Epilogue

EPILOGUE

I t took Frederick a while to understand what was happening.

Pain was the first thing he recognized. He could feel it in his stomach; nothing too crippling but a dull thud that was persistent and severe enough that when he tried to shift himself, the pain increased.

Next, he noticed that he was lying down, somewhere soft and comfortable and warm. He could feel sunlight on his face and see it through his closed eyes. In the distance, there was the sound of birds singing and the ever-present noise of the wind rustling through the treetops.

Slowly, memories came back to him. The carriage found on the side of the road. He and George riding all over the countryside in search… of something. Riding his horse as fast as he could. A confrontation—yelling. Vague images of a gun… a fight… strangely, a moment of peace that followed as if he was truly happy for the first time.

The pain still throbbed in his side as he lay there, half-dreaming, not certain he wanted to wake up. That was until?—

"Is he doing any better?" a familiar voice asked. It was soft and scared—his daughter, he knew right away.

"Hard to say," another answered. It was right by his head, a voice he would recognize anywhere for it was like a tonic being poured into his ears. "But I thought I saw him smiling a moment ago."

"That is a good sign?" his daughter asked hopefully.

"I like to think so." He felt a hand resting on his arm, squeezing it gently. The hand was comforting in ways that were indescribable, and Frederick considered keeping his eyes closed so that it might never move. "I will let you know if anything changes."

"All right…" A pause in her voice, worry that he recognized, and Frederick thought to open his eyes. Only then, he heard the sound of her footsteps fading, and he decided to wait a moment longer…

Silence fell, and in that silence, Frederick came to remember everything. The secret he learned of Miss Dowding. The realization that he had misjudged her. Finding out that she had been kidnapped. Tracking her down. Saving her… before she saved him. And now, he guessed himself to be home, and the fact that she was by the side of his bed told him too that this right here was to be a happy ending.

That smile from earlier spread up his face again, for he realized that any fears he may have had about himself and Miss Dowding—as he still chose to think of her—were for nought.

"Frederick…?" Miss Dowding asked hesitantly, surely seeing his smile.

"I was hoping to sleep a little longer," he said, eyes still closed, "but you and my daughter woke me up?—"

"Frederick!" she cried, taking his hand and squeezing it. "You're awake! Alive! You're alive!"

Frederick opened his eyes finally, the light burning them, forcing him to shut them again. Then, slowly, he opened them once more, turning his head to look up at where he knew Miss Dowding to be sitting. And while he knew himself to be alive, the sight of her might have had him thinking he had died and gone to heaven, for surely, only angels could be that beautiful?

"Hello there" he said weakly. "Fancy seeing you here."

Her face scrunched into a ball as she tried to keep herself from crying. She half stood as if to throw herself over him, only to keep herself from doing so… for obvious reasons.

"I thought… I thought… I did not know…"

"If I would live or die?" he chuckled which made his stomach hurt enough that he groaned.

"Careful," she chastised.

"Sorry for laughing."

"Sorry for making me worry, you mean?"

"What was I thinking?" he laughed, bringing about more pain.

She smiled, her hand stroking his head as she gazed upon him with a look in her eyes that could only be described as love. "In this, I think for once I might be willing to forgive you."

"All right, who are you, and what have you done with Miss Dowding?"

She laughed softly… only to grow quiet, her expression changing. "You mean, Miss Dunn…"

"I suppose I do."

"Your Grace?—"

"Please." He reached up and rested a hand under her face, an effort to be sure but a worthy one. Her skin was soft and warm, and the feeling of it beneath his hands had him feeling stronger than he had even a second ago. "You do not need to explain."

"But I do."

"Perhaps one day," he agreed. "But for now…" A smile grew on his lips, one he knew to reach his eyes. "Let us not talk about it. Truthfully, I just want to look at you for a while."

"Oh…?" She raised an eyebrow. "Is that all you wish to do."

Funny that even with how weak Frederick was feeling, the implication of her words was enough that it didn't seem to matter. The look she gave him, that sparkle behind her eyes, was one that he knew well. Holding her by the face, she took his hand and kissed the back of it—this sent a pulse through his body, radiating down his legs so that they began to shake. He had no idea how long he had been unconscious, and all Frederick could think was how they needed to make up for lost time.

"I can think of a few other things," he growled as he forced himself to sit—able to ignore the pain quite easily. His stomach was wrapped in bandages, he saw, but he did not care. Nothing in this world could stop him.

"But… your wound." Even as she spoke, she stood up and then sat on the bed beside him.

"Will heal."

"You have not eaten." Her hand moved beneath the blankets, gripping his naked thigh.

"I have time for that later." He stiffened as her hand moved down his thigh, wrapping around his member that was already engorged.

"And the door is open…" she purred as she began to stroke him beneath the covers.

"Then… you best… you best close it…" He moaned, eyes closing as he relished the feel of her hand around him.

"Are you sure about that?" she giggled, leaning in and kissing him on the neck as she continued to stroke him. "I will have to stop if I do."

"It… it is… for the… for the best," he stammered, gasping as she bit into his neck and?—

"Daddy!" Isabella appeared in the doorway suddenly. "You're awake!"

Miss Dunn was quick to let him go and pull her hand free and just as quick to take her seat beside the bed again. Done in a matter of seconds, not seen by Isabella as she was too busy running across the room and throwing herself at him.

"Urgh!" he groaned as she fell on him.

"Isabella!" Miss Dunn cried. "Careful!"

Frederick could not help but laugh at that. After what she had just been willing to do…

"Sorry!" Isabella gasped, pulling herself back. "I did not think—I am just so glad you are all right." She paused where she stood, tears in her eyes already, a look that suggested it was taking all the self-control she possessed not to fall on him again.

"It is fine," he chuckled, his eyes flicking to Miss Dunn who could not have looked more guilty. He cleared his throat. "Now that you are here, I suppose I ought to ask what happened. I confess, I do not remember much."

"You have Lord Fernside to thank for that," Miss Dunn said quickly. "Soon after you passed out, he arrived with the constable from Bellend and five locals for support. Seeing the state that you were in, they were quick to transport you back to the village. I confess, for a while there I did not think…" She sniffed, her chin beginning to wobble. "I did not think you would make it."

He took her hand. "But I did make, and while I should probably thank George in time, I cannot help but think that you are the reason."

"Me?!"

"Yes, you," he laughed. "I do remember you knocking your father over the back of the head with a revolver. Unless I am mistaken."

She grinned. "Perhaps."

"Speaking of which…?" He looked at Miss Dunn.

"Oh, he is being taken care of," she said with a coy smile. "Arrested, is my meaning, and he is waiting to be charged with shooting you and…" Her smile grew. "… and the murder of my mother."

It was as good news as Frederick could have hoped to hear. For two years now, Miss Dunn had been running, fear being the cause. But now that her father was behind bars, Frederick hoped that her days of running were behind her. And if that was the case…

"Ah, Miss Dunn, although the timing might seem a bit inappropriate, I was wondering—thinking, really, that I might ask you something."

"Yes?" she asked, leaning forward as if she knew the question.

"When my mother goes back to her estate, which I assume she will shortly now that I am awake—and I want you to know that there no pressure on you whatsoever but… well…" He could feel his face turning red with nerves which should not have been the case, for he knew the answer already. Surely, he did! "If you might consider—if you would like to stay here with me and Isabella."

She tilted her head. "Are you asking what I think?"

He smiled. "I think you know exactly to what I?—"

"There he is!" Frederick's grandmother suddenly appeared in the doorway. "Why did nobody tell me you were awake!" She rushed into the room, but showing far more constraint than Isabella had managed, she came to a stop by his bed. "You're awake! And alive!"

"Good observation, grandmother."

"And a fool!" she continued. "Caroline has told us what you did and…" She shook her head. "… you could have been killed!"

"But I wasn't."

"Luck!" she said, crossing her arms. "Pure luck is what it was. Honestly, if you had gotten yourself killed, I don't think I could have forgiven you."

"Grandmother!" Isabella protested. "Father was just asking Caroline something." She looked eagerly at Miss Dunn. Hopeful. Brimming with excitement at the answer that was forthcoming.

"Oh?" his grandmother said, looking between them. "And what was it, exactly?"

Miss Dunn was smiling. Laughing in fact. "Esther, although I have thoroughly enjoyed being your companion these past two years, I am afraid that I must leave you finally."

"And why is that?"

Miss Dunn looked at Frederick, love in her eyes that he returned in kind. "I have decided to stay here is why. I get the sense that His Grace might need me even more than you do."

"Yay!" Isabella cried and clapped her hands.

"Well, it's about time," his grandmother sighed, smiling also, even tearing up.

"I could not agree more…" Frederick beamed, and his smile grew when he caught the look Isabella fixed him in. Reading said look, knowing what it meant, Frederick felt a sudden impulse. "Grandmother, might you take Isabella outside for a short while?"

"But I want to stay with you!" Isabella pleaded.

Frederick chuckled. "Really? Even if I was to tell you that I expect to see you later covered in dirt… with scratched hands from a day spent climbing. Anything short of such a thing and I will be disappointed, for it means that you have not been playing as you ought."

Isabella baulked. "You want me to…" She looked to Miss Dunn for confirmation. "I am allowed to climb trees?"

"You can do whatever you wish," he said with a smile that was as genuine as it was loving. "Truthfully, after what has just happened, all I want from you, Isabella, is to know that you are happy. Now, can you do that for me?"

"Yes!" she cried joyously. "Thank you!" A quick hug, one that had Frederick groaning, and then she took his grandmother's hand and practically dragged her from the room.

"Who would have thought," Miss Dunn laughed once they were alone. "A near death experience is exactly what you needed."

"What Isabella needed, you mean?"

"No, I do not." She was sitting beside him, gazing upon him with that same look that had been the cause for his dismissing his daughter and grandmother.

Feeling his heart begin to race, Frederick leaned forward and kissed her full on the lips for what was the first time in only a few days but felt a lifetime in the making.

Kissing the woman he loved, knowing that the past was behind them, and the future was one to look forward to, he moved a hand to the back of her head and held her there, feeling life pour into him as if his wounds were healing on the spot.

He did not care that Miss Dunn had lied to him.

He did not care that it had almost gotten him killed.

He did not care about much of anything, save for the woman whose lips he kissed passionately, the woman he loved, the woman he would continue to love for as long as there was breath left in his body. Despite nearly dying, Frederick, in that moment, was as happy as he had ever been, and with the way that Miss Dunn kissed him, he sensed the same could be said of her.

The End?