She hummed contentedly, seemingly drifting toward sleep after their wild exertions. “Good. Because I plan to test your limits quite thoroughly once I recover…”
“Insatiable minx.”
“Yourinsatiable minx,” she whispered, sealing it with another kiss before a serene sleep claimed her.
EPILOGUE
SIX MONTHS LATER
North Roseton Hall
“Ido not know where to start. Oh, bother, my uncle. He used this place as a cash cow and did not care how it might be maintained!”
“Tell me,” Keaton grinned.
Georgia sighed, and he patted her hand where it held his arm. They stood before Roseton Hall, the house in which she had grown up with Elias. The house in which she had lived with her brother after his ascension to the lordship.
It was falling into ruin.
It had been six months since Elias' body had been exhumed and laid to rest in the family crypt at Roseton. Keaton's solicitor had finally defeated the legal challenges from the Vexleys, and the manor had formally been inherited by Georgia.
“Uncle Benjamin will be spitting feathers at the loss of the estate and its income. But it was never his to exploit. It does not feel like mine either, though,” she sighed. “It is my brother's. I am not sure that I could live here again, even if I did not have a home in Westvale.
“Most of the windows are broken, and ivy has taken over the front of the house. A chimney has fallen, and there are gaps in the roof. One wing appears to have been partly demolished, and not by nature. Heavens, I think my uncle used it as a quarry for his own refurbishments…”
“That is over now. Your brother is resting where he was always meant to be. And the property is yours,” Keaton reassured, taking her hand and patting it gently.
Georgia moved his hand to her belly, where their son was growing restive, responding to his mother's tension. Georgia had no doubt that it was a son she carried. Nor did she doubt that he had been conceived on that first glorious day of lovemaking after she had recovered from her injuries.
“Does he kick?” Keaton asked.
“Like a bull!” Georgia laughed, “he will be a giant like his father. Let us walk, that always calms him. Amelia wants us to see the job she has done with the flowers in the family chapel.”
They proceeded to walk an overgrown path around the house. Georgia felt sad to see the degradation of the place, but also excited.
“It does not matter that it seems overwhelming. The quest is a worthwhile one.”
“To turn Roseton Hall into a refuge for the poor and destitute? I should say so,” Keaton agreed, nodding, “and a fitting thank you to a brave man. All will know the name of Elias Roseton.”
“And they will know his face,” she declared with a smile in her voice. “Those preliminary sculptures you made are remarkable, by the by, given that you could never touch his actual face.”
Keaton shrugged. “If you wish a statue of him, I will oblige, but I feel sure there are far more gifted artists we could give the commission to.”
Georgia hugged his shoulders tightly. “I do not want the work of a stranger to stand welcoming the needy to Roseton. I want it to be something of your hands, and your hands only.”
She threw her arms around his waist and nuzzled against his side. Keaton failed to rein in his wide smile, as he so often did these days. They walked, entwined with each other, until they reached the old chapel attached to the side of Roseton Hall. Its roof had been looted, leaving bare timbers. The windows were also gone, but as they stepped inside, Georgia gasped. Keaton breathed deeply.
The air was full of the sight and smell of flowers. The altar was bedecked, as was the side chapel in which Elias had been laid to rest alongside his ancestors. The pews were filled with artfuldisplays of color, and flowers had been arranged in every sconce and nook.
“Oh my, Amelia!” Georgia exclaimed, tears filling her eyes, “This is truly beautiful!”
“I cannot see it, but I can smell it. Is it as remarkable as the scent tells me?” Keaton asked.
“Heavenly,” Georgia chimed.
Amelia blushed as she walked towards them along the aisle.
“I was aided. In fact, I wanted you to meet him. A most talented young man who has inherited a sizable landholding and had the idea of farming not livestock or food but roses. Geoffrey? Come and meet the Duke and Duchess.”
