Epilogue
The sunshine sparkled across the green, sunny town in California where Edmund had arranged for the three of them to stay once they arrived from England. At the time, Mary and Charlotte were so exhausted from the long journey over the ocean that they would have accepted whatever home he offered them to stay in. They were just lucky that it was such a wonderful place. Edmund had done well for all of them.
The small home that they lived in now was nothing as grand as they had in England, but it was somehow not as stifling. They did not live too far from the ocean which made it very easy for Edmund to conduct his business, and it was also wonderful for the women too. It made them regret all the years they wasted living far away from the water, even if it was not their fault. They wished that they had always lived in such a gorgeous place.
Mary stirred the pot of stew over the fire which brought a bright smile to her face. Now that she was so used to her life in America, it was almost as if everything that had happened in England was a strange dream, something that had happened to someone else rather than herself. In England, Mary suffered a lot and was a constant mess of emotions. Here in California, she was calm, content, and generally just happy.
And that had a whole lot to do with the man who had just walked in through the door after a long hard day of work. The man that she could now call her husband, thank goodness.
Their wedding ceremony was never the big affair that it would have been had they held it in London, nor was it as fancy. There it would have been a huge society event that everyone would have wanted to attend. It would have been the talk of the city, considering the big family names involved, and everyone would have wanted to judge them. It would have created whispers for a long time afterwards.
Maybe it was not as glamorous, but having a small ceremony with only Charlotte and two of Edmund’s close friends from work in attendance, made it much more romantic and only for them. Mary wore an elegant ivory coloured dress; Edmund wore one of the suits he had brought with him from England, and they exchanged silver band rings while they said their vows to one another. They even added in some of their own words which made it even more special. Mary could not have asked for more. Edmund had told her that he had fought hard for her, and that he always would no matter what, and Mary had told Edmund that she would sacrifice everything for him all over again without a second thought. It made it that much more personal and a day that both of them would remember for the rest of their lives for all the right reasons.
“Happy anniversary,” Mary said with a smile as her husband walked towards her. Even after a year of marriage, he still made her heart skip a beat; she did not think she would ever tire of him coming in to see her. She loved him more now than she did when they left their old lives, and that grew every single day. “How was business?”
Edmund cupped Mary’s cheek in his hand and stared lovingly into her eyes. “It was just fine,” he said evasively. “But I do not want to worry about that right now. I want to know how you two are getting on.”
Mary’s eyes glanced downwards as Edmund rubbed his hand over her ever-swelling belly. The baby inside of her was growing restless; she could sense movement inside of there all the time. It gave her the strong hint that it would not be long until he or she was born. She rubbed her bump too, and her grin grew even wider.
“We are both fine, thank you very much,” she said happily, almost dreamily when she tried to picture how everything was going to change for the better. “I think we might get to meet our little one soon. I have a feeling that it will not be long.”
“Remember, it is not easy,” Edmund warned. “Do not forget how challenging it was when baby Johnathon was born.”
The couple had been through child rearing before, even if they had not had a baby themselves. When Charlotte’s little bundle of joy was born, it was only those two there to help her, and while they were happy to do it, that did not make it easy. Johnathon created chaos; he was a fussy baby that did not like much sleep. While there were three of them to take turns with him, it was still very challenging.
“I am hoping that since we did not travel the ocean to the other side of the world with this baby in my belly, that we will not have the same issues.” Mary giggled. “Although Johnathon is doing just fine now. Ever since his first birthday, I believe that he has been doing very well.”
“It is certainly quiet since Charlotte and Johnathon moved out.” Edmund kissed down her cheek and neck. “I hope that they are doing well.”
Charlotte had since moved in with a very handsome cowboy, Richard, who Mary more than approved of. It was challenging at first when she started dating the good-looking man because she could not be fully honest with him about her life. He knew that she had a child, but she pretended to be a widow to save the uncomfortable conversation, but eventually when things started to get serious Charlotte had been forced to sit him down and tell him everything. Luckily, he was a very good man, so he understood well. That was the moment that he asked her to move in with him, and since he had such a good relationship with Johnathon already, she immediately said yes.
Of course, there might come a time later on when the issues surrounding that situation would come up, but at the moment, everything was good, and that was all that mattered. Mary had never seen Charlotte so happy; she was like a different woman these days. She was freer, more confident, and always laughing ... the way that Lord Jones had knocked her confidence was long gone. That faded along with the endless bruises that he gave her, and now she could finally be herself again. It made Mary and Edmund proud to have brought her out of that situation. Who knew where they would have been if they had stayed? The violence would only have worsened.
“I am sure that they are. We shall soon find out anyway since they are coming for dinner. Whatever we have to eat smells delicious anyway.”
Edmund stepped away from his wife and shook off his thick, heavy jacket. The fashions in America were slightly more relaxed, but in business, he was expected to dress very smartly. It was hot in California, and that made it very challenging to dress that way.
Mary stepped away from the pit and admired her lovely husband. “Who would have ever thought that we would end up this way?” she mused. “Imagine knowing when we first met that we would end up married and living in America, about to host a dinner party for Charlotte and her cowboy partner? It would have sounded insane.”
“I know, but sometimes the best things that happen in life are the most unexpected.”
Mary nodded slowly. “Yes, you are right about that ... oh.” She gripped onto her stomach and bent over as a shocking wave of pain washed over her. It seemed to come from nowhere and almost knocked her for six. “Oh, my goodness.”
Edmund was there in an instant. “What is happening?” he gasped. “Is everything alright? What is happening to you? Is there anything that I can do to help?”
“It is ...” Mary puffed. “It is the baby.” She looked up at him and gave Edmund a needy look. She was not sure exactly what she needed, but she knew that it was something. “I think the baby might be coming now.”
“But ... your waters ...” Edmund knew that this would come soon enough, and he was excited for it, but now that it had happened, he felt petrified. All of a sudden, he was overwhelmed with images of all the things that might go wrong. “They have not broken.”
Mary huffed and puffed, ignoring Edmund’s remark. She could not help noticing that the pain was easing slightly. Now that her brain was clearing, she could remember this happening with Charlotte when she gave birth. At least this was normal.
“Is ... that ... the door?” she puffed, slowly loosening her grip around herself as she pushed into a standing position. “It might be Charlotte. I hope it is because I could use her advice right now.”
Edmund wiped the perspiration from his forehead, also hoping the same thing. If Charlotte was here, then he would not have to deal with all of this alone. Someone would also be free to go and get a doctor to help bring his child into the world. “I will go and check now.”
His footsteps were shaky as he moved towards the front door; he felt weak and trembling. As his fingers curled around the door, and he yanked it open, he almost fell into Charlotte’s arms with relief. He had helped her once upon a time, now it was her turn to return the favour.
“Oh, my goodness, I am so glad that you are here.” Edmund looked at Charlotte with sheer desperation flowing from his expression. “I think that Mary is in labour.”
Charlotte stiffened; she was glad that she was here for this. Having gone through it herself, she knew what a nightmare childbirth could be. Much as she trusted Edmund with her sister, he had proven himself a worthy husband over and over again – she did not think that he was capable of dealing with this by himself.
“Right.” She smiled brightly as she stepped inside. “I will take control now. Edmund, you need to do whatever it is that I say, and Richard, I shall leave you in charge of Johnathon. I hope that is alright.”
The men nodded mutely, both glad to have someone else take control of the situation. Richard had never seen childbirth before, and while Edmund had, it was different now that it was his child. He did not know how to act. Luckily, all he had to do now was exactly as he was told. That he could do ...
***
“Look at our little baby,” Mary cooed as she nestled her face into her beautiful daughter’s face. “She is beautiful, is she not?”
As soon as labour was over, she decided that was an experience that she never wanted to go through again. The sheer agony was intense. It felt like her entire body was being torn to shreds, but staring down at her little girl and inhaling her wonderful new baby scent, she knew that it was all totally worth it. She felt that after some time she might even do it again because the sensation of holding onto a darling baby that was all hers was the best feeling in the world.
“She is lovely,” Edmund agreed as he sat by her side. He had felt useless during the childbirth; it was almost as if there was nothing that he could do, but now his child was here, and he would do all that he could to make up for that. “I think that she looks so much like you, aside from her dark eyes that match mine. What are we going to call her?”
“I have been thinking about it a lot,” Mary admitted coyly. “And I think that I have the perfect name for her.” Her eyes fixed on Edmund, and she waited for his permission to go on. She had not meant to come up with this name without him, but it just felt really right. When Edmund did not continue, she decided that was permission enough. “I was thinking, Elizabeth.”
“Elizabeth?” Edmund mused. He was so in love with his wife that he would have given her anything. He believed that he probably would have agreed to any name that Mary suggested, but he could tell that there was much more to this. It was all in Mary’s tone. “That is a lovely name, but why have you chosen it?”
“It is ... it was ...” Mary looked towards the floor. “My mother’s name. Of course, I did not ever get to know her because she died in childbirth with me, but I would love to honour her with this name. I think that naming our first born after her is lovely. What do you think?”
“I am shocked that you were not more concerned while you were pregnant,” Edmund said without really thinking. “I would have thought that you would be panicked that the same would happen to you.”
Mary smiled to herself. Just like Charlotte, she had been very worried about her own demise while giving birth, but also like Charlotte, she kept it to herself. “I had faith in myself,” she told Edmund just because she did not want to upset him with the thought that she had been suffering all the fears alone. “And I was right too, considering I made it. I would also like to honour your mother too since she helped us and supported us with all of this, so I was thinking Elizabeth Iris Smith.”
Edmund had been just about managing to keep his emotions locked away inside up until this point, but the mention of his mother’s name was enough to cause a tear to roll down his cheek. He missed her a lot, but he knew that she would be doing just fine in England alone. She was a tough woman, one who did not care about rumours and gossip. She would be able to weather anything. It was not always easy to do so, but when his business went that way, he sent letters to her, and he got something back. From that, he got an understanding that she was just fine.
Maybe now that she had a grandchild on the other side of the world, she would want to come to America too. Maybe he would suggest that she leave home and come here in his next letter. She could even bring Daisy with her. Edmund’s business was successful enough that he could keep them both here easily. In fact, he really wanted to, but it would be up to his mother. If she did not want to travel, then nothing could persuade her to do so.
“That is the best idea that I have ever heard,” he said while kissing the top of her head. “And I am sure that Charlotte will love it too when you finally let her into the room.”
“Oh, my goodness.” Mary laughed a little hysterically. She was still very tired from giving birth but was also giddy and excited too. She felt like she could sleep for hours, but that she also might never sleep again just so she could look at her baby. Luckily, it already seemed that Elizabeth was going to be much less fussy than Johnathon. “I forgot that she was here. Send her in; she will be going crazy.”
As Edmund walked off to go and get her sister, Mary nestled into her baby feeling sheer contentment racing right through her body. She thought that she was happy before; she thought that being a wife filled her with happiness, but being a mother was another sensation entirely. She felt more like herself than she had ever done previously. Much as she still did not like what Mr. Walter Thompson had done to her when he stole her life, she was glad for where it had led. It had taken her to her brand new life, and now that she was living it, she would not have changed it for the world.
“Oh, my goodness, is it true?” Charlotte gushed with tears already streaming down her cheeks. “Are you going to call the baby Elizabeth after mother?”
Mary stared at her sister, all of a sudden wondering whether or not this might upset her. She had not considered it beforehand, but since Charlotte had memories of their mother, this could be hurtful. “I am sorry,” she said quietly. “Do you mind?”
Charlotte went to hug her sister, but she could not quite manage it with Elizabeth in her arms, but she could scoop up the baby. This was her niece. She needed to hug her desperately. As she clutched onto the little girl, Charlotte beamed the happiest smile ever. She loved that her American family was growing by the minute; it made her feel so wonderful about her life here. She loved being on the other side of the world from Lord Jones, and she also adored everyone here. Charlotte had resigned herself to never getting any happiness in her life. Now she had it all and more.
“I do not mind,” she replied seriously. “I think that it is a lovely idea. I also love that you included Edmund’s mother’s name too. That is a very lovely gesture. How do you feel now that your baby is here?” she asked knowingly. “It is the best sensation in the world, is it not?”
She could remember the first time she held her own baby. It shifted absolutely everything inside of her and made her even more grateful to have run away. Charlotte would have done anything to protect her child; she knew for certain that she could not have stayed with her husband once he was born. It was just lucky that she had already left, making it that much easier.
“It is great,” Mary burst out like it had been building up inside of her for ages. “I cannot believe it. I have never felt anything like it.”
She moved her eyes from her sister holding her baby to Richard and Johnathon, and finally to Edmund. Her very own Duke. The man she had never wanted to marry. Who would have known that he would end up making her the happiest woman alive? With her small family around her, Mary felt incredible. This new life was just wonderful.
THE END