June, Two Years Later

Briarwood Hall had been prepared for a grand celebration. Tables had been arranged across the lawn, laden with cakes, biscuits, flummery, and more. The trees were filled with colorful ribbons in pink, white, and purple. In the middle of it all was a one-year-old girl, with Roderick’s bright eyes and Lavinia’s brown hair.

“Ma! Ma!” the little girl cried out, wriggling in her dress. Lavinia scooped her up and kissed her forehead.

“Elspeth Rose Vale,” Lavinia chuckled softly. “Why are you making such a fuss, my little girl? Are you already demanding everyone’s attention?”

“It would seem our daughter is excited for her party,” Roderick chuckled as he appeared with another armful of ribbons.

“It would seem so,” Lavinia laughed. Roderick nodded and looked around the space.

“Do you believe that this might be excessive?” Roderick asked.

“In what way?” Lavinia asked, grinning.

“I mean, Elspeth will not remember any of this,” Roderick said. “And there are over a hundred ribbons already in the trees, and more cakes inside.”

“I suppose,” Lavinia shrugged as she walked with her husband toward the old oak tree where a pink and blue blanket had been laid out on the ground. “But I believe that our daughter deserves excess.”

“There is excess, and then there is abundance,” Oswin laughed as he approached, a small ball in his hand. He sat across from them on the blanket and rolled the ball toward the baby. Elspeth wriggled and babbled, trying to get the ball. Lavinia laughed and put the baby on the blanket. Elspeth wriggled her way onto her shaky, chubby legs, attempting to walk toward the ball, stumbling slightly. Roderick watched, an affectionate smile on his face. He held his hands out, careful to let Elspeth have the freedom she wanted, without letting her stumble.

“It would seem that you are all having fun here,” Cecily said as she arrived, a blue bundle in her arms. Edmund Loxley was at her side, his hand on the small of her back.

“That we are,” Lavinia chuckled as her sister sat next to her. She smiled at Edmund, glad that their father had consented to Cecily’s choice of husband readily. It did not hurt that the Loxley’s ran an estate near his own, and had a good fortune behind him. Edmund looked at the blanket, and then back at the lawn that was slowly starting to fill with guests. He stepped away toward the refreshment table. Elspeth let out a triumphant cry as she picked up the ball, waking up her cousin, little Johnathan, who had been sleeping in Cecily’s arms, and had let out a weak cry.

“Shh, shh, sleep darling boy,” Cecily said softly, kissing Johnathan’s forehead. The little boy settled from a cry to a whimper, cuddling into his mother.

Edmund returned, handing Cecily and Lavinia a cup of lemonade each.

“Thank you,” Cecily said lovingly.

“You are most welcome, my dear,” Edmund said before attempting to pick up Johnathan. The baby wriggled and whimpered in protest.

“He wants his mama,” Cecily giggled.

“That he does,” Edmund sighed, sitting next to Cecily. The sister’s exchanged a knowing glance.

“I have trained him well,” Cecily mouthed to Lavinia, making the older sister giggle. Lavinia smiled and looked out around the lawn, glad that the guests appeared to be chattering and enjoying themselves. On the edge of the lawn, a dark shape caught her eye. Her father. He was not a reformed man, per se, but he had started to thaw. He had even gotten onto the ground to play with his granddaughter during his visit the month before.

It was not the warmth that Lavinia had hoped for, but it was better than nothing.

Her eyes drifted onto Honora and Mr. Whitcombe. The pair were chasing their red-haired toddler across the grass. They had married six months after Lavinia and Roderick, welcoming their baby but ten months after that. They looked at eachother happily.

Temperance ran after them, laughing as the child reached for a butterfly. She had become something of an aunt to Honora’s boy, having taken over her father’s estate after he passed. Temperence’s brothers were either living far away, or in the army, and she had been happy to discover that she had a talent for handling ledgers and tenants. It would seem that, for the moment, she had no use for a husband.

Lady Harcourt sat in a cushioned chair that had been set up at the edge of the lawn, a parasol shading her.

“I should take Elspeth to see Millicent,” Lavinia said before scooping her daughter into her arms, to the child’s discontent. “We shall be back shortly.”

“Ba! Baba!” Elspeth babbled as she wriggled in Lavinia’s arms. Lady Harcourt looked over at the sound and beamed at them.

“Hello sweet one,” Lady Harcourt said as Lavinia put the child in her arms. Elspeth babbled gently, reaching up to grab at the lady’s pearls. She had no idea that Lady Harcourt was aging, or that her health was starting to fail her. It was one of the wonderful things about Elspeth being a baby. She was happy to be with someone warm and loving, no mattter who it was. Lady Harcourt smiled, pulling the child close and murmuring something to the little girl. Elspeth blinked, her eyes wide as though she could understand. Then, she reached up, grabbing at a pin in the lady’s hair.

“Ah—let me,” Lavinia said, slowly untangling Elspeth’s chubby fingers from Millicent’s hair.

“It is fine,” she laughed.

“If I may ask,” Lavinia started as she held the chubby fingers. “What did you say to her?”

Lady Harcourt smiled gently, giving Elspeth her finger to hold instead of pins or pearls.

“I was just introducing her to her grandmother,” Lady Harcourt said softly. Lavinia nodded, feeling her eyes getting damp. She had to look away for a moment, unwilling to allow emotion to overtake her.

After a moment, Lavinia took Elspeth back, walking toward the blanket and putting the baby down. She immediately started crawling over to Oswin, who was sprawled out next to Miss Verity Ames, the vicar’s daughter. The young lady watched with barely concealed affection. The pair had met at Honora’s wedding and had been exchanging letters ever since. Oswin may not have declared a courtship yet, but Roderick and Lavinia saw how he looked at Miss Ames. They knew that it would only be a matter of time before an announcement was made.

Mr. Pike stood across the lawn, speaking quietly with the servants. He had taken over as head of the household staff, aging gracefully into the role. Roderick still spoke to him frequently about his problems and concerns. Some things never change.

“Hello! Hello! Sorry we are late!” Mr. Bell cried out as he and his wife appeared.

“Honestly, if Phineas would have stopped preening in the mirror, we would have been on time,” Mrs. Bell sighed. She was a sharp-witted widow who had met Mr. Bell while he had been in London on business, and the pair had married the year prior.

“I was not preening,” Mr. Bell insisted. “And besides, you would have complained if we arrived on time and I looked as if I had been dragged back through a hedge.”

“I would have indeed,” Mrs. Bell nodded with a grin. “But at least you would not have let darling little Elspeth wonder where you were!”

“I hardly believe a one-year-old would have missed me,” Mr. Bell said, shaking his head.

“BA!” Elspeth cried out, pointing a chubby finger accusatorily at Mr. Bell. The people around them fell about laughing, and Mr. Bell looked rightfully flustered.

“I am sorry we were late, little one,” he said, picking up Elspeth. She pouted up at him, her eyes large and accusatory in the way that only a baby can be. Mr. Bell pursed his lips, attempting to stifle a laugh. “I know what will make you feel better.”

Before Elspeth could make another noise, Mr. Bell started spinning her around, her little legs kicking in the air as she let out shrieks of delight.

“Stop swinging her so, you will make the poor thing unwell!” Mrs. Bell cried out. Mr. Bell laughed and handed the dizzy child into her arms.

“Baaaah…” Elspeth said, her eyes struggling to focus.

“Oh, you poor thing,” Mrs. Bell cooed. “That brute does not know how to look after something so small and delicate, does he?”

“Ma ba pa…” Elspeth babbled, attempting to reach up for Mrs. Bell’s pearls and missing.

“You really must learn how to be gentle with a child,” Oswin chided, laying on the blanket.

“I will have plenty of time to learn how to be gentle with the delicate flower,” Mr. Bell chuckled as Mrs. Bell put Elspeth into his arms again. “But she seemed to enjoy her flight.”

“Bleugh.”

Mr. Bell looked down as Elspeth hiccupped milk onto her dress.

“Oh, now look what you have done,” Mrs. Bell chided.

“Me?” Mr. Bell cried out feigning offense. Lavinia rolled her eyes, took Elspeth, and handed her to one of the maids.

“Good thing she has been sent a birthday dress from Lord Casterleigh,” Lavinia said.

“He sent a present?” Mr. Bell asked, surprised.

“He did,” Lavinia confirmed. “Although I suspect he may have asked his wife to choose the dress. He married that viscount’s daughter in Kent.”

“I have not heard of him since your marriage,” Mr. Bell admitted.

“That does not surprise me,” Lavinia said. “He seems to have taken to a quieter life.”

“Thank heavens,” Mrs. Bell said. “From what I have heard, he was not the kindest man.”

“Perhaps not,” Lavinia agreed. “But I am still glad that he seems to have been able to find a life and wife that suits him.”

“You are kinder than I would have been,” Mrs. Pike said.

“I do not believe so,” Lavinia replied. “We just were not a good match, and the best outcome was to find someone who could handle his temperament and his sharp tongue.”

“I suppose so,” Mrs. Bell agreed. “I still would have made my displeasure known before he scuttled away to Kent.”

“And this is why she is the duchess, and you are married to a baron,” Mr. Pike joked, earning him a jab in the ribs from his wife.

Lavinia laughed, glad to see that their friends were still as spirited as ever. 

The rest of the event went on without a hitch. Elspeth enjoyed all of the attention, despite being denied the sweets she kept reaching for.

Soon, the evening arrived, and guests started to depart.

Lavinia’s father’s carriage was the last one.

He stood awkwardly at the edge of the crowd until it was just him, Lavinia, Roderick, and Elspeth left.

“May I hold her?” he asked stiffly.

“Of course,” Lavinia said. She handed the little girl over to her father and watched him examine her, as if he was unsure how to hold something so small. He leaned down and kissed the little girl on the forehead. In response, she reached up and tugged on his cravat. He let out a cough and managed to untangle her little fingers.

“She is just like you were as a child,” he sighed.

“Like mother, like daughter, I suppose,” Lavinia commented.

“I suppose,” he echoed before looking at her. “You have done well.”

“Pardon?”

“With your estate, your marriage, your child,” he said, shifting slightly. “I am… Uh… I am proud of you.”

Lavinia nodded slowly.

“Thank you, Father,” she replied softly. A few years before, she would have wept with joy to hear such kindness from her father. It was nice to hear then, but she did not feel elated.

Eventually, her father also took his leave. Lavinia sat with Roderick under the old oak tree, Elspeth falling asleep in her arms.

“What are you thinking about?” Roderick asked.

“It is so strange how our lives look now compared to two years ago,” Lavinia said as she shifted Elspeth into Roderick’s arms. He took their little girl, holding her close, and she instinctively reached for his lapels.

“You are right,” he said softly. “Is there anything you regret?”

Lavinia thought about the question, leaning against the bark of the tree. She looked down at their daughter, back up at their house, and to the man she had built a life with through stubbornness and love.

“There is one thing,” she said, watching his face pale.

“And what is that?” he asked.

“I regret threatening you with a letter opener. I should have used something more impressive,” she said with a grin. “A fire poker, perhaps?”

He snorted, suppressing a deep laugh.

“You know,” he said with a grin. “There is still time.”

“That there is,” she grinned.

“I am sure I will give you a reason to use it eventually,” he added.

“Almost certainly,” Lavinia laughed, leaning into him.

Roderick smiled, pulling her closer against his side. They sat there quietly as the sun began to set and the stars came out. Lavinia leaned up and kissed Roderick on the cheek. He reciprocated by kissing her on the forehead. The air around them was warm, sweet with the smell of flowers and flummery.

This is everything I wanted.

She snuggled more deeply into Roderick.

I am right where I am meant to be…

THE END