Epilogue

Abright summer sun bore witness to the second wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Valebridge. The Folkington church was once again full and the village folk lined the street as Selina rode the coach that bore her to the church. This time it was Arthur who sat beside her, acting for her father. The priest had refused to perform the ceremony after Selina's father's first intervention. A letter from the Prince Regent and another from the Archbishop of Canterbury had more than changed his mind. Selina wore the same dress that she had worn that day. She had thought that the entire thing would feel like a formality. She was already married to Marcus, after all, as far as they were concerned. But, now that the day had arrived, she felt the same thrill of excitement that she had felt the first time around.

Arthur held her hand and smiled proudly. He had dressed for the occasion but allowed his beard to begin intruding once more. After his dramatic appearance before the Regent, he was allowing Dai to gradually resurface again. After the wedding, he intended to return to Wilmington and Selina had no doubt she would see him tramping the hills in the days, months, and years to come.

"You will not disappear, will you?" she asked anxiously.

"Not now that I've been seen," he assured her, "the days of hiding and invisibility are well and truly done. I hid away because I didn't want anything to do with the title or the family. Now, I find the family has changed and I don't mind being associated with it. But, I won't go back to that life. Not now that I know how life should be lived. I'll always be more comfortable out there in the woods than in a drawing room."

"I intend to hold you to that promise," Selina said.

There was no interruption at the ceremony this time. Luke had returned from his recent stay in Windermere and tasked half a dozen of Folkington"s stoutest lads to guard the door, and they looked serious about their task as they took up their positions beside him. He gave a cheeky salute and wink as the couple passed on through and Selina almost hoped that her father would try to repeat his previous actions. It would not be for her to give him a bloody nose if he did.

There was no handfasting but Selina could almost feel the long blades of interwoven grass about their wrists as Marcus put the ring on her finger. Then came the moment of the kiss. Not their first, though they had to pretend to all gathered that it was. But there was something very special about that moment. Marcus enfolded her in his arms and she hugged him tightly in return. The kiss went on and on, awareness of the church, the priest, and the assembled congregation all fading from Selina's mind.

When they emerged from the church, there was a tumultuous cheer and a cascade of flower petals over the supposedly newly married couple. Selina laughed as she and Marcus ran through the cascade towards the waiting coach that would take them back to Valebridge. Behind them, they heard Arthur's booming voice ringing out, leading the people in a chorus of ‘For they are jolly good fellows.' She remembered the storm that had brought her to Valebridge, fainted in the arms of the poacher who had turned out to be the very man she sought. Remembered drinking too much wine upon waking with a fever and kissing Marcus. That had bound them together though for reasons other than love. She had agreed to marry him to prevent a scandal and had found herself falling in love.

Cruelty had driven Marcus from his home and had driven Selina from hers. Love had brought them together. A remembered love had drawn Selina, seeking the solace of her happiest memories of childhood and her first love. A newly discovered love had led to Marcus taking her in, protecting her. And Arthur had watched over it all, the wise old man who had been scarred by his tyrannical father, driven to the very brink of madness, and had found peace. Now it was time for Marcus and Selina to find that peace for themselves. As the coach neared Valebridge, Selina lay nestled in the arms of her twice-married husband. She saw the castle rearing up before them and felt that she was coming home. No longer was she in search of the past. She was looking forward to her future. As Duchess of Valebridge.

The End?