Page 97 of The Duke of My Heart

At the man spoke, Iris and Ewan stared intently at one another. Their long journey to get to where they were flowed between them, reminding them both that they had fought for this happiness, and now it was time to relishit.

Iris enjoyed staring at Ewan; his raven hair, those piercing eyes, the muscular chest and high cheekbones... he was still a dream to look at, better than any dream she had everenjoyed.

Ewan loved Iris’s soft features, her gorgeous hair, the soulfulness to her gaze. He would have followed her to the ends of the Earth if he could make herhis.

Both of them wanted it all, everything that married life had to offer. The children, the love, even the hard times, because they knew now more than any other couple who got married, that they could do ittogether.

Thiswas why people needed to marry for love. It made the wedding worth it, it made life worth it. If everyone else could see that, then Iris and Ewan both felt certain that the world would be a much happier, less stressfulplace.

Then all the silly traditions that made no real sense couldgo.

“I would like you to repeat afterme...”

It was time. Time to say the words that would permanently link them. Time to declare their love for one another, even if it was only in front of three strangers. Iris could notwait.

* * *

“Iam terriblysorry that we do not have a honeymoon to go on,” Ewan said quietly as he sat next to his wife on the sand. “I feel like we have done nothing in the rightway.”

“That is because we like to break the rules, remember?” Iris smiled to herself as she recalled their first meeting all over again. “And anyway, our whole life from now on will be a honeymoon. We are always away from home.” She turned her neck to look at the man she had just married. “And you are now myhusband.”

Iris did not need to go anywhere, she did not wantto go anywhere. The journey to America had not actually been too difficult for her, but she was in no rush to go travelling again anytime soon. Not yet. First, she wanted to getsettled.

“My husband... I do not think I will ever tire of saying those words.Husband.”

“Come here,wife,” Ewan teased. As he spoke the word ‘wife’ he realized that he felt the same way. He did not know how powerful a word, a label could be. It made Iris his in every way. “Let me kiss you now, Mrs.Oakley.”

Mrs. Oakley...who would have ever thoughtit?

As Ewan brought his lips down to kiss Iris, there was a real sense of belonging. They belonged to one another for now and forever. That clung to his heart and warmed up hischest.

Iris tingled all over as they kissed, she had finally found her place in the world and that was worth everything. If Daisy had felt this way when she married the Duke, then Iris understood her so much betternow.

“So, what do we do now?” Ewan asked. “You are my wife, so where do we go fromhere?”

“We must find somewhere to live, we must make some friends and settle into our new environments, and we must find a way to make our lives useful.” Iris stood up and brushed the sand off of her dress. “If working with Amy has taught me much, it is that I want to live a usefullife.”

“And what do you think you will do?” Ewan asked as he joined her. “Will you work with children, or in a medical center? I assume that you do not wish to be a handmaidenagain.”

“I could not do that for anyone other than Amy, she was very special to me. No, what I have planned is something verydifferent.”

Alright, Iris had one last secret from her husband, but it was not a huge one. She just wanted to see how it worked out first, after all, it was not common for a woman to hold onto suchdreams.

Iris wanted to get all of the fantasies out of her head, she wanted to write them down onto paper, and to create some sort of escapism with them. She wanted to write stories for those who could not daydream like she could. It might not have been a help in a traditional way, but as Iris suffered under her black cloud of gloom, losing herself in her imagination had been wonderful to her. She wanted to give that gift to other people in the only way she knewhow.

The idea had come to her on the boat. When she was alone she started making notes, creating ideas, which now she needed to finalize. She did not want to tell Ewan until she knew for certain how she could make it work. She wanted to be sure before she shared her biggest fantasy, laying herself out in such a vulnerable way. Iris held no doubt that Ewan would support her, but she had so much strength, she wanted to make things work alone. She could not seem to overcome the urge to be independent in some way oranother.

Ewan had never met anyone quite like her, and he knew that he never wouldagain.

“I see you have a plan,” Ewan smiled as he spoke. “I trust you will share it with me as soon as you areready?”

Iris loved that Ewan knew her so well. He had gotten to understand her so clearly during their isolation on the boat that he understood exactly what she needed. And right now what she needed was to work this out on herown.

“I will let you know as soon as I have itsorted.”

They never let go of each other’s hands as they wandered slowly back into the town center to start sorting everything out, it was almost as if they needed one another to stand. Nothing could keep them apart anymore, there wasn’t a thing in the world that could ruin their love. They finally had what they’d been searching for, and it waswonderful.

TheEnd