Epilogue

Scotland, 1848

" A re we there yet?" Diana asked for the hundredth time. Or it felt that way at any rate, ever since they'd passed under the grand columns of the Euston Arch nine hours earlier and strolled toward the train that would take them all the way to Edinburgh.

Inside London's Euston Station, Diana had held tightly to Purity's hand while looking up at the massive wrought-iron roof arching overhead. The little girl had been eager for the adventure.

As a family, with Nanny Caldwell, the four of them wandered along one of the two 420-foot-long platforms until a porter directed them to their first-class carriage compartment, which comfortably held six.

Purity couldn't have imagined how the thickly padded seats, clean carpet, and real glass windows with curtains would become a wretchedly detested jail cell after riding within the paneled interior for so long.

On top of the tedium, noise, and jerking motion of the train, it seemed no sooner had they left the city behind than Diana had started to ask that dreadful question, through Camden, Boxmoor, Aylesbury Junction, Rugby, Coventry, and Birmingham, where they got out and stretched their legs. At that point, they weren't even halfway there.

"Darling," Purity said, gritting her teeth because the incessant enquiry was driving her mad, "Papa told you it was 390 miles or thereabouts when we started. That's a very long way, isn't it?"

The little girl nodded. "Yes, Mama."

Purity still felt that word like a gentle squeeze to her heart every time Diana said it. It had been only a couple weeks ago that the little girl had come up to her and taken her hand while wearing a serious expression.

She had tugged Purity down so they could speak face-to-face.

"Pretty lady," as she had called her since they met, "Miss Soft and Miss Wriggles wonder if they can call you ‘Mama.'" Her brown eyes had stared unblinkingly.

Purity recalled how her breath had hitched.

"Yes, darling one," she had said at once and wrapped Diana in an embrace.

With her voice muffled against Purity's shoulder, the girl had added, "I could call you that, too, if you wish."

"Yes!" Purity had answered. "All three of you, please."

And now they were on their way to Scotland to visit with Matthew's mother and stepfather, his full sister, who'd been a newborn at the time of Baron Foxford's untimely death, as well as his two half-brothers.

"Will we be there soon?" Diana asked.

Purity shot a wide-eyed glance at her husband seated facing backward across from them.

"At least she asked it differently," he quipped. Then he looked at his daughter, who despite asking questions, was staring out the window of the train carriage past Purity's shoulder. "Are you asking once a mile, do you suppose?"

Diana laughed. "Papa, how would I know?"

"I don't know either, but I believe you've asked about three-hundred and sixty times, so we shall be there in about another forty questions."

Diana giggled. Even Purity chuckled, although she had a few butterflies in her stomach, adding more as they grew closer. It was something important to meet a man's mother. What female would ever measure up and not be found lacking?

She knew her own mother was going to scrutinize Adam's fiancée if and when she got the chance. What young lady would be good enough for the heir to the Diamond earldom? Purity couldn't imagine, but she would be pleased to find out.

On the other hand, she was already Matthew's wife, so she wasn't seeking permission or even approval, so much as acceptance. If his mother's letters were any indication, they would mix like sugar into hot tea. Very well indeed!

"I hope the kittens aren't crying," Diana said, another remark she'd already made a dozen times.

"Miss Soft and Miss Wriggles will be fine until our return. They would want you to have a monstrous good time," Matthew said. "When I was a boy, this trip would have taken days by coach, and even earlier this year, we would have had to change trains and go by coach for part of the way. Or if we went up via Newcastle upon Tyne, we would have had to cross the River Tweed and the River Tyne. The ferry is crowded, and delays are inevitable."

Diana yawned.

Purity smiled. Diana might be unimpressed by the fact they could get to Edinburgh in a very long day on a single train, but she was astonished.

"I wonder what the world will be like when you are my age," Purity remarked.

"In another fifty years?" the little girl asked.

Fifty years! Purity frowned, causing Matthew to laugh.

"Mrs. Caldwell," he said, waking up the nanny who slept sitting up but leaning against the other side of the carriage. With a snort, she roused and blinked at them.

"Yes, my lord."

"Would you read with Diana, please? Or maybe you could point out some sights."

"Sights, my lord?"

"Anything out the window on that side of the compartment."

Diana complied, slipping off her shoes and standing on the plush seat in her stockinged feet so she could look outside.

"Well, done, Lord Fox," Purity said as he rose to his feet, stretched, and then took the seat beside her.

"I thought that was a good idea. Now I can sit by my beautiful wife and hold her hand while making money at the same time."

Purity let pass her husband's mild reference to his railroad investments. She didn't want to give him a big head since he already knew how proud she was of his business sense. He had helped fund the main line of the Caledonian the year before to massive success, and the section of rail they needed from Carstairs to Edinburgh had only opened in April.

Perfect timing as far as she was concerned. All in all, the share capital of the early investors was valued at about two million pounds, and Matthew had a healthy amount of it.

"They will let us disembark at Carstairs, won't they? To stretch and get some air."

"Yes," he said. "If they don't, we'll do so anyway and take a coach the rest of the way."

She shook her head. "That's even smaller and far more uncomfortable, not to mention slower."

"You are correct. We'll stay in this blasted carriage all the way to John O'Groats if we have to."

"Absolutely not! A minute longer than Edinburgh and I vow I shall scream. The infernal racquet is getting to me, and I do not mean Diana."

"Our ears shall rattle for hours afterward," he agreed.

She decided to change the subject since he'd become ever quieter the closer they got to Edinburgh.

"Are you excited to see your family?"

" You are my family," he said. "And that annoying little person over there, too."

"Yes, and you are mine, but I also love my parents and sisters and brother, too. And now I shall get to meet yours and see how much they look like you. It's most exciting."

"They will all love you, I'm sure."

"I don't know many Scots," she continued. "But I hear they can be a little rougher than us. I vow I shall not point out anything lacking in their manners. I only hope I can understand their accents."

"Be yourself, and if you get into any trouble, I shall translate."

A few hours later, Purity was dozing when she heard Matthew softly say, "I didn't expect that."

Rousing herself, she looked around to get her bearings. Diana and Mrs. Caldwell slumbered together, but her husband wasn't looking at them. He was gazing out the window beside him.

She saw a family — his family — gathered in the lamplight upon the single platform at Lothian Road Station as the train pulled in.

"I honestly didn't think they would be so interested. And at this ungodly hour, I imagined they would merely send a wagon."

"You are the prodigal son returning," Purity reminded him.

His gaze shot to hers. "That makes me a little queasy. When I left, I didn't just amble, I ran, so eager was I to get away. With a stepfather I didn't want and my mother having her new children." He shrugged and added, "I didn't belong."

"They are your kin," she reminded him, touching his knee.

He captured it under his gloved hand.

"I was lonely until I met you, kitten, and I must confess I didn't behave particularly well." He paused as the steam engine pulling their carriage came to a halt.

"What I'm trying to say, wife, is thank you. I would not have come back here without you, not yet, maybe never. Because it was your gentle tutelage that turned ‘the Fox' into the respectable Lord Foxford. I'm proud to see my family again and to let them know the man I have become. Even more so to introduce you and Diana. I simply could not be happier."

He leaned over and kissed her as Mrs. Caldwell and Diana stirred and stretched.

"Nor I, my lord," Purity vowed. Then she sighed and teased him. "After all, your name has not been mentioned even once in an entire month in any of the newspapers."

He grinned.

"Are we there yet?" Diana asked.

Purity looked at her husband before answering. "Yes, dear one, we have arrived."

London, December 1848

Vast crowds were gathered on The Mall. Matthew had insisted Purity brave the evening chill to join them and see a spectacle that promised to change the world. Unlike the rabble, however, standing on the cold gas-lit streets of St. James's, looking up with anticipation, they were seated in his cozy curricle.

A French inventor who had managed to light the rear of a train the month prior at Paddington Station wanted to do something special in the heart of London. All the more people could be impressed by his invention — electric light!

To that end, Monsieur Le Mott climbed one hundred feet above The Mall and stationed his electric lamp, running on batteries, upon a balcony that encircled the feet of the Grand Old Duke of York monument.

With the hood up, warming bricks all around their feet, Matthew and Purity snuggled under a thick Scottish wool blanket, a gift from his mother. Still, he worried he'd been selfish.

"For your comfort, we should have brought the brougham," he said.

Afterward, they were going to a dinner party at the Fenwicks', and his lovely wife was dressed to impress. Her midnight hair was only visible where the pearls threaded through it glowed like little moons in the lamplight, but her pale face was clear as were her soft, pink, kissable lips.

"Nonsense," she said. "Then we wouldn't have this unencumbered view and our poor driver would have to sit outside in the cold instead of us."

Matthew chuckled. "He's probably here, anyway. I heard Mr. Jacobs say most of the staff intended to come. At least, those who hadn't made the demonstration at the National Gallery."

Two weeks earlier, a rival inventor had set up his electric lamp on the steps of the gallery and set the recently opened Trafalgar Square ablaze in brilliant light. Matthew and Purity had attended that demonstration and taken Diana, although they'd had to awaken her at the correct time.

As fun as it was to be elbowed repeatedly by their little girl who barely recalled the awe-inspiring event a week later, Matthew had decided tonight would be a romantic moment for only the two of them. And then they nearly missed it.

"Kiss me," she said as she often did, and he happily obliged.

As their lips met, a roar went up from the crowd, but they didn't stop, delving into each other with a hunger that had not diminished since the first time they'd met.

Finally, he pulled back, and they both opened their eyes.

"Oh, my," she said. "Astounding."

"It is astounding," he agreed, hardly able to believe how clearly he could see her sable hair, clever brow, and even the deep blue of her sparkling eyes.

"I meant our kiss," she said, making him smile.

"So did I," he agreed.

Around them, people were still exclaiming. A bright halo shone from the top of the monument, making the area circling it as bright as daylight. Matthew could even see the colors of people's clothing yards away.

"The gas lamps are as nothing in comparison," Purity said.

"I cannot imagine these electric lamps everywhere," Matthew said. "It would be like harnessing small suns. Why, I can't even look at it for more than a few moments. I'm seeing spots."

"I as well, and you may be correct." She sighed. "Perhaps these electric lamps will never be popular. I, for one, should not wish to spend my evenings squinting to avoid being blinded. But it was worth seeing. Aren't people wonderful?" she added. "Always advancing their knowledge, even if it's not practical."

"You, in particular, are wonderful," Matthew said. "Shall we go?"

With a flick of the reins, they left the gawkers and the enthusiasts behind, but not the electric lamp. For it was all the talk — along with a debate over its brilliance versus the diffusive light of a gas lamp — at the Fenwicks' home for most of the evening.

Over breakfast the following morning, Matthew was delighted to see a description of the previous evening's event in The Times , which he no longer minded reading since mention of "the Fox" had all but vanished.

"Kitten, you have made it into the newspaper."

Purity dropped her fork with a clatter. "No!"

He nodded. "Let me read it to you. ‘The potency and purity of the electric light may be inferred from the circumstance that—'"

Matthew didn't get to finish for a piece of buttered toast hit him squarely in the head, bouncing off onto the table. He could only stare at his wife in utter shock.

Diana, who'd been singing to herself while eating porridge, shrieked with glee.

"Mama!" she exclaimed.

His wife had been giving their little girl the earliest lessons on good behavior, so it was no surprise when Diana added, "That's not proper!"

Purity wiped her fingers upon her napkin and shrugged delicately.

"Sometimes, dear daughter, one must break the rules." And then she continued most fastidiously eating her coddled eggs.