Epilogue

December 1, 1815

The chime of the midnight hour from the carriage-style clock set on his bedroom mantel blended with his wife's ever-increasingly loud moans and whispers of encouragement as he bedeviled the sensitive flesh between her thighs. Outside, the howl of the wind rattled the windows, for a rather nasty snowstorm had blown into the Lake District, but what cared he for he had everything he'd always wanted right here.

"Good heavens, Syn!" With a half-stifled scream, Marjorie rushed into a fairly hard release, and he grinned as he lapped at the cream that coated those silky folds. "We simply must pause for a moment while I catch my breath." She flexed her fingers in his hair, and when he raised his head, she blew out a breath that ruffled the few escaped strands of hair on her forehead.

In recent days, and in fact since they'd wed in the middle of September, she had been far more willing to indulge in wicked, naughty activities, not that she ever bid him nay, but he adored the increased frequency of couplings.

When he came out from between her legs, he wiped his lips and chin on a handkerchief then tossed it to the foot of the bed. "Is all well? You usually enjoy it when I pleasure you in such a manner."

"Oh, I adore it, and this wishing for a pause is not a critique of your performance." With a leisurely stretch like a satisfied cat, Marjorie leaned back on her elbows, which essentially put her body on display. In the candlelight, the last vestiges of her autumn tanned skin were barely visible. Need shivered down his shaft, further hardening it. "But I do need to speak with you, and at this point, it is probably urgent to do so."

Immediately, knots of worry pulled in his gut. He joined her on the wide bed, his muscles tense as he looked at her from where he rested on his side. "Is something wrong?"

"Not hopefully, but then, I'm advanced in age, so there possibly could be."

That made absolutely no sense, but his chest tightened until he thought he might cast up his accounts. He'd only been married to her for two and a half months. Surely, he wasn't going to lose her so soon? "Please tell me."

"Do you remember when I was so sick last month for a few weeks?"

"Yes. You'd thought you might have eaten something that didn't agree with you." They'd gone on a few overnight hikes into the foothills and had cooked fish on a campfire and foraged for vegetables or the like while out there.

"I'm certain now that wasn't it." In the light of the single candle that burned low on a bedside table, the delicate tendons in her throat worked with a hard swallow. When she met his gaze, wonder, surprise, and a bit of fear warred for dominance in those blue pools. "I hadn't given it much thought due to the changes a woman's body goes through at this age, but now that my courses have been missing for three months, and we have been quite busy coupling whenever we please as if there are no consequences, and there are a few other signs as well that I remember from last time…"

When understanding finally dawned on him, he gasped. "Are you telling me…?" He couldn't finish the sentence lest his guess was wrong.

She nodded, and tears shimmered in her eyes. "I am no doubt increasing. Perhaps three months or a bit longer. I will need a midwife to confirm the timing." Her hand trembled as she reached out for him. "If all goes well, the babe will come sometime in May, but I am frightened because I am no longer a young woman."

"You are going to bear a child." It wasn't a question. Shock held him captive, for he hadn't expected such a thing, and he certainly hadn't prepared for it. "We are going to be parents." When she nodded, he pressed a hand to his suddenly racing heart. Any pregnancy was potentially dangerous for a woman, but as one grew older, that danger increased significantly. His breath came in pants. "What if something goes wrong? What if the labor is difficult? What if there are complications? What if…?"

I'm not strong enough to lose you… or another child.

"Hush, Syn. Don't borrow trouble." She changed positions, crawled over to his location, and then tipped him over onto his back. "We will take each day as it comes, but you must promise me that you won't worry and fret. I refuse to spend the remainder of this time with you wringing your hands like a Cassandra."

"I will always worry because you are my wife and I love you beyond reason." After taking a few breaths to calm his pulse, he finally nodded. "However, I promise that I will make a concentrated effort not to let you see my concern."

"Good." Her fingers trembled when she rested a hand on his chest. "Are you pleased?"

"Yes, but I can scarcely believe it." A child. He would hold a babe in his arms again when he assumed that was a part of his past. "My cousin will be waiting with anxiety to know if the child will be a boy or a girl."

"That is how life goes sometimes." She giggled. "My poor son will be incredulous when I write and tell him."

No doubt he would. He'd met the young man a few times, and he had good potential. "You should rest, put your feet up. I have no business keeping you from sleep." He would wait on her, give her whatever she wanted merely to keep her safe.

"Women carry and bear children all the time, since the world began. I am strong and capable, so do not think to smother me."

"Right." He nodded and once more forced himself to relax. "I'm sorry."

"You are adorable." The smile she gave him both set him at ease and had him fully aroused and hard in seconds. Then she moved again, this time to straddle his waist. "Shall we continue where we left off?"

Oh, God. She was a delightful mix of peaceful and maternal as well as wantonly wicked. "Will it harm the babe?" How many times had they come together since the pregnancy happened? What if he'd already done damage—

"Stop those thoughts, Benedict. I can almost hear you thinking." Marjorie leaned over him and put her lips to his. "All will be well, and none of this stops me from wanting to enjoy intercourse with you, as many times as we both want." With a wink, she lightly nipped his bottom lip and laughed when his shaft jerked against her thigh. "After all, we are still in our honeymoon period, and I refuse to let this fine body go to waste." When she rose up on her knees, took him in hand, and then slammed herself onto his rigid member, they both groaned as she was deeply impaled.

"How can I deny you anything?" Then he was lost in the cloud of pleasure she invoked as they moved together in a dance as old as time.

Ever since he'd made the decision to leave the past there and to not let grief carry him too far away that he couldn't find his way out, his life had only improved. Daily, he woke with murmurs of gratitude and thanksgiving, and for the first time in years, he couldn't wait to see where the future would lead him.

With Marjorie, the current love of his life, and the woman who had yanked him, kicking and screaming, into the light.

The reason for his life. Always.

The End