Epilogue
Kathryn
Five Months Later
" O h God, there's so much to do." Kathryn sighed dramatically as she looked around the room at her family.
Clara and Arabella were currently tussling over the best flowers to add to her bouquet, as Elizabeth fussed around the wedding gown that was laid across the bottom of the bed. Sebastian was trying on his new suit jacket for the occasion, wrinkling his nose at the color and rather elaborate boutonniere that had been put in the buttonhole.
"Trust you to have such a colorful wedding, Kathryn," Sebastian said with a laugh as he looked away from the mirror. "How many flowers are in that bouquet?"
"So many that our mothers are disappearing behind it," Kathryn said hurriedly with a laugh.
In unison, Clara and Arabella poked their heads above the bouquet. Clara blew hard to knock a flower off her cheek and Arabella waved away some of the pollen, sneezing hard.
"It's beautiful," Elizabeth said with happiness, running her hand over the silk of the skirt in the wedding gown. "I cannot believe you are to be married tomorrow, Kathryn."
"Oi!" Kathryn said with pretend offence, prompting Sebastian to burst out laughing.
"Not because you are not marriage material, just because I cannot believe how quickly it is happening," Elizabeth said in a rush and stood from her place, her hands on her hips.
"Yes, and yours wasn't quick at all, was it?" Kathryn reminded her, watching as Sebastian nodded across the room.
"I did get a ring on her finger rather quickly."
"Yes, I remember it well," Arabella said in mock disapproval. "It seems both of our children have secured their marriages in rather unorthodox ways, Clara."
"I wish I could offer reproval, but we hardly set a good example, did we?" Clara laughed warmly. "Now, Kathryn, worry not about the arrangements." She left the bouquet behind and walked toward Kathryn across the room, where she sat at the vanity table.
On one side of the table was her jewelry for the wedding, set up on a cushion. In the golden set were the earrings that Arabella had leant to her. On the other side of the table were the latest periodicals that Lady Georgiana had sent her from London, full of articles from Lady Bingley, the Duchess of Lestenmeer and Lady Nightburn.
"Arabella and I have everything in hand." Clara sat down beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Everything in the church is set up, the guests will arrive first thing, and you should see the preparations your father has made for the wedding breakfast. Trust me, no one will be going hungry."
"Thank you." Kathryn laughed, remembering what Nigel had said at the weekend when they discussed the wedding.
‘I always thought I'd have a quiet life. I was hardly expecting your family to turn our wedding into the event of the season!' He had laughed, not seeming to mind in the slightest.
"Now, you need to finish your article. Get to it, and we'll be downstairs waiting for you for dinner." Clara kissed her on the cheek. "Come on, out everyone."
Elizabeth looked very disappointed to be leaving the wedding gown behind, and Sebastian shrugged off his tailcoat.
"Coming," he called. "Besides, we need to find poor Doctor Beille and what our fathers have done with him. He didn't look best pleased about the idea of being taken on a shoot this morning."
"He likes to help the wounded, not be the cause of it," Kathryn pointed out, to which Sebastian laughed as he took his mother away from the flowers and they all left the room.
As the door closed behind them, Kathryn sat back and listened to their voices happily talking together as they walked away down the corridor. The last few months had been a blur being back home in Dorset. Where scandal had once been suspected, now there was none. Nigel had surprised them all by moving to Dorset, something that was clearly approved of by his family, as they had a country estate in the area. By taking charge of the estate, Nigel continued his duties as a doctor, whilst being responsible for a few of the tenants too, whilst his brother was away in London.
Nigel had grown close with her family, and to Kathryn's relief, he had become good friends with Sebastian. It seemed Sebastian's good humor had a knack for drawing out the laughter in Nigel, when he was least expecting it, a little like Kathryn.
The other surprise that had befallen Kathryn in the last few months now sat in front of her. When news had reached Lady Georgiana of their courtship in London, she had appeared unannounced a few days later in Dorset, suddenly delighted, and assuring them that no rumors existed about the pair of them in London. Apparently, the worries of the past were forgotten, and Lady Georgiana had presented Kathryn with a letter from Lady Bingley.
Having heard of Kathryn's healing wishes, Lady Bingley presented Kathryn with an idea. If Kathryn continued her research, perhaps she could write a running article of her own in The Women's Periodical. At first, the idea had seemed mad, but both Nigel and Arabella had encouraged her to do it.
The more hands-on experience Kathryn had, accompanying Nigel to some of his callouts, the more confident she became, and the first article seemed to write itself.
In front of her on the table now, beside the various copies of The Women's Periodical was her latest article, drafted in a letter to Lady Bingley. This article was about the various challenges that can face one's body if the mind is troubled or disadvantaged. She spoke of nightmares and various hauntings, even bouts of melancholy and what one can do to combat these. It was an uplifting piece, an article about hope and looking to the future.
Kathryn made a small edit to the final line and finished it with a flourish.
‘Ultimately, one's mind is not in a fixed state. Our unhappy moments, like our happy ones, are moving things. They can be changed, encouraged for the better, and as we improve the health of our minds, so do our bodies follow.'
She wrote a note to Lady Bingley, hoping she enjoyed the piece, then signed her name.
As she sat back, reading the article over, she was so distracted that she didn't notice the door creaked open behind her. She wasn't even aware of footsteps on the rug, not until she felt a breath in her ear.
"Oh my God!" She dropped the letter and flung her hands over her chest.
"Ha!" Nigel's laughed echoed across the room as he placed his hands on the back of her chair. "You should see your face."
"You frightened me to death."
"God, I hope I did not do that." He laughed even more and reached past her, picking up the letter she had written and reading part of it. To her joy, Nigel had loved each of her previous articles. He'd even offered up suggestions for some future articles. "It's another good one," he approved with a nod. "I think most of all, I like the way you sign these articles."
"I have my aunt's blessing to do so," Kathryn said with a happy sigh, looking at the letter and the words at the bottom, Bona Dea. "We thought it an important way to continue the legend, the idea that there will always be someone there for another to turn to, when in need of advice."
"I like it, very much indeed." Nigel bent down and kissed her on the cheek. Kathryn giggled, feeling blessed that he had somehow managed to sneak in and steal these few minutes alone with her beyond the control of a chaperone.
"Where are they?" Clara called from down the corridor. "They're not married yet, you know!"
"Caught." Nigel's eyes widened in mock panic.
"Sometimes, I think you truly are afraid of my mother," Kathryn said as he caught her hand and pulled her to her feet. They hastened to the door together, before they could be caught alone in her chamber.
"Sometimes," he said playfully. "Yet not truly. She hardly frightens me as much as Lady Georgiana. She will be here for the wedding tomorrow."
They both stepped out into the corridor, just as Clara rounded the corner at the far end of the hallway. When she sat them together, she folded her arms.
"You're married tomorrow, and not a second beforehand." She tutted and urged them to follow her with a crook of her finger.
They shared a humored smile as they followed behind her.
"From what I hear," Kathryn whispered to Nigel, "Lady Georgiana will be going around the ceremony tomorrow claiming full credit for our union."
"Credit?" Nigel laughed at the idea. "She's the one who sent us apart!"
"She said in her last letter something about ‘absence makes the heart grow fonder.' I wonder if she really knew what would happen?"
"Who knows," Nigel whispered in her ear. "Whatever the reason, I am glad of her interference. It made me realize what I truly wanted to be happy in this world." He lifted her hand and kissed the back again.
"I couldn't agree more."
"Kathryn!" Clara's voice called from down the corridor sharply. "No more mischief."
"Coming, Mother! Though that is hardly a promise I could ever make sincerely."
Kathryn found her own happy ending, inspired not only by Bona Dea but by other significant women as well, such as the Duchess of Lestenmeer… But what mysteries, what scandals and unspoken tales could the past of a Duchess hide?