Epilogue

“Wherein new arrivals and happy endings.”

Ella stared at the perfect little face and touched a fingertip to the downy fluff just visible at the edge of the baby’s woollen bonnet. The child clutched at her finger and Ella felt her heart clench in her chest.

Pearl’s daughter was perfect.

“You are going to have a wonderful life, my darling niece. I promise you.”

She bent down and pressed a kiss to the baby’s impossibly soft forehead before placing her back in her mother’s arms.

Pearl was sitting up in bed, looking unreasonably beautiful considering she’d only given birth yesterday morning.

“Have you decided on a name yet?” Ella asked, watching as Pearl stared down at her daughter with such adoration that her throat grew tight.

“Yes.” Pearl looked up at her. “Eleanor, after her aunt.”

Ella stared, the aching in her throat increasing as her eyes filled. “Oh,” she said, too overwhelmed to say anything. Instead she leaned over and hugged Pearl and her little namesake with care.

“Thank you,” she managed once she’d composed herself a little. “I don’t know what else to say. That means a great deal.”

Pearl smiled. “You mean a great deal to me, sister.”

Ella laughed and kissed her sister’s cheek. “The feeling is mutual.”

She got to her feet, taking one last look at the idyllic scene and feeling a little burst of anticipation.

“I’ll leave you in peace for a while then,” Ella said, smiling. “Get some rest.”

Ella closed the door behind her with care and then hurried down the stairs, eager to find Oscar.

He was in the parlour, scowling at the weather outside, which consisted of a leaden grey sky and rain that fell from the heavens in torrents.

“Good Lord, I’d forgotten how wet it was here,” he muttered, looking up as Ella came in.

Ella moved to stand beside him and slid her arm through his. They’d been here over a week, and the weather had yet to let up. Oscar, never good at sitting still for long, was climbing the walls.

He leaned down and kissed the top of Ella’s head.

“Hello, Bug. And how is the new arrival?”

“Absolutely gorgeous,” Ella said on a sigh. “And she’s to be called Eleanor.”

Oscar smiled, knowing how much that would mean to her. “I’m glad for you,” he said.

Ella leaned into him. He and Pearl were not yet comfortable in each other’s presence, but they were trying for her sake, and Ella felt sure time would put things to rights.

Oscar turned his attention back to the window and sighed. “Do you think it will ever stop?”

“Yes,” she said, smiling a little. “But not anytime today, or tomorrow, or the day after that.”

“Oh, very encouraging.” Oscar snorted and shook his head. “I swear I’ll go mad if I don’t have something to do soon.”

“But I have something for you to do,” Ella replied, her voice a little sly.

Oscar raised an eyebrow, aware of her tone. “Oh?” His tone was cautious, and she bit back a laugh.

“You know how the other night you told me how much you loved me—”

“Well, that doesn’t narrow it down much,” he butted in, grinning at her fondly.

Ella chuckled. “No, I suppose it doesn’t,” she said, feeling rather smug. “But you also said you would give me anything I wanted to make me happy, anything in the world.”

Oscar pulled her into his arms, curiosity shining in his eyes now. “So I did,” he murmured, leaning down and kissing the tender skin beneath her ear.

Ella sighed and tilted her head to allow him to continue.

“And what is it you desire, Duchess? Jewels? Dresses? A new carriage to terrify me with?”

“No,” she said, a little breathless now as he pressed delicate open-mouthed kisses down her neck. “You gave me all of those for my birthday.”

“What, then?” he said against her skin. “Name it and it’s yours.”

“I want to give Eleanor a cousin.”

Oscar paused and raised his head to stare at her, his eyes darkening, giving her a look that made her heart kick in her chest with anticipation.

“You do?” he asked, the corners of his mouth tugging upwards.

Ella nodded and then gave a squeal of surprise as Oscar swept her up and into his arms. She clutched at his neck as he carried her out of the parlour and up the stairs.

“Oscar, the servants,” Ella hissed, burying her face in his neck as she heard the unmistakable sound of Nancy giggling her head off as they passed her on the landing.

“What of them?” Oscar asked, undaunted. “We’re newlyweds.”

“No, we’re not,” she protested as he pulled their bedroom door handle down with his elbow and barged through it. “We’ve been married for months!”

He kicked the door shut behind him and slung her onto the bed so hard the bedsprings protested.

Ella watched, biting her lip against laughter as he tugged at his cravat and then danced about trying to remove his boots.

“Hell and damnation,” he muttered, nearly falling on his backside as he finally tugged his boot free. He reached for the other one, looking up to grin at her. “Still feels new to me,” he said, such an endearing expression on his face that her heart did a strange little flutter in her chest.

She understood what he meant. It did feel new still, and yet old and familiar too. He was still Oscar, the foolish, adventurous boy she’d loved as a girl, but he was her husband too. A man full of charm and forgiveness and love, and very far from perfect… which was just the way she liked him.

Perfection should only exist for fleeting moments. In the face of a newborn, or a perfect summer’s evening; a moment in time you captured in your heart and your memories, to be treasured and taken out again when things were less than flawless.

She knew Pearl would never force her daughter into perfection, and she knew life would never be entirely perfect. It ought not to be. Yet, as Oscar climbed onto the bed, his shirt all askew and a grin on his face, Ella knew she was just as close to it as anyone had any right to be.

“Now, then,” he said, a little breathless as he moved over her.

She slid her arms about his neck, pulling him closer.

“Yes, Oscar?” she said, the words soft and enquiring.

“Shall we have a boy or a girl?”

Ella smiled at him, delighting in the weight of his body as he lay himself down.

“Oh,” she said, pretending to ponder the question for a moment. “Several of each, I should think.”

“Good Lord,” Oscar replied, his eyes growing wide. “In that case, we’d better get started.”