Epilogue

It was three days later when Sebastian finally stirred from his slumber. For Virtue, they were the longest three days of her life.

Three days spent in constant vigil by his bed praying for his recovery. Three days spent in agonizing uncertainty over his life. Three days spent regretting every little decision she had ever made, for all of them had led her to this moment. Of all those decisions, however, there was one she regretted the most...

She was tired when his eyelids fluttered open for the first time. Exhausted, for she had barely slept since sitting down by the head of his bed. Such was her state of mind that when she saw him shift and noticed his eyes gradually flicker open, she wondered if she had fallen asleep and was now ensnared in a sweet, but somehow impossible dream.

"Virtue..." Sebastian's voice was but a raspy whisper. "Is that... is that you?"

"Sebastian!" She was on her feet and then throwing herself at him a second later. "You're awake! You're—oh! Forgive me!" she gasped and forced herself back as he grimaced from the pain of her body landing atop his. "I should call for the physician, shouldn't I?"

"No, no, not yet... It is quite alright," he chuckled, his voice weak. "You're here."

"Of course I am." She took his hand instead, clasping it so firmly she worried it might hurt him. Not that she would have been willing to let go if it did.

"You're alive," he murmured, struggling to smile but forcing it nonetheless. "I thought—"

"Me?" she giggled softly. "It is you who has caused us all such alarm. There were moments—too many to count—I feared you would not pull through." Her voice faltered, a lump forming in her throat as the memory of those harrowing hours, just after he had been struck, resurfaced with vivid clarity. "I truly feared I had lost you."

He scoffed. "It will take more than a bullet to end my reign of terror over Greystone."

"It appears so," Virtue responded with a radiant smile, gently kissing his hand. "I always knew you would come for me."

"No. I should never have parted from you," Sebastian confessed, his expression one of regret. "I knew at the moment of leaving—it was a grave mistake... I was torn…"

"Hush now," she cautioned him lightly. "None of that talk. You acted with nothing but honor. You did everything right in my books."

"I vow to spend the remainder of my days making it up to you…"

"Days which promise to be long and fruitful," she beamed for him. "The wound was grievous, but the physician has assured us that with adequate rest, you will recover fully."

For a brief moment, the two simply gazed at one another. The morning sun shone through the window and bathed them in its soft light. Birds sung from the treetops. The sound of Lucy humming as she worked drifted from outside the door. A tranquil setting, as peaceful and perfect as could be hoped for. And Virtue, the happiness she felt that Sebastian was awake finally... she might have cried was it not for the fact that she'd spent the last three days doing just that and didn't much feel like burdening Sebastian with tears presently. Smiles only.

"What happened?" Sebastian asked finally as he attempted to shift up the bed. He was shirtless, his lower half wrapped in bandages, and he grimaced and winced at the effort it took.

"Don't..." She extended a hand to stop him.

"I am fine," he assured her, although the way he began to sweat and shake from that simple movement suggested otherwise.

Virtue arched a brow at him. "Evidently not. And I must insist that for the time being, you take it easy, Sebastian. That means plenty of rest in bed. If you need anything, I can fetch it for you. And perhaps in a day or two, if you are up to it..." She could not hide away the grin that played across her lips. "We might even venture out for a brief stroll in the gardens. But not beyond that.

His expression was unamused. "Don't look so pleased with yourself."

"Me?" She touched her chest. "I am beset with worry. Your health is my only concern."

"Is that so?" he said dryly.

"You would do the same for me," she responded with a smirk.

"Enjoy it while you can..." He tried to shift once more but she rested a firm hand on his shoulder, easily overpowering him so that he had no choice but to abide.

"Oh, I very much intend to."

He glared at her and she offered a radiant smile in return. Then, realizing she had not yet kissed him since his awakening, she leaned forward and pressed her lips gently to his. He welcomed her kiss as if it were essential to his being, even summoning the strength to cradle her chin in his hand, holding her close, and—

"I am afraid not." She withdrew slightly, her voice a soft rebuke. "Not until you have regained your strength."

He sunk back into the pillows, a resigned smile touching his lips. "I suppose I had that coming, didn't I?"

"I'm just glad you still appreciate the irony," she said with a gentle laugh, taking his hand once more. "And I promise, I shall never leave your side again."

That elicited a chuckle from him—his humor was back, and that was hopefully a positive sign. But there still lingered a shadow behind his eyes, a keen awareness that where things might have worked out for them, they had come awfully close to a more tragic ending.

"What happened?" he asked again. "With Simon and Ralph. I still cannot believe it was them behind it all."

Virtue sighed. "Both were apprehended by the constables at the behest of myself and Lord Prescott. The treatment you gave the two men, I don't think they came to until the following morning."

"They deserved more," Sebastian growled.

"Perhaps..." She squeezed his hand and met his gaze. "But you restrained yourself. And in doing so, well..." A smile played upon her lips, and a mischievous twinkle appeared in her eye. "Let's just say that death would have been too merciful for either. You acted honorably, Sebastian."

"Hmph. Is that what it was? You truly believe I did?" a hint of doubt lingering in his tone.

"I know you did," she said solemnly. "Anyone can kill, Sebastian. We are all vengeful in some ways. But you chose a path that preserved your integrity—and that makes all the difference."

He considered that a moment, not entirely certain, but nodding, nonetheless. Sebastian might have thought himself to have faltered or made the wrong decision in keeping the two men alive, but Virtue chose to see the significance of the action. The man she had married a month ago would have torn them both limb from limb without hesitation; the monster that he was. But this new Sebastian, one who had changed before her eyes in ways she might never have imagined, was the one she had fallen in love with. The one whom she wanted to spend the rest of her life with.

"Be sure to express your gratitude to Lord Prescott and your brave companion Justine—I have, of course. But when you have recovered, they deserve to hear it from you."

"It seems I misjudged Prescott," Sebastian admitted with a sigh. "Who would have guessed."

"I believe we both wagered poorly on that count," she replied with a light chuckle, still amazed that her former betrothed had helped rescue her. And not just helped rescue her, but now he was earnestly striving to atone for his past misdeeds. Why, so committed to this was he, that he even claimed he would begin by staking his name beside that of Sebastian's, so the entire ton would know how wrong they were about him.

"Virtue..." Sebastian's voice broke through her thoughts. "There is something I need to say."

Her heart began to flutter. "Oh?"

"It is something I should have said to you weeks ago, for I wished to, but I feared what it might mean. But the fact that I nearly lost my chance..." His lip curled and he shook his head. "Had I departed this life without voicing it, I would never have forgiven myself."

"Is that right?" Virtue tittered softly. "And what might it be that you wish to say?" She had a notion, of course. Words almost uttered moments before he had fallen unconscious, ones that had sat with her for the past three days. She had no doubt how Sebastian felt but at last, she had the chance to finally hear it.

"I hesitated because I believed myself unprepared," he continued, his voice tinged with regret. "And when you fell ill, I feared that expressing it then might seem opportunistic. And while you recovered, I began to think you might not feel the same way… But I have come to understand that there is never a perfect time to voice something that will last an eternity. Even as I cared for you..." He smiled warmly, lifted her hand, and pressed a tender kiss upon it. "It has always been you who has cared for me. And I suppose—"

"Oh, will you just say it already!" she interjected with playful exasperation. He blinked, a momentary pause as he released her hand, and she flashed him a broad grin. "Otherwise I shall have to speak the words myself, first. Though I suppose it seems fitting, given that I am the one tending to you now."

He shook his head at that, unable and unwilling to hide his smile. Then he met her eyes, held her stare, and before the words left his lips, she could see them forming behind his eyes. "I love you, Virtue. I love you more than I deserve. I never believed I had any right to such feelings. I could not have imagined a world where someone as perfect as you might return them. But I do love you, and I shall continue to love you until my final breath—and beyond."

Tears again. Held back until now, but they began falling from her eyes and down her swollen cheeks like a waterfall. And damn it if she didn't care.

Still clasping his hand, Virtue met Sebastian's gaze intently. "Before we even met, I once fancied if you might be the prince destined to rescue me, as if my life were some grand fairytale," she mused, a playful light in her eyes. "But I have come to realize life isn't a fairytale. And you are certainly no prince." She stuck her tongue out playfully, eliciting a grin from him. "Yet, you did rescue me. And curiously, it seems I rescued you in turn. If that isn't love..." She sighed, leaning forward to seal her sentiment with a kiss. "Then I want no part of it. I love you too, Sebastian. My only regret is not having told you sooner."

And with those words, it truly felt as if their love, their fate, their lives together were irrevocably intertwined. While at the same time, having spoken the words, Virtue realized the truth in them; that being that they did not matter. Words were one thing, but actions were something else entirely. If their shared trials and triumphs hadn't already cemented their love, what could?

She also supposed that they had the rest of their lives together to figure that out. And as she smiled at her husband, as he smiled back at her, as he tried to shift again and she pushed him back down, as he grumbled about this and she laughed it off while jesting once more about tending to him, as they spent the rest of the day together, then the next, and the next after that, as this marriage of theirs turned into more than either could have ever imagined, Virtue knew that the rest of her life, one spent in the arms of the man she loved, would be more than enough time to prove to him how much she loved him, and how much he loved her in return.

Their story might not have mirrored the traditional fairytales or romantic volumes she had once read, but those were inconsequential and insignificant by comparison. For this was far and away better, simply because it was real and it only belonged to Virtue.

In Sebastian, she had found her happily ever after.