Five years later

Charles

“I am warning you!” Georgiana’s voice preceded her, along with the sound of running footsteps in the hall outside the drawing room. “If you do not bring that back at once, I will—”

Amelia burst into the room, giggling, with Georgiana just behind. The two girls eleven and twelve years of age, respectively, pink-cheeked with delight and exertion. Amelia looked as strong and healthy as Georgiana, whirling around with a swath of violet cloth clutched in her grasp.

“What will you do?” she teased. “If I do not give this back at once!”

Charles looked up from his book with a grin. He had been reading in a momentary quiet, but he knew his home enough to determine that the quiet would not last for long. Even all these years later, he could not get over the simple delight of knowing that his house was a happy one.

Georgiana crossed her arms, but Charles did not miss the sparkle in her eyes. “If you do not give it back, I shall tackle you into the pond.”

“On a day as hot as this,” Amelia said with raised eyebrows, “that is not a threat, dear sister.”

Georgiana’s face suddenly went slack—her blue eyes fixing on something out the window behind Amelia. “Is that Elliot, the farm lad?” she asked.

Amelia whirled with a blush, and Georgiana snatched the violet cloth back out of Amelia’s hand in a flash, laughing. “Made you look!” she crowed.

Charles fixed a fatherly gaze on Amelia. “What is this about Elliot, little lady? You are only eleven years old.”

“He is only twelve,” Georgiana shrugged. “But he and Amelia are smitten.”

“Not smitten,” Amelia said, crossing her arms. “Evie says it is not sensible to consider love at such a young age.”

“And Evie is correct,” Charles said, still loving the way his wife’s name rolled off his tongue. He nodded at the dress. “What started all this commotion, anyway?”

Georgiana sighed. “I caught Amelia messing with my gown for the next week’s garden party, and when I asked her to give it back she refused…” she trailed off, her eyes fixing on some small detail in the cloth she held. After a long moment examining the dress, she raised her eyes to Amelia. “You fixed it,” she breathed, with a grin.

Amelia nodded.

Charles, as was increasingly the case with two young daughters, was still quite in the dark. “Fixed what?” he asked.

“The dress was a bit plain around the bodice,” Georgiana explained, holding the purple cloth up for inspection. Now there were tiny white flowers embroidered all across the neckline. “I was disappointed, but it seems Amy took matters into her own hands.” She shot a scolding look at the younger girl. “You should have told me.”

“I was not quite finished,” Amelia said, coming over to point out some miniscule flaw Charles could not discern. “I wanted to surprise you.”

Georgiana was quick to passion, but even quicker to apology when she considered herself in the wrong. She threw her arms around Amelia and embraced her long and hard.

“You are the sweetest, dearest girl in the whole word,” she sighed.

“Did I hear someone arguing over boys?” Aunt Edith appeared from behind a tall-backed chair by the fireplace, causing all three in the room to jump in alarm.

“Did you know she was back there?” Amelia asked in a whisper.

Charles shook his head and widened his eyes, causing both girls to giggle. On the day he wed Evie, Aunt Edith had told him sternly that she would haunt him from the grave if he ever hurt Evie or Amelia. A few years ago, Anne Bridges had found the love of her life and settled down, leaving Aunt Edith without a caretaker. There was no question of what was to be done—Charles invited her to the estate and, though she could not hear well, she seemed to be healthier than ever. Thus far, she had not been given any reason to do any haunting.

“We were not fighting over boys, Aunt,” Georgiana said. “Just a dress.”

“It is a mess, to let a man come between you,” Aunt Edith said. Her curls were a little dishevelled, and Charles guessed she had been taking a nap when the girls had rushed the room.

“No, Aunt,” Amelia said loudly, “She did not say mess, she said dress. I took hers, and she gave chase.”

“Yes, thank you dear,” Aunt Edith said with a smile, sinking back into her chair. “Please do shut the casement, the draft is giving me a chill.”

The girls giggled, latched the window, and then skipped away arm in arm. He walked to the door and watched them recede down the hall, gaining speed and giggles as they went. They were still children, but he could see womanhood just around the corner. It made him grateful and heartsick at the very same time.

“Are you thinking about how fast they are growing up?”

Evie’s voice, as always, was a balm to his soul.

Charles turned and saw his wife standing just behind him, her dark hair loose down her back, her hand cradling the gentle rounding of her pregnant belly in pale green muslin.

“That is exactly what I was thinking about,” he said, laughing lightly. “How did you guess?”

“Because I can read you like a book, Your Grace,” she said, smiling up at him.

“Do not start with that title nonsense,” he teased. “Because you know I will always win… Your Grace.”

She winced as though hearing herself called by that title was akin to tasting sour lemon juice. “No!” she cried in mock despair. “Not my unearned title!”

He reached out and pulled her close, winding his hand around her waist. “You married me, dear Duchess, and therefore your title is as ‘earned’ as a title can be.”

She tipped her head up to his. “Call me Evie,” she whispered.

He bit his lip. “Now you are not playing fair—dressed like a nymph with your hair all about you and your wiles fully deployed in your own favor…”

“Evie?” she asked.

“Evie,” he conceded, leaning down to kiss her tenderly on the lips.

“Ewwww….” A childish voice interrupted them, and they pulled apart to see a familiar four-year-old boy standing, hands on hips, at the end of the hall. “Mama says it is not proper to kiss in public,” he chirped.

Charles grinned, and turned to the little figure, his hand falling to catch Evie’s fingers up in his.

“Eddie Langdon, this is not a public place—it is my own home, and I assure you it is entirely proper for me to kiss my wife in my own home.”

The little boy raised an eyebrow.

Evie giggled. “Where is your mother, Edward?”

“The garden, with Papa.” And the little sprite disappeared as suddenly as he had surfaced.

“Did you know they were coming today?”

She shook her head, and a frown wrinkled her brow. “It is sudden. I hope all is well.”

Charles held her hand firmly as they walked to the garden, but when he saw his cousin’s face, and Caroline’s forced smile to match, his heart sank. Something is amiss. 

His girls and little Edward were already playing in the garden, giggling far away under some tree, out of earshot. Charles helped Evie sit comfortably, and then took a seat at her side, across from Caroline.

“You look well,” Caroline said to Evie. “How do you bear pregnancy so gracefully? I was a ship at full mast when I had Eddie.”

“Oh, I am not bearing it well at all,” Evie said with a weak laugh. “That is why you find me a little dishevelled.”

“Not in the least,” Caroline corrected her. Then her smile, and the polite banter, faded. She looked at Edward, her husband, and he reached across to hold her hand. “We came to speak with you on a most urgent matter. Are you feeling quite healthy, Evie? It is about… that woman.”

Charles felt Evie tense at his side, but when she spoke her voice was measured and even. “I am well enough,” she said quietly. “I shall always be taken aback by mention of Miss Fielding, but I am sturdy enough to hear bad news without fainting.”

Caroline sighed. “You know that my dear Edward was responsible for working with the solicitor on her case, so he is apprised of all updates in the matter.”

“Indeed,” Charles acknowledged. “For that, we are most grateful.”

“Initially, her madness and raving anger made her a good candidate for an institution,” Edward said, taking over the story for his wife’s sake. “She was settled in at a southern facility.”

Charles nodded, as did Evie. They knew this.

“It appears that she broke out a few nights back, and was apprehended just south of the estate.” Edward said this bluntly and calmly, but Charles heard Evie’s sharp intake of breath. Just south of the estate. 

“She was coming here?” he asked.

Edward nodded. “With ill intent. I spoke with the solicitor, and it seems he is left no other choice—she is being sent to the Australian colonies at the earliest convenience, until then, she is left in the care of the king’s army in London.”

Charles felt a wave of relief. “I beg your pardon,” he said quietly, “but why do you think this is such bad news? It sounds as though the danger is past forever.”

“Because of me,” Evie said quietly. “Because I reached out to Caroline and Edward and asked them to do me a favor.”

Charles turned to her in surprise. “What favor?” he asked.

“I wanted them to arrange a visit where I could meet with Margaret and tell her…” Evie paused before continuing, “…that I forgive her.” Her hand moved, as it often did, to cradle her belly. “I wanted to clear any bitterness before the baby came.”

“And this turn of events,” Caroline explained, “removes any chance for that reconciliation. It seems Miss Fielding had ill intent until the very end, and no amount of forgiveness would have changed that.”

Charles saw tears well in Evie’s eyes, and he reached out to put an arm around her. After a few moments of quiet, she spoke.

“I think,” she said softly, “that I am relieved, in the end. I was frightened to face her, and now I know our child and our girls will be safe from her madness. It is not the way I desired it, but it is a good ending nonetheless.”

Charles stared at her in wonderment. “I cannot believe the woman that you are,” he said quietly, though his cousin and cousin’s wife could still hear. “That you would extend such graciousness after all that she has done to you.”

“You have a remarkable woman indeed,” Caroline said with a smile.

Charles pulled Evie close, feeling the warmth of the sun, the quiet of the garden but for the laughter of children, and the nearness of people he loved and trusted. It was remarkable how much his life had changed in five years. This estate had been hung with the black tapestries of grief for years before Evie arrived, and her presence had pulled every one of them back into the light.

“I could not agree more,” he said.