Epilogue
ONE MONTH LATER…
“You did not have to bring her,” Ophelia said, even as she refused to look away for even a second. Her gaze was trapped on Harriet, who slept soundly in her cot. A smile on her face, a look of utmost peace and harmony that was felt throughout the room.
“I did,” Lord Delacourt said. “In truth, I did not feel right leaving her behind. As I sensed that she might feel comfortable here, if only for a few hours.”
Ophelia continued to gaze down at Harriet. It had been nearly one whole month since she had last seen her, and while so much had changed, so much had the little girl grown, it was as if it were only yesterday that she said goodbye.
Her chest turned tight. She grimaced through the pain.
It was hard seeing her again, as it was hard knowing that come this evening she would be taken away.
But that pain was a small thing, softened greatly by Lord Delacourt’s warm presence.
From the moment he had arrived, Harriet tucked into his arms, she knew that she had made the right choice.
He is her father… and he will love her as she deserves.
“Thank you.” Ophelia tore her gaze away and looked at Lord Delacourt. “Not just for bringing her tonight, but for… she is clearly loved. She looks as healthy and happy as I could have hoped.”
“I should be thanking you,” Lord Delacourt chuckled. “Since she came into my life, well…” He breathed in deeply, standing taller. “Let’s just say that my home is starting to feel like one again. You gave me another chance, Your Grace, one I never thought that I would have. I owe you the world.”
Even had Lord Delacourt not said as much, Ophelia saw the truth of it in how drastically his appearance had changed.
His cheeks were no longer hollow and sunken.
His skin fitted him a little tighter, the wrinkles still there, but not hanging off him as they had done.
And his eyes, they shone with warmth and life as they had once done, no doubt whatsoever that he had found a renewed sense of happiness.
Harriet burped, and Ophelia turned back, glad for it, as she felt tears starting to form in her eyes. While she did not care so much about crying in front of Lord Delacourt, she was hesitant to do so as it would ruin her makeup.
And I certainly do not have time to fix it. Speaking of which…
It was just as that thought came to mind that Adrian appeared in the doorway. He was dressed in a dark suit, his hair combed, his smile one that matched Lord Delacourt’s. For a moment, he stopped, and he stared, taking in the scene…
“Is it time?” Ophelia asked when she spotted him.
“If you need another moment…”
Ophelia spared a final glance at Harriet, another smile, and she sniffed back those tears and stood tall as she faced her husband. “I will see her again before she leaves.”
“I promise I will find you when I do,” Lord Delacourt assured her.
“In that case, we'd better hurry.” Adrian walked into the room and offered her his arm. “Our guests are starting to arrive, and we ought to be there when they do. Whatever will they say if we are late?” he chuckled.
“Oh, all manner of things, I am sure,” Ophelia joked. “Not that I care.”
“Nor do I,” Adrian agreed, and he meant it.
Nonetheless, the two swept from the room, followed close behind by Lord Delacourt.
From there, they made their way down the stairs, through the foyer, and toward the ballroom.
As they walked, Ophelia heard the sounds of laughter and general chatter, proof that they were indeed running late. And for their own party!
It had taken some convincing, but Adrian had eventually relented and agreed that Ophelia could throw her very first ball. With the end of the Season quickly approaching, too, she’d had to hurry, scheduling for the last week of Summer.
The stress felt in organizing it… It is my first ball, as it might be my last!
But as stressful as it was, it was just as fulfilling.
There was a slight worry when she first started, too, that some might reject her invitation.
After all, Adrian’s reputation was not exactly welcoming, and she had her own demons that still lingered and would likely do so for some time.
What she came to learn once she started to build her list of guests was that she need not have worried.
It was funny in a way that Adrian had been so worried about courting a scandal, just as he had been sure that the beating he gave Lord Hallbridge would only ruin his name further.
As it turned out, the complete opposite was true.
In thrashing Lord Hallbridge, it had announced to all that Adrian loved his wife, confirming the strength of their marriage once and for all.
What was more, most seemed to realize that Lord Hallbridge was at fault, and where his reputation plummeted, Ophelia’s and Adrian’s soared.
“Ah, Ophelia!” Ophelia’s father was the first to see them. He was waiting by the entrance, and he hurried over with his arms held wide. “Look at you. Glowing!”
“Father.” She stepped forward and kissed him on the cheek. “Sorry, we are late.”
He waved her down. “I do not think anybody has noticed. They are far too busy…” He gestured across the ballroom to the crowds. “Besides, there is nothing quite like a late entrance.”
She beamed as she hugged her father again, and she beamed further when Adrian stepped forward and took his hand. She could still remember when they first met, how her father’s sunny disposition had made him feel uncomfortable, as if he did not belong. Such things now were of the past.
“Have you seen Adelaide?” Ophelia asked her father.
“Oh, she is somewhere I am sure,” he said, not paying too much attention, as he was engaged in a conversation with Adrian.
“Adrian.” She looked at him pointedly. “Might we?”
He smiled and laughed and stepped into her. “Duty awaits,” he sighed as he took her arm.
“Oh, do not pretend that you hate it.”
“This is why I spent my life living in isolation,” he joked.
“And this is why you chose to change your ways,” she countered.
Never before had Vermont Estate been so alive. For years, it had lived in a state of destitution, practically abandoned, and the exact type of place that people knew to avoid. But in one evening, such past expectations were swept aside and forgotten entirely. And for good reason!
Together, Ophelia and Adrian walked the ballroom, arm in arm, no need to fake their smiles and their laughter. And no need to pretend that they enjoyed the company of those who swept in to greet them.
There were hundreds of people spread across the ballroom.
The colors of the gowns was like a rainbow brought to life.
The bright glow of the chandeliers set the room ablaze.
Music drifted across the scene; that of an orchestra, their song lively and vibrant.
Drinks flowed. Food was shared. And everyone one looked, a smile could be found on lips.
“You have done so well,” Adrian told her as they walked. “Truly, I am proud of you, Ophelia.”
“As I am proud of you,” she said.
“I did not do anything.”
“You did,” she said rightly. “Oh, it is one thing to act a certain way in front of me. But to be as you are now, even enjoying yourself…” She raised an eyebrow at him and he shook his head. “You have changed so much, Adrian. Just as I knew you could.”
“Better than the man who you first met,” he said with laughter. “That morning when you woke up, no idea where you were.” He grimaced. “It is a wonder you did not try and flee.”
“Not better,” she said. “The same. Only now…” She laughed. “Well, perhaps you are not quite so grumpy as that.”
They continued to walk. They continued to greet their friends. Rupert was there, of course, making jokes and cutting remarks. Adelaide too, she was thrilled with it all, still speaking quickly, always wondering when she might find a man as wonderful as Adrian.
As the evening wore on, Ophelia felt Adrian leading her as if with purpose. She thought it was to escape the crowds, but then she saw where they were headed…
“No?” she gasped playfully.
“Is that a problem?”
“Only that I might have to ask who you are and what you have done with my husband.”
“As you said, I have changed,” he grinned. “But no so much. Believe it or not, I have always enjoyed dancing. I have just never had anyone to do it with.”
“Lies!” she laughed.
“To you? Never.”
“Well then.” She turned and looked at him with a sense of daring. “Prove it.”
With that challenge thrown down, Adrian took her by the hand and led her to the dance floor. He did so with a sense of purpose and command. He did so, aware that many in the ballroom watched him. But he embraced those watching eyes, rising to their curiosity, and not once did he falter.
Once they reached the dance floor, a host of other couples joined them. A dozen, in total, formed a perfect circle as they waited for the music to begin. But Ophelia paid them no mind, as she had eyes only for her husband.
“There is something I have been meaning to ask you,” Adrian said softly as one hand found her waist, the other her hand. He pulled her close as if in protection.
“Oh?”
“I was going to wait but…” Suddenly, the music started, and Adrian took off immediately.
He led her with a sense of expertise and precision that should not have been possible for one as him. Smooth like silk. Flowing like water. He guided Ophelia across the floor, keeping her in perfect time as they matched the movements of the other couples.
“You continue to impress me,” she laughed as she let him lead.
“Never doubt me again,” he grinned.
For a few more moments, they danced in silence.
Their eyes met and held. Their bodies were pressed tight.
And while many in the ballroom watched. Ophelia did not notice them.
She was obsessed with her husband, utterly captivated and drawn to him, and she could not believe that she had almost let him go.
But she had not done. She had fought. Perhaps not as hard as she could have, but just enough to let him know how she felt.
And when he realized that, when he was ready to believe, he fought right back.
So they would continue to do so for the rest of their lives, because a love such as theirs was one worth fighting for.
“You have not asked me,” Adrian said suddenly as he led her.
“Asked you what?”
“To finish what I was going to say.”
“Oh.” She blinked. “I… I guess I forgot,” she then laughed. “I was a little distracted.”
“As I have been all month,” he said, suddenly serious.
“But even in my distraction, I have considered much…” He bit into his lip.
“And tonight, when I saw you standing over Harriet’s cot, I realized something, Ophelia.
Where you have given me so much, proving that it is not so wrong to have another in your life to care for and to love, I cannot help but think there is one thing missing. ”
She frowned. “There is?”
“Of course,” he beamed as the seriousness left him. “If it is too soon, say it. Do not agree just because I have said so. But if you are willing, I would like to start a family with you – is something wrong?”
Ophelia pulled away from him. She did not mean to, but his words caught her by such surprise that her feet simply stopped working. And as the other couples continued to dance, she stood frozen, gaping with disbelief at her husband.
A family… a child… can this be real…
It was all Ophelia had ever wanted. Just as it was something that she had convinced herself for so long that she would never have.
And while this last month had been wonderful, she had been careful to keep such dreams hidden, fearing that even with how much Adrian had changed, that he had not changed that much.
He looked at her with worry. “Ophelia…”
“You… you want to have a child?” she dared to ask, her voice low.
“I want to have a family,” he emphasized. “I want you to have what you have always dreamed of. Just as I want to do whatever it takes to give you that. So yes, I want to have a child with you. If you wish for such a thing.”
How had she gotten there? How had her life come to this?
There was still a part of her that whispered words of warning, telling her that this could not be real.
Not for her. Not with the life she’d had.
Scandalized. Forced into a marriage. In love with a man who did not want her.
At every turn, reality had slapped her across the face, refusing to give the appearance that things might one day get better.
But that was the past. This past month… time and again, Adrian had proven that he loved her.
To deny that love was pointless. To think of the bad that might happen served no purpose.
And as Adrian looked at her with love and hope in his eyes, Ophelia’s heart swelled so large that she thought it might burst.
“Yes,” she said quietly.
“What was that?”
“Yes!” She threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Of course, the answer is yes.”
There was no way that the crowd knew what they were speaking of, but they broke into a round of applause anyway. And despite how inappropriate it was, Ophelia found her husband’s lips and kissed him as if nobody was watching.
A few gasps came from the crowd. A few mutters of judgment. But Ophelia hardly heard them. Even if she did, she would not have cared. The only thing she cared about was Adrian, and now, the child they would have together.
So, they kissed, they held one another, and they both knew that as good as this last month had been, better days were still ahead. Days that were hard earned, fought for, and would be all the sweeter because of it.
Finally, Ophelia’s dreams, those that she’d had since she was a little girl, had come true. She was happy.
The End?