Bonus Epilogue

BONUS EPILOGUE

THREE MONTHS LATER

“ W hen do we get to eat?” Ollie fidgeted at Jeremy’s side where they stood with the lady benefactors on a raised platform overlooking the celebratory gathering.

“When Lady Liddy has finished her speech,” Jeremy answered firmly, but with affection. Blackheart had taken Buck under his wing, and although given the choice to go and be with his brother, Ollie had wanted to remain with Jeremy and Lydia.

Although Ollie could never legally be considered his son, Jeremy had decided to raise him as such. It was a choice that had been made with one hundred and ten percent approval from his wife.

“She’s awful brave to talk to all these ladies and gents at once,” Ollie murmured in awe.

Although most of the ton had returned to their country estates upon the onset of summer, there were a handful who remained in London and had come to celebrate the grand opening of Tuesday’s Choice: A New Home for London’s Children in Need.

With teachers and staff in place, Lydia and Clarissa, with help from Lady Westerley, had organized not only the opening, but also the ribbon cutting, which was a grand affair that involved closing off part of Wapping Street and giving away all sorts of food and gifts and favors. And even though it was mostly symbolic since 72 children already resided at Tuesday’s Choice, it was a most significant event for the orphans who struggled daily in order to survive life on the docks. Twelve of the students had once been members of Farley’s gang, but the others had simply presented themselves at the door, hesitant initially, but more enthusiastically as word spread.

Jeremy looked on as Lydia greeted a few other ladies, still clasping his hand while nodding and confirming last minute details. Watching her in amazement, he wondered for the hundredth time how it was that she grew more beautiful each day.

She’d been Lady Tempest now for two months. But she was so much more than that. She was his best friend, his lover.

Lydia.

Jeremy hadn’t thought he would ever know joy again, and yet he’d never been happier.

“I am so damn proud of you,” Jeremy dipped his head to growl near her ear. He couldn’t help but inhale and then kiss that sensitive spot along her jaw.

She shivered and then turned in surprise, her face flushing as she met his gaze.

“None of this would have happened without you,” she said.

He merely shook his head.

Dozens of people had been involved in the opening of the orphanage, but Jeremy knew that the heart and soul of it had been driven by Lydia.

Lydia bit her lip and then met his eyes.

She’d admitted to him the night before that she was nervous to speak in front of a crowd. Feeling her tremble—Lydia, the woman who wasn’t afraid of anything—it humbled him. He squeezed her hand. “This is all you, love.”

She nodded—blinked a few times, took a deep breath—and then stepped forward.

The murmurs in the crowd mostly quieted as she stared out at them.

“Thank you everyone for coming!” Her voice wobbled slightly, but Jeremy didn’t think anyone who didn’t know her would notice. “And thank you to every single person who has lent their support, their energy, their wisdom, and, of course, their money—” laughter filled in here “—to be a part of opening Tuesday’s Choice: A New Home for London’s Children in Need.”

Jeremy might have been the only person who noticed the flush of pleasure that spread up her neck when the applause that followed went on for nearly a full minute.

Her confidence took over as she went on to thank a number of people by name and speak about the challenges they’d faced as well as their hopes for the future, all of which, she’d practiced at home extensively the week before. By now, he practically had the speech memorized himself.

Or he thought he had.

“But there is one person here,” she said. “One particularly special individual without whom none of this would be possible.” She turned and met his gaze, her eyes shining with so much pride and love that he was going to have no choice but to forgive her for what he sensed she was about to do. “The man who led the charge against the gang bosses and, with the help of a handful of other gentlemen, some of whom are present today, has made not only East London, but all of England a safer place. Ladies and gentlemen, please give a rousing round of applause for my favorite man in the world—not to mention the most handsome—” she added, winking at the crowd playfully. “The Earl of Tempest.”

“You are going to pay for this, Love,” he murmured as she reached out to take his hand and drag him forward.

“I hope so,” she answered provocatively.

“Minx,” he growled.

Not at all comfortable being acknowledged like this and hating that his ears felt hot as Lydia took a step back, Jeremy, nonetheless, bowed graciously and thanked everyone for coming. He then promptly asserted that he by no means had accomplished any of it alone and introduced the Earl of Baxter. Baxter, far more capable of dealing with these sorts of situations, made a few jokes, winked, and then signaled the ladies to cut the ribbon which would put an end to the official ceremony.

It was a long, loud, fantastic but exhausting day—one that Jeremy wouldn’t have expected to take part in in a million years. But it had all been worth it.

Later that night, matching his stride to Lydia’s as they returned from the nursery to the bed chamber they shared, he was even happier to have the pageantry and mayhem of the ceremony behind them.

Because he was happiest of all when he had his wife to himself.

“Ollie is getting a little better about bathing.” She slid him a glance. “But he still insists Mrs. Mumford is trying to drown him when she washes his hair.

“I imagine that if he’d gone with Buck to Crescent Park, he would be bathing in the horse’s trough.”

Lydia elbowed him. “Blackheart isn’t that harsh.”

Jeremy could only laugh at that as he shuffled her inside of their chamber and closed and locked the door behind them.

For the first time in what felt like days, he had her alone again.

He drew her into his arms and ran his hands down her back. Her shiver, he knew by now, was one of anticipation.

“You have a debt to pay, my lady.”

“Because of the speech?” She widened her eyes in mock surprise as she met his gaze.

“I…” He moved his hands to untie the front of her dressing gown and then swallowed hard, inexplicably at a loss for words.

Her hands slid up his chest and inside of his banyan. “I couldn’t let the event pass without recognizing you for the hero you are.”

Jeremy untied the bow at the end of her braid so that he could run his fingers through the satiny, ebony strands.

“I’m no hero.” Nothing he did could atone for not doing something to keep his brother in check.

“And that sort of talk is precisely why I had to do that today.” Staring at his chest, delicate lines of displeasure appeared between her eyes. “You are thinking about Arthur.”

“What he did…”

“It haunts you,” Lydia’s fingertips played along his shoulders and then up his neck. “And you wouldn’t be the man I love if it didn’t. But just as you’ve explained on more than one occasion to Ollie—that he isn’t responsible for what Buck did—I’ll keep telling you the same about Arthur.”

Her hands soothed him and, at the same time, her words washed over him like balm to a burn. Jeremy closed his eyes, overcome with love for her, and nodded.

In the weeks of their engagement, he’d explained his guilt to her. And Lydia, being Lydia, had suggested they take steps to help the families left behind by the officers who’d been killed in the ambush.

The anonymous gifts could not bring back their loved ones, but Jeremy was determined none of them live in want. It was a start.

“Ultimately, everyone has choices,” Lydia whispered, brushing her lips along his chest. “Ollie had choices, Buck had choices, Arthur had choices…”

Jeremy nodded. Right now, he had the choice to either fall into a melancholy over his brother or make sweet love to his wife. He made his decision by sweeping her into his arms and carrying her across the room to the large bed they shared every night.

“Right now, my love, I choose you.”

“Just right now?” Lydia lay back, staring at him from beneath sultry, thick lashes.

“And forever.” Jeremy climbed onto the bed beside her.

“Is this another one from your trousseau?” Propped on one elbow, he skimmed his fingertips along the lace that just barely covered her cleavage. He cupped one of her breasts and then dragged his hand town to her belly, where he drew slow circles around her navel, visible through the partly transparent fabric.

She drew back, looking pleased. “Do you like it?”

“I love it. But not as much as the person wearing it.”

He’d been given a second chance with her, and would be forever grateful for that… for her.

“Well, soon, we’ll have another choice to make. She gasped when Jeremy’s hand travelled farther down and covered the small triangle of dark hair he’d become well acquainted with. His wife never complained when he pleasured her with his mouth.

“What is that, love?” His own voice sounded huskier as he contemplated all the ways he wanted to make love to her. “Whether to kiss you here?” He pressed his lips to her mouth while dragging her gown up past her hips. “Or here?” She was wet beneath his had already.

“Excellent ideas, Jeremy, but I that’s not what I meant…” She widened her knees and moaned. “Oh…”

“Something else, eh?” Are you going to let me in on it?”

“Yes.” She grasped his wrist in her hand and pressed a kiss against his lips. “First, what will we name our child if it’s a boy, and second, what will we name her if she’s a girl?”

“But Ollie already has a name.” Jeremy responded automatically until her gradually widening smile had him blinking in wonder.

“Are you saying that…?”

“I am. And we are. And we may want to come up with more than one name as twins run in my family. “

Jeremy studied her eyes, and when he could see she wasn’t joking, his gaze shot to her belly, which didn’t seem any different than before but contained a life he and Lydia had created together.

Or lives.

“And then, of course, there will be more choices. Should we reside in London to have the baby or would it be better to return to the country… and should we hire a nursemaid? I don’t think so… OH, Jeremy… we have so many choices…”

There were no words in the world to express the joy in his heart. So rather than try to explain to his wife how much he loved her, Jeremy captured his mouth with desperate kiss, moved between her legs and showed her.

—The End?—

Thank you for reading Cocky Lord!

If you haven’t read it yet, don’t miss Cocky Soldier , where you can immerse yourself in Naomi and Lucas’s captivating story?—

Craving more of the Regency Cocky Gents? Be sure to pick up Merry Miss , a snowed-in novella featuring Miss Delia Somerset, one of the delightful wallflowers you met in Cocky Baron.

With ten Regency Cocky Gents books to enjoy, every story is filled with romance, drama, and the dashing gents you’ve come to love. Don’t miss a single one!

As always, happy reading!

Love,

Annabelle