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Epilogue
The Honorable William Barlow, thefourth Viscount Farleigh, became a married man in the usual way. What was also usual was that he was surrounded by the people who loved him and whom he loved. What was unexpected was the fact that he, who had thought he would be the only member of the Barlow family present for the nuptials, had discovered a stepmother and a half brother and half sister in the past week, and they were present to share in the joy as William married the love of his life.
The family chapel where the marriage took place was a small stone edifice dating back to James the Second. It had gone through several refurbishments since that time, one of which included the addition of a stained-glass window. As today was a particularly glorious morning in May, the sun streaming through the window threw rainbows of color on the walls, which matched William’s mood entirely.
Miss Purnell—Jane—sat next to Louisa’s mother, with Halford and Anthony joining them on the same pew. Peter acted as ring bearer while little Daisy scattered flower petals up the small aisle to the altar.
William pondered his good fortune as he stood next to the parish priest near the altar, with Samuel at his side as best man, as they awaited Louisa’s arrival.
And then she walked toward him on the arm of her father, wearing a light-blue day dress that set off her radiant blue eyes. Her father and brothers shared the same distinctive family trait. William hoped one day he and Louisa would be blessed with at least one child with the Hargreaves’ blue eyes. She had also chosen to wear a pair of light kid gloves with tiny blue forget-me-nots embroidered around the cuffs, and William had a monogrammed handkerchief in his pocket, both of which had been stitched by his mother.
The service proceeded more quickly than William imagined it would, and before he knew it, they had spoken their vows and signed the register and exited the chapel as man and wife—man and wife!—and were met by cheers and the requisite shower of more flower petals. Matthew and Samuel and Grimshaw joined in, as did Louisa’s brothers, and even Louisa’s parents chose to toss a few petals. Lord Ashworth’s solicitor, Swindlehurst, and Richard Heslop were in attendance, flower petals in hand, smiles on their faces. William had dashed off letters to both of them the day Louisa had accepted his marriage proposal, informing them of the wedding and inviting them to attend.
Upon the arrival of both solicitors, William and Lord Ashworth had read over the marriage contracts together, eventually coming to full agreement and signing the documents. He and William had met in William’s study the day before their arrival—just the two of them. They had spoken frankly about the status of Farleigh Manor, Halford having already reported his own findings to his father, about William’s regard for Louisa, and about his plan to put Farleigh Manor to rights.
William had discovered that the contracts were much more generous than he had initially hoped and had even been further amended by the marquess, increasing the amounts significantly. Dumbfounded, William had thanked the marquess for his generosity, telling him he understood Lord Ashworth loved his only daughter and William would do everything he could to see to her comfort. Lord Ashworth had replied that he’d found William a worthy partner for his daughter after all and was only too willing to lend his resources to the success of their match.
William had been truly humbled by the marquess’s words. He’d never heard anything remotely similar from his own father, and it had evoked an emotion in him as to bring him to ungentlemanly but well-received tears.
William and his bride now stood outside the chapel doors, their hands clasped together, and watched Mrs. Brill and Mrs. Holly scurry back to the house to put the finishing touches on the wedding banquet while the other guests mingled together and enjoyed the sunshine. Suddenly, Mary rushed up to William and gave him a crushing hug, tears streaming down her cheeks, a big grin on her face. “I love you, Will, and I love Mrs. Will too,” she cried, quickly hugging Louisa too before dashing off to help her mother.
Were there any better words of approval than Mary’s? Words shared entirely from the heart and expressed with openness.
Much like his Louisa was inclined to do.
His Louisa.
“May I escort you back to our house, Lady Farleigh?” William asked her.
“I would love nothing better,” she replied, smiling up at him and glowing and looking, oh, so beautiful.
He led her to the house, which felt more like a home than it had before the discovery of Mary’s hoard, each piece having been returned to its original place. They had found the portrait of his mother among them, and it now hung in pride of place over the sitting room mantel. Mary had managed to explain, eventually, that every time William’s father took something—which William understood, even if Mary did not, that he’d intended to pawn to cover his debts and expenses—Mary would sneak out of her bedroom at night and hide one or two things in the priest hole. How she had discovered the priest hole, William still wasn’t entirely sure. Mary’s explanation had been a bit jumbled, but it came as no surprise to him that she’d chanced upon the room since she had always been inclined to go off on her own and knew the grounds and the house better than anyone else.
Soon everyone was seated in assorted mismatched chairs that surrounded a large makeshift table in the dining room. Mrs. Holly had covered the table with a white linen tablecloth that she had washed, ironed, and scrupulously mended, and she had adorned it with a bouquet of wildflowers someone had picked from the grounds of Farleigh manor. Lord and Lady Ashworth had not blinked an eye when William had informed them earlier that he wished for the wedding banquet to be informal, with the servants of Farleigh Manor joining them at table, creating a wedding party of friends that varied greatly in rank and status.
Mrs. Brill outdid herself with the menu, and they feasted on fish and pork and wild game until they were sated from good food and congenial company. Grimshaw dabbed his mouth with his napkin and then took to his feet. “Here’s to my Lord and Lady Farleigh; much joy to them both. He was always a good and proper lad, and I dare anyone to say otherwise—even if I did have to send Mrs. Holly to the nursery a time or two for a clean change of clothes. Now, I won’t be saying it was because he’d fallen into the pond catching frogs or had been caught mucking about in the stables—”
“It would be me sayin’ he were mucking about the stables,” Samuel interjected, causing the others to laugh.
“Right you are, Samuel. Right you are,” Grimshaw said.
“I preferred keeping company with the horses,” William couldn’t resist saying. “They didn’t gossip, if you take my meaning.”
“It isn’t gossip if one is trying to keep a young lad clean and presentable, not to mention alive,” Grimshaw said, smiling and raising his goblet. The old butler had let down his facade too, William noticed, just as he himself had done. “As I was saying, to the young lord and lady of Farleigh Manor. Cheers.”
They all raised their goblets in a toast, and then Halford stood. “I would be remiss if I didn’t toast the bride and groom. And lest you worry about reprisals, Grimshaw, I will tell you that my little sister was just as prone to dirty clothes as a child as Farleigh was.”
“True enough,” Lord Anthony chimed in.
Louisa glared at them both, and William grinned.
Halford continued. “Ruffly little dresses and petticoats, lacy stockings and ribbons and such always found themselves caught on branches and twigs, and Tony and I were forever having to untangle her from all sorts of predicaments. I don’t know how her nurse managed to mend them all and keep Weezy above the suspicion of our parents.”
“She didn’t,” Lady Ashworth said, sending a wave of laughter around the room once again. “What kind of mother would I have been if I hadn’t been able to spot such unladylike behavior in my daughter? I was just as unladylike as she was as a child. I recognized the signs.”
“Hear, hear, Mama. Like mother, like daughter. Please, everyone, raise your glass to the newly married Viscount and Viscountess Farleigh,” Halford said, his own goblet held high. “Notwithstanding, you shall always be dear little Weezy to me.”
Louisa rolled her eyes as everyone joined in the toast.
