She smiled against his lips. “That future…it starts right now.”
EPILOGUE
One Month Later…
The lake was never morebeautiful than it was this morning. Jane was certain of it.
Sinking back with a sigh, she took in the view before her. The lake sparkled in the late summer sun, and Midnight grazed nearby alongside Luke’s horse.
There wasn’t a cloud in the sky. But what made it loveliest of all was that the man who held her in his arms wasn’t Luke, the boy she’d grown up with, or Luke, the arrogant young lord…
Or, rather, he was both those things. But now he was also Luke…her husband.
“Happy, my love?” He nuzzled her neck as they watched a flock of birds land in a tree nearby.
She sighed contentedly, her cheeks aching from this smile that had become a permanent feature these last few weeks. “Very,” she murmured.
“I imagine the guests have all gone by now,” he said.
“Mmm.” She turned her head so she could meet his gaze. “Will your mother be very angry that we left our own wedding breakfast early?”
He chuckled and then stole a kiss. “I imagine my mother will think it romantic that we couldn’t bear to go another moment without being alone together.”
She smiled. That was the truth of it. They’d survived this whirlwind of an engagement with as much grace and goodwill as they could manage, but they’d been counting the minutes until the festivities ended and their marriage could begin.
This morning, with the vows made and the wedding done, they’d both run clear out of patience.
“Lucky for me that window was open in the study,” Jane mused teasingly.
His laughter made her heart swell, and for one dreadful second, Jane feared she might actually cry she was so happy.
“Lucky for you your new husband left the window open,” he shot back.
She grinned. It was likely a wicked game, and one her mother thought to be absurdly juvenile. But as it was the new marquess who kept assisting Jane in her attempts to run away from social events—and the heir to a dukedom who kept giving chase—her mother hadn’t made any attempt to stop them.
Indeed, once it became clear that Luke adored Jane just as she was, even her mother stopped trying to change her.
“How does it feel to be a married lady?” Luke’s arms tightened around her as he asked.
She clutched his arms, pulling him even closer. “I didn’t think I could feel any freer than I do while riding Midnight, but you’ve proven me wrong.”
He settled his chin on her shoulder as he considered that. And then in a low, dry tone he said, “You only feel free because you’ve ditched your stockings.”
She giggled as she wiggled her toes in the grass. “That too.” She turned to kiss his cheek. “But I mean it, Luke. You’ve given me everything I wished for.”
Horses included. She swallowed a laugh at the thought. But it was true. As part of their marriage contract, he’d included a clause that the stables and their inhabitants belonged to Jane and Jane alone.
It was a silly detail. They were married, what was hers was his and vice versa. But it was the meaning behind it that touched her. It was his way of seeing through his vow.
He knew what those horses meant to her, and he’d given her a gift that touched her heart in ways few could understand.
Her smile grew as she reached into the bag beside her for the letters she’d stashed away to read when she had the time.
Few could understand the perfection of his gesture…but her friends and cousins could. She could hardly wait to tell Daffodil, Delilah, Jocelyn, and Isabelle all about her new husband and their new adventures they had planned.
“What do you have there, love?” Luke asked, shifting to help her retrieve the correspondence.
With a grin, she began to unseal the first letter from Daffodil.
