Epilogue

EPILOGUE

P hillip lifted Eleanor from the back of her horse and removed the blindfold. "You may open your eyes now, dearest," he murmured in her ear, smiling at the way she shivered against him.

A small gasp of delight told him she'd seen his surprise. It had taken a great deal of planning and distraction to keep her from discovering his intent to have a picnic down by the lake. After the pain she'd been through and the shock of her father's passing, Phillip wanted her to have some time where she could simply enjoy being with him without any worries or distractions. The picnic had been his way of achieving that. He'd decided to make a game of it with the blindfold on a whim, but seeing her reaction now, he was very glad he'd done so.

Eleanor spun around to face him with a broad smile and threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. "It is beautiful, Phillip! When did you have time to organize this without my knowledge?"

"It was a joint effort," he admitted. "Annie and the kitchen staff worked hard to hide it, and the rest of the servants kept you occupied with decisions about the décor for the sitting room so I could sneak it all out without being caught."

"Well, it is perfect. I have not had a nice picnic in some time."

He swung her up into his arms, grinning at her surprised squeak, and carried her to the blanket before setting her down. "I thought you might enjoy it. I even brought a fairytale book that you love so much. Although I cannot fathom what you see in these dark tales of woe from the Grimm brothers, since they seem to be your particular delight, I brought them along and thought we might read some after we eat."

"Thank you." She opened the basket and began pulling out the food Annie and the other kitchen staff had prepared.

Phillip had made certain they packed all her favorites, and the warm smile she gave him told him he'd made the right decision. The warm breeze ruffled the wayward curls at the nape of her neck, and the sun glinted off her hair, painting her in golden light. He reached out and tucked a loose curl back into the space between her bonnet and her ear with a smile of his own. "You look lovely today," he murmured.

Eleanor flushed as he reached for the plates at her hip and began serving them portions of each laid-out food.

"Thank you. Phillip, you know our trip to the jeweler's before my father's summons came?"

He glanced up and raised an eyebrow. "Yes? What of it?"

"Well… we were talking then, and it seemed as if you wanted say something of great importance, but then you were cut off."

"And you wish me to continue where I left off?"

She nodded, looking down at her lap. "If you do not mind terribly?"

"I never mind talking to you, Eleanor, you know that. Had the messenger not interrupted us, I was going to tell you the truth. I was going to tell you that the combination of the desire I felt to come to know and perhaps possess you as my wife with the knowledge that if I did not you might be given to someone who would treat you harshly left me unable to refuse your father despite his strange requests."

"Oh." She looked up at him through her lashes. "Did you mean what you said then?"

"I meant all of it, but which part are you referring to, darling?"

"You said you wanted me from the first time you saw me."

"Indeed." He smiled at the rosy hue on her cheeks. "Does that embarrass you?"

Eleanor bit her lip. "No, only… I cannot fathom why. I refused to dance with you, and you met me at a moment when I was certainly not in fine form."

Phillip laughed. It was true, he'd met her at a moment when others might have thought her not in fine form, but he had thought that her wit in the face of potential embarrassment and her quick thinking were proof of the best of form. What others thought was of no matter.

"I found your mannerisms endearing. Besides, I have always thought a woman of wit, intelligence and thought is better than a thousand women with fine forms, my love. Your possession of all three was enchanting."

"You are exaggerating, surely!" She laughed. "I was quite rude if I recall."

"Only because you believed I was rude first. And if we are to be fair, it was poor form on my part to laugh about the spilled wine. It is only that it was so unexpected from a highborn lady to show a human propensity for error in public that I could not contain my amusement."

She shook her head with a patient smile. "Really, Phillip, you can be odder than I at times. To think I ever thought you had lied about your unconventional practices."

Phillip grinned and handed her a plate. "I am delighted to have proven that particular notion wrong."

"You do seem to take a peculiar delight in proving me wrong." She shifted to sit beside him and leaned into his side. "You know, Phillip, maybe something good did come of all the bad after all."

He frowned and rolled a grape between his fingers, watching the sunlight dance off the lake. "How so?"

"We found each other. I have realized that I would not do it differently, even if I could go back in time and change it all. Perhaps the only thing I regret is that I did not tell my father at once when I began to believe you were the best option I had."

That wasn't something she'd shared before.

"Oh? Had you come to like my company before the unfortunate debacle we called a wedding?"

She scoffed. "I am uncertain we can call it a wedding when the bride had no idea it was to occur and wished nothing to do with it. But yes… I had come to think you were a possible suitor. You never made any mention of the matter, however, and set as I was on remaining unwed, I believed it was a sign I should not abandon my course."

"So you never said anything about your interest to your father because you believed it would be a mistake?"

It seems as though there should be more to it. Eleanor is rarely so shallow.

"In part… Mostly, I feared he would act upon that interest on my behalf. I suppose, deep down, I was looking for a man who wanted me of his own accord. That is why it hurt so deeply when I discovered what you and my father had done."

"If I had known of your interest, I would have requested permission to court you immediately, Eleanor. Why did you say nothing to me?"

"You never mentioned any interest on your part." Eleanor lowered her head, the brim of her bonnet shadowing her face. "I thought I was mistaken to think you held any interest in me and convinced myself you were there for my father, not for me."

"I see."

"I knew then that I wanted you. When I realized it was you I had married, I was so angry with you."

"That much I knew," Phillip muttered with a grimace.

She laughed. "I suppose you did. I hardly tried to hide it. It is a wonder you never lost your temper with me!"

He reached out and took her hand, popping the grape into his mouth and taking time to consider his reply. "I knew that if I could simply break down your walls and show you that you were mistaken, you would change your tune. I admit that it was difficult for me at times."

"Now, things are so much different than I ever thought they would be." She squeezed his hand and lifted her head. "You know, I have grown terribly fond of you."

"Only fond, my love?" Phillip shook his head in mock sadness. "It seems I have not done my job nearly as well as I imagined I had."

Eleanor leaned over and kissed his cheek before turning her attention to her food. "You know I have never been the sentimental sort, Phillip. If you must know, though, I am more than fond of you."

"When did you realize that?" he asked, suddenly wanting to know.

Her lips curled in a soft smile. "Truth be told, I think I began to feel so on our wedding night when you walked away from that kiss. I first realized it on some subconscious level when you finally kissed me that night after the Bedfords' ball. Consciously? I realized it when the whole truth of the matter came out. I suppose it felt safe to admit how I felt once I knew how sorely I had misjudged those who love me."

Phillip sighed. "You know that I am amongst those who love you, do you not?"

"I realized that along the way too." She took a bite of her sandwich and stared at the water with a thoughtful look on her face. "Phillip, I need to apologize for what I said and how I acted."

He cupped her chin in his hand. There was nothing to forgive. She'd been upset, frightened and out of her element. True, she was stubborn, sometimes to a fault, and it had taken much longer to bring her around than he'd expected.

He leaned in, tipping her chin up. "There is nothing to be forgiven, my love. I know you were struggling, and I was in part responsible for it. You acted based on what you knew."

"Still, I feel dreadful for what I said and did. You did not deserve that."

"Perhaps not." He ran his thumb over her lower lip with a sad smile. "Still, I felt it was fair for my duplicity. What you have just told me only further convinces me that I was correct in my assessment."

Eleanor met his gaze with a sad smile of her own. "Phillip, you are so good to me. How did I ever come to be so fortunate?"

"Perhaps by spilling wine all over our host's fine white table linens?" he teased, his lips quirking up in amusement. "Or by discussing Locke and Shakespeare with equal interest?"

She laughed. "Truly, I know of no other man who would find those things so endearing that he would go to such lengths to marry the woman who could manage them."

"I am heartily relieved to hear that there is no competition, then." Phillip closed the distance between them, kissing her softly.

She sighed and melted into him. When he pulled away, she made a quiet mew of protest. He stroked her cheek before sitting back and taking a bite of his sandwich.

"I have something to show you once we finish eating."

Eleanor finished off her sandwich. "What is it?"

"A surprise." He swallowed the last bite of his sandwich and stood up. "It is just a little way down the lake's shore. We can return to the picnic after."

She let him help her to her feet, and he led her down the rocky shore of the lake and walked alongside her until they reached a large structure he'd had built for her.

"What is this?" She turned to him with a frown.

"I saw how much you liked the greenhouse at the Bedfords' estate, and I thought you might like one of your own. I have even built a gazebo inside for holding tea parties if you like. I plan to have a trail cut to it so that ladies may bring their carriages out here or ride together."

Eleanor's eyes filled with tears, and she threw her arms around him. "Thank you, Phillip. Truly, it is beautiful."

"You have not yet seen the inside. How can you say so?"

"Because I have seen the atrium and the outcome of your design decisions, so I presume the greenhouse will be just as beautiful. Besides, you did it for me. No one has ever done this sort of thing for me, and I will cherish it forever. May I choose the plants?"

"Of course! I had some planted already, but I left room for anything you would like to add. It is yours, my dearest."

"Thank you." She hugged him tightly with a sniffle. "I am certain we will share many wonderful moments in it, and I am certain our children will love it."

Phillip drew back and held her by the shoulders.

Does she mean that?

"You still wish to start a family?"

"I meant it when I said so last time."

He drew her back into his arms and closed his eyes in relief. In the end, everything worked out for the best. All was well between them, and she no longer sought to escape him but wished to start a family with him. She was truly his just as he was hers. He had everything he could have ever wished for since that first moment he had laid eyes on her and knew he would marry her.

The End?