Epilogue

"You really should have more tea, darling child," Harriet cooed, putting a cold compress on Arabella's head.

Arabella had been down more often with a headache and had been near emptying her guts each morning with dizzy spells that worried everyone, especially her husband, who had a penchant for dramatics when it came to her.

"I believe she's had more than enough tea, Mother," Edward deadpanned, pointing at the huge teapot she'd just finished. "When does the doctor arrive?"

Arabella smiled despite his rude tone, a telltale sign he was worried about her. Though he sat beside her on the bed, his body shook like a bird preparing to flee from prey.

"He is due to arrive today, Eddie," Emily answered. "He shouldn't be too long now."

"All right," he answered.

He held Arabella's hand, intermittently squeezing it softly to give her a massage.

Arabella stared up at the man she had chosen to love and spend the rest of her life with. Looking back, she couldn't have imagined herself so deeply in love with anyone, but here she was, happily married to a man who was worried sick about her.

She smiled, watching her mother-in-law and sister-in-law tease him for his worry. He finally turned towards her, noticing her smile, and he smiled back at her.

He leaned over, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "What makes you smile, wife?" he asked with that lopsided grin that made her stomach flutter.

Arabella bit her lip, causing him to arch his eyebrows, those dreamy eyes she had fallen for the first time she saw him boring into hers.

"I was just thinking about you and how much I love you," she admitted shyly. "And I think maybe you are the cause of my headache, because I think of you too much and I can't help it."

She chuckled and so did he.

"Oh, can you stop it already, or else I'll tear up," Harriet said with a watery smile.

Edward opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Enter," he called.

The doctor walked in, led by Arabella's maid, Matilda.

"You finally came, Doctor." Harriet smiled. "How are you today?"

"Very well, Your Grace." He smiled. "Who is my patient today?"

"My wife," Edward answered.Arabella sat up, giving the doctor a nod.

"Your Grace." He bowed.

"There's no need to stand on protocol, Doctor," Edward told him.

"What are your symptoms, Your Grace?" the doctor asked.

"I have these bad headaches. Oh, and I can't seem to keep anything down. Especially in the mornings."

"How long has this been going on?"

"About a month now."

"Permit me to ask, but have you had your monthly courses?"

Arabella pursued her lips, looking lost for a second. Just then, it hit her that she hadn't had her period for a while now. For about two months, she hadn't, but she'd barely noticed.

Wheels started to turn in her head. She had been throwing up, and Edward had told her it was fever and had given her bitter herbs that made her throw up even more. She had eventually chosen to just smile and say she was fine if he ever asked, never wanting to see the worried look on his face.

" N-no… I… I haven't," she replied, swallowing hard.

"I suspect congratulations are in order, then." The doctor smiled. "You're expecting."

"Oh, wonderful!" Harriet cried.

"Another baby in the family," Emily gushed, hugging her.

"I'm expecting a baby?" Arabella asked.

It was hard to believe that she was carrying a child.

Edward jumped suddenly, wrapping his arms around her, and once again she felt comfort. She didn't know when she started crying.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to cry," she told him when he began to worry.

"It's all right, love."

He could feel his shirt getting wet from her tears, but he just hugged her more tightly and let her cry. At least they were tears of joy.

Edward smiled down at her. She had given him everything he didn't know his heart had desired, and now his heart was overflowing with joy.

The doctor excused himself and turned to leave. He opened the door but then jumped back. They all turned to see what had happened and saw Charles rub the side of his head. Apparently, he'd been hit by the door.

"My apologies, My Lord," the doctor said awkwardly.

"It seems you're after getting another patient."

"Not at all."

They laughed as he scurried off.

"I heard you all screaming. Is everything all right?" Charles asked.

Edward laughed. "Oh, just shut up and come here. I know you too well," he said with a smirk, loosening his grip on Arabella.

"Look who is becoming a father." Charles walked over to give Edward a warm hug. "Prepare to mourn your freedom."

"Eavesdropping bastard!" Edward laughed. "You're lucky the door didn't take your eye out."

Charles raised both hands in the air innocently, but he couldn't hold back his laughter. "Congratulations, Brother."

They hugged again.

Arabella and Edward started a debate on baby names, with the others chiming in once in a while.

"If it's a girl, we'll call her Emma, and if it's a boy, we'll call him David," Arabella suggested.

"Why David? James is perfectly charming."

"David is courageous."

"And?" Edward deadpanned. "No woman wants a courageous man—just one who appears to be."

Everyone laughed as Arabella pouted.

"So, you're not courageous, husband?" she asked with a lopsided grin.

"I'm an exception, love." He winked at her.

They fell silent for a while.

"Umm, I'll go get… water," Harriet announced suddenly, getting up and grabbing Charles's hands. "Charles, you should get water, too. Let's go."

"I don't need water, Mother." Charles frowned. "You could just send a maid to fetch it."

"No. You know I like to move around."

"Then you can go and get it."

"I want to drink with you there watching me," Harriet pressed.

"What? Why?" Charles asked, still not the hint.

Harriet slapped him softly on the back of the head. After murmuring about how he's being treated unfairly, Charles finally followed after her.

Emily trailed behind the two, laughing and waving to the couple.

Arabella and Edward shared a laugh over their family's weirdness. Edward wrapped his arms around her again, and she rested her head on his chest.

"I'm scared," she confessed, anxiety filling her mind and heart.

"Scared? Of what exactly?" Edward asked, concerned.

"Of being a mother, building a home. You know?" She bit her lip, placing her hand on his chest. "It was hard for me to accept the fact that I needed to marry, but being with you made it easy. But this is birthing a child. I don't want to be a bad mother and then hurt our son or daughter."

Edward chuckled. "Ara mine, you worry too much." He smiled at her. "There's no way you won't be a good mother, with a heart as big as yours. Besides, all of us will be by your side, so you have nothing to worry about. Our child would be beyond blessed to have you as their mother."

Tears pooled in her eyes.

"Thank you, husband," Arabella said with a sniffle.

"You are welcome, wife," he replied, wiping her eyes and placing a kiss on her forehead.

She laughed, pushing him away when his hands started to trail down her back. "Oh, no, you don't."

"What?" he asked innocently.

"Don't what me." She laughed. "I know what you're up to, and I won't have it."

"But I'm not doing anything." He smiled, rolling her on her back.

Arabella looked up at him with a faint smile on her face. He moved closer to her, cupping her chin in his hands.

"I love you," he murmured, his deep voice thick with emotion.

His warm breath fanned her lips, making her stomach flutter.

"Boring," she teased, making him arch his eyebrows.

"What part? The part that I love you or the part that I mean every word?"

Silence fell over them.

"Can we skip to the part where you kiss me already?" Arabella whined.

He chuckled as she bit her lower lip. "Are you seriously seducing me right now?" he asked, leaning closer, his eyes lingering on her lips.

Their lips were half an inch apart. Edward was so aroused that he was ready to take her. He about to kiss her when the door swung open.

"Errm… sorry."

It was Charles. He left after they shot him an awkward look.

Edward and Arabella stared at each other before bursting into loud laughter. His arms were still wrapped around her waist.

"I love you," he was about to say when she cut him off.

"Shut up and kiss me before we get interru?—"

He leaned over and kissed her deeply.

"Have you written to your family?"

The words evoked deep guilt and sadness in her as she realized that in the past three months, she hadn't written to her family.

Edward, knowing her moods quite well, squeezed her softly. "Don't worry, Arabella," he soothed. "They'll understand you've been basking in marital bliss."

She tried to laugh, but it was difficult with the guilt gnawing at her.

"How about this?" he added. "I'll give you space to write it now. Once you're done, I'll help you send it."

"How can you be so sure I'll write it?" she asked, pouting.

"I'm sure because you're no coward, and you've always spoken your mind." He smiled. "You might as well write it now."

She sighed. "All right."

"I'll be back within the hour."

He gave her a kiss before he left her with her thoughts and a blank canvas on which to express her thoughts, for which there were many.

Arabella started writing, not knowing what she should say, crossing out the first few words she'd scrawled on the paper. How could she best convey her thoughts without exposing the truth of their marriage?

She shook her head. She and Edward had decided to stop lying to the people around them, and that included her family. She poured her thoughts into the letter, starting from the beginning.

She hoped Leonard didn't end up having an apoplexy when he found out the truth, but she was sure Sarah and Madeline would found it a riveting tale. She surely hoped they'd forgive her for nearly forgetting them, and she didn't forget to mention she was expecting come fall.

She smiled when she was done, a lone tear rolling down her cheek.

She stepped out of her chamber, intent on finding Edward, and was surprised by the familiar voices coming from the drawing room.

"Ara has always had a taste for adventure," she heard her brother say, his voice full of humor.

But it wasn't possible. Her brother should be at home, shouldn't he?

She stepped into the drawing room, clapping a hand over her mouth to stifle a loud scream.

Her siblings sat there with Edward's family for tea. They were interspersed with each other—Sarah and Harriet; Madeline, Beatrice and Noah; Charles and Leonard; and last of all, her husband, who was smiling at her.

"Ara!" her sisters yelled, running to hug her.

Tears flowed freely down her cheeks as she hugged them. To think she'd dreaded reuniting with them, fearing their censure, but here they were, as warm and loving as ever.

"How?" she asked once she was finally able to speak.

"His Grace invited us a week ago," Sarah explained. "We arrived last night and had to hide to surprise you."

Arabella looked at her husband, her heart swelling with love and anger in equal measure. He knew they were around and still asked her to write that letter.

"How could you?" she asked, glaring at him.

"It's oh so fun to annoy you." He laughed, coming to press a kiss to her cheek.

She watched as her siblings grinned like Cheshire cats.

"I will leave you to visit with Ara. I will be back to collect her later," Edward said, before ushering his family out of the drawing room.

"Look at you, exchanging moon-eyed looks with your husband. I thought you swore an oath never to fall in love?" Sarah teased.

"I think I will be the first to accept that am so not immune to cupid's arrow," Arabella relented.

"Well, I can see that marital bliss agrees with you, Sister," Leonard said.

"She is definitely glowing," Sarah remarked with a wide smile on her face

"Well, am glad to have found love like you did." Arabella beamed.

"Your husband told us the truth. I am just disappointed that you felt the need to resort to such intricate deception. I thought we had always accepted you despite all odds. I just don't understand why you didn't tell us, Ara," Leonard said, frowning.

"I'm really sorry, Brother, but considering how it all started, I was ashamed to admit to you that I was willing to have an affair out of wedlock simply because I felt I was never going to experience true love. And when I was facing ruination, Edward stepped up to save me. We thought we could have a marriage of convenience, but we fell in love eventually.

"I confess I was already half in love with him before we got married, but I think I propositioned him in order to get close to him, while denying my feelings. I suspect now that the arrangement would never have worked for me, as I would have fallen deeper in love with him. I am really sorry for lying to all of you and not coming to visit, but I must confess I was still battling with my feelings, and I was really occupied. Do you think you can forgive me?"

"All is forgiven, my darling," Sarah reassured her. "I think the happiness on your face is reward enough. We are just happy you have found love with your husband. He obviously adores you."

"Well, that was really heated. I think you have forgotten that some of us are still unmarried, but I confess I am really happy that you are happy," Madeline commented.

"I think we might be hearing wedding bells soon," Sarah said, giving her a sly look.

"What are you talking about?" Madeline asked with a seemingly innocent look that was betrayed by her flushed cheeks.

Sarah raised an eyebrow. "I have seen you exchanging flirtatious looks with the young Earl of Winston when you thought no one was looking."

"It is not what it looks like. We could never act on it. I admit that I am attracted to him, but nothing can come out of it. We have not even been introduced," Madeline argued.

"You can take a leaf from Ara's book. I am not advocating for a torrid affair, but you could always find a way to start a conversation with a gentleman. You can never tell where it could lead you," Sarah said.

"Let's hope that doesn't lead you to being caught in compromising positions—suffice to say that not all men are as chivralous as Ara's duke. I would hate to see you ruined, Sister," Leonard interjected. "It is against the rules to have a discussion with a gentleman who has not had the honor of being introduced to you."

"Rules are there to be bent if not broken, and there are several ways to kill a rat—if might use that expression. Leo, you could always make the introductions at Lady Ashworth's ball next week. It is always popular with members of the ton, so Madeline's Earl is sure to be in attendance," Sarah suggested, a persuasive look on her face.

Leonard recognized that look. He was about to be roped into her matchmaking schemes.

"I am not even acquainted with the gentleman in question, so how am I supposed to perform the introductions?" he asked, trying to extricate himself from the proverbial noose he could feel tightening around his neck.

He was sure Sarah would have an answer to his question, and he was effectively proven right.

"You can always make his acquaintance. I hear that he visits White's, of which you are a member. Perhaps after one of your fencing lessons you could invite him over for a drink?"

"What makes you think I am willing to go along with this intricate plot best suited for a play?" Leonard asked in exasperation.

"You would help because you want Madeline's happiness just like we do, don't you?" Sarah asked, sill smiling and blinking prettily up at him.

She knew she had him when he looked over at Madeline to see that she had dropped the indifferent mask and was looking expectantly at him. Arabella was giving him her legendary doe-eyed look

"All right," he groaned. "You win. I will make the acquaintance of the Earl of Winston, but this will be the last time you rope me into one of your harebrained matchmaking schemes."

"Of course. Thank you, Leo." Sarah beamed.

Of course, she was happy. He had forgotten her legendary skill of subtle manipulation. If she were a gentleman, she would have had a seat at the House of Lords. He was sure every bill she presented then would have been passed, such were her powers of persuasion.

Seeing the scowl on his face. Sarah smiled brightly at him. "Don't worry, good brother, when we have Madeline successfully matched, we will find you the perfect match. You too deserve happiness."

"No, thank you. I am perfectly content with my bachelorhood. I am not looking to be leg shackled in the nearest future," Leonard said, shaking with revulsion

His sisters burst into uncontrollable laughter while he looked on with a confused expression on his face.

"I fail to see the humor," he huffed.

"You should see your face, Leo. You looked disgusted, as if you were asked to muck out the stables. But I strongly believe that in the year to come, you will be madly in love and loving it, just like I did," Arabella said between fits of laughter.

"I think that is very unlikely to happen," Leonard claimed.

"I will make sure to remind you of your statement when it happens," Arabella answered, giving him an amused look.

Lenord gave her a bland smile and looked out the window. While he never admitted it to his sisters, he sometimes felt the weight of his solitary existence too keenly. He sometimes envied the easy camaraderie between his married sisters and their spouses, but the women he had met so far were capricious creatures—his sisters excluded, of course.

He had not really met a lady that made him willing to leave bachelorhood, and deep in his heart, he knew he could never really settle for a typical marriage of the ton. He had seen how most of them carry on, and he had acknowledged to himself that he preferred a deeper connection. He did not expect love, as he understood that it was rare, and his sisters were the few exceptions, but he at least hoped to like his spouse and have a budding friendship with her.

He wondered what stupidity had possessed him to think that he would have been happy if Arabella had ended up with an indifferent husband. He was just grateful that fate played out the way it did to grant her marital bliss.

Arabella, seeing he was deep in thought, stood up and touched his shoulder affectionately on her way out the door. She wandered through the house and then stopped at Edward's study when she noticed that the door was slightly ajar.

She poked her head around the door, seeing him sitting behind his sturdy oak desk and calculating the books, going by the way he kept pushing his glasses up his nose.

Edward was always handsome, but there was something about him wearing glasses that took his allure to a whole new level

"If you stare any harder, you are going to bore a hole in my face," he said without raising his head. "Like what you see?" he asked, raising his head and giving her a seductive wink, a saucy smile on his lips.

With that single expression, he turned from attractive to irresistible. Her mouth went dry in response.

"How did you know I was here?" she asked, walking towards him after closing the door behind her

"That is one thing about you, love. I am attuned to you at an elemental level. My body just recognizes you whenever you are within a mile radius. I don't know if that makes sense?" he murmured, pulling her into his lap.

"It does, because I feel the same way," she whispered.

His lips were just a breath away from hers, and it just made sense to kiss him. Their kiss deepened quickly, and soon they were panting for breath.

"How did your visit with your siblings go?" Edward asked.

"It went very well. I can't express how grateful I am to you for inviting them over. I love you."

"I love you too, and it was purely selfish on my part. I like seeing you happy."

"I haven't given you anything since we got married. I feel guilty being the only one receiving." Arabella winced.

"You make me happy just by existing, my love. Soon you are going to give me the greatest gift of all. You are making me a father," Edward said with so much tenderness in his eyes

"What do you think we will name our son?"

"How do you know we'll have a son? I fancy having a little princess who looks just like you before having a son."

"I just have a feeling we would have a son first. Besides, I think you need an heir first to preserve the duchy."

"Who cares what the duchy wants? I want a daughter," he stated mulishly.

It was so adorable and uncharacteristic of the powerful Duke that she burst into laughter and pressed a kiss to his lips.

She gave him a seductive smile. "You could always make love to me instead of wasting time arguing. Let's put our time to good use."

Edward didn't have to be asked twice. He was all too happy to oblige her, putting the sturdy oak desk to good use.

Afterward, while he recovered, he contemplated that several months earlier, he would have never imagined that such heights of happiness existed, and he was ever grateful to fate for handing him this boon.

The End?