Epilogue

Dancing with one's husband wasn't necessarily proper. But that never stopped the Duke and Duchess of Harrington. Rumor had it, the duke had only been able to convince his wife to marry him if he learned how to dance properly.

He'd agreed.

Not long after their engagement, the whole of London had learned to give them a wide berth in the ballroom. Otherwise, the duke, who was prone to closing his eyes, might steer the two of them into other attendees.

For when the Duke and Duchess of Harrington danced together, they were lost to anyone but each other. Watching them was enough to make the young people in the room believe in fairy-tale matches and love conquering all.

The duchess, however, strongly discouraged such talk.

"True love," she would say, "isn't about fairy tales or magical encounters. It is about seeing someone for who they truly are and wanting to be with that person always, no matter what."

"And kissing," her husband would add, at which point she would narrow her eyes, rap his knuckles with her fan, and storm out of the room.

The duke would inevitably follow and prove both of them correct.