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Epilogue
“Oh, don’t they look happy?” Rose said with a giggle of delight.
“Indeed, they do,” Hermione said with an equally bright smile. She and Rose were standing by the church gate, watching on as Officer Stenham and the brand-new Phoebe Stenham stepped out of the church door, talking with their guests. “It’s nice to want to cry with happiness for a change,” Hermione said with a laugh as she brushed a tear from her eyes.
“I know exactly what you mean!” Rose said, dabbing her own eyes with a handkerchief.
Hermione was struggling to take her eyes off her sister. The day after Cordelia had been arrested and their father had gone into exile, Phoebe had felt lost, wandering the garden from the house with no idea what to do about her future. At the time, Hermione had watched from a window with Antony at her side, about to go out and attempt to comfort her sister when Antony had bid her to give Phoebe just a few more minutes.
From their place in the window, they had watched as Officer Stenham approached Phoebe and clearly asked for her hand in marriage. Since that moment, a smile had rarely been far from Phoebe’s face when she was in public. That was a few weeks ago now.
More than once had Phoebe and Hermione slipped off to a chamber together to dwell a little on Cordelia and their father and bemoan their mother’s murder, but they were determined not to let the actions of the past harm their happiness of the future.
“It is good to see her so happy,” Hermione said with a sigh.
“I am just pleased to see all my children so happy,” Rose said as she looped her arm through Hermione’s. “And though I can hardly be delighted about the reasons your aunt wrote to me to ask to stay, I cannot tell you how thrilled I am my son met you, Hermione.”
“You are too kind to me,” Hermione said, patting Rose’s hand.
“If you will excuse me, I think I am going to head home and make sure the wedding breakfast is prepared.”
“I can come too?” Hermione offered.
“Stay a little longer dear,” Rose said with a kindly smile. “I’ll see you soon.” As Rose wandered out of the churchyard with a few friends beside her and her lady’s maid, Hermione turned her focus back to her sister.
Phoebe could not stop chatting to those around her, utterly delighted. Hermione knew all she needed to know about the connection between the couple from the way Officer Stenham kept lifting Phoebe’s hand to kiss the back of it.
“He loves her dearly,” she whispered as she leaned on the churchyard wall.
“That he does.” A familiar voice made Hermione turn her head away to see Antony was approaching her. He had a smile on his face that faltered when he saw her expression. “Have you been crying again?”
“Happy tears!” she said, blinking them away for good now. “Look at them,” she pointed back to the happy couple.
“I know,” he put upon a dramatic sigh and leaned on the wall beside her, bumping her arm with his. The mere touch reminded her of what she had shared with Antony the morning after her father had fled. The whole night, she and Antony had slept in each other’s arms, unable to let go of one another. When morning came around, they had made love, though it had been much gentler that time, with whispered words of love and promises to keep one another safe. Whenever he touched her now, he reminded her of that night.
“Why are you sighing so?” she asked.
“I was just thinking how much happier they look than we did on our wedding day,” Antony pointed out. The words brought a second sigh, only this time it came from Hermione.
“Well, you weren’t very pleased, were you? Even though I loved you.”
“You hadn’t at that point told me you loved me, need I remind you?” he said, bumping her arm with his. The touch made excitement coil in her stomach.
“I was vowing in church to love you forever; didn’t that count for something?”
“I was barely paying attention in church, in truth.” He gestured toward the church.
“Barely paying attention!?” Hermione stepped off the wall and turned to face him front on. “I should be offended. I meant every vow I said.”
“What about the obey one?” he said, with one raised eyebrow, reminding her of their first ever argument.
“Well, I meant every vow but one,” she said with a smile. “You don’t really expect me to obey you, do you?”
“From the night we met, I knew you wouldn’t,” he said with a sudden laugh. “Yet… there is something that bothers me here.”
“What is that?” He reached forward and took her hands, bringing her forward then spinning her round, until her back was pressed against his front, and he could wrap his arms around her.
“Look at them,” he said softly, pointing toward where Officer Stenham and Phoebe looked so happy as they chatted with their friends in the churchyard outside the church door. “I didn’t give you that, and I should have done.”
