Page 28 of His Runaway Duchess (Regency Wedding Crashers #3)

EPILOGUE

Two Weeks Later

P eter Tinn was, quite naturally, the referee.

“Ready… set…” he began, teasing the final go .

Daphne bit back a smile, throwing a wry look at her husband. Edward was grinning from ear to ear, shaking his head.

It was a fine day and a warm one. A perfect day for riding, really.

Or, more specifically, the perfect day for a race .

The route had been marked out from the edge of the house all the way to the tree line, where Mrs. Trench stood to make note of the winner. She’d even strung a strip of ribbon to mark the finish line.

As Daphne watched, she saw Mrs. Trench cast a fond, admiring glance at Peter, who flushed red when he caught it.

Grinning, Daphne caught Edward’s eye, and a meaningful look passed between them.

“You two aren’t concentrating !” Alex piped up in irritation. “This is very serious.”

“I beg your pardon, my boy.” Edward laughed. “I should have known that a horse race is not a thing to be taken lightly.”

Alex narrowed his eyes, sure that he was being mocked but not quite able to work it out. “No, it certainly isn’t. I’m going to win, though. I’m sure of it. Daffie said I was remarkably fast.”

“I did say that,” Daphne agreed, biting back a smile.

The hue and cry over the notorious Duke and Duchess of Thornbridge had not died down. The scandal sheets still mentioned them in every issue, and their ‘odd’ behavior at Mrs. Whitmore’s ball had been discussed and dissected in almost every corner of the city. Mrs. Whitmore herself was demurely silent, as was the Duke and Duchess of Langdon, Octavia, and Emily.

It didn’t bother Daphne. After all, that was London, and they were not in London.

They had only spent a few days in London after their renegotiated wedding night. Octavia and Emily had both cried over Daphne’s departure.

“It’s as if I’m leaving home for the first time,” Daphne had remarked to Edward, snuggled up against him in the back of the carriage.

“In a way, you are,” he responded, kissing the top of her head.

She shed a few tears, of course, but nothing excessive. It was normal to miss a happy home, of course, but she had one ahead of her, just waiting to be discovered.

Alex was thrilled to see her again, and Daphne knew at once that she’d made the right decision. For more reasons than one.

She met Edward’s eyes over Alex’s head, which was bent down over the horse’s neck, fixed seriously on the route ahead.

Let him win, she mouthed.

Edward grinned, rolling his eyes.

I’ll try, he mouthed back.

You absolute… she began but was cut off by Peter Tinn.

“Go!” he shouted, jumping up and down.

Alex and his little pony shot forward, with Alex leaning forward, stiff as a board, his elbows sticking out comically on either side. Edward and Daphne followed at once.

Daphne leaned forward over her horse, enjoying the feel of the wind whipping through her hair, cooling her skin. She closed her eyes, trusting the horse to remain surefooted.

We’ll go to London at the start of the next Season . I’ll visit my mother. I’ll see how Emily is doing, and perhaps finally get to the bottom of what is going on with her and that Duke. I’ll see Beatrice’s baby. Alex can meet his cousin. Theodore and Stephen can reintroduce Edward to Society and help him make good friends.

All shall be well.

She opened her eyes, glancing across the lawn to find Edward watching her. He was not trying to ride too fast, that was clear, and a faint smile played on his lips. A rush of warmth and desire spread through Daphne’s chest. She thought she could understand now how Anna had been so drawn to Theodore. Love was a strange thing, quite incomprehensible at times, but it was powerful . Trying to fight it was like trying to fight gravity.

And she was in love with Edward. She felt almost foolish for not realizing it before. She’d been drawn to the wretched man almost from the moment she first saw him.

And to think I ran away from him! What a fool I was.

But then would he ever have understood the importance of renegotiation? Would things have worked out on their own or not?

There was no point in worrying about what-ifs and maybes . One would go mad that way.

Think about what is important. You have a family. A husband who adores you, a household that cares for you, and a son—a son!—who loves you with all his heart. We’re safe. We’re happy. We are in love.

Yes, she was lucky, indeed. And for a duke who was meant to be cursed, Edward was lucky, too.

Up ahead, Alex’s horse cannoned across the finish line, and Mrs. Trench threw up her hands, beaming.

“Master Alexander is the winner!” she announced. “Fine riding, Master Alexander! Oh, Peter, didn’t he do well?”

Peter Tinn, jogging up to stand beside her, smiled dotingly at her. “Remarkably well, Jemimah.”

Edward and Daphne slowed to a trot, riding side by side.

“You should invite your mother and sisters to visit us,” Edward said. “I know Beatrice is not traveling, what with her being so close to her due date, but I desperately want Alex to meet his cousin. And to get to know his aunt better.”

Daphne smiled affectionately at him. “I’ll write to them at once. Mama sends me letters every other day as it is. Emily had been strangely quiet, and that worries me. She is up to something, I just know it.”

Edward shot her a look, which seemed to say that he knew more than he was letting on.

Daphne narrowed her eyes at him. “What is it?”

“Nothing,” he demurred, but she shook her head.

“No, you know something. Tell me at once.”

He leaned out of the saddle and pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Later,” he whispered, his voice heavy with promise.

An answering shiver rolled down Daphne’s spine, and she cleared her throat. “Very well then. I shall be patient.”

“You are never very patient, my dear Duchess,” he responded, smiling lazily.

“Papa! Daffie!” Alex shouted, out of the saddle and standing by the finish line with his hands on his hips.

“Well done, darling!” Daphne called.

Edward gave his son a smile. “I’m very proud of you, Alex.”

Alex growled. “I told you not to let me win!”

The End?