Epilogue

EPILOGUE

ONE YEAR LATER

“ H ow are you feeling about this decision?” Cooper asked as he held out a hand to Noelle and she took her first step up the staircase.

“Perfect,” she said with a smile, looking up at the most dapper man she had ever seen in her entire life. “I wouldn’t want to be anywhere – or with anyone – else.”

“Even if you miss a triumphant return to a Christmas party?”

“Especially so,” she said with a laugh as she walked up the last few steps to join Cooper on the train. Cooper’s brother, Trenton, followed them up the stairs but left them at the top to find his own train car and likely additional entertainment.

It was the first journey the train would make on the new route that Cooper had backed. The line wasn’t complete—there was still plenty of track to lay—but it would reach the first stop, which was quite the feat when they had only finalized their deals less than a year ago.

With only one week until Christmas, the other partners hadn’t been certain about the timing for this maiden voyage, but Cooper had insisted that it was perfect.

Noelle knew he would be right—he always was, as he had such instincts about these matters.

It had been the best year of her life with Cooper, even with the odd bit of uncertainty, including the trials of Lord Rochester and Lord Andrew in the House of Lords. They had both been held guilty of murder and, while they would have been hanged were they anyone else, they had been transported to Australia instead.

Most of the money they had stolen from Sanderson and the original investors had also been found and returned—and then reinvested into this very railway they were riding on today.

Cooper led her to the rail to look over the London station, wrapping his arm around her back as they stared out.

“Soon, we will have been married a year,” he said, nuzzling her nose.

“I hope you have chosen a magnificent anniversary gift for me,” she said, looking back at him over her shoulder. “One that is differentiated from my Christmas gift.”

He threw back his head and laughed. “That is one decision that will haunt me for the rest of my life, I think?”

“Most decidedly so.”

“Well, it is worth it,” he said before removing his arm for a moment. He was dangling a small box over her shoulder when he returned it.

“For you.”

“But—”

“I know Christmas is still a week away, but I wanted to give this to you now. The timing couldn’t be better.”

She eyed him suspiciously before lifting the small lid of the box, her eyes widening at its contents.

“It’s a key,” she said.

“It is,” he confirmed. “Your powers of observation are quite adept.”

She poked him in the side.

“Just what does this key unlock?”

“My heart?”

“Cooper!”

“Very well. It unlocks a manor house.”

“A manor house. Whose?”

“Yours. Ours. Well, if you agree to it.”

Her brows furrowed together as she affixed that stern expression on her face. “Could you please just tell me what’s going on?”

“I’m trying to!” he said, holding his hands up in front of him in surrender as he laughed. “There is a manor house for sale in Somerset, where we will stop in a few hours. If you liked it, I thought we could purchase it to have a little place in the country. They have agreed to sell it to me as long as you like what you see.”

“A house? Cooper, you didn’t need to do that!”

While she knew he could afford it, it seemed like too much. Over the past year, she had appreciated how hard he worked but how he still made sure that she knew she was his priority and had found the balance between spending time with her and doing what was necessary for his work.

“I know,” he said before looking away from her as he became quiet. “But I have seen the yearning in your eyes sometimes when we are looking out the window. I know you enjoy London, but you also miss your time in the country.”

“That is a very spoiled way for me to think,” she said, although she didn’t argue his point.

“Well, lucky for you, I am much richer than most of the lords you could have married.”

“That is not why I married you, and you know it.” She swatted him.

“I know. You married me for my other assets,” he said, wiggling his brows suggestively as she rolled her eyes.

“Well, if you love it, I will love it,” she said, turning around so they were face-to-face and chest-to-chest. “I love everything you do for me. You could not be more considerate of me, and I appreciate you so much for that.”

“I also can’t keep my hands off of you,” he said, causing her to laugh.

“Please don’t stop that,” she said. “But truly. I love you. And you do not have to gift me a house yearly for Christmas.”

His face suddenly went slack. “I made a big mistake, didn’t I? I shall never be able to top this gift.”

“No,” she said with an exaggerated sigh. “You most certainly will not. But you have given me so much. Our London home is beautiful, and you have given me full leave to do as I wish. Now this?”

“Well,” he said with a small smile. “It was partly selfish. We can travel here in mere hours on our train line. But I think it is also a good place to raise children, is it not?”

They both looked down at her stomach, which had yet to show the signs but was already holding new life.

“It will,” she smiled back at him just before the train gave a lurch and started moving forward. Nearly simultaneously, the first speck of snow fell from the sky, landing on Noelle’s nose. Even though it melted, Cooper leaned forward and wiped it off.

“You know, some would say what we have is too good to be true,” he said, staring down at her.

“I would have thought that myself in the past,” she said, her lips curling. “But sometimes you just know when something is right. When we are where we are supposed to be, with whom we are supposed to be with.”

“I agree. I love you, Noelle,” he said, kissing her nose where the snowflake had landed. “Happy Christmas.”

“And I love you,” she said. “Happy Christmas, indeed.”

Dear reader,

I hope you enjoyed Noelle and Cooper’s Christmas story!

If you are in the midst of the Christmas season (or searching out the Christmas spirit at any time of the year), then I hope it finds you enjoying all of your traditions and the people you love.

In the upcoming pages, I will leave you with the first chapter of one of my first and favourite Christmas stories, Christmastide with His Countess . It is a story of an arranged marriage and second chances. I hope you enjoy.

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With love and Christmas spirit,

Ellie

Christmastide with his Countess

Scarlett Tannon, Countess of Oxford, has not seen her husband since their wedding four months ago — which is exactly what she wanted. Schooled by her mother’s experiences, Scarlett carefully guards her heart from any man, most especially her handsome and charming husband. She vows she will never suffer the heartbreak of her mother. Instead, she shares her love and gifts with those less fortunate than herself, including the tenants of her husband’s lands — tenants he has ignored for too long.

Hunter Tannon, the Earl of Oxford, is devoted to his role in the House of Lords, determined to make a difference for those who are affected by his work there. Rejected by his bride, he leaves her on his country estate and puts her from his mind as he focuses on what really matters: political decisions. Until one day, his steward sends him an urgent summons to return his home in the country, a summons that Hunter cannot ignore or refuse.

No sooner has he returned, at the beginning of the Christmastide season, than Hunter finds himself stayed by a snowstorm. He is surprised when he sees his wife’s frosty exterior beginning to melt, revealing a mysterious and sensual woman underneath. Will days together, in the presence of sleigh rides, mistletoe, and the Christmas spirit, drive them apart forever, or reveal to them a love they never thought possible?