She smiled lightly. “Scars and all?”
“Of course,” he said. “Every scar is a part of who you are and makes you that much more the lady I’ve fallen in love with.”
Hearing him say that—in love—thrilled her. She felt the same way. It was the last thing in the world she had anticipated.
She let him draw her close. He had a mischievous look in his eye that excited her, and she understood what was about to happen a split second before it did.
He bent down and kissed her, and in that moment, Eleanor forgot everything. She forgot that she’d been resistant to the idea of finding love. She forgot that she had never believed it would happen for her. Ithadhappened. She had found it. She had foundhim.
And despite all the odds, it seemed that they were really going to be together.
EPILOGUE
Hannah and Phineas were married at dawn six months later. The whole party began their day to the church to witness the proceedings, and when the wedding was over, they all returned to the house for a celebration. The festivities today were incredibly elaborate. Everyone had worn their finest attire, and the food was better than anything that had ever been served at Phineas’ table, Nicholas thought. He picked up a drink and toasted his friend. “To Phineas and Hannah,” he said with a smile. “May their days and nights be filled with joy.”
“Hear, hear,” various voices echoed around the table.
Nicholas retook his seat. Eleanor was seated beside him, and she looked over at him and smiled, taking his hand briefly. They would have likely caused a stir by holding hands in front of other people, but neither of them had ever been afraid of causing a little bit of a stir, and Nicholas in particular didn’t mind the thought of people seeing him holding the hand of the lady he was courting. Let them look, he thought happily. Anyone who lingered over thoughts of the two of them was obviously enviousof what they had between them—and they were right to be envious. Nicholas had never been happier in all his life.
Marina and Jacob were seated across the table from them. Their first child was expected in a few months’ time, and there had been some concern over whether Marina would be able to attend this wedding. Both she and Jacob had laughed at everyone’s worry, assuring anyone who had asked them that of course they would both be in attendance and that there was nothing to be concerned about—and yet, a part of Nicholas hadn’t believed he would really see them until now. He knew Marina was delicate, and he knew how much it meant to Jacob to take good care of her—how much he loved her.
She looked wonderfully healthy today, though. She was eating well, and she had color in her cheeks. She was laughing at a joke Jacob had just told. Nicholas hadn’t heard it, but it was good to see her looking so well, nonetheless. Not only did he know that Eleanor worried about her, he had also taken to worrying himself. After all, she had begun to feel something like a sister to him, and he very much wanted her to be well.
If tonight went the way he hoped it would, she would be a sister to him. He had debated saving his proposal for tonight, wondering if it might make sense to do something a bit more traditional, but in the end he had decided that there was nothing traditional about his relationship with Eleanor and that he wanted to honor what the two of them had been through, and the people each of them were. He didn’t want to try to conform to the rules of the society in which they lived or to the expectations of her parents.
Of course, her parents’ expectations had mellowed considerably. Even now, Lady Crestley took a seat on Eleanor’s other side and smiled at her daughter. “It’s been quite a day, hasn’t it?” she asked.
“And it’s only getting started,” Eleanor agreed.
Lady Crestley took Eleanor’s hand for a moment and pursed her lips. Nicholas knew what she was thinking—and knew, too, that she wouldn’t say it, for the two of them had come through that part of their relationship. Lady Crestley would never again order Eleanor to hide her hands in gloves. She had learned, thanks to Nicholas’ ardent affection, that there was no need for Eleanor to hide anything about herself. Still, Nicholas supposed that it must be a difficult habit to break, and he could see on Lady Crestley’s face that she did want to say something. Of course she did. She had grown used to the idea that she could say whatever she wanted and that she would be listened to, if not necessarily obeyed.
But the fact that Eleanor didn’t feel the need to wear those gloves to public events anymore was progress, Nicholas thought. He loved seeing her hands uncovered—he knew how free that made her feel. Now he imagined what it would be like to see his ring on her finger. It would be the finest thing he had ever experienced. He couldn’t wait.
He wasn’t going to wait anymore, he decided. When the meal was finished, as the rest of the party headed to the ballroom to dance, he took her arm and led her away into the garden.
“Our absence is going to be noticed,” she told him, with a smile that let him know she didn’t really mind that fact at all.
“I’m sure it will be,” he agreed. “But I’m also sure that it won’t be remarked upon. Everyone will be paying too much attention to Phineas and Hannah.”
“How do you feel about the fact that we’re at their wedding? Is it difficult for you at all?”
“Why would it be difficult?” He truly didn’t understand the meaning behind her question.
“I only thought, because you were once meant to marry her, that you might struggle watching her be given in marriage to someone else,” Eleanor explained.
“You can’t imagine I still harbor thoughts of marriage to her?”
“No, not really,” Eleanor said. “I don’t question your feelings for me. But it would be natural for you to be curious, I think, about the road not taken. Don’t you ever wonder about it? I know you could easily have married her, and if you had, things would be very different today.”
“And very much worse,” Nicholas said. “I don’t dwell on that sort of thing at all, Eleanor. I don’t wonder at all what a marriage to Hannah would be like.”
“I know the two of you are friendly now,” Eleanor said. “The animosity that once existed between you is gone.”
“That’s true. As soon as she was no longer being pressured into accepting a life she didn’t want—a marriage she didn’t want—her whole character seemed to change. You saw what happened. She seems to be a completely different person now from who she was when I knew her before. Wouldn’t you agree?”
“I would,” Eleanor said. “When I met Hannah, she was deeply unpleasant, but now I think that aspect of her personality was nothing more than an unfortunate side effect of the way her father was forcing her to try to pursue a marriage to you. She’s downright pleasant now.”
“Yes, it’s good that we’ve been able to become friends—that all of us have,” Nicholas said. “But even now that we’re friends, I can’t think of her as anythingmorethan that. There’s no part of me that wonders what it would be like if I had courted her. I would never have desired such a thing. I have no interest in a courtship with Hannah, because my feelings for her simply don’t take that shape. The first time I looked at you, Eleanor, I barely knew myself. I haven’t been the same since then. After our first conversation, I knew that I had to find you or be driven mad wondering who you were for the rest of my days. Hannah has turned out to be pleasant enough, but she could never inspire that sort of passion in me.”
