Epilogue
“Ithink the flowers look just wonderful,” Honora said. “You really couldn’t have made any better choice of wedding decor, Dorothy.”
“Honora,” Abigail said mildly, straightening Dorothy’s gown. “You chose the flowers. Don’t you remember?”
“Of course I do,” Honora said. “That’s why they’ve turned out so well. I have an eye for that sort of thing. But Dorothy made a good decision when she chose to put me in charge of that aspect of things. Don’t you think so, Dorothy?”
“I do,” Dorothy agreed with a smile. She knew how excited her sisters were to be hosting her wedding breakfast. She wanted to make sure they enjoyed the event every bit as much as she knew she was going to, which was a great deal.
The ceremony had ended about half an hour ago, and everyone had come back to Honora’s home for the breakfast. The sisters were up in one of the guest rooms freshening up, everyone taking it in turns to make adjustments to Dorothy’s gown.
Dorothy just stared at herself in the looking glass, struggling to believe that this was her real life.
She was married. She had taken her vows. She was the Duchess of Henshaw—she was Nathaniel’s wife. And she would be for the rest of her days.
The flowers were lovely. Honora had chosen white and yellow roses, and Dorothy was very happy with them.
But it was her own gown that she loved best of all.
Nathaniel had offered to buy something for her, but she’d insisted on using her own money.
She’d had a fair amount to her name, since she was always so careful about what she spent, and she had been able to have a beautiful gown in the latest style made from a lovely cream-colored fabric with pale blue embroidery on the bodice.
Today was likely the only time in her life she would ever wear this beautiful gown, and she meant to make the most of it.
“We ought to go down,” Abigail said. “We have guests to greet. They’ll be wanting to see the bride.”
Dorothy nodded. All her life, she had been a wallflower.
She’d wondered how she would feel on her wedding day, knowing that she would inevitably be at the center of things, but as she beheld herself in her gown, she knew this was what she wanted.
I am the Duchess of Henshaw, she reminded herself.
This is part of the life of a duchess. And however she felt about that, it could never be as intimidating as the idea of allowing herself to fall in love had been.
The hardest thing she would do in her life had already been done. She had overcome her fear. It was time to allow herself to enjoy what lay on the other side of it.
Abigail opened the door, and the three sisters went out.
When they reached the top of the stairs, Dorothy paused for a moment, overwhelmed by the crowd spread out below her.
And one by one, they all turned toward her, looking up at the sight of her in her gown.
Everyone watched unabashedly, eager to see the bride.
For a moment, she hesitated, unused to such attention.
And then Nathaniel emerged, stepping free from the group of people to meet her at the foot of the stairs.
The sight of him was larger and more powerful than all her fears, everything she had been nervous or uneasy about, and she hurried down the steps to meet him.
As she arrived in his arms, she heard the sound of people’s laughter, indulgent and kind, and knew that they were enjoying her happiness.
A part of her was glad, but a larger part of her didn’t care. What mattered was to be with Nathaniel.
“Dorothy!”
That excited cry had come from Colin, who now came racing up to wrap his arms around her waist. “You and Father are really married now, aren’t you?”
“We really are.” She put a hand on his shoulder. “The three of us will be a family now. Does that make you happy?”
“Oh, very!” he enthused. “That means you’re my mother now, doesn’t it?”
“That is exactly what it means.” She gave him a hug. “Now and forever, Colin.”
He bit his lip, suddenly unsure. “And…the mother I had before…”
Dorothy’s heart ached. She knelt before him, heedless of her fine gown.
“Colin,” she told him gently, “the mother you knew will always be your mother. I would never want to replace her in your heart. She brought you into this world. She cared for you deeply. She raised you for many years. Her love for you will always remain, even though she can’t be here with us any longer.
And I know you will always love her, too. That is as it should be.”
“You don’t mind?” he asked.
“I would never want you to give up your love for your mother. In fact,” she added.
“I love her too. Because if it hadn’t been for her, you would never have come to be, and I would never have known you at all.
I’m very grateful to your mother. We can love her and honor her and know that she was the mother of your first years of life, and at the same time, I can do my best to be a mother to you now.
Both things can be true at the same time. ”
“I can have two mothers?”
“You can,” she assured him.
His face lit up. “I am the luckiest boy in the whole world,” he announced, to the general amusement of everyone near enough to overhear him.
“I think we ought to go and get something to eat,” Nathaniel put in. “We wouldn’t want our breakfast to get cold! Colin, why don’t you lead the way to the dining room.”
And so it was that all the guests followed Colin through to the next room and found their seats around the long dining room table. Dorothy took the seat next to Nathaniel, keeping a firm grip on his hand. She never wanted to let him go.
As they settled in to enjoy their meal, she allowed herself to look around the room and see what others were doing.
Her sisters had landed themselves in the middle of a group of women and were engaged in animated conversation.
On the far side of the table, she could see Agnes and Gabriel seated next to Violet and Jonathan, all three of them looking deeply satisfied.
“I think our friends are feeling pretty smug at the moment,” Nathaniel said quietly.
Dorothy laughed. “I’m sure mine are,” she agreed. “They’ve been telling me for a very long time that something like this was going to happen. I suppose I should have listened. I don’t think Agnes has ever been wrong about anything in her life.”
“She’s going to be a wonderful mother, when that baby arrives,” Nathaniel said.
He gave her hand a squeeze. “And you’re going to be a wonderful mother right now.
Truly, I couldn’t have chosen better for Colin.
I’m so grateful that he’s going to have you in his life from now on.
You are just what he needed. You’re just what we both needed. ”
Dorothy felt warm all over.
“Have I ever told you,” he said softly, “how beautiful you are when you blush like that?”
“You may have mentioned it.” Her cheeks grew hotter still in the face of the compliment.
“Well, it’s true,” he said. “I think the act of blushing was created specifically for your face, Dorothy. No one has ever looked so lovely with a little color in their cheeks as you do. It’s not fair to anyone else, you looking that beautiful.
I’m just glad that you’re married to me, so that no other gentleman can see you and imagine that you might become his. I’m glad you’re spoken for.”
Her grin felt like it stretched from ear to ear. “I’m glad I am too,” she told him.
“Congratulations on your wedding, Your Graces.”
They turned toward the voice. It was Lady Amanda. She stood behind them with a sincere smile on her face.
“Lady Amanda.” Nathaniel started to rise.
“No, no,’ she said. “Please don’t get up. You’re about to enjoy your breakfast. I only wanted to come and pay my respects while I had the opportunity, that’s all. You must both be so delighted, and I just wanted to say how happy I am for the both of you.”
“Lady Amanda…thank you.” Dorothy didn’t quite know what to say. She felt a little ashamed. “I know that this is a bit…unusual. Uncomfortable. You would have every right in the world to feel angry with me.”
“Oh, but I don’t,” Lady Amanda assured her.
“From the moment I saw the two of you together in the park, I knew there was something more than friendship between you. I knew then that you belonged with one another. I thought I might be wrong, at first—His Grace tried to deny it. But I could see it. I’m not surprised or disappointed at all that things went this way.
I would never want to stand in the way of true love.
” She smiled. “I only hope that the day will come when I find the same thing you two have found, with the gentleman who is right for me.”
“I’m sure that day will come,” Nathaniel told her with a smile. “It would be a very lucky man who found his future with you, Lady Amanda.”
She smiled at the compliment and went off to find her seat.
“She really is delightful,” Nathaniel said. “I can see why you thought she would make a good wife and mother.”
“And I’m still confident that she will,” Dorothy said. “As she said…when she finds the family that is right for her.” This one belongs to me.
Breakfast was served, and everyone passed a few happy hours eating and talking. The only thing that mattered to Dorothy, though, was Nathaniel’s presence by her side and his hand gripping hers. Though it was impractical and made it difficult to eat, she didn’t let go of him all through the meal.
When they had finished eating, everyone retired into the ballroom for drinks and dancing. For the first time, Dorothy knew that she could spend a party exactly as she wanted, and nobody would question her. And all she wanted was to spend the rest of the evening in the arms of the man she loved.
They danced together slowly, losing the rhythm of the music, neither one of them caring. They were too lost in one another to pay attention to what was going on around them. Things like that just didn’t seem to matter anymore.”
“I can’t wait until the party is over, to tell you the truth,” Nathaniel whispered in Dorothy’s ear as they turned. “Because then I get to begin the rest of my life with you. I want to get into that carriage, take you home, and just start sharing our lives together. I’m ready for that part.”
“We could leave the party early.” It did sound appealing.
“You don’t want to stay and soak up the attention?”
She laughed. “I think I’ve had enough attention to last me the rest of my life.” A wave of happiness passed through her. “But perhaps not enough dancing.”
“Then we will dance until you’ve had enough,” he told her, and Dorothy laughed as he spun her back into the crowd.
The End?