Epilogue #2
A surge of grim satisfaction moved through Anthony.
For weeks, Nathaniel's shadow had lingered over every aspect of their lives. Even after the attempted murder, there had remained the unsettling possibility that he might strike again.
Now, at last, that uncertainty appeared to be ending.
Sebastian continued. "The magistrate's investigation uncovered considerably more than we anticipated."
Anthony frowned. "What do you mean?"
Sebastian handed over a small packet of papers. "Apparently your cousin's desperation extended beyond inheritance."
Anthony scanned the documents. As he read, his expression darkened. There were promissory notes, financial records, witness statements. The evidence was overwhelming.
"Nathaniel forged documents," Sebastian said. "Quite a few of them, as it turns out. He falsified promissory notes, manipulated debt records, and embezzled funds from several trust accounts."
Anthony looked up sharply. "Trust accounts?"
Sebastian nodded. "Some belonging to distant relations. Others connected to gambling settlements."
A humourless smile touched his mouth. "He appears to have spent years supplementing his income through increasingly creative methods."
Evangeline stared. "Surely he cannot deny it?"
"He already has." Sebastian sounded unimpressed. "Unfortunately for him, we now possess witnesses, account books, and enough evidence to keep several solicitors occupied for months."
Anthony set down the papers. The implications were obvious. Even if Nathaniel somehow escaped punishment for the attack upon him, the financial crimes alone would destroy him.
His influence, reputation and any remaining claim to respectability would all be gone.
"He will be imprisoned," Sebastian said quietly.
Anthony nodded. "Yes."
For the first time in many months, he felt something loosen inside his chest. Not triumph, but relief.
Nathaniel had spent years poisoning everything he touched, and at last, he would no longer be a threat.
Sebastian glanced between Anthony and Evangeline, and his expression softened.
"I thought you should hear it from me."
"We appreciate it," Evangeline said.
Sebastian moved toward the door, then paused. "I assume I interrupted something."
Anthony stared at him.
Sebastian grinned. "On second thought, do not answer that."
Before Anthony could throw him out physically, Sebastian departed, and the door closed behind him.
Silence settled once more, but it was a different silence than before, lighter.
The threat that had haunted their marriage from the beginning had finally been removed.
Anthony turned toward Evangeline; she was already looking at him.
For several moments neither spoke. Words suddenly seemed unnecessary. Then she reached for his hand, and Anthony allowed her to guide it into hers. Her fingers trembled slightly and a strange expression crossed her face.
"Evangeline?"
Instead of answering immediately, she lifted his hand and placed it gently against her abdomen, and her eyes filled with tears.
"I am with child."
For a moment the world seemed to stop.
The words echoed through his mind.
A child, his child…their child.
He felt as though he should say something, but he found himself utterly speechless.
Evangeline laughed softly through her tears. "Are you alright?" she asked.
The sound broke whatever spell had taken hold of him, and he stepped forward and pulled her into his arms.
He held her tightly.
A child.
The thought felt almost impossible to comprehend. For so long the idea of an heir had been little more than an obligation. A necessity imposed by circumstances beyond his control. But now everything had changed.
Because suddenly it was not about inheritance, titles, or deadlines. It was about family, his family.
Years ago, when Edmund died, Anthony had convinced himself that he had forfeited any right to happiness.
He had inherited a title he never expected to possess. Responsibilities he never wanted. Guilt he never managed to escape. Piece by piece, he had built a life defined by duty rather than hope.
Then Evangeline had walked into it. She had brought laughter into quiet rooms, warmth into coldness, and light into places he had long ago abandoned to shadow. And now she was giving him something he had never truly believed he deserved —A future.
Anthony lowered his head and pressed a kiss against her hair, his eyes stinging unexpectedly.
For perhaps the first time in his life, he understood what contentment felt like.
Evangeline looked up at him. "What are you thinking?"
A smile touched his mouth. "That I am an extraordinarily fortunate man."
Her eyes softened as he rested a hand against her cheek.
"I spent years believing fear would protect me." The admission came quietly. "I thought if I expected nothing, I could never lose anything."
Evangeline reached for his hand. "And now?"
Anthony glanced down at her. "Now I think I was wrong."
A tear slipped down her cheek, and he brushed it away gently.
Outside, darkness settled over Blackwood Hall while the first stars appeared beyond the windows.
Inside, Anthony gathered Evangeline closer and held her against his heart.
For the first time since Edmund's death and inheriting the dukedom.
For the first time in longer than he could remember, he was no longer living in fear of what might be taken from him.
He had finally learned to embrace what had been given.
And with Evangeline in his arms and the promise of their future growing quietly between them, Anthony knew that everything he had spent years searching for had been beside him all along.
***
They stood together for a long while, simply being.
Anthony did not know how much time had passed when Evangline eventually lifted her head from his chest and looked at him, smiling.
"You should get some rest," he said. "After all, it's been quite a day."
"You are probably right," she agreed. "But perhaps…"
Her voice trailed off, but Anthony saw the twinkle in her eye, the mischievous curve of her mouth.
"What are you thinking?" he asked.
"It's such a warm evening," Evangline said. "I thought perhaps we might take a walk."
Before Anthony could argue, she slipped her hand into his and tugged him towards the door.
A short while later, they stepped into the Conservatory, the air in the glass building humid and thick, a living blanket fragrant with the scent of night-blooming jasmine.
Moonlight, pearlescent and full, streamed through the vast panes of the glass ceiling, illuminating the exotic foliage in shades of silver and deep shadow.
Anthony’s fingers were laced with Evangeline’s, their joined hands swinging gently between them as they walked the crushed-gravel path.
He could feel the faint, rhythmic pressure of her thumb against his, a small, constant reassurance. A smile he couldn’t seem to suppress kept pulling at the corners of his mouth.
His gaze drifted to her, to the way the moonlight caught the soft curls escaping her chignon, framing her face in a halo.
She was looking up at a massive orchid, its petals purple, but he wasn’t seeing the flower.
He was seeing the secret they now shared, a tiny, nascent life hidden within her.
The knowledge was a physical presence in his chest, a warmth that spread through his veins, making him feel almost weightless.
He squeezed her hand, and she turned to him, her eyes luminous in the dim light. The love he saw there was so open, so complete, it made his breath catch.
“It’s beautiful in here, isn’t it?” she murmured. “Like a different world. A secret world.”
“Our world,” he corrected, stopping their slow progress.
He turned to face her fully, his free hand coming up to cup her cheek. Her skin was as soft as it looked, warm and vibrant beneath his palm.
He could feel the faint, rapid thrum of her pulse at her throat.
He leaned in and brushed his lips against hers, a gentle, exploratory touch.
It was meant to be a simple kiss, a sealing of their shared happiness, but the moment their skin met, a jolt of pure, unadulterated lust shot through him.
The softness of her mouth, the scent of her skin mixed with the floral air, was an intoxicating cocktail. Evangeline sighed into the kiss, her body melting against his.
Her hand, still joined with his, tightened, and her other arm came up to wrap around his neck, her fingers tangling in the hair at his nape.
The kiss deepened, no longer gentle but hungry, searching.
He slanted his mouth over hers, his tongue tracing the seam of her lips before delving inside to taste her.
She met him with equal fervour, a soft moan vibrating in her throat.
The romantic happiness of moments past was thickening into a hot, urgent need that coiled in his gut and made his cock stiffen against the confines of his breeches.
He broke the kiss, both of them breathing heavily in the fragrant air.
His eyes roamed over her face, her flushed cheeks, her swollen, glistening lips.