Epilogue

EPILOGUE

Daniel never cared for the opera, nor did he care for the new singer who supposedly whipped up the entire city into a frenzy.

But Evie had been talking about it for close to a fortnight, so when the program was finally announced, he had his usual box ready to receive them, as well as their friends.

Unfortunately, that also meant that he would have to see her brother again.

He and Colin might be old friends, but the latter would never cease to remind him that Evie was his sister.

As if I need any reminder that the woman I love is actually related to this buffoon!

“Darling?”

He looked down to find his beautiful Evie smiling up at him. “What is it, my sweet?”

“You promised you would be nice tonight,” she reminded him. “I know that look in your eyes. You are not planning to goad Colin into a fight, are you?”

He smirked and leaned down to whisper in her ear, “Are you willing to bear the punishment on behalf of their misbehavior, then? In fact, we could do it right now. I could just bend you over these chairs and…” he trailed off and let her imagination run with his words, watching with satisfaction as she turned a most adorable shade of pink, knowing full well the things that his words evoked in her.

Seducing his wife was definitely one of his favorite pastimes—second only to making love to her for hours on end. For a pampered noblewoman, he had found out that she was blessed with an endurance that matched his.

It certainly made the nights at Ashton Hall all the more titillating.

“They would never be as bad as you,” she muttered, lightly swatting him with her fan. “You are a scoundrel of the very worst order.”

“True,” he agreed with a smirk. “But I am your scoundrel, and you like me anyway.”

“Oh, for the love of God, keep your hands to yourself in public, Ashton!”

Daniel pursed his lips and heaved a sigh of frustration as he straightened up. His arm, however, remained draped protectively over Evie’s back as he turned to his best friend with an arched eyebrow.

“Might I remind you that this is my box and I can do whatever the hell I want in it?” he warned Colin darkly.

“Might I also remind you that Evie is my sister and she will never forgive you if you threaten me again?” his friend challenged him.

“Your sister is my wife.”

“Well, I can always take her back to Blackthorn Estate if you so much as hurt her!”

He heard Evie heave a sigh of frustration as she stepped between them and shot her brother a warning look.

“Colin, do behave yourself, or else I will have Alice throw you out of the theater,” she admonished.

Alice could only shake her head. “I swear he does it on purpose just to get out of the opera.”

Evie smiled at her sister-in-law in sympathy. “Daniel does not care much for the opera either.”

“And yet he gleefully accompanied you tonight,” Alice remarked laughingly. “He has even paid for an entire box. I am afraid that if it was not for me dragging your brother, I would never be able to admire Miss Donatella’s singing tonight.”

“Of course not, my lamb.” Colin turned towards his wife with a most charming grin. “It is just an opera—I would accompany you to the gates of hell if you were of a mind to bring the devil himself to heel.”

“She has already brought you to heel, and that is a far more significant accomplishment, in my opinion.” Daniel snickered, which invited another round of protests and teasing in their small group.

Moments later, Phoebe and Scarlett arrived, followed by Ethan, and the entire box became even livelier, much to Daniel’s irritation. However, he looked at Evie and found her smiling as she chatted with their friends and family.

These people should pray that they remain friends with her.

Otherwise, he had no qualms about throwing them out of the box and enjoying the rest of the evening with his Duchess—well, as much as he could enjoy anything in a damned opera, anyway.

“Oh, look!” Scarlett pointed to the audience below them excitedly. “There is that dreadful Miss Bowen—rumor has it that the line of her suitors extends from her papa’s office down to the street. She claims that he will not accept anyone but a duke or a prince, though!”

“That is… quite ambitious of her,” Ethan remarked with a rakish smile.

“You might not know it, Your Grace, but she might have set her sights on you.” The redhead laughed airily, especially when she saw the clear discomfort on his face.

“I do not think I can bear Miss Bowen’s attention, though.” Ethan shook his head, his gaze flicking to the young lady who sat quietly through all of this with a polite smile on her face.

Phoebe was Alice’s younger sister and Evie’s closest friend. Daniel knew her to be extremely polite and proper, with not a single hair out of place.

Interesting, he thought to himself with a small smile.

“I have not seen the Earl of Sidmouth, though,” he heard Ethan remark with a twinkle in his eyes. “His sister does love the opera, although I have caught her many times looking everywhere but the stage.”

“And you will not see him again,” Daniel replied ominously. “Not for a very long time.”

Fortunately, Thomas Salsbury had enough wits to take him up on his offer. The night Daniel offered him the ticket, he had packed his bags and his sister, leaving for the Americas on the first ship the following morning.

He heard that the Earl’s sister was not too pleased about his decision, though, but was left with no choice on the matter.

Both siblings had caused too much trouble in the ton, and nobody actually missed their absence. In the days that followed, the printing shop that had churned out Lady Spalding’s Society Papers leaked out that it was Lady Miranda Salsbury who was behind the scandal sheet and that she had left with unpaid debts and so did her brother.

“I should say good riddance to both of them,” Colin scoffed. “The lady was a nasty gossip, and her brother was a gentleman who could not keep his word. If they had stayed longer, the rest of the ton would have gone after their heads.”

“So they left because they were destitute?” Alice looked at her husband and shook her head. “Or because they have offended so many already?”

“More like they offended someone,” her husband mumbled, to which Daniel shot him a sharp glare.

He would go to great lengths to protect Evie and exact revenge on any who dared to hurt her, but these were things he did not want his wife worrying about. As much as it might gall him, he knew her compassionate heart would be appalled if she heard that he had dealt harshly with the two siblings who dared to write such a disgraceful article about their marriage.

In fact, he already considered it a great leniency that Thomas and his sister would be able to make a new life for themselves in another country a whole ocean away.

Fortunately, the matter was summarily dropped when the opera started. Everybody in the box took their seats, with Evie seated behind Daniel. Almost immediately, his hand sought out hers in the dim light, his roughened fingers naturally intertwining with her more delicate ones.

His wife tilted her head slightly in his direction and smiled. In return, he pressed an openmouthed kiss to her knuckles, eliciting a sharp intake of breath from her.

It was a promise of things to come much later, when the opera ended and they were back in Ashton Hall.

As he turned his gaze back to the stage, Daniel could not help the smirk that formed on his lips ever so slightly.

Married life was not as bad as he thought it would be.

Evie had long realized that her husband enjoyed teasing her and keeping her in a perpetual state of arousal. He often spoke words that lit a slow-burning fire within her, usually hours before he would finally take her to bed.

As she thought of what lay in wait for her back at home, she could not help but squeeze her thighs together as her toes curled inside the new shoes that he had purchased for her to match her gown for that night.

As the much-vaunted Miss Donatella let loose her talent in an aria that reverberated throughout the theater, Evie found herself subtly twisting in her seat as Daniel began to seductively stroke her finger.

She sighed as the fire simmered low in her belly. It truly cannot be helped, for she had married a man who was insatiable—and she would have it no other way.

She loved Daniel for all that he was, and while Lady Spalding had derided his… peculiar predilections, she had found great pleasure in them.

His dark nature, his overprotectiveness… these were just a few of the things she loved about him. Oh, he might try to hide his true nature from her, but she knew.

She knew that he had a hand in the Earl of Sidmouth’s disappearance, and although she might not agree with his actions, she understood why he did the things he did.

Besides, he already did the Earl and his sister a great favor by sending them away. She knew of a great many more who might not have been as kind as her husband.

The audience burst into applause as the curtains fell to reveal a new scene. The performers’ voices rose in perfect pitch, but all Evie could think about was Daniel and the way he was enacting his seduction merely on her hand.

It was maddening.

Halfway through the second act, he pressed a soft kiss to her knuckles and whispered in her ear, “Come with me, Duchess.”

Evie nodded with far too much enthusiasm than was normal.

“Where are you going?” Colin asked her, his brow furrowing when he saw Evie standing up.

She gave him a small smile. “I need to go out for some air. It is rather stifling in here.”

“I will go with her,” Daniel announced softly, before anyone could protest.

He stood up and held his hand out to Evie, and she slid her own gloved one into his with a smile.

Quietly, they both stood up and left the box.

Daniel hastily pulled her into one of the many rooms that had been provided for guests of the opera to refresh themselves. Once inside, he closed the door and locked the door behind him as his lips slanted over Evie’s with fierce passion.

Evie replied by throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him back just as eagerly. There would never be a time she would grow tired of his kisses.

Or the way his hands would boldly caress her body through her clothes.

A frustrated moan bubbled up her throat, and she heard him laugh huskily as he pressed a soft kiss to her neck.

“I cannot wait for all of this to be over,” she groused.

“Who was it who wanted to hear this Miss Donatella sing so eagerly in the first place, hmm?”

“Well, she does sing rather well…” Evie contemplated with a soft smile.

“But you would much rather be back at home?” he supplied helpfully.

She looked up at him with a broad smile and nodded. “Yes, my love. Home.”

She watched his eyes darken as his lips slanted over hers once more. Unexpectedly, a burst of laughter from the other side of the door made her jump in surprise.

Daniel sighed softly and pressed a soft kiss to her temple. “Later,” he promised. “I shall have you singing in our bed.”

She laughed and leaned her head against his chest. “I can hardly wait for it, husband.”

She was still smiling as they gingerly parted and he helped her fix her hair and clothes.

It looked like it was going to be another sleepless night for the both of them, and she would not have it any other way.

The End?