Extended Epilogue
A few years later
“Cousin! Welcome to the new Erdington! And especially welcome to the newest members of the Bolton and Worthingham families!” Simon exclaimed.
Edward was helping Harriet from the carriage in front of Erdington Hall. She reached back to help down their two-year-old daughter Eloise. The red-faced young girl immediately reached for her Uncle Simon, squawking and gibbering. Harriet laughed, setting her on her feet and watching her toddle towards the beaming man. Rebecca came next, large with her second child and holding the hand of her first, a boy of three named Arthur.
Lucius trotted past atop his horse, having accompanied the carriage from horseback. His tweed outfit set him apart from the finery worn by Edward, Duke of Wrexham, and Lord Simon of Erdington. But, he insisted that the plain hard-wearing suit was just the thing for a veterinarian looking after large animals. He vaulted from the saddle and took off the cap he wore, thrusting it under his arm. Arthur’s eyes lit up as he looked at his father.
“Is it you he wants? Or the horse?” Edward laughed.
“Make no mistake. He is his father’s boy. It’s the horse he’s interested in. Can’t get enough of them,” Lucius said, ruffling the boy’s head as he dismounted from the carriage.
Lucius and Edward both helped Rebecca from the carriage as Simon approached, carrying little Eloise in his arms. He kissed Harriet’s proffered cheek in greeting, then shook hands vigorously with the men.
“Can’t thank you enough, old man,” he said to Edward. “Your investment has really helped us get back on our feet. We have a full complement of staff, and the house and grounds are restored, all with local workers. And now, the estate is bringing in enough that I can help the local villages and farms too. Where one of us prospers, so will we all.”
“Simon, I will make a democrat out of you yet,” Lucius said.
“I haven’t seen the place since the work was complete. It seems somehow incomplete without all of that scaffolding,” Harriet exclaimed.
“To me, too. I had never seen the house without it, remember? It still seems to be a different house entirely sometimes.”
“Houses and work! I ask you,” Rebecca exclaimed. “You have not even mentioned the most important part. Where is the lovely Christina?”
Simon flushed. “She will be joining us for dinner,” he said. “She is looking forward to meeting all of you.”
“Harriet and I have been talking about little else the entire journey,” Rebecca enthused.
“I can vouch for that,” Edward remarked.
“You should have ridden with me, old chap,” Lucius chuckled. “I took a shortcut across country. A little rough in places but nothing for a good horseman like you.”
“Alas, I promised Eloise to play with her on the journey. She hates long carriage rides. But on the return trip, I will take you up on it. I won the Northame steeplechase last month.”
“Sounds like a challenge, Edward. Never bet against a horse doctor,” Lucius said with a grin that made him look as young as a boy.
Simon led them towards the house. Harriet walked arm in arm with Rebecca, admiring the ornamental flower beds they passed between and the pristine white stone of Erdington’s facade.
“I was sorry to hear about your mother,” Simon said.
Harriet smiled, feeling the lump in her throat even if tears were long past. Lauren had spent her last years enjoying the sun of Cornwall in a cottage purchased for her by Edward. She had passed away quietly in her sleep six months earlier.
“Thank you, Simon. I do miss her. But the children help. It is impossible to feel sad for too long when they are near.”
“I look forward to discovering that for myself,” Simon said.
“What of your sister?” Rebecca asked. “Eleanor? Is she here?”
Harriet felt a momentary tension. Only one loose end remained from the chain of events that had brought her and Edward together. The beautiful, scheming Eleanor. When Harriet had first returned to Erdington as the Duchess of Wrexham, Simon had been ready to make peace with Edward, putting aside his jealousy. Eleanor had departed the day before Harriet and Edward were due to arrive.
“She is married,” Simon said airily.
“Really?” Harriet exclaimed. “I do not wish to speak ill of someone who is not here to defend herself, but who would have her?”
Rebecca laughed and so did Eloise, though she didn’t understand why. The time Harriet had spent with Lucius and Rebecca had left her with a tendency for plain speaking.
“The Viscount of Middleton,” Simon said. “Since the wedding, I understand he has found a deep interest in hunting and fishing. In fact, any pursuit that keeps him away from his wife.”
Harriet threw back her head and laughed. She did not wish ill on Eleanor and actually hoped that in her way, she was happy. Controlling her husband, manipulating, and scheming. Eleanor was probably in her element. As Harriet was in hers.
“Will Olivia be joining us?” Simon asked.
“She cannot. She has become rather infirm in the last year and considered the journey from Greyhame to be too much,” Rebecca said. “But she has invited you and Christina to the Lakes this summer. She is most insistent that you come. Harriet and Edward will be there and Lucius is most keen to show you the boathouse he’s been building.”
“I shall write to her this evening accepting her invitation,” Simon promised.
Harriet looked up at the imposing entrance of Erdington Hall. It had been reborn, as though the house was new. It looked like a home again, the home she remembered from her childhood. Looking back over her shoulder, she smiled as she watched Edward put Arthur up into the saddle of Lucius’ horse and lead it around. The little boy laughed and shouted in glee. Eloise was reaching for her mother, from Simon’s embrace.
Harriet took her little girl and held her close, kissing her cheek and pointing to her father. Eloise reached toward Edward with pudgy hands and shouted. He looked over, a broad grin breaking across his handsome face. Handing the bridle to Lucius, he loped across the intervening distance to join his wife and daughter. Harriet rested a hand on her stomach. Rebecca was about to become a mother for the second time. And in less than nine months now, so too would Harriet. And she knew it would be a boy.