Epilogue

"L ady Anderson has outdone herself this season, but I dare say she could have done even better," Helen said to Victoria looking round the room, her eyes taking in details of the decoration for the Anderson's ball.

Victoria agreed with her, while their hostess had invited the best musicians, had a refreshment table that for the first time contained truly refreshing and delicious drink, she seemed to have forgotten to extend her expertise and diligence to the decorations.

Her decorator, whoever she was, was definitely terrible at flower arrangement, causing a clash of colors with an abundance of conflicting scents that was definitely terrible at an aesthetic level. Well she guessed that there was no perfect ball.

If her mother in law had not drawn her attention to the matter of hand, she might not have noticed, but while the woman thought she was being circumspect, Victoria already knew about her love for hosting balls. A hobby that she had sadly had to abandon following the death of her husband, her son's injury and the period of darkness that it had plunged her into.

Victoria felt pity for the tough woman and had been making conscious effort to help her throw a great ball, taking notes on her likes and her dislikes whenever they attended these events.

She did not particularly help that she was not very interested in attending this particular ball. Left to her, she would have preferred to still be lying in the King sized bed in the Duke's masters bedroom frolicking with her handsome husband.

Since their near death experience over a month ago. He had been quite attentive and together they had explored the attraction between them that had existed between them since the first day they met.

They practically set the sheet on fire and they had become so close to each other that they found it difficult to keep their hands off each other.

She was happy and content and sometimes in the early hours of dawn while she admired her strong virile husband, she could not fathom what she had done to deserve such happiness, but she was determined to fight tooth and nail to keep things the way it was. Especially as she had seen how happy Anthony was as well

He laughed more these days

A more playful and carefree side of himself reappearing. His perpetual frowns were now replaced by lines of laughter that bracketed his lips.

But while he complained that she made him less effective stating that she tempted simply by walking into the room. She didn't believe him of course even though her heart sang hearing his flattery, especially when he whispered them in her ears in that deep baritone of his while he wrecked havoc on her body.

Presently he shone where he stood deep in discussion with Banbury dressed perfectly in an emerald colored suit complete with a waistcoat and a perfectly tied cravat. His hair combed out in such a way that a lo ck of it covered his eye giving him that dangerous aura. She felt very proud knowing that all that masculine beauty belonged to her.

Banbury must have said something particularly funny, because he threw his head back, his musical laughter carrying all the way to the point where she stood in the ballroom.

She noticed the shock that swept across the room as many of the guests turned, with identical expressions of surprise when they saw the source of the laughter. Victoria didn't blame them, because the Devil Duke had not earned his moniker by having sunny expressions on his face.

It gladdened her heart that the weight of sadness and anger that seemed to dog his steps when she first met him seemed to have been lifted. Returning him to the happy, carefree man he had been before the tragedy that had transformed him.

His happiness brought such joy to her heart that she could feel the smile that touched her lips. At this moment she was grateful for the sequence of events that had brought this man to her, because she could not imagine how on earth she had loved before she met him. He was the missing part of her soul that she had been missing all these years and she was grateful that he was in her life now to complete her.

The sound of someone clearing her throat rather loudly beside her, reminded her that her mother in law still stood beside her watching her, while she grinned like a fool for the past few moments.

When she turned the woman, she was smiling knowingly at her.

"I know you would rather be over there with him than here."

Victoria flushed brightly at that assertion. She opened to her mouth to deny her claims

"Do not bother my dear, I understand young love and its charms. I was even worse with my Sebastian," she said with a sad smile.

"I thank you so much my dear. For returning my beautiful son to me. I had feared that the war had permanently destroyed something in him. And when Rose rejected him. It completely destroyed him. I had resigned myself to the fact that I had lost both my husband and part of my beloved son as well. The sorrow nearly destroyed me. If it weren't for the responsibility I had to Anthony to nurse him back to a semblance of normalcy" she said her eyes taking on a faraway look like she was seeing those past events play out in her mind eye.

"My heart is so glad to see him so happy. Thank you my dear," she said taking one of her hand and patting it.

"Thank you for giving me the best gift any mother would wish for. Returning my child to himself. I thank God because you are also the best gift to him and the love you both share is a miracle that have unraveled the darkness that had enveloped this family for the better part of a year. I owe you a whole lot of thanks," she said, fishing a handkerchief to dab her eyes keeping the tears that swam in her eyes in check.

Victoria could also feel an answering moisture gathering in her eyes and she patted the weathered hands of the woman totally at loss at what to say to such an impassioned speech.

"Don't mind me, seems I am watering pot these days," Helen said with a dry chuckle

Victoria could never accuse her of that. She had initially thought the woman was made of stone. Her emotional reaction this time was way out of character for her.

Retrieving her hand from within hers, her mother in law righted her dress, patting her coiffure to make sure everything was in place.

"Forgive me, my dear. I think I have to visit the powder room. Enjoy the ball with your husband," and with that she walked away, her back ramrod straight.

Victoria wanted to call out to her that she could hardly enjoy the ball with her husband when he was otherwise engaged socializing with the other guests present.

" Vicky" an excited female voice called, when she turned she let out a squeal seeing her sister Charity. She gathered her into an embrace. Instantly happy to see her again

She had not realized how much she missed her, until she had set her eyes on her. Releasing her, she looked at her and she must admit that her sister looked radiant, her skin and face glowing with a happiness that seemed to radiant from within.

"You look well, sister."

"As do you," she answered with a slight laugh.

"Yes, but you seem happy, happier than usual. Tell me," she said leaning in with a conspiratory tone. "There must be a reason, such happiness is never without cause."

"Robert had asked to marry me," her sister replied, her cheeks flushed suddenly with color. At her response, an involuntary squeal of joy escaped Victoria causing her to slap a hand across her mouth to stifle the sound, when she realized she was drawing the attention of the guests to herself

"That is absolutely wonderful, Charity," she said taking her hands in his.

"Yes, it truly is," her sister answered with a broad smile on her face.

"Has he met with Father?" she asked, knowing that their father was probably the only hindrance to their union.

"Yes he has. Father seems to like him. He asked him to return in a few days' time to discuss my dowry."

Not that any existed but Charity did not need to know that

She would pay for that from the money she had hidden away for that sole purpose. She would contact the solicitor to allow things move smoothly with Charity's knowledge. It might not be completely honest, but she would do anything to protect her sisters from the harsh reality of her family's financial condition.

Taking her hands in hers, she pasted on her biggest smile.

"I am sure it will go well. The young baron does love you. I see no reason while you two will not get to enjoy many happy years together."

"I truly hope so," Charity replied even though a hint of doubt dimmed the brilliance of her smile.

Victoria could not blame her for her apprehension especially considering the drama surrounding her own marriage to the duke. She had certainly set the bar for unconventional marriage in the family.

"Please excuse me, I think I can see Robert calling me over."

Truly, Victoria could see the young baron her sister fancied waving her over from his place. His golden locks giving him the look of a young Adonis. She totally understood why her sister had fallen head over heels for the chap and the wide smile on his face showed that her regard was not one sided in the least.

Victoria smiled, her heart gladdened for her sisters good fortune

"Go on, it was nice meeting you here," she said to her sister.

"Likewise," she replied, walking away after hugging her briefly. Victoria watched her go, an indulgent smile on her lips.

When she turned back, she saw that Anthony was heading towards her, a ready smile lighting his face causing an answering smile to appear on hers.

"My love," he called when he stood beside her, drawing her into his embrace. "Why is a pretty damsel like you standing all alone here?"

"I was not alone," she said with a short laugh "You know that. I having been spending time with your mother. She just excused herself not too long ago."

"I am here to keep you company now," he said, squeezing her shoulder slightly.

"You do not have to mind me. I can entertain myself while you attend to your ducal duties."

"Well you ,my dear, are my most important duty, the one I care most about," he said staring down at her, a possessive light on her eyes.

"Besides," he said on a lighter note, "I came to claim my first dance from my beautiful wife."

"Shall we?" he said, offering her his arm with an exaggerated flourish that elicited a laugh from Victoria.

"Of course," she replied with a smile so wide her cheeks ached.

He led her to the dance floor just as the musicians struck up the strings for a waltz. He pulled her towards him, closer than was considered prudent in polite Society but she didn't care, not when he was staring down at her with so much love and affection in his eyes.

As she looked into his face, she wondered what would have happened if Theodore had succeeded on ending their lives right there in the middle of the road. She would not have had this opportunity to be standing here dancing with the love of her life

"My love," he called, his voice just a little above a whisper. "You seem to have a lot of things on your mind. Do you care to share?"

Victoria was quiet for a long moment before she spoke up

"I was just thinking about how lucky I am to have you in my life and how naive I must have been to not see Theodore for who he was. My naivety nearly cost us this," she gestured between them. "The joy and love we both share. Try as I might, I find myself reviewing all my interactions with Theo but for the life of me, I could not pinpoint the point he started to go insane. Perhaps he was always insane but the boy I knew as a child was definitely not, so where did it go wrong?"

When she paused to take a breath, Anthony cupped her face.

"Look at me," he said quietly tilting her face upwards until she locked eyes with him.

"You are not to be blamed. Seton turned out to be a great actor, seeing as he managed to deceive everyone. I think he has always been obsessed with you but at some point, that obsession crossed the boundary into delusion and madness. I did see the signs, but I wrote it off as simple affection between friends because I didn't want to be the jealous husband.

I see now that it would have been better to voice my suspicions. Trust me love, you are innocent in this situation "

"When I think about how much Henrietta must have suffered in his hands, being constantly compared to a woman, she had never met, enduring abuse in the hands of a man that was supposed to protect her. It must have been terrible for her."

"She will heal," Anthony said rubbing soothing circles on her cheek

"We all will, since Seton will be nowhere close to inflict any further pain on anybody. He has been transported to the continent. I would say that is good riddance. The man definitely does not deserve to mingle in polite society at all. Somehow, I still feel the punishment was not painful enough. After what he did to you. I would have loved a chance to deal him a few well-placed blows"

"My warrior husband," she said with a chuckle patting his chest. "While I appreciate the sentiment, I have no wish to see you punished because of him. I couldn't bear it," she said quietly, her expression turning serious.

"I love you," he said, the words a poor description for the emotions that swam in his dark eyes.

"I love you too," she replied with a smile at him.

He released her and bowed to her, bringing to get notice the fact that the dance was finished, and the dancers were dispersing.

Taking her arm, he led her out of the dance floor towards the lemonade stand, just when they were halfway there, they were waylaid by a beautiful couple. The woman was blonde, while the man with her was tall and dark, a perfect foil for his partner's light coloring. She must admit they made a striking couple. The woman looked familiar, but she couldn't place where she had seen her before

"Anthony," the female stranger greeted. "Fancy seeing you here,"

The fact that she addressed Anthony by his first name showed they had a close relationship. Who was this woman and how was she related to Anthony

"Likewise, my lady," Anthony said stiffly. "May I present to you my wife., Victoria, Duchess of Devlin" he said a proud smile curving his lips.

Victoria gave a tilt of head in acknowledgement.

"My love this is Rose, Lady Sunderland and her husband, Lord Sunderland."

The lady curtseyed while her husband bowed deeply.

At the mention of her name, Victoria started to make the connection. Rose? Surely this was the same woman who had rejected Anthony when he recently returned from the war.

Now she thought hard about it. She remembered seeing her in previous balls and she had noted Anthony's reaction whenever he spotted her in the crowd.

So this was her husband's former betrothed. She was definitely beautiful in a way that Victoria could not acclaim to. Standing side by side to her. She felt dowdy. Her long forgotten propensity for nervousness returning full force.

"We seem to be seeing more of you around in society these days," the lady said addressing Anthony.

" Well I think you have my wife to thank for that. She definitely makes sure to drag me to these events."

Turning to Victoria with eyes dancing with mirth she said, "I believe I speak for the whole of the ton when I say we are grateful to you for whatever miracle you gave performed on the brooding Duke of Devlin. But then I guess that is what good spouses do they being out the best in one another," she said, smiling up at her husband with so much love and passion, she felt like an intruder watching them.

Anthony must have had enough because he cleared his throat, rather loudly she might add. It had the desired effect of breaking the couples impassioned look.

"Right," Rose said with a short laugh, "it seems it's time for the next dance. It was great seeing you Anthony, Your Grace," she said with a slight bow tucking her arm in her husband's arm and using her hold on him to tow him to the dance floor. She was tempted to smile at the adorable picture they cut.

Rose barely came up to the man's shoulder but it was obvious that she had the man wrapped around her fingers and she was so charming it was difficult to be angry with her for what had happened all those years ago but she truly needed to hear the full story from her husband so she could form her opinion in the issue and she needed a private space for that conversation.

"Anthony," she called causing him to look down at her with an indulgent look in his eyes " What do you say we stroll down the gardens? I heard the flowers are in bloom and I fancy receiving some fresh air."

"That sounds like a good idea," he said, taking her arm and leading her out to the garden. Their feet sank in the soil and she became assaulted by the scent of so many exotic flowers. She felt a deep sense of peace settle over her.

When they had walked quite some distance away from the ball, she stopped at the middle of the garden. Sitting on the concrete seats placed in an alcove that was conveniently created by well-manicured high hedges.

She patted the space beside her, motioning for him to seat. A curious expression appeared on his face, but he reluctantly sat stretching out his arm along the back of the bench.

"It seems you have something to say to me. What is it?" he asked calmly

"About you and Lady Sunderland..." she began watching his expression carefully.

"Yes?" he asked quietly.

"I have heard rumors, but I wish to hear the full story from you the way it happened. I can no longer bear the weight of the unanswered questions that weigh on my mind. Please would you tell me?" she asked shooting him an imploring glance from beneath her lashes.

There was silence for such a long moment that Victoria doubted he would tell the story.

"I grew up always knowing I was betrothed to Rose," he began haltingly. "She was the young girl who lived in the closest estate and at first I found it particularly annoying when she followed me around wishing to play with me. Since she was also an only child like I was, she lacked playmates. Overtime she broke my defenses down and we became friends. We were little terrors then and everyone speculated about what we would be like when we married as adults. Everyone was looking forward to it actually.

"By the time we reached adulthood the feeling of friendship between us transformed to an affection of the romantic sort. I think I probably liked her because we seemed to think alike and she supported my most reckless ideas including when I decided that I wanted to join the army in fighting the war in order to return a battle hero, she supported me.

"Now that I think about it, we were just two naive young people on the cusp of adulthood that just thought that life was one huge game. I think this was because we had mostly led a sheltered life till then, that we had become blind to what true suffering looked like.

"I finally left for the army filled with hopes and the bravado of a young man especially after Rose had praised my military uniform and how it seemed custom made for me.

"I soon realized just few days into the war, that it was nothing at all like what I had expected. I remember retching my guts out when a shoulder laying ambush with me, lost a limb when a hurtling grenade hit him. I remembered watching the pile of bodies assembled after each battle. Some of them good friends of mine that I had conversed with some time earlier in the day. Sometimes I woke up every morning with fear in my chest wondering if I would return at the end of the day or join the heap of broken bodies that were assembled after each battle.

"In the middle day of all this chaos, Rose still sent letters that detailed the little events of her life and how proud she was of me. It was her words, so innocent of the violence that surrounded me, that kept me sane on those dark days.

"I wrote back to her, careful to gloss over the gory details. I told her of some of my closest comrades and the jokes they cracked but she never knew they some of them were no more by the time the letters reached her. We kept on exchanging letters and then I was injured by flying shrapnel from a grenade and I wavered between life and death for some weeks. I wrote her after I have recovered, but just like before, I did not tell her the full extent of the injury so when she saw me, when I returned with gory scars running down my face and one part of my body. She screamed," he closed his eyes as if remembering that painful period.

"I still remember her screams, she screamed until she fainted, when she finally woke up, she scrambled away from me running from my house like it was on fire. The next day I received her message that the marriage was cancelled. At that point I was numb to everything and did not really blame her. No one deserved to be sentenced to living the rest of their lives looking at my scarred face.

"This is why I would always bless the day I met you " he said taking Victoria's hands in hers. "You reminded me that my life had not come to and end simply because I was injured. I have been happier these past few months than the whole of my life combined. I believe I was never meant to marry Rose, we would have been miserable together. She did not love me and neither do I. We were just two young people who idolized each other and thought it was love. I realize that now. I am just happy that we found love. Me with you and her with Lord Sunderland " he said with a big smile

"I love you," Victoria whispered, when he wiped the trail of tears she didn't realize had fallen on her cheek.

"I love you too, my beautiful Amazon," he said gathering her in his arms and covering her lips with his. Victoria kissed him back hoping to communicate her love to him and possibly soothe past wounds. She was sad and angry about everything that hurt him but she also accepted that they all needed to happen for such a day like this to come.

She was grateful for this special gift and was resolved to protect it with all her might.

The End?