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Eighteen Months Later…
“Buffoon! Buffoon!”
Arthur groaned as Sir Reginald abused him. He hadn’t wanted to keep the parrot in his study, but Lorelei had insisted. His study was warm, she claimed; Sir Reginald liked him, she said, and while she might not have spoken the words out loud, Arthur suspected that she rather liked the idea of it abusing him at all hours.
“Ugly! You are ugly!”
“Quiet!” Arthur snapped over his shoulder. “Or it will be out in the cold with you.” He turned and glared at the colorful parrot, which to his surprise, shut its beak. “Much better…”
He stood by the window of his study, which gave him a perfect view of the estate. Winter had swept through the month prior, blanketing the estate in sheets of stark white which might have been pretty, was it not so cold. Even with the fire burning hot in its hearth, Arthur still felt a chill, and he pulled his coat tighter to his body.
The reason he stood by the window was the same as always. Worry. Across the garden, beyond the walls of hedges, stood a large barn that was coated in snow, so the roof seemed to sag. And inside that barn, much to his chagrin, was his wife.
She promised that she would come inside if it grew too cold. Perhaps I should fetch her…
Despite his worry, Arthur smiled picturing his wife tucked away inside the barn. They had it built the previous summer at her request, because she had been telling him for months that she needed a place to house all her animals, and to collect more. Ever since Lorelei was a little girl, she had wanted a refuge of her own so that she could look after every animal that needed it. Which, by her estimation, was every animal that she could get her hands on.
There were dozens of animals in that barn. Some of them were sick. Some of them were injured. Most just needed a place to stay for the winter. And not a single one, regardless of its circumstance, was turned away.
Her heart is far too big… which is what I love about her.
To pass the time, Arthur read a letter that had arrived for him just an hour prior. It was sent by Logan, and it contained plenty of gossip to keep his mind active.
He read the letter closely, his eyes continually flicking up to check for his wife. His hand started to shake with worry. His foot started to tap. He looked at the gray skies, searching for the oncoming storm, and he bit into his lip, frustration mounting.
And then, through the damp and cold, he finally saw what he was waiting for.
Lorelei trudged through the snow. She wore a thick winter cloak, and she had something in her arms; he could not tell what it was. It was bundled in thick cloth, and while Arthur liked to imagine that it was some animal that she had found, it was just as likely to be their baby daughter.
He frowned with concern, as he did not like the idea of his daughter being out in the cold. And then he groaned because his wife was not leaving the barn but heading toward it!
“What is she…” He leaned into the window and cursed under his breath. All this time, he had thought that Lorelei was in the barn. Now, it looked as though she had been inside, only choosing that very moment to go out and tend her flock. “I do not think so…”
“Buffoon! Buffoon!” Sir Reginald called after Arthur.
“Yes, yes,” he grumbled as he hurried from the study.
He made his way downstairs and into the back garden, trudging through the snow and heading for the barn. Even with the path being cleared every day, it was still an effort to walk through, and Arthur shook violently from the cold by the time he pushed the doors open and stumbled inside.
The heat of the barn hit him immediately. It was warmer than he expected, likely on account of the dozens of animals that were everywhere. They were in the stalls. They were on the rafters. They were across the ground, separated by pens. And sitting on a bundle of hay, nursing their baby daughter, was his wife.
“Oh, look who it is!” Lorelei said when she saw him. “What are you doing? Missed me?”
“You said you would come back inside when it got too cold,” he grumbled as he approached her.
She waved him down. “As you can see, it is plenty warm in here.”
“Yes, well…” He sniffed. “I do not think the smell of this place is good for Amelie.”
“She does not seem to mind.”
He reached his wife and she held out their baby daughter to him. Arthur picked her up and she started to wail immediately.
“Oh, come now…” He rocked her gently. “You are starting to make me feel bad.”
“I’ll take her!” From nowhere, Rosalind suddenly appeared. She held her arms out for Amelie and Arthur sighed as he passed her to his sister.
As he had known would happen, Amelie stopped her crying immediately. As Lorelei did with animals, Rosalind had a way with babies, and she cooed and whispered at her niece as the young baby nuzzled into her shoulder.
“Why won’t she do that for me…” Arthur grumbled.
“Oh, come here.” Lorelei patted the space beside her. “I promise, I will not burst into tears. Maybe…”
Arthur pouted as he sat with his wife and she laughed and kissed him on the cheek. “How is everything here?” he asked.
“As expected,” Lorelei said. “We got a new calf today, yet to name him. I was thinking… Gregory.”
Arthur laughed. “Good name for a calf. Oh!” He turned his gaze toward her. “Logan wrote, he has news.”
“Do not keep me in suspense.”
He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. “Firstly, Cecily had her child, another girl.”
“No!” Lorelei gasped.
“Logan is beside himself. There were stains on the parchment which I can only presume to be tears.”
“He is even more emotional than you are,” she chided him.
He wrapped his arm around her. “News of Lady Philippa too,” he grinned. “You know how she moved to Scotland…”
“Fled, you mean.”
“Well, it turns out that she was forced to marry a minister, said to be thirty years her senior. No doubt she is a little put out by the match.” He puffed out his chest. “Especially when she might have had a chance with me.”
“Oh, stop it,” Lorelei said and slapped his arm.
“Lord Hale too, he has moved to the Americas, as you know, but apparently his luck grew even worse over there. No one has heard from him in over a year.”
Lorelei clicked her tongue. “I hope he finds peace. So long as it is not near us. Anything else?”
He shrugged. “That seems to be all. Good news all around, as I see it.”
And it was good news. Although Arthur took little pleasure in the suffering of others, it was nice to know that those who had tried to hurt him and Lorelei could no longer do so. Just as it was nice to know that their lives had turned out so well, despite all the woes that had been thrown their way.
“Well, seeing as you brought me so much good news, I suppose I might share some myself.” A young calf suddenly appeared and started to nudge at Lorelei’s leg. She laughed and scooped it into her arms.
“Gregory?” Arthur asked.
“He looks like a Gregory, does he not?”
Arthur rolled his eyes. “And this good news? I am positively sitting on the edge of my… haystack,” he chuckled. “With anticipation.”
“Oh, I think it is good news indeed. But make sure you let me know.” She looked at him with a coy smile as she placed Gregory down by her feet. And then, as she held his eyes, she moved her hand to her belly.
Arthur frowned at the gesture… unsure at first what it meant.
Then, his eyes widened in realization. “No…”
“I found out last week,” she said. “And yes, I am with child.”
Arthur sat in stunned silence as the words rocked him. He had so much to say… so many emotions pouring through his body… it was as if he watched himself from afar, struggling to reckon with what he was told.
To his right, Rosalind rocked his baby girl to sleep.
Around him, the soft cooing and bleating of various animals was heard.
Beyond where they were, the manor was filled with memories of the past eighteen months. By far, Arthur’s most prized possession was the framed letter that he had hung above the desk in his study; the first letter he wrote to Lorelei over two years earlier.
So much had changed in his life… so much good had come to him… sometimes, he wondered if he deserved it, mostly, he knew that he did not. But that did not stop him from being thankful and making sure that he never took it for granted.
“Well?” Lorelei asked, pulling him back to the moment. “Do you have something to say?”
What could he say? What were words, when compared to how he felt? Arthur’s life had already been perfect, and after hearing the news it would be even more so. A wife who loved him, a sister who he finally got along with, a baby girl who he worshipped, and another child to come. His life and his heart were full to bursting… but there was always room for more.
Without saying anything, Arthur scooted closer to his wife, wrapped one arm around her waist, and rested his hand on her belly. He laughed, he started to cry, and Lorelei beamed because she knew what that meant.
Outside, the snow began to fall. Inside, it was warm, comfortable, and Arthur might never want to leave. He had a family of his own, he had a life he relished, and he had become the type of man that he could be proud of.
“How did I get so lucky to find you?” he asked softly as he looked at his wife’s belly and then found her eyes. “Tell me that.”
“You found me?” she frowned. “And here I was, thinking that I found you.”
“We found each other,” he said.
“Just as we saved each other,” she finished. “And do not forget it.”
They kissed. They hugged. They laughed. And, most importantly, they lived the rest of their lives, safe in the knowledge that their little slice of happiness that they had found was theirs forever and always.
OFFER: A BRAND NEW SERIES AND 2 FREEBIES FOR YOU!
Grab my new series, "Love and Yearning in the Ton ", and get 2 FREE novels as a gift! Have a look here!
Hello there, my dear readers. I hope you enjoyed the book and this Extended Epilogue! I will be waiting for your comments. Thank you! 🙂