Page 23 of 1797 Club 2nd Epilogue Collection (The 1797 Club #11)

The rest of them rose and Diana pressed a kiss to Lucas’s cheek.

Amelia blushed as she looked up into Hugh’s face.

He appeared to want more than mere kiss on the cheek if his bright eyes were any indication.

Still, he simply took her hand and lifted it to his lips before he followed his friend from the room and left her alone with Diana.

“You two seem very happy,” Diana said.

Amelia glanced back at her with a smile. “We are. And I admit I’m thrilled to have some time alone with him. We were married under such dire circumstances and then we went straight to Brighthollow soon after where Lizzie was awaiting our arrival, so any time we had alone was limited.”

Diana took her arm and they went together to the parlor. As her friend poured them each madeira, she said, “Do you have any plans for the time?”

Amelia blushed and Diana laughed as she handed over the wine. “Aside from that. Although a few weeks of just that sounds heavenly.”

“I suppose we won’t be able to completely cry off invitations from friends outside our group if they come,” Amelia said.

“But truly, I just want to curl up with him and read together and talk, to walk in our garden and discuss what our future will be now that the past is resolved. That would be perfect.”

Diana squeezed her hand. “Perfect,” she agreed.

“But I want to hear about your trip,” Amelia said. “What dangerous things do you have planned, or is it all clandestine and dire?”

Diana shook her head and laughed and Amelia joined in. But she kept thinking about the time she was about to have with Hugh and how wonderful it would be to be only his.

“ Y ou are so distracted that I can hardly celebrate this win,” Lucas said with a laugh as he took Hugh’s cue and returned it to the rack.

Hugh shrugged. “You were always better at the game,” he said. “Though I suppose I cannot deny that I’m distracted.”

“Ready to go home, I think,” Lucas said and sipped his brandy with a smile.

“That but…” Hugh trailed off and shook his head.

Lucas straightened up. “But what? Come now, you’ve already learned how dangerous secrets can be. You almost lost it all by keeping yours. Is something wrong? ”

Hugh stepped forward. “No, nothing wrong, I assure you. No secrets. It’s just a topic I’m not sure how to approach.”

“Perhaps I can help,” Lucas said. “At least let me try.”

Hugh pondered that and then nodded. “Earlier today, after Lizzie left, Amelia said something to me that has been lingering in my mind. She said that this time alone together would be like starting over.”

“I suppose that’s true,” Lucas said. “You lied to her to protect her from a man who harmed your sister, you married her with even more deception.”

“I kept my distance because of it,” Hugh said with a long sigh. “And yet somehow it’s all been forgiven. She loves me and I…I am continually shocked by how deeply I love her. I didn’t know these feelings were possible, despite watching the happy unions of so many friends in the last few years.”

“That sounds only happy, my friend,” Lucas said gently. “So why do you hesitate?”

“I-I don’t know how to start over,” Hugh admitted.

Lucas seemed to ponder the statement for a moment and nodded. “I can see that. It’s been a whirlwind, after all. What do you wish had been different in the beginning?”

“That I hadn’t lied,” he said.

“Yes, but that’s resolved. What would you have done differently when it came to how you treated her?”

Hugh thought about it. “I never had a chance to woo her, really. Instead she was forced into marriage by me and her awful father. We started in the middle of a story, without the lovely beginnings.”

“How would you have wooed her?” Lucas pressed.

“I would have…asked her dance at balls. I would have sent her letters. I would have given her gifts and taken her to shows and exhibits just to watch the wonder flutter over that beautiful face of hers. I would have given her all my attention and then I would have asked her to marry me.”

As he said all that, felt it in his core, it was like someone had lit a lamp and now everything glowed with light. Lucas smiled. “I think you’re seeing it now.”

“So…take this time to woo her,” he mused. “As I should have before.”

“Without the frustrating chaperones and propriety between you, even.” Lucas laughed.

“Yes, it will be nice to woo and know the lady will sleep in my bed every night,” Hugh agreed with a smile. “I couldn’t give that up, being near her is like air to me now.”

“I think Amelia deserves such pampering as you describe,” Lucas said, this time more gently.

“And you deserve the chance to give it to her. To celebrate her as a way of making up for the past. I know it still haunts you, even if she’s forgiven you.

This time alone together is the perfect opportunity. ”

Now Hugh felt an excitement in his chest. This was exactly the right path to take. Exactly the way to act. And his mind was flooded with ways he could do exactly what Lucas described.

“Should we rejoin the ladies?” Lucas asked.

Hugh was already moving toward the door. “Indeed. I think we’ve been parted long enough. And now I have a great deal to plan, don’t I? Tonight and for the next few weeks.”