Epilogue
Du Priest Manor
Essex
To say it was the perfect day for a wedding would be an understatement.
Autumn had painted the estate in vibrant hues of russet, gold, and crimson.
The week’s rain had taken mercy on the festivities, retreating just in time to let shafts of sunlight dance through scattered clouds, casting a golden glow over the gardens and the magnificent tent erected on the lawn.
The air was filled with the earthy scent of fallen leaves, the sound of birds chirping in the distance, and the gentle rustling of the wind through the trees.
Inside, music and laughter filled the air as Basil and Tess, glowing with happiness, twirled across the polished wooden dance floor—their first as husband and wife. Guests cheered and clapped, and some dabbed their eyes with embroidered handkerchiefs. It was the kind of joy that lingered in memory.
Lex leaned against a tent post, watching his best friend and his sister with a quiet smile. They deserved this happiness. They had fought for it.
But his gaze drifted, as it always did, to his own wife.
Winnie was seated with her grandmother, whispering something that made Felicia laugh and wag a teasing finger. She pressed a kiss to her grandmother’s cheek, then rose and turned—and Lex felt that familiar jolt of desire thunder through his veins at the look in her eyes.
Six months had passed since their wedding, and yet every time he looked at her, it was as though time stopped. If they were blessed with sixty years together, he’d wager his entire rebuilt fortune that he’d still feel the same electric pull every time she looked at him like that.
She strolled toward him, her hips swaying, curls catching the light like spun copper. “Why, my lord, are you brooding in corners again?”
“I’m contemplating my outrageous good fortune,” he said, taking her hand. “And plotting how to whisk you away from this very respectable gathering.”
“Is it scandal you’re after?” she asked archly.
“Absolutely. And I only ever scandalize with my wife,” he murmured, tugging her gently toward the house.
“Lex! What will people think?”
“They’ll think the groom is dancing, the wine is flowing, and that you and I are madly in love.” He leaned closer. “Which we are.”
In the privacy of their bedchamber, he closed the door and took her in his arms. “Finally,” he murmured against her lips, “mine.”
Their kiss deepened, full of tenderness and fire, the kind that said everything words couldn’t. When they parted, her cheeks were flushed, her smile dreamy.
“Before we continue,” she said, suddenly shy, “I have something to tell you.”
Lex cocked an eyebrow. “Darling, we promised—no more secrets.”
“Well, it wasn’t a secret at first. Then it sort of…became one. But I had to be sure.”
His brow furrowed, but his gaze softened as she took his hand and pressed it gently to her belly.
“In about seven months,” she whispered, “we’ll be welcoming our first child.”
Lex stilled. Then his eyes widened, shining with awe. He dropped to his knees, pressing a reverent kiss to her abdomen. “You’re… We’re—”
“Yes,” she said, her voice thick with emotion. “Are you happy?”
He looked up at her, his eyes suspiciously bright. “Happy? Edwina, my love, you’ve made me the happiest man in England. No—on the entire bloody planet. Every day with you is an adventure. And now this? I can’t wait to be a father.”
She wiped at her tears with a laugh. “Oh dear, now I’ve gone and started the waterworks.”
“Darling, I adore every part of you—even the leaky ones.”
They collapsed onto the settee by the window, holding hands, sharing whispered dreams of their child and all the others they hoped would follow.
“I think,” he said, brushing her hair back and nuzzling her neck, “this news calls for a celebration.”
“Oh?” she teased. “What did you have in mind, my lord?”
“I was thinking”—he leaned in, voice low and wicked—“you might fetch the Lace Bandit’s mask.”
She gasped, mock scandalized. “You rogue!”
“Guilty as charged. Now, Countess Capel—shall we see if you can still steal my heart again?”
She giggled as she went to retrieve the infamous mask.
And Lex proceeded to show her—thoroughly and delightfully—how they would celebrate the beginning of their next great adventure.
Their love was a flame that never dimmed, a bond forged in fire and tested by truth. And as the autumn sun dipped below the horizon, casting golden light across the room, they knew one thing for certain:
The best was yet to come.