Epilogue
Marple House
Manchester Square
Mayfair, London
It had been almost four years since the events leading up to Angelica’s life being thrust upside down from the affair with Caleb and then the death of the duke.
Three years ago, she’d happily wed the love of her life, and since that time, she and Caleb had secured a new townhouse in London, in a neighborhood that wasn’t in the usual paths of Mayfair.
They’d christened the house using her mother’s maiden name, and the relative seclusion and lush gardens of the square suited her need for privacy just fine as well as lent quiet to the area that allowed Caleb to continue his solicitor services in the study.
While her husband was busy with his clients and paperwork, Angelica had done what they’d talked about all those years ago.
She created her salon for battered, abused, and ruined women.
In fact, she’d converted the back parlor on the ground floor of the townhouse into the space where she would soon hold her first official meeting of the Blue Ruin Society Ladies.
“Am I interrupting?”
The sound of her husband’s voice made her turn about with a soft smile. “Not at all. I was just thinking that one of my dreams is finally about to come true.” With a glance around the parlor, her smile widened and she returned her gaze to Caleb. “Thanks to you.”
It had taken far too long to arrive at this point due to responsibilities and other things that had followed the death of Tittleford.
Then her son needed guidance and support as he finished university and took up the reins of the title.
Also, there had been a honeymoon period where she and Caleb were enjoying the process of setting up housekeeping, and they’d gone on a wedding trip to Brighton, for with the war going on, travel was difficult.
“Ah, well, as you know, I would do anything for you, sweeting.” As he spoke, he crossed the room to her location and then slipped an arm about her waist.
“I do know.” With a sigh, she laid her head on his shoulder.
Of course, she’d married him as soon as the requisite mourning period for the duke had elapsed.
She hadn’t shed one tear over the duke; not many people had except for perhaps her children, but then, they didn’t know what sort of person he was.
Or at least if they did, they didn’t let on. Would she tell them in time?
Perhaps.
Life since her second marriage had been full, busy, and amazing.
It was almost as if she hadn’t been living before that; she’d only been existing.
The way Caleb loved her was more fulfilling and overwhelming than she could have ever imagined.
In the first few months of their marriage, she’d felt more protected, safer, more cherished than she ever had with her reprobate first husband.
It was a marvel, really, and one she woke up to every day with a light spirit and hope in her heart.
“Well, I believe you and I have reached a good place now. We are doing work that makes a difference in people’s lives.”
“It’s both wondrous and daunting,” she said in a whisper.
“Do you wish to stop?”
“Oh, goodness no. I’m standing on the precipice of something big; I can feel it, and I can’t wait to know where I will go from here.”
Had their union shocked the ton, since she was the daughter of an earl and widow of a duke while Caleb was only a solicitor—younger son of a viscount though he may be?
Yes, of course it did, but then, she didn’t care.
The beau monde had no idea what she’d endured for the twenty years of her marriage to the duke, didn’t know what her life had been like or how desperately lonely she had been.
Or what it had cost her to survive.
And they didn’t need to know. What mattered was that she was wonderfully happy with Caleb and only sad because she’d only had such a life far too late in hers.
He pressed his lips to her temple. “Wherever it goes, I’m certain you’ll turn heads with your ideas as well as your beauty.”
“You are adorable.” But she smiled wider.
He’d been a help and a support, and he wanted nothing more than to see her happy.
That was how the salon had been born. It had been his idea with that long ago off-hand suggestion when they’d indulged in gin, and it had bloomed inside her as perhaps as an enduring legacy, something others could have and benefit from as she laid her story bare for all to see.
Perhaps something good could grow from the horrible roots, from that terrible time she’d spent trapped in a bad marriage. And if it could help other women? All the better.
“When a couple is well-matched, anything is possible.” He gathered her into his arms and claimed her lips in a gentle kiss.
Just when she would have returned his embrace and surrendered all to him, a masculine throat cleared at the door. With a tiny groan, she pushed away from her husband to glance at the butler.
“What is it, Jasper?”
The tall, thin man with strawberry blond hair and an eyepatch inclined his head. “A woman has come to call, or rather she stumbled into the house seeking assistance.”
“Oh?” Excitement twisted down Angelica’s spine. She glanced at Caleb. “What do you think?”
He shrugged but anticipation lit his eyes. “It sounds as if the perfect time to open your salon has arrived.”
She nodded as she addressed the butler. “Show her in here, Jasper, and have tea brought to us.”
“As you wish, Your Grace.” Then the butler left.
“Oh, I’m so nervous.”
“Don’t be. You are the perfect person for this.” Caleb took her hand and squeezed her fingers just as the butler showed in a petite woman with brunette hair into the room. “Good luck,” he whispered then released her hand. “I’ll leave you to it.”
Once her husband exited the room, Angelica crossed the room to take the woman’s hands in her. “Welcome to the Blue Ruin Society. You are the first to visit this salon, and I do hope I can help you. It matters not how you have been compromised, ruined, or mistreated.”
“I…” The other woman shook her head. She darted a frightened gaze about the room. “I’m not sure I should be here…”
“Well, I am.” Gently, Angelica led her over to a low sofa done in light pink crushed velvet.
“You are safe here and your story will be believed. Hopefully with me, you will find a path to a new life, the life you should have had all along…” She glanced up, caught Caleb’s gaze at the doorway, and he looked back with such love and admiration that she couldn’t help but tremble and smile.
This was where she’d needed to be all along. Perhaps twenty years of hardship would prove more than worth it.
Finally, the life she should have been living was beginning.