Epilogue

EPILOGUE

I n spite of the event being Diana's idea, she had to admit that she was now rather nervous, indeed.

For a good while, she had wanted to find her aunt in order to properly thank her for all that she had done, but she did not know the first thing about finding a family member, especially one who lived far away and whose only connection was someone that they could not ask for a favor. That was the case for Diana, for even though Samantha had assured them that she was being treated better now, the Earl would not likely be willing to aid Diana in her search for his sister.

Now that Diana had made a discovery, however, it felt like the time was right.

Their honeymoon (or rather, their second one) had lasted for three months, and it had been wholly blissful. Now that they had returned to Abaddon Manor, they were ready to take on their duties as Duke and Duchess, and Diana had discovered that they would be filling one of their roles sooner than expected. This also meant, however, that she would have to tell Colin, and although she was certain that he would be overjoyed, she did not know how to tell him.

"I have had a breakthrough," he said brightly, appearing in the drawing room as if on cue. "You shall like to know what I do."

"As shall you." Diana smiled. "But do go ahead and tell me."

"I have found her!" he exclaimed. "Rather, Miss Thornton has found her. She has managed to locate your aunt and has written her address for you, so you may write to her whenever you wish. She is welcome to come and stay any time. You might also like to invite Samantha, unless the situation with your father is too precarious."

"Would it be selfish of me if I only invited my aunt?" she asked, shifting in her seat. "It is not that I do not want Samantha here, of course, but it has been so long, and I do not want to have to share my time between the two of them, although I would so love to arrange a time for the two of them to see each other too."

"Then that is what we shall do. Samantha will understand, she always does."

"You seem rather excitable." Diana smiled. "What is on your mind?"

"Only that I have a beautiful wife, and that I have solved a mystery, of course. It is always quite satisfactory to do so."

"I can see that." She giggled.

"It will be nice to have company," Colin continued, still abuzz. "Although I must admit, I do so love it when it is only the two of us. I cannot imagine our life being any different, can you?"

Diana stiffened. "Do you… prefer it being just the two of us?"

"Of course! It is the perfect life, you must admit. We have no responsibilities outside of the dukedom, and only each other to concern ourselves with, aside from if Samantha should ever require assistance. What more could one want?"

Diana nodded, forcing her smile to stay in place. "I couldn't agree more," she said politely.

"Wonderful, now I was thinking a week from tomorrow for your aunt's visit. It might be a little soon, given she will undoubtedly be surprised by your letter, but what do you think? Oh! I am terribly sorry, what is it that you wished to tell me?"

Diana did not know what to say. He seemed so happy, in his element even, planning the visit from her aunt, and he had said himself that he so enjoyed it being the two of them. She had to admit that she had enjoyed it too.

It appeared that they had enjoyed themselves rather too much, as she was now with child.

She was not foolish; she had already gone through all of her doubts in the three weeks that she had thought about her condition, and she knew that it was not the sort of news that everyone would want to hear, and Colin seemed so content that she almost wished that he could stay that way.

"It is nothing." She laughed shakily. "Only that I was hoping my aunt could visit as soon as possible, rather than in a week's time. We could leave the decision to her, and offer her an open invitation so that she can inform us more precisely."

"You," he said thoughtfully, "are brilliant. Do not ever forget that."

He kissed her forehead before racing off, presumably to his study.

Colin had settled into their new routine, but Diana had felt a change in him. He was happier, more in control of himself of late, and it showed. He was reading and studying again, and truly enjoying it. He would even leave it behind to visit Diana simply to tell her something interesting that he thought she might wish to know, which she always did. Diana wondered if, given all of his progress, the time was even right to have a child, but there was no point in that now.

The baby was coming, whether they were prepared or not.

"Here is some parchment, a quill, and some ink," he said brightly, bursting into the room once more. "I shall have it sent the moment that it is ready, and the address is already written, so have no worries there."

Upon reading it, Diana realized that her aunt lived incredibly close by, less than a day's journey, which lifted her spirits. She would have family nearby, at least. She scribbled a letter quickly, apologizing for the surprise and the lack of correspondence, but that she was now a duchess and she had found her and wished to invite her to stay with them, then she had Colin sign it in case her aunt thought that she had been driven mad.

And then she waited. She wondered if her aunt would come at all, or if she no longer cared for the two girls, but she only needed to wait a mere two days before there was an arrival at the door, and there she was.

"Aunt Roberta!" she exclaimed upon seeing her, rushing to greet her.

It had been years since she had last seen her, but her aunt seemed exactly the same—tall, beautiful and kind.

Roberta embraced her just as tightly, sighing gently. "Oh, Diana," she said quietly. "I knew that you would go far, but this is something else entirely. Look at you!"

"I am just as surprised as you."

"Now, now, I never said that I was surprised, only that you have come so far. Now, where is this husband of yours?"

"That would be me." Colin nodded, and Roberta curtseyed.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Your Grace. I trust that you have taken excellent care of my niece?"

"I wouldn't dream of treating her any other way. I am so glad that we were able to find you."

"As am I, as I am quite certain that my brother has never made the effort to tell you where I was."

"He most certainly has not." Diana laughed. "Come, let us have tea. I have so much to tell you!"

"Splendid." Roberta nodded. "Will you be joining us, Your Grace?"

"I am afraid I have some business to attend to, but I shall be home this evening."

This suited Diana perfectly fine, as although she had wanted her aunt to meet her husband as soon as possible, she needed advice even sooner than that.

Diana had never truly stopped to think about how bizarre her courtship with Colin had been until she recounted it to her aunt, who gawked at her from beginning to end.

"That is so wonderful," Roberta sighed wistfully. "It makes me almost wish that I had married. Almost! And how is Samantha now?"

"She is doing well," Diana said carefully. "She still seems to struggle with accepting that she will one day marry, but at least Father does not make her miserable about it now."

"Well, she does not need to marry. I did not, and I am perfectly happy."

"Of course, but part of me thinks that she wants to but does not want it to be on anyone's terms but her own."

"Which is also perfectly fine. There is no need to force someone into a position that they do not wish to be in."

"Which is something I must discuss with you," Diana said quietly. "Now, you mustn't say anything, not yet at least, but I… I am with child."

"Oh, Diana, congratulations! What wonderful news!"

"It certainly would be, if the Duke wanted children."

Roberta tilted her head to one side. "Does the Duke not want children? What sort of man of his rank does not want an heir?"

"It is not that he doesn't want one at all. The day I sent you the letter, he told me he likes our life as it is—the two of us and nothing more. Now I need to ruin it all and tell him that he is to be a father, and I know he is terrified by the prospect. I do not know what to do."

"What you are going to do is let him have some time when he returns home tonight, and then once he has settled from today's work, you will tell him. However he feels, you must allow him to feel that way. Diana, this is a wonderful gift. He will see it, I assure you."

Diana wanted to believe her, but as strong as she had always thought her aunt to be, she could not predict the reaction of a man who had so hated his own father that he did not have a strong desire to be one.

In any case, she knew that her aunt was right, and so when Colin returned that evening, she watched an hour go by on the grandfather clock and then turned to him, even though he was deep in conversation with her aunt.

"I do apologize for interrupting, dear, but might I speak with you in the garden?"

"Yes, once your aunt has finished her story," he joked.

"Oh, I was about finished." Roberta smiled. "You two may take all the time that you need. I will be in quite good company with all of these biscuits."

"Is everything alright?" he asked once they were outside. "You have never been one to interrupt a conversation."

"I am fine, yes. Well, I was. I still am, of course, but—well?—"

"Breathe, dear."

Diana looked into his eyes, steadying herself. She was about to change his life, and one of them had to be strong about it, so she wanted to take that burden upon herself.

"This will come as a surprise to you, and perhaps not one that you want to hear, but it is important that you know."

"Is your aunt to marry? That would be excellent news, although I cannot imagine why you would have to tell me in secret."

"No, and she will never marry, either. No, what I need to tell you is that we are not going to be a family of two anymore. I know that you want it to be the two of us always, and I hate to ruin that for you, but?—"

"Your aunt is welcome to stay as long as she wishes!"

"This is not about my aunt!" Diana sighed, exasperated. "Colin, I am with child."

Colin looked at her, expressionless, then he appeared quite confused, then frightened for only a second, and then a smile spread across his face.

"Do you mean—I am to be a father?"

"Yes, and I know it isn't what you wished to happen, but I only discovered this three weeks ago, so we still have time to spend with just the two of us."

"Di, when I said that I prefer being just us, I mean our family." He laughed. "I've told you for a long time now that you are my family, and now—and now it is going to be even bigger. Perhaps I should have been clearer. I apologize for not making you feel comfortable enough to tell me, but no, this is the greatest thing that you could have possibly told me!"

He embraced her tightly, and every fear that she had had over the previous few days dissipated.

They had found her aunt, and now they were to have a baby.

The End?