Epilogue

L ord and Lady Somerford were taking advantage of a fine afternoon and a break between visitors to enjoy some peace and quiet in the summerhouse within easy walking distance of their house on Somerford's primary estate.

They had been ensconced in the private seclusion of this retreat for a little over an hour and were now lying on the daybed wearing nothing at all. That is, Dorcas had on her wedding ring and the locket that Ben had given her with Stephen's portrait inside. Ben wore a grin he was certain was self-satisfied.

"You enjoyed that," he declared.

"Very much," she agreed.

"If you give me fifteen minutes," he boasted, "we can try again."

"Mm," she purred. "I'm sure that trying isn't the right word, my husband. I'm positive we will do." She ran her foot up his calf and draped her arm over his chest. Ben sighed with contentment and closed his eyes.

His wife, however, was never one to rest. Instead, her active mind continued to work, nimbly leaping from thought to thought in a way of which he never grew tired. Now, it appeared, her thoughts had landed on their most recent visitors. "You know, Kempbury grows on one," she said. "He is not the cold-hearted tyrant Ves thought him."

"He hasn't said much," Ben commented, ready to follow his lovely wife even into such conversational quagmires, "but I gather his stepmother was his enemy. She had him sent away to school when he was seven and was never willing to let him associate with his half-brothers, even after he ascended to the title. He was only fifteen, my love. Think of that!"

Ben shuddered. He had been an adult and an experienced officer when he'd inherited, and that had been hard enough.

"It explains a lot," she said. "He has been surrounded by people who see him as the duke, and who are only interested in what he can do for them, but do not view him as a person. I do hope he marries and has children. I would not like Stephen to have to carry that burden."

"Angel likes Kempbury," Ben commented. "So does Laurel."

"It was lovely having them all to stay," Dorcas admitted. "I was nervous, as you know, but you were right. Having family for a couple of weeks was a wonderful way to ease into my responsibilities for hospitality. Even inviting the local notables to join some of our activities was easier with Laurel to advise me."

They were quiet a moment, both their minds drifting. "Stephen gets on well with that broth of boys from the vicarage," Ben commented. "I think they and the squire's sons will be good friends for him as he is growing up." With the house party over, the vicarage boys had begged to have Stephen visit for the afternoon, and Maudie, who had accepted a permanent position as Stephen's nursemaid, had taken him over in the pony cart.

Dorcas nodded and yawned.

"Are you tired?" Ben asked. "Shall I wake you up?" He tickled her nose with a lock of her hair, till she wriggled, brushing against a certain portion of his anatomy.

"Ben! You said fifteen minutes!" She sounded more admiring than admonishing, and more delighted than both. An assessment confirmed when her hand reached down to explore. "You want me again."

"Lady Somerford," Ben told her, "I want you always and forever."

The End