Epilogue
Rafe steadied his littlest niece as she teetered on her unsteady legs.
Following their return to London, Faith had continued to grow in size and strength.
Her appetite had increased, and it seemed like not a day went by that she wasn’t amazing them with some new talent or ability.
Dr. McCullom was thrilled with her progress and said more than once that the child was thriving in the environment they provided.
This was, of course, a point of pride for both Rafe and Victoria.
“Look! She almost has it!” Rafe beamed as he released Faith’s hands and she lurched forward a step-and-a-half before collapsing forward. Rafe caught her before she fell, and she squealed in delight.
“That is wonderful!” Victoria commented with a grin.
She’d been helping May retie a bow in her doll’s hair and handed the toy back to her for what would be a third inspection.
Finally satisfied, the girl skipped off to play.
Now that she was free, Victoria sat back on the sofa and watched her husband.
Beneath that gorgeous exterior truly was a man with a heart of gold.
He might not have sired these children, but there was no denying that they were his.
Not once had she doubted that he would give his life for them, and not a day went by that he didn’t tell them and show them how he loved them—Victoria included.
It seemed that he was making up for lost time.
Victoria and Rafe had discovered companionship most unexpectedly—in their marriage.
While Rafe still saw his friends Kempton and Brinley, though he’d drastically cut back on the time he spent with them at their club—not out of anything Victoria did or said, but because, after a few outings, he’d decided he much preferred spending time with her than carousing with his unmarried friends.
For their part, the bachelor lords did not seem overly put out by this change.
“Swanleigh and his wife already abandoned us; we figured it was only a matter of time before this one realized he, too, was madly in love with his partner,” Kempton had said, gesturing to Rafe and clapping him on the shoulder good-naturedly.
He and Brinley seemed content to continue their bad behavior, and not a week went by that Victoria did not see one (or both!) of their names in the gossip rags.
Over time, though, she’d come to know them quite well, and she recognized that, like Rafe, they were men with good hearts lurking beneath their charming, irreverent exteriors; they only needed a bit of help to be reminded of it.
Victoria had enjoyed getting to know Odette Stratford and Caroline Bray, Marchioness of Swanleigh.
She was gradually finding her niche in London Society.
It hadn’t been a magical process, but the influence of new connections and vouchers from respected members of the ton had been more than a little helpful.
Regardless of how Society felt about an American marrying into their fold, she was a viscountess whether they appreciated it or not.
There remained some jealous onlookers and skeptics who occasionally hissed that the Blackwood union would not be a lasting one—that they could not possibly keep up the charade of a happily married couple.
Those individuals predicted that Rafe would return to his old, womanizing ways sooner rather than later, and his wife would grow tired of his antics and return to New York.
However, none of them knew how grateful Rafe was for his new life, and how he felt as if he’d been given everything and so much more.
While Victoria didn’t believe her husband would ever be fully tamed, she didn’t wish him to be.
She liked his sense of humor, his occasional wild ways; she loved the way he enjoyed life.
There were still some nights when he would go out; he was still the heartbeat of any gathering they attended, but she never worried he wouldn’t come home to her.
Without fail, he’d return to their bed, crawling naked beneath the coverlet with her, holding her close and waking her with tender kisses upon her bare skin.
His appetites remained voracious, but Victoria was only too happy to indulge in that vice.
In addition, Rafe and Luke seemed to have come to a sort of an accord after Victoria had told her brother that she did not wish to leave with him—that a reconciliation had taken place and she was determined to never be parted from her husband and their wards.
After Luke returned to The Cottage, filthy and drenched from searching for Dominic, the evidence of his efforts in looking for the boy seemed to have endeared him to her husband.
Victoria’s adamant support of her husband helped do the same for her brother.
Regardless, there was no love lost between the men; they did not care for one another (it seemed, solely on principle), but they’d gradually come to a silent agreement.
As long as Rafe kept Victoria happy, then Luke wouldn’t have to kill him; as long as Luke stayed out of their marriage, then Rafe would return the favor.
Victoria’s first sign that things were truly taking a turn for the better between the men came the week following their return to London. Rafe had come home and admitted to something quite shocking.
“I met with your brother today,” he’d said, his tone entirely flippant and unbothered, as if he hadn’t just told her his life had been in jeopardy.
“You did? Whatever for?” Her eyes had skimmed him, but found no injury. Even his knuckles were unscathed, and she would have expected at least a little scuff if he’d struck Luke.
“I’ve decided to invest some of the money I received from your dowry back into Rockford Shipping, among a few other diverse industries.
” Victoria’s concern quickly gave way to pride as he began discussing his plans with her.
It was clear he did not take investing lightly and had given it a great deal of thought.
“My solicitors and I have seen the figures, proper inquiries were made, and I am confident that, with the expansion plans in place, this could prove to be a lucrative endeavor. Luke and I agree that the profits, alone, from the investment should keep us quite comfortable and promise to allow us to explore other interesting and blossoming industries. Production and industry are the way of the future. I refuse to commit the sins of my forefathers and fall back on tradition. I will do whatever it takes to keep my family safe, comfortable, and well-provided for.” He’d paused and taken her hands in his.
“I want to give you and the children all the security I never had.”
Smiling through her tears of pride, Victoria had cupped his cheek and whispered, “And, for that, I love you all the more.”
What she had, in the early days of their marriage, seen as selfishness and duplicitousness were only the beginnings of Rafe exploring his protective drive.
She’d watched him come into his own as a lord, as a husband, and as a surrogate father.
Watching him interact with the children was something that brought her endless joy.
What a remarkable man he was, and she would fight tooth and nail to prove how sorely and gravely mistaken anyone was who believed otherwise.
He could be a little bit rugged, a little bit brash and impulsive, but she vowed to continue to work to make him feel worthy of the love and happiness he now possessed.
Victoria began to gnaw on her lower lip in coy excitement. She’d been planning her words for a long time at that point, so she had to struggle to make them seem natural rather than rehearsed.
“It is a good thing Faith is beginning to walk. Two babes in the nursery would make for too much work for just Nan on her own.”
Rafe, preoccupied with steadying his niece on her feet once more, only half heard her. “Pardon?” he said with a frown of concentration.
“I said, it would be a busy nursery with two babes for Nan to tote around all the time. She would not have hands for the other children.”
The dense man made a thoughtful sound, clearly still not having processed what she’d said. Victoria huffed a frustrated sigh.
Unable to bear it any longer, Dominic piped up from the corner where he’d set up his soldiers in yet another bloody battle.
“She is going to have a baby, Uncle Rafe,” the lad said without bothering to look up from his toys.
This finally made Rafe’s head snap up. “She told me two weeks ago,” Dominic added with all the exasperation of a child who has held onto a secret for far too long.
Rafe’s eyes jumped from the boy and back to Victoria.
She watched as comprehension dawned slowly and then all at once.
He leapt to his feet, careful to dodge the toys and the children crawling across the rug, and caught her hands in his.
It was simultaneously the clumsiest and most elegant feat she’d ever witnessed.
“Is it true?” he asked, his voice thick as treacle.
Victoria nodded; the blatant joy in her husband’s eyes made her tear up.
Rafe scooped her up and into his arms with a laugh, swinging her around as she clung to his neck. The world was a whirl of colors and possibilities around them.
“Why did Dom know before I did?” he asked with a chuckle. He’d stopped spinning, but he showed no signs of setting her on her feet.
Dominic supplied the answer once again. “She vomited during morning lessons.”
“Dominic!” she scolded him, mortified.
“It went everywhere!” The lad made a broad sweeping gesture with his arms.
“It did not,” Victoria said indignantly, and then grumbled, “I mostly made it to the chamber pot.” Her cheeks burned furiously, but Rafe’s chuckle helped her mortification dissipate.
“I hope you are feeling better now. I wish you had told me you were unwell.”
“It comes and goes.” She smiled up at his beaming face. “I take it you are surprised? Dominic did a good job of keeping the secret?”
Rafe leaned his head in and murmured into her ear, “Darling, for a man who has spent his entire life hoping to avoid hearing those words—” She swatted at him playfully. “Yes, it is a glorious surprise,” he finished with a chuckle.
Victoria tightened her arms around his neck, bringing his head down to hers to meet in a passionate kiss.
“Must you do that?” Dominic complained and crinkled his nose.
“Absolutely,” Rafe replied matter-of-factly and then turned to his nephew. “You will understand one day when you realize you’ve reached the point where you don’t believe you could possibly be any happier.”