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“That is my wife,” he gestured at Amelia who was obviously leading the conversation among the group of young ladies. They were all listening to her intently while she herself got immersed in explaining something, passionately gesticulating with her arms as she usually did when she was excited about something.
“She is stunning,” Timothy noticed.
Arthur smiled. “Isn’t she?” He still couldn’t take his eyes off of her. He felt like she was the brightest star among all the other ladies who were, truth be told, rather lovely. But there was something about Amelia, something special, something that none of the others had.
If he had to explain exactly what that something was, he wasn’t certain that he would be able to because it wasn’t just one single thing, one single attribute that separated her from the rest. It was simply who she was. The whole package. All of Amelia Pike, the Duchess of Mosebridge.
Duchess of Mosebridge.There was a time when he thought that there would never be anyone willing to take that title. After all, that was why he resorted to such a scandalous move, purchasing the winery and taking one of the Cooke daughters as his wife. Fate decided that it would be Amelia and not Jane.
“Perhaps you and your lovely wife would like to visit us one day next week?” Timothy, who had been married for well over two years now, suggested.
At first, Arthur believed that he didn’t hear him well. It was impossible that he, the Duke of Mosebridge of all people, was now being invited to someone’s home. He waited for a few moments, unable to reply. Timothy seemed to be equally patient, waiting with a smile as he gazed upon his friend. Then, finally, the power of speech returned to Arthur.
“I think my wife would be thrilled at the idea,” Arthur heard himself say. “I shall let her know as soon as she finishes her very vivacious conversation.”
The two men glanced in the direction of the group of ladies, and Amelia was still leading the conversation. He smiled although she was turned with her back to him. At that moment, Timothy patted him on the back again.
“I shall go and fetch myself another drink. Would you like me to bring you one?” Timothy offered.
Arthur was at a loss for words… again. This meant that Timothy would be returning to spend more time with him. People were avoiding him before, even his best friends, but now, it seemed that they all heard what truly happened. They realized the error of their way, and they wanted to make amends. Arthur still didn’t know how exactly to feel about it. It was a strange mixture of emotions. He thought he would be angry, but he wasn’t. He didn’t hold it against them. People were easily swayed into believing all sorts of nonsense. Not everyone was wise enough to filter the truth from all the lies, but the knowledge that the truth would always surface, no matter what, was enough to make one hopeful.
“Yes, another gin would be grand,” Arthur replied, gesturing at his empty glass.
* * *
That night, Arthur was holding Amelia in his arms. She was still trembling from the wild lovemaking that just ended a few minutes ago. He enjoyed the sounds of her heavy breathing, the remnants of shudders that still coursed through her body as they laid there embracing.
He wanted to just close his eyes and drift off to sleep. There was nothing he could say to make this moment more beautiful, more perfect. Then, he heard Amelia’s voice.
“You were very social this evening, weren’t you?” she pointed out, her voice teasing him.
“I could say the same thing for you, darling,” he teased her back, his eyes closed although his entire mind was focused on the conversation.
“Yes,” she agreed. “But I wasn’t the one who spoke with people I hadn’t seen in years or hadn’t spoken to in years.”
She was of course, referring to his conversation with Timothy, and later on, a few other gentlemen approached him, exchanging a few pleasantries.
“Lord Timothy Lillard invited us over to his and his wife’s home next week,” he revealed. “He was an old friend of mine. I guess, he is still an old friend of mine. We hadn’t really spoken during… you know what time. But now, I feel like with everything that’s happened, he realized that he was wrong. He hasn’t stated it, he hasn’t apologized, nor do I expect an apology. I guess all I want is for things to go back to the way they were, for people to treat me the way they did before.”
Amelia couldn’t hide her surprise and joy. “That is absolutely lovely. We have to go.”
“We shall,” he agreed. “And that’s not all. Lord O’Keefe invited me over to White’s as well. They play chess every Tuesday morning, he and several other gentlemen that I know from before. I was thinking of perhaps attending one or two of those chess meetings.”
“You should,” Amelia nodded, placing her open palm on his heart, feeling the excited beating of his heart.
“You know, I cannot believe that I am telling you all this now; that people are not treating me like a pariah any longer,” he admitted.
“This should have happened a long time ago,” Amelia replied. “We shouldn’t have allowed Lady Susan to go on with her lies for such a long time. We should have also discovered Malcourt’s involvement in all this. But it is better late than never.”
“I love how you say we and us,” he admitted, bending down to give her a kiss on the forehead.
“That is how it will be from now on, darling,” she told him sweetly, her voice sounding as if she were already drowsy.
He looked at her with her eyes closed and her steady breathing with her palm on his heart, claiming him as hers. In fact, she had claimed him as hers a long time ago, only she wasn’t even aware of it back then. Neither of them was aware of it. But he knew it now. This woman made him whole. She took a broken man, a shadow of a man, and she remade him into the man he was today. This man was bold and courageous. This man had more strength, more love than three men put together, and it all belonged to her.
“I love you so much,” he whispered again, but there was no response from her. She had already fallen asleep.
There were no words he could tell her that would clearly describe how grateful he was for everything she had done for him for being by his side and seeing what no one else had the courage to see. When he looked at her, he saw nothing but fate. Because there was no other way in which he could explain the mere fact that he forced her to marry him, but she ended up falling madly in love with him, just like he fell in love with her. More often than not, the road to redemption was paved with peril, but always, there was someone to ease the burden. She was that person for him, and that was who she would always be.
