Epilogue
The next morning
Edward lay propped on his elbow, watching his wife as she slept.
Despite the worries she still expressed, something seemed to have eased in her.
The circles were gone from beneath her eyes.
The tension she always seemed to carry with her was gone.
And a small smile graced her lips, even in her sleep.
He didn’t wish to wake her, but he couldn’t help reaching out to touch her. He lightly trailed a finger across the delicate skin of her cheek, then dragged his thumb gently across her bottom lip.
The rhythm of her breathing changed. She didn’t open her eyes, but she smiled beneath his fingers touch.
“I take it you are sufficiently rested, my lord?” she asked, her voice slightly raspy from sleep.
“Hmm. Even if I were, how can I sleep when there is such a tempting beauty in my bed?”
“Perhaps because you spent the entirety of the night, trying to break a curse that—” Her eyes flew open. “Edward!”
“Yes, my love?” he asked, kissing her neck.
“It is morning.”
He glanced at the sun streaming through the window. “So it is. I suppose that means we have finally vanquished your curse.”
Her smile grew mischievous. “Hmm, perhaps.”
“Perhaps?” He frowned, genuinely confused now. “It is the morning after our wedding. And I am still here. Alive. After a very vigorous wedding night, if I do say so myself.”
Her low chuckle had him pulling her even closer against him, until the sound cut off in a ragged gasp.
“Yes,” she said, the breathless word sounding more like a moan. “However, I have suddenly realized that the last time the curse struck was on a Thursday. And it is only Wednesday today. Therefore, I do not think we can truly consider the curse broken until at least Friday.”
He rolled her beneath him, grinning when she wrapped her legs around him. Little minx. Luckily, he was very willing to play this game. “Two whole days. Well, if that is what we need to do to ensure the curse is truly broken…”
He slid inside her, gritting his teeth at the exquisite grip of her body around his.
“I am happy to oblige,” he managed to say.
*
Friday
Selena watched Edward over the top of the book that she had not been reading for the better part of an hour while he sat at his desk, not going through the paperwork scattered around him.
She had woken the morning after their wedding with a sense of peace that she had not felt in many years.
As if a weight had finally been lifted. And the feeling had persisted every morning since.
Perhaps it had been silly to believe so whole-heartedly in a curse.
But, as strange as it seemed, a part of her needed to believe in that curse.
To believe that there was a reason for the tragedies that had repeatedly fallen.
That it wasn’t just random. That there was something she could do to prevent such things from happening again.
And then she’d met Edward. He had broken past all her defenses. And kept doing so. She would always mourn her other husbands. Mourn the possibilities their relationships had offered. Mourn the kind, talented men who had met such pointlessly tragic ends.
But even with them, Selena had never dreamed such happiness was possible.
She had hoped for companionship. Contentment.
But she had never dreamed such a depth of love was possible.
She loved Edward with an intensity that frightened her even as she rejoiced in it.
And a large part of her was still afraid to believe it would continue.
Believed that something would happen to take it all away.
And…it could. Accidents happened. People got sick. They grew old. Someday, she would lose him.
But not today. Today, he was hers. And she was going to continue to make the most of their time together for as long as she could.
He finally laughed and put down his quill.
“You haven’t turned a page in almost a quarter of an hour,” he said.
She gave him an impish smile. “I am a slow reader.”
His lips spread in an answering grin. “Your book is upside down.”
“Is it?” She glanced down. “Hmm. So it is.”
He leaned forward, resting his crossed arms on his desk. “Is there something on your mind?”
“I believe it is Friday, my lord.”
“Hmm. So it is.” He leaned back and spread his arms wide. “And the curse has yet to strike.”
“So it seems.” Her smile grew wider.
“You still don’t believe the curse is broken?” he asked, his gaze growing heated.
“I wish we could be sure. It is only that I just realized that three of my four marriages were in June, and one in July. It is still June now. So how can we be sure the curse is truly broken until August?”
Edward rubbed a finger over his chin, as if he were truly contemplating what she said.
“You may have a valid argument there.” He crooked his finger at her. “Come here, wife.”
*
August
“It is August, love,” Edward said, running his hand over the tiny bump of Selena’s belly as she lay her head on his lap under the large tree in the back garden.
They had finally allowed the fountain to flow again, and though the water attracted birds, Selena did not seem to mind anymore.
Though he still took care not to go too near it, just in case.
He would never get over the miracle of having her in his life.
Especially now that she was gifting him with a miracle of their own.
He would go to his grave thanking his lucky stars for bringing this woman into his life.
Whether his life ended the next day, the next year, or fifty years from now. He would cherish every moment.
“Hmm yes,” she said. “But I have been thinking…”
“Oh?” He grinned as she smiled at him and threaded her fingers through his.
“You see, every other time the curse has struck, it has been summer, and we are in summer still. So perhaps, just to be completely sure, we should wait until autumn.”
“Hmm, that does seem prudent. Perhaps after a summer of flouting the curse, the Duchess of Death will no longer be a threat, and her curse will finally be broken?”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “Not amusing.”
He chuckled. “It’s a little amusing.”
“Besides, it was Lady Death.”
“Hmm.” He pulled her into his lap until she straddled him. “But you shall be a duchess, my lady. The cartoonists have increased your rank.”
“Have they really?” She pursed her lips in surprise. “I should think they’d have grown bored of the story by now.”
“Truly?” He gripped her hips and dragged her against him until she threw her head back with a gasp. “I believe the tale of Lady Death marrying the Marquess of Lockhaven will be a story for the ages.”
Her deep, throaty laughter had him burying his face in her neck with a groan.
“We can but hope,” she said, draping her arms around his neck as he pulled her close. “Now, don’t we have a curse to break?”
His hand slipped up her skirts. “As always, I am happy to oblige, my love.”
His heart soared as their lips met.
*
Autumn
“I have been thinking,” Selena whispered, leaning against Edward as they sat in the chapel watching Anthony say his vows to a lovely woman he definitely hadn’t seen coming.
“Oh?” He placed his hand over where hers pressed against another little kick pummeling her belly.
“It is the end of autumn, and the curse has yet to strike.”
His brows raised. “Ah. Has it finally broken then?”
“One can only hope. It is hard to say for certain, though. A good friend of mine had been wed just before the curse struck for the first time. And a good friend of yours has just been wed.”
“Hmm. Again, a valid point, my love. Perhaps we should redouble our efforts in breaking the curse. Just to be certain.”
“I would not be adverse to that, my lord. In fact, we might want to spend a few more months redoubling. Just to be safe.”
Mr. Burgess finished his prayer with a loud “Amen,” glaring at Edward as he did so. Which had Selena slapping her hand over her mouth to keep in her laughter.
The wedding concluded, the vicar turned to lead the couple into the back to sign the register.
“I’ll fetch the carriage,” Edward said with a wicked grin that had Selena laughing even harder.
Edward slipped out of their pew and began hurrying toward the doors.
“Lord Lockhaven,” Mr. Burgess chastised. “You are a witness.”
Edward cursed under his breath and hurried back up the aisle to stand witness for his friend, while Selena clutched her belly, her eyes watering with laughing tears.
*
A few months later
Edward touched the tiny head in his wife’s arms with awe.
The love he felt for the precious being Selena had brought into the world was unmatched.
How could anyone love anything so much? He looked at his wife, his heart near bursting with pride and love and happiness.
He thought the same thing every time he looked at her. Never had a man been as lucky as he.
“Edward,” she said quietly, gazing up at him with so much love in her eyes he ached with it.
“Yes, my love?” He sat beside her on the bed, wrapping one arm around her back and the other around her arms so they could cradle their son together.
“I believe the curse has finally been broken.”
He pressed a reverent kiss to her lips and gazed down at his family.
“Yes. I believe it has.”