Page 39 of A Perplexing Regency Romance (The League of Meddling Butlers #5)

They spent their days reading or walking along the shore of the lake and wandering the woodland.

At night, after Mrs. Parker had left them with their dinner, which was always a very simple stew or a roast, they would eat in front of the fire.

They talked of everything under the sun.

They spoke of children, but even before that they had decided that Finella must have a dog.

She’d always wished for a small lap dog, but her father was of the opinion that a dog ought to be able to go out on a hunt with a pack.

Then it came out that Finstatten had always been interested in having a cat.

He did not have one, as he wondered if it was a particularly manly sort of pet.

It was decided he must have a cat immediately on their return.

After important questions such as those were settled, they would let the fire die out and find warmth between themselves.

Finella thought there could not have been a better way to start a marriage. If she would have to go home and act a high-flown duchess, it was well that everything had started so simply.

They did eventually have to return home, if for no other reason than Mrs. Parker’s comments about Lucy began to grow very dark.

By that time, they had firmly settled that Finstatten would be called Fin and Finella would be Finny, and so they were, all their lives.

They made their leisurely way to Suffolk just as slow as they’d come.

The duke’s staff would have closed the London house for the season and it was time to take up day-to-day life. And get a dog and a cat.

And what a life it turned out to be. The house might feel too big, the servants too many, and her title too grand. None of that mattered though. The one thing that fit just right was Fin.

The following year, Lady Violet did return to Town under the closer supervision of her brother, Lord Packington.

What a difference a year could make. Sometimes, a young person just needs to push things as far as they can go, and be chagrined over the result, to make a leap in maturity.

She came with a far more sober outlook and found success with Viscount Rareton.

As for leaps in maturity, Seddie did take a bit longer.

Several things did help him along though.

The duke, his primary partner in stupidity, had wed and was no longer willing to try out any harebrained idea.

And then, he caught wind of a certain gentleman pursuing Lady Genevieve.

These two things appeared to have hit him over the head.

Or as he told Finstatten, “It occurs to me that I must change or die alone, an old man who never grew up.” After a monumental effort at self-control, Lady Genevieve was finally convinced she might safely wed the man she’d always preferred.

Seddie and Finstatten still went regularly to the Devil’s Den, but they did not stay until dawn anymore, to the approval of both of their wives.

The Duchess of Ralston carried on as she always had, teasing the ton and ruling with an iron fist. She and Finella saw each other often during the seasons and wrote each other regularly when they were at home.

The Duchess of Ralston was a font of advice for Finella, though she did not have the nerve to carry out half of the lady’s suggestions.

Lucy was as loyal a lady’s maid as anybody could wish for.

If she made free with the duke’s wine cellar because she felt she’d become too elevated for gin…

If she drove the housekeeper mad with her high opinion of her position…

If she somehow had Finella doing half her work for her… Well, everybody had their peccadilloes.

Sir Roger was not as lucky, but perhaps he got a just fate.

He had no success finding a wife that season.

When the next was coming to a close just as fruitless, he offered for a vicar’s daughter.

Miss Gerhard did produce him a son, but she also came to his house with an iron will, as a clergyman’s daughter can be stalwart indeed.

Such were their battles, as she was absolutely unafraid of him no matter what he did, he finally dropped dead of apoplexy.

His widow went on to be a very merry widow, raising her son, the new baronet.

Sir Roger’s staff were very merry too, as the lady was far more liberal than he had ever been.

Lucinda went on as she always had—annoyed, bitter, and complaining.

The duke might have banned her from the house, but he could not ban her from Town.

They did encounter one another from time to time.

It did not help her temperament that she was forced to address Miss Fernsby the mushroom as Your Grace.

It further did not help when she had attempted to assert her authority and called the lady Miss Fernsby and then pretended it was just a slip up.

The new duchess had answered the slight by naming her an asparagus.

The duke had found it hilarious, for some reason.

Lucinda did not know what it meant, exactly, but she was afraid to ask anyone as she assumed it was something terrible.

Lord Gaddington had overhead heard it, though, and took to regularly calling her an asparagus, though he did not know what it meant either.

Mr. Browning had dreaded His Grace returning to Suffolk with his new duchess. How was he to take orders from a mushroom? As well, she would be a constant reminder that he had failed in his matchmaking efforts.

To no surprise to anybody but Browning, Finella won him over in time.

One of the things he liked most about her was her unfailing faith in his judgment.

It was very hard to continue to dislike a person when they were forever saying things like, “You will know best, Browning. I trust you implicitly.”

As well, Mr. Browning could not deny that the duke was exceedingly happy with his choice. The couple were forever calling each other Fin and Finny, which he did not find dignified. However, the duchess had produced a girl, and then the blessed boy heir. He must give credit where credit was due.

One could not say that the duke and duchess showed themselves to be particularly strict sort of parents.

They hired all the right tutors, but were forever interrupting their children’s studies to do something else.

That something else was usually taking out the horses.

It became a common sight in their neighborhood to see the duke and the duchess on their greys leading their children on ponies.

The consensus of the neighborhood regarding these four people was that they were all very nice.

It was not a usual compliment for a duke and duchess, but it was precisely what they were.

Of course, all that was yet to be. The next season, Mr. Feldstaffer would take the lead in The League of Butlers matchmaking adventures. He was dreading it, but then Mr. Feldstaffer generally dreaded everything.

Lady Beatrix Bell, the daughter of the Earl and Countess of Copperstone, was to make her debut in society. Mr. Feldstaffer was not entirely certain what sort of disasters she would create, but he was sure she would and he thought he could guess what the root of them would be.

When he attempted to cheer himself up over it, all he could come up with was he might be dead of natural causes before the season even started.

The End