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The Dowager Duchess came in. “Stephen!” she said, beaming. “Welcome back!”
“Thank you, Your Grace,” he said. “I have to say, Selina was right—the food in Italy is certainly very good,” he added.
“It is! Isn’t it?” Selina beamed.
“We’ve agreed—as soon as the baby is able, we’re all to go on holiday,” the Dowager Duchess said, very excited to travel. She had never gone farther away than London.
“Yes!” Selina said. She began to pour more tea for everyone.
Jasper watched her—she had settled into her duties as Duchess as easily as a fish to water. Every day that passed, he fell even more in love with her, something which he hadn’t realized was possible. But he learned new things about his wife, all the time.
“It’s good to be back in Gillingham County,” Stephen said, sitting back in his seat.
“Are you going to return to Sandbourne?” Jasper asked, curiously.
Stephen inhaled. “No,” he replied, shaking his head. “Not for a while. I’ve heard that the neighborhood loves having Captain and Mrs. Smith.”
“We do adore them,” Selina admitted. She had become very good friends with Mrs. Smith, the two of them sharing their traveling stories.
“If you’d like, the hunting lodge is always available,” the Dowager Duchess said. “No one’s lived in there, since…well, you know.”
“That would suit me just fine,” Stephen agreed.
“Excellent, we’ll have Reuben’s hiding hole patched up for you,” Selina offered.
“Oh, no—leave it,” Stephen said. “I’ll need somewhere to put the swan.”
“You’ve had it fixed?” Jasper asked gladly. The demise of the clockwork swan, while not one of Reuben’s worst crimes, had been, nonetheless, a travesty. Jasper recalled Stephen’s dismay at its loss.
“Yes. I found a clockmaker in Zurich to take it on,” Stephen explained. “She’ll be on her way back to England as soon as he’s finished.”
The Dowager Duchess sighed, happily. “Well, at least there’s a good end to things.”
“It’s not the end, Mother,” Jasper said. “It’s just beginning.” He looked around at all the dear faces, gathered around him. Everyone always imagined that the wedding was the end of things, but it wasn’t. It was merely a happy beginning. There was still so much yet to look forward to. His eyes met with Selina’s, and they both grinned at each other.
The End?
