Epilogue

When Sophia returned to the Duke, who was waiting for her in the drawing room, she found herself to be in a much better state. Having a fresh change of clothes and all warmed up, she had finally stopped shaking.

“Sophia.” Duncan stood up as soon as he saw her enter through the door. He closed the distance between them, and the two embraced like lovers who were reunited after a long time.

“Duncan,” she replied.

“Please, sit down next to me,” he gestured towards the sofa. “I am not letting you out of my sight ever again. Why did you make the decision to leave Blackmoore Estate? I would have never let you leave if I had been awake.”

Sophia passed him a melancholic smile. Now that the chaos had subsided, she was reminded of the reality of their relationship.

“But you were not awake to stop me, were you?” she replied.

“If you can excuse the inconvenience, I was poisoned by a mad woman out to destroy our marriage,” the Duke replied. “I hope that an exception can be made in this case.”

Sophia tapped him on the shoulder gently. Even after an insane series of events, he had somehow managed to introduce a lighthearted note to things.

“I cannot believe that poison was meant for me, and I ended up making you drink it.” She shook her head. “If that is not evidence enough that I am cursed indeed, then I do not know what is.”

“Sophia,” the Duke emitted a long sigh.

“I know that you are going to say that there is no such thing as a curse,” she replied. “I have heard it before, and in the past, I have deluded myself into believing you, too. But this entire incident has been a wakeup call for me. It is far too dangerous for me to be in your life, Your Grace. I attract bad luck like a magnet.”

The Duke pursed his lips.

“What makes you think I was going to convince you that there is no curse?”

“You were not?” Sophia’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Not at all,” The Duke shook his head and leaned back in the chair. “I was only going to relay something I discovered which might be of some interest to you.”

He was purposefully trying to bait her attention now, and unfortunately, Sophia was falling right into his trap.

“What is this… discovery that you speak of? I was only gone two days, and you were out cold for most of them.”

“Perhaps it was revealed to me while I was out cold.” A hint of playfulness tinged his tone. “A divine revelation, of sorts.”

“Be serious,” Sophia urged him, growing more and more curious to know what exactly this discovery was.

“Before I tell you, I must apologize for one thing. I did a breach of your privacy and went through the little black diary that you keep. I admit that I did not go looking for it myself, for I did not even know of its existence. It found itself on the table in my room of its own accord. Or…” he paused, licking his lips, “divine intervention perhaps.”

Sophia’s cheeks reddened. Of all the awful things that had transpired recently, him reading her diary was surely not the worst of it, but the idea that he peeked through her recollections of her dreams filled her up with embarrassment.

“Duncan Blackmoore, I have been through enough in the last few hours and cannot bear to handle more complications,” she addressed him, using his full name for the first time in order to convey her seriousness. “I demand that you reveal what you discovered to me now.”

Duncan raised an eyebrow at her, amused by her sudden feisty burst.

“I pieced together that the reason your nightmares had subsided was not miracle tea as we know now that it was nothing but poison, but instead, it was because we had grown to love one another,” he explained.

Sophia sucked in a deep breath and waited for him to continue.

“It is the only thing that makes sense. You see, with love comes a sense of safety and comfort. For the first time in your life since the accident, you began to truly feel safe. And that was when the nightmares ceased.”

Sophia was struck by his discovery, but she did not want to give him false hope about their future together. She kept a neutral expression, taking a moment to collect her thoughts.

“I am not challenging what you are saying, but what does that have to do with the curse that I am doomed to carry?” she asked softly.

“It has everything to do with the curse,” he pressed. “Curses can be broken, and love has the power to do that. Let us presume that you are cursed. The only way for you to rid yourself of it is to be with me because that is where you are safe.”

Impressed by his line of argument, Sophia found herself at a loss for words. What he had just conveyed to her was profound. All the romance novels talked about the happiness associated with love, but none of them ever talked of how it was powerful enough to break curses.

“And if you are still unsure,” the Duke continued, “then the alternative can also be sought. A life where we both lived together, cursed but happy.”

“You do not know what you are saying.”

“Of course, I do. What is a curse but a plethora of accumulated bad luck? Perhaps it will end with us being struck by lightning one night or a rain cloud will follow us wherever we go. Alone, that is a difficult journey to take. But together…” His mouth twisted into a smile, and he squeezed her hand gently. “I believe we can weather the storm with grace and make an adventure out of it.”

“You are a crazy man! Has anyone ever told you that?” Sophia replied, mirroring his smile now. He had managed, once again, to effortlessly break through her walls and remove the barriers that she had imposed upon herself.

“Crazy only in love, my dear,” he replied, kissing the top of her knuckles softly. “And crazy only for you. What am I to do without you? How am I meant to spend my days?”

“It has been intensely lonely without you,” she admitted, leaning into him.

“Now imagine a lifetime of that. It would not be worth living. I would rather that the curse kills me rather than dying a slow death without you.”

Sophia looked up at him, her eyes full to the brim with a love that only he could bring out in her.

“Have anyone ever told you that are remarkably adept at saying all the right things?”

He flashed her a bright smile.

“I recall a beautiful lady saying that to me once, yes,” he said, and then his tone turned intense. “Sophia, please return to Blackmoore Estate. It is not the same without you there.”

His face was hovering over hers now. When he was this dangerously close, it became difficult for Sophia to focus on anything else, let alone make any rational decision.

Perhaps it was irrational for them to be together. It was irrational from the start, given how unlikely their union was and the circumstances in which they were brought together.

So be it, then.

Sophia was going to surrender to him and throw caution to the wind. He was right — life was not worth living if it was not with each other. She decided it was about time that she let herself enjoy the present moment.

“Are you going to kiss me, Your Gra?—”

Her sentence was cut short by his lips crashing against hers. The sensation felt so new yet at the same time, so familiar. His hands cupped the sides of her face, and his kiss lingered longer than it should.

When they pulled away, Sophia let out a deep sigh. It was one of contentment.

“I love you so much, Sophia,” he whispered, earnestly.

“I love you, too.”

“Don’t you ever leave again, at least not without me by your side.”

“You already know you have a natural talent for convincing me, Your Grace,” she smiled. “I wouldn’t dare to.”

He leaned forward, and Sophia wondered if he was going to kiss her again. Instead, he placed his lips against her ears.

“Tonight, I hope you join me in my chambers. Sleeping apart in different rooms simply does not make sense anymore. Wouldn’t you agree?”

Color flooded Sophia’s cheeks once again, and she nodded shyly.

“I agree with you, Duncan.”

Duncan flashed him a genuine smile. “How I am disarmed whenever you utter my name from your lips.”

“As am I whenever you so much as smile in my direction.”

Sophia had never thought she would find romance this easy. She surely had no prior experience, but when it felt right, the words flowed out of her effortlessly.

Gazing into each other’s eyes, the world felt like it was slipping away.

But just like all good things come to an end, their moment, too, was soon interrupted by the sound of a door slamming.

“Good riddance,” Jacob muttered under his breath as he entered the drawing room. “The constables have finally arrived, and that nasty woman will be dealt it.”

He stopped in his tracks when he noticed that he had interrupted their little moment.

“Oh, sorry,” he grinned playfully. “I did not know I was interrupting this very important union.”

Sophia shook her head at him, laughing.

“You failed to keep both of your promises to me,” she shot at him.

“Oh, you mean the one where I was meant to convince my love-struck brother that you were not interested in him anymore?” Jacob replied. “Duchess, I am afraid that would have not worked, even if I tried. But as for the letter, I apologize. I got caught up.”

“Just this once, I am letting it go,” she replied, “for it worked for in our favour in the end.”

“See? That was my plan all along.” Jacob brushed off the proverbial dust from his shoulders. “A true visionary, I am. You two just do not see my potential.”

“Truly, you are,” Duncan chuckled.

The front door slammed again, and a frantic Aunt Rose entered the drawing room moments later.

She looked around the room in confusion, surprised to find both men from the Blackmoore family in her drawing room.

“I only stepped out for a few hours to get some business done in town,” she stated, “but what has transpired here since? There is an entire platoon of constables at my door.”

“My dear aunt,” Sophia replied, her face brightened by a smile, “I am afraid that is a long story.”

The End?