Epilogue

Two Months Later

She didn't think she would see the day.

It was the truth, even though it had taken Lavender far too long to come to terms with it. Despite her plans, despite what she'd wanted for herself, despite her insistence and determination, a part of her didn't think the day would come where she would walk down the aisle and be happy about it.

Happiness was one thing. Nervousness, fear, trepidation—those emotions crowded her glee until she could do nothing to fight it. She sat as still as a stone, staring at her reflection, her nerves a jumbled mess.

"I think this would be nice," Alice was saying behind her. Vaguely, Lavender took note of her friend holding up a headdress adorned with blue and white wildflowers. Next to her, Betty nodded in approval, but Alice was already moving on to the next option. "Or this one! Or perhaps this?"

Lavender only listened with half an ear. She couldn't believe the day was finally here. Months of preparation led up to this beautiful, terrifying moment.

"What do you think, Lav?" Alice asked.

Lavender blinked. She turned a bit too slow, trying to focus on what she was meant to be looking at. Alice had gone a little overboard in preparing Lavender's accessories for her wedding day. Her bed was covered in floral headdresses of varying colors.

"Any one is fine," she said half-heartedly.

"You can't just choose any one," Alice chastised. "This is your special day. You must choose the perfect one."

Lavender pointed, knowing that she wasn't indicating to anything in particular. "That one then," she murmured.

Alice's brows knitted together. "Which?" she asked.

"The blue one,' Lavender answered. Her mind was already drifting to what would happen in mere hours. Was Austin already waiting for her in the gardens? What would he think when he saw her? Hopefully he wasn't already thinking that this was a mistake?

"Give us a moment, please," she heard Alice say. Without really seeing, Lavender watched as Betty nodded in understanding and retreated from the room.

Alone now, Alice sank onto the bed, facing her. "What is the matter, Lav?" she asked gently.

Lavender nearly shook her head. She almost told her that it was nothing but nerves. But this was more than just nerves. She was so eager for this that she was afraid. Afraid of losing something she never thought she would have.

"What if he decides he does not want this any more, Alice?" Lavender murmured.

Alice's expression softened. "Is this why you haven't said anything for some time now?"

"I was excited at first," Lavender explained. "But now I cannot help but overthink…"

"Don't," Alice said gently. "I have seen the way Lord Derby looks at you, Lav. And considering how he looks at everyone else, believe me when I say that it is quite a difference."

That brought a giggle to Lavender's lips. She'd continued dragging Austin from event to event these past two months and had gotten a lot of pleasure out of watching him interact with her peers. More than one of them came to her in private asking her if she was certain she wanted to marry someone so angry all the time.

"He loves you, Lavender. Anyone with eyes can see it."

"Do you think?"

"What do you feel for him?"

She couldn't put those feelings into words. Lavender blushed, suddenly shy at the thought of expressing it aloud.

Alice laughed, waving her hand dismissively. "Never mind, then. Your expression is all I needed to see. Everything will be fine, Lavender. Trust me. And you look absolutely lovely, if you were doubting that as well. Now," Alice stood, turning to the bed, "why don't you choose?"

Lavender laughed and settled on a headdress adorned with marigolds. Alice excitedly called Betty back in and the two of them seemed to take quite a lot of pleasure in fussing over Lavender. By the end of it, she wore a loosely-fitted muslin and lace cream-colored gown that went nicely with her headdress.

Some of the fear disappeared by the time she was ready to head down to the gardens. The renovations to Austin's townhouse had included refreshing the garden so she had thought it was the perfect place to have the ceremony, especially considering the fact that his estate was not yet ready. She needed only say those words and Austin had done what he needed to do—announcing the wedding banns at last, acquiring a special license, even indulging her in hosting an engagement ball at the house. Lavender asked and he'd done what she wanted without question, even if he didn't particularly like it. Perhaps he truly did love and adore her as much as Alice said.

Lavender smiled to herself, a little embarrassed that she had used her insecurities to doubt him. Austin had spent nearly every day showing her just how much he loved her and Lavender had done her best to do the same. Why would today of all days be different?

They made it to the first floor before Vincent came upon them. "Pardon me, Miss Alice," he said. "But may I steal my sister away for a moment."

Alice nodded. "But don't keep her for too long. The guests are waiting."

"Yes, yes, she won't allow it, I'm sure," Vincent said with a grin.

Alice returned the smile and stepped away, leaving them alone.

"Let's go to the drawing room," Vincent suggested. He took the lead and Lavender followed, saying nothing though curiosity nagged at her.

It had taken a little bit of time to convince Vincent of the love between Austin and her. He wouldn't deny her a thing, which was why he didn't dare to suggest ending the betrothal again, but his wariness of Austin had taken some time to deplete. But understandably so. After everything that had happened, Lavender knew that it would take some time for Vincent to trust Austin around her again .

But she doubted he would pull her away on the day of her wedding to voice his displeasure. Would he?

Lavender studied his face the moment they were behind closed doors. The pleasant expression he'd given Alice was gone, looking far more grim.

"What's the matter, Vincent?" she asked, her nervousness creeping back up her spine.

Vincent said nothing, pulling out a letter from behind his waistcoat. Wordlessly, he handed it to her.

Lavender's nervousness morphed into confusion when she saw that it was from the Countess of Lively. She glanced back up at her brother but he only stood there waiting for her to read.

The letter was…lengthy. It began rather politely—or as polite as Lady Lively could be—before she delved into paragraph after paragraph of rude statements, expressing how disappointed she was that she was not invited to the wedding.

By the end of it, Lavender was laughing. Vincent looked surprised. "Does it not bother you?" he asked.

"Bother me?" Lavender shook her head, refolding the letter. "Of course not. Lady Lively backed herself into the corner I wanted her to be in this whole time. I find it rather amusing that she did it on her own, after I have decided to leave my quest for revenge alone."

"But she was rather nasty in her letter. I thought you would have been upset by it. The only reason I showed it to you now is because I thought it might upset you if you were to learn of it afterward."

"I'm fine, Vincent. It's fine. I don't care anymore."

That shocked him. "It does not?"

Lavender shook her head, smiling. It felt nice saying aloud what she had been admitting to herself all along. "I was haunted by her. She hounded my every thought, my every action. But after finding love, Vincent, I realised that I have no more room in my heart for hate." She handed the letter back to him. "She does not matter anymore. Though it is quite amusing that she is this upset at the fact that she was not invited to the wedding of a mere sister of a merchant and a bastard earl. "

Austin helped her, of course. He hadn't said as much in words. He was committed to helping her take her revenge, no matter what. But as the days went on, Lavender didn't care about making a perfect impression at each event and following every tiny detail of her plan. She didn't care about what Lady Lively was saying about her, or climbing her way to the top of the social ladder so that she could knock the queen off her throne. She only cared about spending time with the people she loved.

Vincent smiled at that, his eyes filling with pride. "There she is," he said. "Then what would you like for me to say in response?"

"Whatever you wish, Vincent. You needn't say anything at all, truly, though that may just upset her further."

"Silence it is." He approached, pulling her into an embrace without warning. "I'm proud of you, Lavender."

"Thank you. Now, may I go ahead? Alice may be sweet but she is quite terrifying when she's cross."

"I don't doubt it," Vincent chuckled. "Now that you are in such a good mood, perhaps I should show you the letter you received from your old friend, Colin."

Lavender was already shaking her head. Colin had sent her many letters over the past two months. And if they were ever in the same place at the same time, she would catch him staring at her from across the room, though he never dared to approach. They were yet to talk about what had happened between them but Lavender had still invited him to the wedding. It had only surprised her a little that he said he could not attend.

That was fine, though. She wasn't ready to face him just yet. Certainly not on a day like today.

"Perhaps tomorrow," she suggested. "Or perhaps after we return from our honeymoon."

Before Vincent could respond, there was a knock on the door. Alice poked her head in. "I do not mean to be rude," she said with an overly bright smile. "But your time is up, Mr. Latrice. I am here to steal her away."

"Very well, I know better than to fight for more time with my sister before she is passed into the hands of another," Vincent sighed. "I shall walk with you. "

They left the drawing room and with every step Lavender took to the back of the house, the more her nerves came upon her again. She could hear the soft tune of a harp as they delved outdoors. It was a beautiful morning, a cloudless sky with a gentle breeze. To the back of the garden stood a small clearing and a gazebo where everyone was waiting.

Lavender saw him before he saw her. Austin stood under the gazebo with the priest, his hands clasped behind his back and that scowl on his face. The music grew louder and the very few guests they had invited turned to watch her approach. He didn't look until she'd already gotten a good look at him and had to catch her breath.

He was so handsome that she couldn't stop the smile that stretched across her face. Any remnants of the bruises from two months ago had faded almost completely, his clean-shaven state showing off his lovely, sharp jawline. Her heart fluttered when their eyes met and the scowl faded into something else, something that was only reserved for her. Lavender was hardly aware of the people around her, nor of Vincent walking her down the aisle. She only saw him, any anxious or fearful thought escaping her mind.

"God, you look…" He was at a loss for words. Austin ran his gaze down the length of her, then shook his head. "I am the luckiest man in London."

"And don't you forget it," she teased, earning a chuckle from him. He took both her hands in his.

"I thought you would have me waiting forever," he confessed in a whisper. "For a second, I thought that you might have changed your mind."

It touched her that he might have had the same doubts as her. "There is nowhere I would rather be but here," she murmured to him. "And nothing I would rather become but your wife."

His eyes slid away even as she saw the faintest tinge of pink on his cheeks. Confessing the depth of their feelings always made him shy, a sight that was endlessly adorable to her.

He didn't get the chance to respond when the priest cleared his throat, obviously wanting to get on with the ceremony. They faced him but Austin didn't let go of her hand. As the priest began reading from the Book of Common Prayer, Lavender half-listened, half-waited.

How could she truly focus when he was rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb like that? And sneaking her glances when the priest was looking in his book? How was anyone supposed to remember her vows—despite having practiced them many times over—when he stared so intently at her that it felt as if her entire being had been set on fire?

Lavender loved him. Truly, she loved this man. How could she show him the depth of her love when it felt as if she could hardly control it herself?

And then, at last, it came for them to seal their union with a kiss.

And seal it, they did.

Lavender stepped closer, lips quirking upwards at the flash of surprise in his eyes. Then she captured his lips. Reminiscent of their first kiss, she wanted to give as much as he did, to show him that she was his and his alone. She wanted him to know just how much she loved and yearned for him because she was beginning to think that no word known to man could show it well enough.

Austin must have forgotten that they had an audience. Or perhaps, more likely, he didn't care. He grasped the back of her head and leaned fully into the kiss, taking control with ease. Lavender wrapped her arms around his neck, clinging to him as he bent her into the kiss.

It must have lasted a second or two, but it felt like a lifetime and no time at all. When they came up for air, she realized that the others were applauding.

"That wasn't very ladylike of you, Lady Derby," Austin whispered in her ear.

"Good," she whispered back. "I didn't want it to be."

Austin's deep chuckle resonated throughout her, making goose pimples rise on her skin. "I love you."

That was enough to chase away any lingering doubt. Things might not have ended up the way she'd planned and for that, she could not be happier .

The End