Epilogue
“My lady?”
Susanna looked towards the door from where she sat at her writing desk, quill in hand. “Come in.” Setting her quill down and leaving her letter to Lady Ellen – now Lady Kettering – half finished, she took the letter from the butler. “I thank you.”
The butler smiled, nodded and asked her if there was anything further she required before taking his leave. Breaking the seal, Susanna unfolded the letter – and felt her breath swirl in her chest.
‘My dear sister,’ the letter began. ‘It has been three months since we were last in company with each other. I have thought every day of what I might say to you and it has taken me such a long time to even think of writing to you. I fear that you will discard this letter before reading it, once you realize it is I who writes to you.’
“My darling, are you quite all right?”
Susanna started in her chair, seeing Lancashire coming towards her, his dark hair mussed. “My love,” she said, her voice a little hoarse. “I was not expecting you in so soon.”
He smiled, lowered his head and kissed her temple.
“The repairs to the tenants houses are all going as planned and there was no need for me to stay any longer.” His hand settled on her shoulder.
“Not when I had you waiting at home for my return.” For a few seconds, he studied her face and then frowned. “You are upset, my dear.”
She shook her head. “I am not upset, only a little surprised. I have received a letter from Maude.”
Lancashire’s eyebrows shot towards his hairline. “Maude? The lady who frowned all through our marriage ceremony and did not want to be your bridesmaid?”
With a nod, Susanna looked back at the letter, reading the next few lines. “She – she is apologizing.”
Lord Lancashire hunkered down, his hand on her knee. “Is that so?”
“Listen.” Clearing her throat, she began to read.
“‘I am now engaged to Lord Humphries who is an excellent gentleman in everything. There is a joy in our connection that I did not anticipate and, seeing just how wonderful such a connection can be, I realize how dreadful a thing I did in separating you from Lord Lancashire. I understand that my words might be unwelcome and they come very late indeed but I want to tell you that I am truly sorry for my actions. They were not loving, nor considerate nor generous. They were selfish, harsh, and cruel, and I am filled with shame and regret over what I did.’”
Lord Lancashire nodded slowly. “It does sound as if she means every word.”
“Yes,” Susanna agreed softly, as Lord Lancashire took her hand. “It does.”
“And you will forgive her, just as she asks.” With a sweet smile on his face, Lord Lancashire lifted her hand and kissed it gently, quickening her pulse. “I know you very well, my love, and I know your heart. You forgave me and so, you will forgive her.”
Pressing her lips together, Susanna looked back at the letter, silently reading the last few lines.
Her sister’s words conveyed a sense of desperation – perhaps that her letter would be discarded and her apology along with it.
She did not want that. The distance between them was a strain and the suffering Maude’s actions had caused still settled on Susanna’s soul.
“If I forgive her, if I write to her and tell her so, then there is nothing from the past that will continue to trouble us.”
Lord Lancashire touched her cheek, tenderly.
“You have the softest, most generous heart, Susanna.” He smiled, and for a moment neither spoke.
“It is one of the things that I love about you. One of the many things that draws me to you.” He paused, and when he spoke again, his voice held something close to wonder.
“Your capacity for forgiveness is not a weakness, my love. It is the bravest thing about you. It is braver than any investigation or confrontation — and far braver than anything I have ever done.”
Susanna rose to her feet and Lord Lancashire with her. She needed to be close to him, desiring deep within her his nearness and his touch. Stepping into his embrace, she set her head on his shoulder and let out a long, contented breath, feeling his arms slip gently around her and hold her close.
Outside the window, the late afternoon light softened the grounds of their estate — the parkland stretching gold and green beneath a sky washed pale with approaching autumn, the oak trees that lined the drive standing steady and ancient, and somewhere in the garden, a robin singing a melody that seemed to belong only to this moment, only to them.
Quite how long they stood together, she did not know, but every moment settled her heart all the more.
She closed her eyes, feeling the steady rise and fall of his breath, hearing the beat of his heart and smiling at it.
Their love had been a fervent struggle, had once been an unwanted emotion, a despised weakness – but now, it was this beautiful, overwhelming connection that tied her to him and he to her.
It was an unspeakable happiness, a joy that would continue to flourish in the days ahead and one that bound both of their hearts as one.
“I love you more and more each day,” he murmured, as she lifted her head to meet his kiss, his touch setting a fire in her. “And as I tell you every day, Susanna, I shall tell you again.”
She smiled against his lips, knowing the words he was going to say and yet still longing to hear them spoken again. “Tell me, Lancashire.”
“I love you,” he said again, “and I swear to you, I shall never, ever let you go.”
Check out the first book in the Lords of Lost Hearts series: The Marquess’s Stolen Vow
Read ahead for an excerpt!