Page 41

epilogue

Two years later

A nthony was in trouble. Huge trouble.

He stared at his two sons, George and William, his two identical twin sons, wondering which one of the two he’d just fed. One had eaten more than the other. Or worse, the other hadn’t eaten at all.

He ought to be quick because when Isabella came from her meeting with Mrs. Fawcett, she would want to know if the boys had eaten.

And to think he’d insisted on spending more time with his children, instead of letting the nanny take care of them.

“Now, be nice to your papa.” Anthony searched those pairs of black eyes the same colour as Isabella’s. “Which one of you had the rice pudding twice?”

He tried to get clues from their clothes, searching for a grain of rice on them, but the clothes were the same colour, the same fabric, the same cut, and they were equally crumpled. The twins’ small hands were sticky with who knew what substance, and their curls were styled in the same way. He should have paid more attention.

Footsteps approached, and his heart gave a quick kick.

“Good afternoon.” Isabella hurried towards the children in her lovely dark pink gown. “Did you miss Mama?”

“How was the meeting?” he asked.

“Excellent. We recruited more ladies to our suffrage cause. The petition is gathering signatures quickly. And you’ll be surprised to know that Helen has done most of the job. She’s become quite passionate about our rights. Of course, Mother isn’t too happy, but Helen’s betrothed agrees with her and—” She eyed the plates on the table and then him. “You tried to feed them again.”

“No.”

“Anthony.”

“I did.”

“Why didn’t you let Lawson do it?”

“Because my father loved sharing food with us, and many modern scientists claim the relationship between children and their parents is important and develops through bonding with food. And because I want to do it.”

“All right. You’re passionate. I just hope you didn’t make a mess, as usual.”

“Mess? Me? How insulting.”

She kissed the twins who cooed in reply. “I missed you too, darlings. So, no mess?”

He cleared his throat. “There might be only one teensy problem.”

Isabella narrowed her eyes in the same fashion as Grandmama would. “I knew it.”

He shrugged. “It’s not my fault. They were crawling across the room while I gave them the rice pudding, and I got distracted for a moment, and I’m not sure which one ate more.”

“How can’t you tell them apart?”

“I told you they need to wear different clothes and hairstyles.”

Isabella huffed. “They are. William is the one with the pilgrim collar, and George has the bishop one.” She pointed to the wide white collars of the twins’ shirts.

“What?” Honestly, he didn’t see any differences.

“One collar is rounded, the other is pointed.”

“For Petes’s sake!” He threw a hand up. “From now on, I want different colours. William will wear only green, and George only red. And they’ll have their names embroidered in clear letters on every piece of clothing.”

“It’s outrageous that you don’t see the differences. William’s nose is different from George’s, and William’s curls are less bouncy than George’s.”

He gave up and sat on the carpet with her and the twins crawling around. “I admit defeat.”

Grandmama entered the room, and her pinched expression softened the moment she saw the twins. “My beautiful great-grandsons.” She joined them on the carpet, and William and George squealed in delight. “Patrick sent a wire. Everything is going well in Maiden Hill. The restoration is on schedule.”

“Is he still thinking of Sophia?” Isabella said.

“No, thank goodness. He’s too focused on working in Maiden Hill. I knew that working hard would cure him of his heartache. Besides, who needs that stubborn, unforgiving woman?” Grandmama huffed. “Patrick has truly changed. He isn’t pursuing any lady.”

Anthony arched his brow. “Sophia reminds me of someone I know.”

“Tosh. I was sceptical about Patrick’s change, but I’ll admit he did change, and he’s doing an excellent job in Maiden Hill.”

“I hope we can spend next Christmas there.” Anthony wrapped an arm around Isabella’s shoulders and the other around Grandmama’s. “After Maiden Hill has a new facade, windows, and a new roof, the only thing missing is love.”