Page 73 of The Duke and His Jilted Bride

When she said it, the future didn’t seem so daunting after all. Not with her. Never. Because she loved him – and he loved her. And in the end, that was all that mattered.

Epilogue

Ten months later…

“Idon't see why we couldn't have celebrated in Norfolk,” Evander said, adjusting his cuffs.

“Two reasons, dearest. One, because Frederick lives in Kent and loves it just about as much as you love Carrstone,” Aurelia said magnanimously. “And two, it is his birthday, and as always, we must make contributions on his birthday.”

“Norfolk has birthdays too. It is a perfectly adequate place for birthdays. Did we not just host yours there?” Evander laughed through a sigh when Aurelia shot him a look. “I'm simply noting that the journey is four hours long, and we have left Poole with that new contract unsigned, and then the dogs–”

Aurelia took his hand and held it, shaking her head. “We will be back before you know it. Frederick will appreciate us going to stay. So hush, and stop being a spoilsport.”

Outside the carriage window, Norfolk gave way to Suffolk mile by mile. They would be near London eventually. But for now, the sky was enormous and pale. Evander would miss it for the short time they were away. He always did. It had started to feel faintly ridiculous, how much he missed home and being alone with Aurelia.

As though reading his mind, Aurelia turned his hand over in hers and looked at it. The sun glinted off their matching wedding rings. “You’re becoming a hermit in your old age. You promised Freddy you would come quietly in your letter.”

“I know what I wrote.”

“And you always keep your promises.”

“Only to you, primarily.” He looked out the window to hide his smile. He thought Aurelia’s power over him would fade over time, but the exact opposite seemed to be happening. Her simple, chaste touch consumed him.

She kissed his hand. “The farms are going to be there when we get back,” she said. “Poole is going to be there. He tells me the husbandry experiment is going well, not that I’ve asked, particularly. But he does love to talk about it. All day long, if I let him.”

Evander arched his brow. “We shall be having words about his use of the word experiment, first and foremost. But the rotations are already showing results. And the cattle from Perth are coming down next week…” He paused to examine her, checking whether she was teasing him. “You chose this long carriage ride to ask me about my husbandry? Is everything quite all right?”

“I like hearing you talk, especially about the things you are passionate about,” Aurelia said. “Farmer duke… I married a farmer duke and I am very happy about it. Though I won’t tell anyone tonight.”

“Good girl.”

She settled back against the seat, still holding his hand. “Not for your sake. All the attention will be on me tonight, so it won't matter that you’ve purchased enough cows to fill Carlton House.”

He laughed softly. “How do you figure that, Your Grace?”

“Oh, don’t look at me like that. I’m not pleased about my prediction. The show in Norwich was three months ago and London was six weeks ago. And as far as Lydia tells it in her letters, a woman playing her own compositions is sufficiently novel in this year of 1817 that people keep wanting to hear more from me.”

She said it lightly, but underneath the lightness was something real and warm. She was proud of herself – and he was interminably proud of her too.

“Patrick says the piece I played at the assembly rooms down in Richmond has been making the rounds. It’s insufferable. I know everyone is butchering it”

“You love it.”

“I hate it.”

“Well, I love it,” Evander argued. “The only thing I have ever wanted in our marriage is for you to be happy. You are happy in your music. If other people should rejoice in it too, let them and do not stop. I mind nothing about any of it.”

She looked at him for a moment, and he worried she was about to argue with him. Instead, she leaned across the carriage and threw her arms around him. She kissed him passionately and deeply, curling herself into him. All these long months with her, and still he couldn’t quite believe that she was his.

He was in the middle of debating telling her that when the carriage slowed and then stopped. Aurelia extracted herself from his arms slightly, looking at him with a flushed face and eyes full of desire.

“Bloody coaching inns,” she cursed under her breath.

“That’s no language for a duchess,” Evander joked.

“When have we ever done things by the book?”

When they finally made their way downstairs, the drawing room was too warm and too loud for Evander’s taste. He found the source of the nearby trouble immediately, and Patrick gestured him over energetically in return.