Epilogue
“Lord Finchley?”
Rupert turned on his heel, only for his eyes to flare at the sight of Lord Hereford standing near to him.
“Lord Hereford.” Tensing inwardly, he bowed.
“How good to see you this evening.” Why was Lord Hereford coming to speak with him with such a determined look on his face?
Surely, Rupert thought to himself, it could not be that he was about to withdraw his permission for Eleanor’s hand in marriage?
“I have just spoken to my daughter,” Lord Hereford said, a smile beginning to spread across his face, relieving the tension that Rupert felt.
“I have told her that I have no concerns whatsoever about your engagement and that, from this evening onward, you are more than welcome to tell whomever you wish.” Putting out one hand, he grasped Rupert’s and shook it firmly.
“I know you will treat my daughter well, Lord Finchley. Your character, according to both my sister in law and my daughter, is impeccable.”
Relief swallowed Rupert whole as he shook Lord Hereford’s hand. “I thank you, Lord Hereford. You cannot know the joy that now fills me… and the relief, truth be told!”
“I should not have delayed,” Lord Hereford said, with a small frown darting across his expression for a moment. “I will not state as to why I did so but needless to say, I now quite regret it.”
“Pray, let us not consider it for another moment,” Rupert replied, looking over Lord Hereford’s shoulder. “Lady Eleanor, might I ask where she is?”
Lord Hereford smiled. “I believe she is in the gardens, alongside her aunt and cousin. She will be waiting for you.”
Without even a word of excusal, Rupert stepped away from Lord Hereford at once, half running, half walking to the door that led to the gardens.
They were vast indeed, with paths going here and there, some with more light than others.
Rupert began to search, going first to his right and then to his left, only for a hand to grasp his arm.
“Finchley?”
“Eleanor,” he breathed, sweeping her up into his arms and holding her close. He cared nothing for who else might be there nor who might see them, thinking only of her and of the joy that they now shared.
“You spoke to my father, then?” she asked, as he chuckled and leaned back, his hands running down her arms to hold her hands in his. “He told me only a few minutes before we came here in the carriage!”
“Yes, I did speak with him. Oh, Eleanor, if only I could find the words to express my sheer joy at this moment!”
She laughed softly. “My darling Rupert, I know precisely what you mean, for it is all that I feel myself.”
Throwing a glance around him and relieved that the darkness surrounded them well enough for him to steal a kiss, Rupert lowered his head and caught her lips with his.
She sighed against him, and the urge to slant his head and deepen it became so great, he almost did so, only to force himself back.
He did not want to bring any sort of scandal or rumor to them, not when they were so near to happiness.
“When will we marry, my love?” she asked, her eyes searching his. “Tell me that it will be soon.”
“As soon as I can manage,” he swore, “for I want nothing more than to begin my life with you by my side. If I can have the first banns called this Sunday, then it need not be any more than a month before we can marry.”
Her hand pressed his. “A month seems like such a long time still,” she sighed, as Rupert pressed the back of her hand to his lips, wishing he could do more. “I want nothing more than to be yours forever.”
“And so you shall be,” he promised. “In only a short while, my love, we shall be husband and wife, and nothing shall ever keep us apart again.”
One month later
“I remember these woods.”
Rupert laughed as he walked hand in hand with Eleanor, their wedding only a few days past. “They are filled with sweet memories, are they not?” He took in a lungful of the fresh morning air as the birds sang around them.
“They are, and are made all the brighter now that we are here together without restraint or concern.” She smiled up at him, her eyes gentling. “I know that every moment of our life together will be naught but joy.”
“I promise I shall do all I can to make it so.” Turning to face her so that they no longer walked side by side, Rupert took her hands in his, looking deeply into her eyes. “The moment that I saw you walking into the church to meet me, it felt as if every wrong in the world had been righted.”
“I confess I was a little nervous in that moment.”
His eyebrows lifted. “Nervous?”
“It was not because I had any doubts,” she explained, “but because I knew every eye was on me. But then, when I stepped inside, the only person I could see was you.”
His heart flipped over at the tenderness shining in her eyes. “I near forgot what I was to say, so distracted was I by your beauty.”
Eleanor laughed gently. “I did think that the clergyman had to repeat himself on one occasion, though I could not be quite certain, given that I was myself a little overwhelmed.” Her eyes softened. “Lord Preston and Catherine will be wed within another few weeks also.”
“And Emma is now being courted by an excellent gentleman, I hear,” Rupert answered, as her eyebrows lifted. “It all does seem as if everything has turned right.”
Her lips pressed together for a moment. “What of Lord Wigton?”
Recalling the quiet conversation he had shared with Lord Howerton at the wedding breakfast, Rupert shrugged. “All I was told was that Lord Wigton would not be in London – or England, in fact – for some time.”
Eleanor’s eyebrows lifted.
“It seems that Emma soon realized she was not as loved as she believed herself to be,” he continued, compassion rising again in his heart for all his cousin had believed and endured. “For that, I am sorry for her.”
“Indeed, but if she is to be happy with another, then that is a good thing.”
He smiled, then cupped her cheek. “There can be nothing better than this, however. Despite all of the trials, the confusion, and the doubts, we have forged a path together and found ourselves precisely where I hoped we might be.”
“I remember the first time we met in these woods,” she answered, her voice softening to a near whisper now.
“I was a little afraid of meeting a gentleman alone, but I soon realized that your character was one of excellence.” Her hand settled at his heart.
“And since that first meeting – and after our struggles – you have made each day we have shared brighter. Even when there seemed to be nothing but darkness, there was still joy, affection, and love shared between us.”
Unable to stay away from her, Rupert leaned in, brushing his lips softly across her forehead. “My regret in stepping back from you was profound. Now, however, you are mine, forever, and nothing will ever tear us apart from one another again.”
She smiled and closed her eyes. “Never.”
His other hand settled on her shoulder, his fingers at the curve of her neck. “I love you more with each passing day, Eleanor – and we are only at the beginning of our life together! My heart shall forever be yours.”
Pushing herself up on tiptoe, she kissed him then, sweet and soft. Rupert’s heart yearned for more of her, but she broke the kiss first, going to rest her head on his chest as he held her close.
“I love you, Rupert,” she said, her words striking him just as profoundly and with as much strength as they had done the first time she had spoken them.
“I love you with so great an affection, I do not think I could ever find the words to express all that I feel. I am never happier than when I am with you, am never more contented when we are together. To make my home with you is all that I have ever hoped for.”
“You are all I have ever hoped for,” he said, softly. “I have every hope fulfilled with you by my side.”
For some time, they simply stood together, the soft rustling of the leaves around them and the warmth of the sun above seeming to cocoon them together.
Rupert kissed the top of her head, smiling down at her as she lifted her face to his.
“I love you, Eleanor,” he said again, thinking to himself that he could never say those words enough.
“I love you with all that I am, and I shall love you until my very last breath.”
I hope you are enjoying the first book in the Lords of Lost Hearts series.
Did you miss my latest book in the Christmas in London series? The Marquess of Applegate has impossible standards but can he set aside for Lady Florence, a young lady he cannot get out of his mind?
Read ahead for a sneak peek! The Uncompromising Marquess