Epilogue

Leeder Hall, Northamptonshire, Christmas Night, 1823

Charmian, Lady Destry, gave a contented sigh as she entered the candlelit bedroom and moved toward her dressing table.

“Tired, my darling?” Roland asked from where he sprawled before the blazing fire in a brocade-upholstered armchair. He’d come upstairs before her and had already changed out of his formal wear into a royal blue dressing gown.

Outside it was snowing. Here, inside their beautiful bedchamber, all was comfort and warmth.

She gave him a radiant smile. “It’s always a big job, hosting everyone for Christmas.”

“Especially this year.”

Her hand lowered to her midriff, over the place where a new baby grew. “Especially this year.”

They hadn’t yet told the family that they expected their second child in the summer. Their firstborn, a rumbunctious boy called Alfred, slept upstairs in the nursery under the loving care of Milly, who had taken up a place as nursemaid at Leeder Hall. He’d been born nine months to the day after their reunion, so Charmian and Roland had indeed made a baby during that ecstatic night of emotion and revelation.

On Boxing Day, they’d left the Spotted Fox in one of the inn’s carriages for hire. Two days later, they’d reached Leeder Hall, but by mutual consent, they waited until New Year’s Day to read their lost letters. It had been an occasion for tears and regrets and, most of all, a revelation that on both their sides, love had never faltered.

The five years since that rainy Christmas had seen the permanent healing of the wounds left from their separation. Charmian and Roland had established a life full of joy and purpose on their thriving estate, with yearly visits to London for the season to add a touch of excitement to their country routine.

Now Roland rose and prowled across to stand behind his wife. “We don’t have to do a big Christmas every year.”

She met his eyes in the mirror. It always struck her how right they looked together. He remained breathtakingly handsome, but these days, the first thing she noticed was that he looked like a man at peace with himself and his world. “I know we don’t, but it’s a nice way of getting the family together.”

The annual winter house party mixed Charmian’s aunt and mother with Roland’s relatives. His sisters and their families, and his cousins and aunts and uncles.

“You enjoy it.” He undid the clasp on her extravagant diamond necklace and laid it in a glittering pile on the dressing table.

It was a Christmas gift from her doting husband. He’d presented it to her during a private moment before dawn. She smiled now to remember the cool weight of diamonds on her bare skin and the passionate interlude that had ensued.

“I do. And I like that Mamma and Aunt Janet think you’re the icing on the cake these days.”

The first year, relations with the Bartons had been strained, largely because her mother and aunt were wallowing in a morass of guilt. But Roland’s refusal to bear a grudge and Charmian’s desire not to break off the connection had gradually eased the tension. Alfred’s arrival that September had forged the final link in creating a loving family.

“I think you’re the icing on the cake and the cherry on top as well,” he said with a faint smile, as he started to unhook the back of her spectacular vermilion gown. It should clash horribly with her red hair, but the minute her London modiste had produced the patterned silk for her approval, Charmian had been avid to wear it.

“You’re the icing on the cake and the cherry on top and the stars in the sky.”

He gave a low laugh and placed a kiss on the pale shoulder bared under the sagging dress. “You win.”

Sensual pleasure flooded her. She turned and laced her hands around his neck. “We’ve both won. I love you so much, Roland. Now kiss me.”

He caught her hips in a firm grip as his lips explored hers. The sensual charge between them was as strong as ever. Charmian gave herself up to delight.

Delight that ended too abruptly when Roland pulled away to stare down at her with love glowing in his dark eyes.

She pouted with disappointment. “Why did you stop? I was enjoying that.”

“You’re tired.”

She shaped her hand to his jaw and directed a meaningful glance at the large bed behind them. “Not that tired, my love.”

He laughed with such elation, her heart melted all over again. He’d been right all those years ago in Puddlebrook when he said that their agonizing separation had taught them never to take love for granted. “You’re going to give me a Christmas gift?”

It was her turn to laugh. “Another Christmas gift. Or have you forgotten what we did this morning?”

Roland kissed her on the lips, then whirled her away from the dressing table. A gentle push sent her tumbling back onto the bed in a froth of red silk. “Remind me, sweetheart.”

Charmian caught his hand and tugged him down over her. “With the utmost pleasure, my superb and most beloved husband.”

***

Thank you for picking up Miss Barton’s Mysterious Husband, which is a prequel to my forthcoming Cinderellas of Mayfair series which launches in 2025. If you enjoyed this Christmas story, why not check out Four Christmas Kisses, a Mayfair romance which has become a firm reader favorite since it came out? For more information, please read on.