Epilogue
SIX MONTHS LATER
The spring air kissed Sibyl’s skin where she sat on the terrace outside the ballroom. She closed her eyes, humming happily to herself, her fingers tapping away on the arm of her chair.
“If you close your eyes, you might miss it.”
She cracked one eye open, smiling when she opened both to gaze up at Gabriel.
In the last six months, he had grown his hair a little, the ends almost reaching his shoulders. He looked more handsome with every passing day.
“I would never dream of missing it.”
She pulled him into a kiss before they looked at Rosie, who was crawling across the terrace, her little hands hitting the floor as she determinedly heaved herself along.
Any day now, she would take her first steps. Sibyl and Gabriel were sure of it, and neither of them wished to miss it.
“Heavens, she is fast,” Isabella laughed as she collapsed heavily into the chair next to Sibyl.
Her hands rested on her belly, swollen with her second child. At her side, Oscar toyed with a lock of her hair.
Sibyl wondered if Isabella knew how her husband’s eyes softened when he watched her or when he placed a hand on her stomach.
“You were a rather fast crawler, though,” Hermia noted, nodding at her. “So she takes after her mama.”
“And those little fists,” Nicholas chuckled, bracing his hands on the back of Gabriel’s chair. “She has her father’s ready hands.”
Warmth spread through Sibyl.
By now, Gabriel was Rosie’s father, through and through. Already, he had been in her life longer than Edmund, and already he had done much more than Edmund would ever have.
Thankfully, that name was a distant memory. Sibyl simply felt nothing for that man, nor the life she had once had. No, her future was there, between Stonehelm Hall and the townhouse, surrounded by her family, their ranks growing. It was there,right beside her husband, whose fingers threaded through hers to bring her knuckles to his mouth.
He smiled at her. “I like that,” he said quietly. “Being her father.”
“You are,” Sibyl agreed. “And she loves you so much. I am certain she cries out for me only to get you to hold her instead.”
Gabriel chuckled and kissed her cheek. “A daughter will always need her mother more than anyone.” Lowering his voice, he added, “And I will always need my Sibyl.”
“I have a question, actually,” Nicholas spoke up.
“Yes?” Sibyl prompted.
“Where is that delightfully spirited younger sister of yours? She disappeared inside to call for lemonade a while ago, but she has not returned.”
“Ah, she has most likely snuck into my study again,” Gabriel replied, chuckling. “She finds it fascinating. Apparently, Lord Wickleby does not let her into his, so I do not mind her being in there.”
That dinner at Averby Hall flashed through Sibyl’s mind. She recalled Nicholas mentioning his ideal lady and how she had fleetingly thought that, despite their age difference, he and Alicia could make a good match.
Like flint and stone.
“Actually,” she said slowly, “I am rather parched, so maybe you could go and check if she got the lemonade?”
“As long as she does not size me up as she did when I entered the manor earlier,” Nicholas snorted, before going back inside.
As Sibyl settled back into her chair, she caught Gabriel eying her narrowly. “What?” She smiled innocently.
“What are you up to? I know that tone and smile.”
