is a decade here or there?”
“You have longer than you think, but I agree. It is strange to think that one day we shall be older than they ever were,” Charlotte said.
“Have you forgiven them?” Lydia asked quietly, almost afraid and ashamed to ask the question. Silence settled over the siblings for a few moments.
“For a long time, I didn’t think I ever could, but I suppose there isn’t any point in holding onto enmity.
They lived life on their terms, and they thought they could be researchers and parents.
I’m sure they took all the necessary precautions, but they did not foresee the end.
Should they have stayed with us? Perhaps…
but then they wouldn’t be the mother and father we loved,” Edmund said.
“I have forgiven them for my own sake, but I have learned from their mistakes. I shall never leave my children,” Charlotte said. Her words were imbued with determination.
Lydia nodded. “I feel the same way. I have learned to make the best of things as we can never be sure how long they will last. One thing is for certain; they gave us plenty of memories to cherish.”
“They did indeed,” Edmund said. The three of them spent some time in front of the tree, thinking about the past before they returned inside, ready to celebrate Agatha’s marriage.
As they went inside, Lydia glanced over her shoulder and paused for a moment.
A smile played upon her face as she remembered the three children running around the garden with her mother and father trying to maintain order as best they could.
Their relationship with their parents might have been cut short, but at least they had a close relationship to look back on.
The only regret she had was that it couldn’t continue, but in the end, she had a great deal to be thankful for.
Victor waited for her. Lydia approached him, and he held out his hand. It was natural for them to be close now, and they fell into a dance. The world spun, and all the possibilities of the future dazzled her. She would not live with regret.
She would live as she had done all her life, with her entire heart open and eager to accept wherever the tide took her next.
The End?