Page 31 of Lord of the Lost

He nodded, smiling, then turned his eyes to the people filling the room.

“After all the death I saw, this room, today, is the essence of life. The life of all of these people who would otherwise have suffered, and the life you carry within you. This truly is a joyous Christmas.”

~~~~~

Late March 1817

Mona stood on the balcony, high up in the older part of the Castle, and gazed down across the gardens and the fields beyond them. She winced slightly as the baby kicked, her hand going to her side, but truly, despite the discomfort, she was happier than she had ever been.

The Castle had been transformed, inside and out, the gardens were a mass of flowers – she could not imagine anything more beautiful.

When Devlin stepped onto the balcony behind her, and slipped his arms around her, she leant back against him with a sigh. After a few minutes, Devlin spoke.

“When I came home, so wrapped in misery and the echoes of death and destruction, I looked up at the Castle and saw only the decay of age, the oppressive threat of centuries old stones. It seemed a place made for hopelessness. And I let myself wallow in that. If I had not, just for that one moment, thought to reach out to you, and ask you to meet me, I would still be trapped. But now, when I look at the Castle, after all that has been done, it isn’t oppressive at all. I see a place that is beautiful, that holds good history and memories as well as bad, that will be home to our children, and their children after them. Perhaps I was meant to suffer all that misery, so that I would value life more, and act as I have to make it better for others, as well as us.”

“Perhaps. I suspect that you will be remembered as the Duke that made Grimstoke Village into a prosperous township, far more than you will ever be remembered as a ‘war hero’.”

He shuddered at her words, she felt the movement in him as he held her.

“I hate the concept of war being heroic. To be remembered for building prosperity is a far more worthwhile thing.”