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Two Years Later
Helena sighed happily as she looked out over the grounds at Aldercombe. It was spring and everything was just beginning to turn green. The morning sunlight turned everything bright and hazy, making the view seem like a glorious painting come to life.
In her arms, her one-month-old daughter Catherine shifted in her sleep, and Helena bent to press a kiss to her forehead. She lingered there, breathing in the soft, powdery scent of her daughter’s skin.
“Stop moving,” Julian complained from a little ways away, but she could hear the smile in his voice. She straightened up and glanced toward where her husband stood a few feet away, canvas propped on an easel as he worked on a portrait of the two of them.
“I told you,” she teased, “babies are fickle subjects. You cannot depend on them to be still.”
“And yet,” he shot back, eyes dancing, “Catherine is behaving perfectly, and it’s her mother that cannot stop fidgeting.”
“My apologies, master artiste, I shall endeavor to be good,” she said, straightening her back and looking out toward the gardens as he’d asked her to do—but not before sneaking one last glance at his face. He had gone back to looking at his canvas, an adorable scrunch to his nose, but underneath the expression she could feel the joy and contentment radiating out of him.
“I still think it would make more sense to have me looking at Catherine, not the garden,” she said after a moment, because they fought so rarely that lovingly provoking him had become one of her favorite amusements.
“I will do another portrait like that,” he replied, so focused on the canvas that she knew he’d barely registered what she said. “For this one, I want you both looking up at the tree, with all the new buds.” He paused to look up at her, a dreamy look on his face as his eyes lingered on hers, and then made their way down to Catherine. “It’s symbolic. New life beginning.”
Julian went back to painting and Helena did her best to blink away the tears of gratitude that welled up in her eyes. It had been such a long road full of pain and uncertainty to get there, but the past two years had been proof that it had been worth it. Their family was flourishing.
She smiled to herself. Julian was right. The symbolism of new life was perfect for the first portrait of her and Catherine.
“Here they are!” someone exclaimed, and Helena turned immediately toward the sound of her sister’s voice. Lillian was walking toward the pavilion where they sat, a bright smile on her face. She climbed the steps and immediately settled in next to Helena, cooing down at Catherine.
“Sorry, Julian, but you must stop painting now. I demand to hold my niece.”
“Lillian, darling,” Arthur gasped, arriving at the pavilion slightly after his wife, a bit red in the face. He heaved an object up onto the pavilion, a box wrapped in shiny paper that was apparently both heavy and the reason he was breathing so hard. “I told you I would assist you. Why did you not wait?”
“Do not be silly, Arthur, I am perfectly fine to walk on my own,” Lillian said, though her hand went to her belly where the swell of her pregnancy was only just starting to show. Helena watched as her sister smiled to herself, and thought happily of the future where their children would play together.
“You did not have to bring the present out here, Arthur,” Helena said, suppressing a laugh. “We could have opened it inside.”
“Not according to Lady Montrose,” Arthur replied, sitting down beside his wife. He gestured to the garden path, and Helena realized her mother had followed behind Arthur. “Your mother wanted to be the very first to give Catherine a gift.”
Helena and Julian exchanged slightly panicked glances which Lillian immediately noticed.
“Do not tell me someone beat her to it!” she cried.
Helena immediately decided lying was the most acceptable course of action.
“Of course not,” she said, glancing at Julian and silently confirming they would not share the fact his parents had been there for two days already, and had in that time bestowed several gifts on Catherine. Prudence arrived at the pavilion and swept inside, stately as always. She sat across from them and gestured to the box.
“I had Arthur bring my gift, in case you wanted to open it now.”
She spoke very calmly, but Helena knew the tiny tells that suggested her mother was excited. She held back a giggle. She felt warm inside, bubbling with happiness at how much her daughter was already loved.
“Of course, Mother. Thank you so much.”
Julian immediately set down his paintbrush and bent to open the present, revealing a set of heavy, leather-bound volumes. He picked one of them up, chuckled to himself, and held it up for Helena to read.
“You are the Latin scholar, dearest.”
Helena squinted at the title.
“It’s a history of the Roman Empire…” She trailed off, something about the author’s name and the cover of the book ringing a bell. She glanced up and saw her mother nodding at her with a pleased smile.
“Yes, that’s right. These are the same books your father used to read to you.”
“It looks like there’s a volume on every ancient civilization,” Julian said, thumbing through the books. Helena felt a wave of affection for her mother’s thoughtful gift.
“Yes, it was a set our father had, that he used to teach us history. He sold his long ago, though. I did not realize there was more than one copy.”
Her mother practically beamed at her.
“There isn’t,” she proclaimed. “This is his copy. I tracked down the colleague he sold it to and persuaded him to sell it back to us.”
Overwhelmed with emotion, Helena could only stare at her mother for a moment. And then she stood and crossed the pavilion to pull her mother into a hug. Prudenceshe melted into the embrace, hugging Helena back.
“Thank you,” Helena whispered.
A tiny gurgle between them alerted them that Catherine had woken up, and the next several minutes were taken up by everyone doting over their newborn daughter. By the time everyone had had a chance to hold Catherine, Margaret and Julian’s parents had arrived as well, prompting more gift-giving and another round of passing the baby from one loving embrace to the next. Catherine giggled and babbled through it all, perfectly content as if she knew that she was the most loved baby in the world.
A footman appeared to announce more guests, and everyone looked in surprise to see who it was, as no one was missing from their small group. Helena and Julian exchanged knowing smiles as a couple shyly came forward up the garden path. Lillian suddenly shot to her feet.
“Anne!” she called, grinning from ear to ear. Anne returned the smile as she and Jonathan climbed the steps and bashfully greeted them all. Everyone was politely warm, but Lillian threw formality out the window and pulled her friend into a hug.
“I did not know you were coming!” Lillian exclaimed.
“I wanted it to be a surprise,” Helena interjected. “I heard Anne and Jonathan had recently been married as well, and I wanted to have them to lunch to congratulate them. And I thought what better time than when we all would be here?”
“It’s a wonderful surprise! Anne, married life is keeping us too busy. I have not seen you in so long. We must make a plan to meet more regularly!” Lillian looped her arm through Anne’s and pulled her down onto the bench. Helena glanced at her mother to see how the woman was taking having a maid and coachman in their midst. Prudence was looking very carefully away, engaged in conversation with Julian’s father—which Helena considered a miraculous level of acceptance from her mother. She sighed with relief.
Jonathan shuffled forward and held out a small package to her.
“For the baby,” he said. Touched, Helena took the package and unwrapped it to reveal an intricately carved wooden rattle.
“This is beautiful!” she whispered, lifting it up so Julian could see.
Jonathan smiled, blushing a little, as Anne piped up. “He carved it himself!” Jonathan’s blush deepened as everyone exclaimed over his talent. Julian shook his hand in gratitude, and asked if he might be interested in doing more custom work in the future.
Helena sat back and watched all her guests—family and beloved friends—chat among themselves. A cool breeze swept in from the orchard and she closed her eyes to let it wash over her.
“Lady Aldercombe,” Anne said quietly, and Helena opened her eyes. Lillian had abandoned her seat to sit with the baby in between Julian’s parents, and Anne scooted into her place.
“Yes?” Helena asked.
“I just wanted to say… I mean, to tell you…” Anne hesitated, frowning as if she wanted to get her words just right. “There’s a school my brother’s going to now, it’s new. And nobody said where the money came from, but some time ago in one of her letters to me, Miss Lillian mentioned how happy she was that you were donating money from the treasure Worthington was after… so I asked and it turns out this school, they started it with some of that money.”
Anne had been speaking softly, staring down at her hands, but then she looked up at Helena.
“I just wanted you to know, it’s making a difference. That money you donated. It’s changing lives. And I’m so grateful. Especially after –” Anne’s voice cracked, but she pushed through, “after my part in what happened to Miss Lillian…”
Helena took Anne’s hand.
“No one knows better than me the sort of man Worthington was,” she said, low enough so only Anne would hear. “He had a way of pushing people into corners, giving them impossible choices.” She squeezed Anne’s hand encouragingly. “I think we have both been lucky to have second chances at better lives. Let’s make the most of them.”
Anne gave her a grateful smile and nodded.
“All right,” Lillian announced. “Someone must hold Catherine while I present her mother with our gift for the baby.” Several pairs of arms offered at once, and Lillian made a big show of pretending to decide before bestowing the baby on her husband with a giggle as she said, “Arthur needs the practice!”
Then she reached into the eaves of the pavilion, eyes sparkling, and produced an envelope.
“How did you sneak that there?” Helena asked, amazed. Lillian only winked at her.
“I have my ways.” She handed Helena the envelope, which had Catherine’s name written on it in beautiful calligraphy. Helena opened the envelope and slid out a thick piece of folded paper, which she unfolded to reveal a message… written in code.
Helena laughed.
“Mother may have wanted to give the first present, but I wanted to give the first riddle,” Lillian explained as the others crowded around to look.
“It’s perfect,” Helena declared, giving her sister a fond kiss on the cheek.
“This one better not end with me digging anything up,” Margaret grumbled theatrically, causing everyone to laugh together.
Helena slid the note carefully back into the envelope, though some part of her brain was already looking forward to solving it. She tucked it between two of the books from her mother and went to claim her daughter from Arthur.
Julian came to stand behind her, slipping his arms around her and resting his chin on her shoulder.
“We already solved the most important riddle,” he murmured to her. She nodded happily, thinking not just of the beautiful love she shared with Julian, but of all the wonderful people they had in their life, and how together they were all helping to start Catherine’s life with the greatest treasure—the unshakeable foundation of love.
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! 🙂