Page 27 of Duke of the Sun (Regency Sky #1)

EPILOGUE

B efore the summer season managed to melt into a chilly autumn, Cordelia managed to get Michael to take a swim in the lake alongside her. Though the months of convincing were troubled and hard, the trust they built between each other was too hard for either one of them to ignore. And Cordelia could hardly stand how his body tensed up at the sight of the lake, how he clenched his hands into fists and forced himself to look the other way. Despite everything terrible that happened within the dark waters, Cordelia wished for him to understand that it was not the fault of nature, but rather the mind of man.

It was the early afternoon one day, and they lounged within the orangery. Cordelia finished another painting, one that was of the front of Solshire, and was struggling to find a place to hang it up. While Michael spent days growing through the paintings already hanging within the estate, Cordelia chose her own pieces that were fit for her orangery, without any embarrassment daring to come up her throat. She placed the canvas on a hook beside a few plants, a ray of light sliding through the windows and landing on that particular spot. She stepped away, hands on her hips, as she looked over it.

“I believe,” a familiar voice cooed from behind her, “It isn’t straight.”

Cordelia frowned and held up her thumb. The painting’s edge lined up with her hand. “Well, it looks mighty straight to me!”

Arms came around her waist suddenly. “No, no,” Michael murmured from behind her, twisting her around to step closer to the painting. “Don’t you see?” He tapped the corner, and the canvas swayed till it landed on being off centered. “Not straight at all.”

“You trouble maker,” Cordelia muttered as she wrangled herself out of his grasp. She stepped forward and fixed the painting. “What do you think?”

Michael stepped closer and looked over it, the corner of his lip turning up in a smile. “Incredible likeness,” he said. His eyes trailed to one side, where the beginning of the lake could be seen in the painting. Michael straightened and cleared his throat. “There was something I wished to say, Cordelia.”

“What is it?”

He hesitated and glanced around the orangery, his hand grazing over a particularly large leaf. Cordelia couldn’t help but watch and admire him. A few years ago, when they first were married, she wouldn’t have ever imagined seeing him in such a comfortable way alongside her. Even months ago, when he came back to Solshire to put an end to the rumors plaguing their names. But, after he could finally open up to her, Cordelia began to slowly witness the true Michael Rayson, a brilliantly stoic man who had a heart of gold buried beneath his beastly atmosphere.

And with each passing day, Cordelia grew more in love with that man.

Michael finally drew in a long breath, his eyes falling on her once more. “I can do it,” he said. “I will do it.”

She raised a brow. “It?”

“The -” he huffed irritably, arms crossing over his chest. “The lake, Cordelia. I’ll take a swim in the lake, if you still insist on -”

Cordelia jumped in the air and clapped a few times. The excitement rushed through her. After so long of asking and wanting, arguing against the trauma that lay within him, Michael was finally ready to face his fears alongside her. Cordelia bit back her immense pride for him, not wanting to embarrass him out of his decision. Instead, she closed the gap between them, and grasped onto his hands.

“The sun is bright and warm today, Michael,” she exclaimed. “A perfect day for swimming!”

“If you say so,” he muttered.

Cordelia, ignoring his sour attitude, began to tug him out of the orangery, and back towards the estate. The staff readily prepared their swimwear, along with a few long sheets for drying. Cordelia could hardly contain herself as she awaited Michael to join her. When she first came to Solshire, she imagined what it would be like to have springs alongside the lake, or a hot summer beside the cool water. She imagined taking children out there, having moments alone, or simply alongside Michael. But his resilient antagonist perspective of the lake stopped those things from being real.

When he left the estate, following behind her to the lake, Cordelia could feel the tension begin to radiate off him. She paused in her path to reach for his hand, holding him tight as they continued forward. The sun was directly over their heads, rendering the water cool to the touch.

“Are you alright?” Cordelia asked him, her thumb circling over his scars.

Michael pressed his lips together and nodded.

Perhaps the only way forward was to have fun with it, showing Michael that the water was nothing to be feared, but merely enjoyed. It did not need to be a place of sorrow, if he did not wish for it to be. Cordelia inched closer to the shore, slipping one foot in.

“What if there are fish?” Michael suddenly blurted. “You wouldn’t want to swim over fish, would you?” He shook his head. “I’m sure you wouldn’t.”

Cordelia smirked. “Who are you trying to convince, Michael?”

“Well, I certainly am no man who would be afraid of some lake fish.”

She shrugged, slipping deeper within the water. “I am a woman,” she called out, “Who certainly isn’t afraid of the fish.”

His face burnt redder from her teasing. “If you are trying to imply something,” Michael paused to let a proud grin pass over his lips, “Then perhaps you should get out of the water, and tell it to me.”

“Perhaps,” Cordelia mocked, the water coming up to her hips. She watched Michael’s eyes widen, his hands clench and release. “Aren’t you warm, Michael? You look a little red. The water will cool you right off!”

Michael frowned, growing redder by the second. “If insulting and teasing me is your strategy to get me comfortable with the lake, you are dreadfully mistaken.” Turning around on his heel, he began to stubbornly march up the hill, back towards the estate.

Cordelia, dipped down into the water, scooping up a handful and throwing it in his direction. The water flew through the air till it landed with a splash across Michael’s back. He froze in his tracks, slowly turning around with a menacing look on his face. She covered her mouth, trying to hide the laughter but hardly able to do so.

“You find that funny, don’t you?” Michael snapped.

“I do, actually!” She swiped a stray tear from her eye. “You got in your swim clothes, Michael! You have to get them wet, at least!”

Michael rested his hands on his hips angrily, a smile beginning to peak out. “Well, you are far too drenched for the both of us. Let’s go back.”

“You are extraordinarily stubborn.”

He scoffed. “And you , Cordelia Celeston, are entirely too adventurous.” As he spoke, he drew closer and closer to the edge of the lake. Whether or not he realized it, he was as close as Cordelia had ever seen him go towards the water. Another step, and he’d practically be dipping his toes in it.

Cordelia grinned. “Is there really such a thing?”

“There is,” he replied. “And you read about it in novels!”

She laughed again. “All this to try and get me out of the water, or to keep you from having to come in?”

“There will be far too much to clean up if I go in.”

“Since when do you do any of the cleaning?”

Michael glared, though he couldn’t come up with a logical argument for it. He leaned over the water slightly as Cordelia waded further into the lake. “Have you felt those fish yet, darling?”

“Not quite,” she called out. “Perhaps I should go under and look for one!”

“Have you gone mad, Cordelia?”

She giggled. “Heavens, no, Michael.” Wading her arms through the water, she swam closer to where he stood. “There is no need to go under the water. I was only teasing.”

Michael crossed his arms, trying to look defiant though the relief was rather obvious in his expression. “You seem to insinuate that I am afraid of the water.”

“Aren’t you?”

“Of course not!” He shrugged his shoulders. “I only think of what has happened due to its presence, and I see no point in treading closer to it.”

“Why?”

“Well,” he replied, “I wouldn’t want to be harmed by it also, would I?”

Cordelia smiled. “So you are afraid of it.”

“What?” He shook his head rapidly, the frustration mounting as he pressed in closer, not even noticing how his feet were already within the lake. “Devils, Cordelia, why must you insist on putting your words in my mouth?”

“Is that not what you just said?” She shrugged, slowly and discreetly sinking further into the lake. “If you believe the lake itself to be a dangerous thing, one that might cause you harm or pain, that would drive you to be afraid of it. Wouldn’t that be the very definition of fear?”

Michael stared at her blankly. “Well, I-I would -”

“And,” Cordelia watched him wade into the water, his gaze fixated on her entirely, “You have seen things and experienced things that were brought along from the lake. Is that right?”

He nodded.

“But would you agree that it would have happened either way?” She shrugged again. “With or without the lake?”

Michael sighed. “I seem to have been beaten by you, darling.”

“It seems so.”

“Well,” he said, “Perhaps I am afraid of it.”

Cordelia shook her head. “I don’t think so.”

“Was that not what you were just trying to prove?”

She dragged her arms through the water, slowly coming back closer to him. The water was nearing his waist, and he still didn’t realize he waded into the lake all on his own. The pride and relief she felt was immense, far more powerful than any emotion she had ever experienced before. Cordelia peered up at him, a broadening smile on her face.

“I believe there was something else I was seeking to prove,” she murmured.

Michael’s eyes narrowed apprehensively. “I haven’t the foggiest clue what you’re trying to get at.”

“Look around you, Michael,” Cordelia said, standing where he stood to press a short kiss to his cheek. “You have gone into the lake all on your own. Someone who is afraid wouldn’t do such a thing like that, would they?”

He raised his arms, looking down at the lake beneath him. The water swayed gently around him, rising up to his stomach slowly. For a moment, he only stared, and Cordelia frowned, growing worried about his mental composure. Perhaps he was frightened on the inside, moments away from having a breakdown she wouldn’t be able to bring him back from. She was about to reach for him, to whisper how sorry she was for not telling him sooner, when Michael did the strangest thing.

Michael crouched, dipping himself within the water. He slunk forward, dragging his arms through and pulling the gentle waves all around him. For someone that hadn’t ventured into the late for over ten years, Michael seemed to remember how to swim quite well. He looked as if he had been waiting to do it all his life, to feel the water collapse all around him. Michael swam a little ways away before coming back towards Cordelia, and facing her. He was breathless and wide eyed, his brown curls sticking up in all sorts of directions.

“How do you feel?” Cordelia whispered.

Michael reached and pressed a salty kiss on her lips. “I am not afraid,” he murmured to her. “I am not afraid.”

“Oh, Michael,” she breathed, the smile beaming across her face. “You don’t know how proud I am of you. I do not believe you were ever afraid at all!”

“No, darling,” he said. “I was afraid.”

“But -”

He reached for her as he waded through the water, pulling her along with him. “I had seen the lake take everything I loved,” he murmured, “And I spent my childhood believing that it could, someday, decide to take me next. Even as I grew, the idea never left me, no matter how foolish it might’ve been. And when you…” Michael slowed to a stop.

Cordelia swam around to be in front of him, resting her hand upon his cheek. “Michael,” she said. “It’s all right.”

He met her gaze. “When you fell into the lake, I thought that fear had finally come true once more,” he continued. “But I came into the water. I did it without even realizing.”

“You are strong.”

“No,” he said, his lips pulling back into the widest smile she had ever seen him have, “ You are strong, Cordelia. You have brought me back from the brink of collapsing into a darkness I would’ve never been able to pull myself out of. The fear that once grabbed a hold of me had no power when I looked at you. Because you are brave. You have taught me that, darling, and I will be forever grateful for what you have done for me.”

Cordelia swallowed the tears that threatened to streak down her face. Though she doubted he would’ve noticed them when she was already soaking wet. The words were priceless and she wished to save them like she did in her paintings. If she could’ve captured that very moment with a paintbrush, she would’ve spent the rest of her life just admiring it. She cleared her throat, her voice thick with emotion on the cloudless and beautiful day.

“I wonder how you can repay me,” she finally said.

Michael smirked. “Is there something you wish for?”

“Let’s see.” Cordelia started to lazily drift through the water alongside him. “What is it that I could possibly ask for?”

He laughed, the sound low and musical. “I’m sure you are capable of thinking of something.”

She shrugged, the smile growing along her face. “Well, there just happen to be a few things.”

“Oh, really?”

“But I’m not sure if you can handle them, Michael!”

He swam next to her. “Now I’m far too curious for you to not say it.”

“Perhaps I ask for you to hire some workers,” Cordelia said.

He frowned. “I beg your pardon?”

“Hire some workers,” she repeated with a nonchalant shrug. “We’ll need them to build an addition to the estate, of course.”

Michael’s eyes widened. “Good lord, Cordelia. An entire addition?”

“What happened to repaying me?”

“Well, an entire -”

She waved her hand through the water, splashing him a few times. “Where else will we have the nursery?”

Michael froze. “Nursery?”

“It can’t possibly go in any other rooms,” she continued, ignoring how he was no longer following her. “The redecorating I have already done is still practically new to be set aside and done all over again. No, it won’t do.” Cordelia tilted her head. “And what of the children’s rooms? They require something other than the guest rooms you -”

Michael’s hand suddenly clasped down on her wrist, and he effortlessly pulled her through the lake, till she was directly in front of him. The sun’s constant gaze rendered his cheeks a delightful red, the shade beginning to take over his neck and shoulders. Blocking out the sun, Michael tucked his finger beneath her chin, keeping her eyes entirely focused on him. Disbelief filled his expression the longer he stared.

“Be clear with me,” he whispered, “Do you still tease?”

Her eyes widened. “Do you wish it to be so?”

“Cordelia,” he sternly said. “Tell me.”

Whatever fear she might’ve ever had about his response no longer touched her. In fact, she could hardly remember a time when she was ever truly afraid of him. While London’s Ton feared the man with scars and a sour looking face, Cordelia never quite understood it. He was simply a man, and a wounded one at that. She saw a blank canvas that slowly began to have streaks of color splash across it. Tears finally pooled in her eyes and she had no intention of stopping them that time. They were joyous and glad tears, ones that deserved to be shed on that beautiful moment.

“We are with child,” she whispered.

Michael gasped, the breath hitching in the back of his throat. He searched her face once more, before his eyes filled with delight. He laughed, the smile beaming from ear to ear as he swallowed her up into a tight embrace, the water splashing around all around them. He held her tight against him, one hand holding the back of her head. It was gentle but affirming, his heartbeat hammering loudly against her ear.

“I love you,” he said into her hair.

Cordelia breathed in deeply. “And I love you.”

If only she could have painted the moment, to be remembered for the rest of time.

The End?