Epilogue
“The wedding of His Royal Highness, Prince Theodrin and His Grace, Lord Elleron, Duke of Marchcant… All are invited to attend the auspicious ceremony…and may they live happily ever after.” Adel read the wedding announcement aloud, satisfaction in her voice. “Oh, how lovely.”
Elle couldn’t agree more…usually. Right now, however, being stuck with pins as his first properly fitted formal outfit was sized put a damper on his enthusiasm. He also couldn’t help feeling morose about the occasion the outfit was being sewn for. The official trial of Lady Sadia Vellei and Lord Silvester Vellei was to start at the end of the week. Elle needed proper clothing for the event, as Lady Adelina had so adroitly pointed out, despite the fact that the conclusion was forgone. The king had already heard all he needed to order the executions, but removing a peer of the realm, even a traitorous one, required a touch more delicacy, so the trial had been arranged.
To Elle’s relief, the tailor and his assistant finally started pulling off the pinned pieces of cloth. Macy had declared herself in love with the young tailor a few weeks back when they had first met to begin designing Elle’s wedding outfit, so Elle knew he was a good man. Still, he was glad when the tailor and his staff finally left. Elle walked behind his desk and sighed happily as he sank into the soft chair.
“You will have to choose a flavor for your wedding cake,” his aunt added. She was flipping through papers in the visitor’s chair on the other side of his desk.
“Chocolate,” Elle responded without hesitation.
“He never stops eating it,” Patrick, Elle’s new secretary, grumbled. Since Patrick was usually the one sent to fetch Elle’s favorite treat, he had a right to complain.
Elle heard a notebook snap shut and skirts ruffle as his aunt rearranged her dress. “I’ll take care of it,” she sighed. “Now, Elle, we do need to talk about the trial. You will have to speak about what occurred.”
“The guard saw Sil hit Theo!” Elle gasped. “Why do they need me?”
Lady Adelina laughed, but there was no humor in the sound. “This isn’t about what happened when we apprehended Lady Sadia or her idiot son. You spent fourteen years in servitude while she did everything possible to steal your birthright. You don’t have a choice.”
Elle grumbled. The day Lady Sadia and Sil had been arrested had been fraught with stress, but the planned goal of having both culprits incriminate themselves had gone off with only a small hitch—Sil had tried to kill Elle.
*
They had decided the best way to gain access to the house was by pretending to try the infamous shoes on Lady Sadia’s feet. Sadia had been all aflutter at the idea, immediately summoning her sons to watch as Elle knew she would. The family, Theo, and the prince’s small entourage of guards and personal servants all retired to a small parlor off the entrance hall in the manor.
Aunt Adel had been waiting outside while Elle had been standing around the corner where his stepmother could not see him. They were both waiting for the hall to clear so Lady Sadia would be surprised at their appearance. The hope was Lady Sadia would be less calculating when she spoke because of her shock, and they could coerce her into confessing. Both Elle and Aunt Adel stepped forward once everyone was settled in the parlor.
“Ready, Elleron?” Adelina asked.
Elle took a deep breath and nodded. It had to be done. They had talked and argued about the best way to go about their plan, and everyone had agreed that without Elle’s involvement there was very little chance of success.
That morning, after he had served the family breakfast, Elle went upstairs to his father’s room. Macy had handed the market cart off to a palace servant at the manor gate and had snuck back inside. While Lucy and Jack helped the family get ready for the day, Macy had been helping Elle bathe and dress in another of his father’s old outfits. Elle could tell by the amount of embroidery in the jacket and just how soft yet stiff the cloth was that he was wearing something his father would only have worn while in attendance with the king. Elle knew the outfit made him look like the duke, but even when Aunt Adel fixed his collar in the entrance hall, he still didn’t quite feel the part.
Still, he was the duke. Elle put on a strong face and delved deep inside. He was the true duke, and no one—not his stepmother or his stepbrother—could take that from him.
“I’m afraid the shoe does not fit, Lady Sadia,” Theo’s voice said through the open door. “Are there any other eligible ladies in this household who might wish to try?”
Elle didn’t need Adelina’s shove in his back to remind him of his cue. He stepped forward into the parlor.
“Lady Sadia is currently the only woman residing in my home, Your Highness,” Elle said in as noble a tone as he could dredge up. He stood straight with his shoulders back, because Queen Margaret had told him it would make him seem more regal, and looked straight ahead. In his hands was his new walking stick, a thoughtful gift from the king and queen themselves; it had fanciful carvings across the surface, the lacquer feeling silky to the touch. Elle was glad not to have to worry about splinters any longer, and he knew the elegant staff made him seem more authoritative.
“Thank you, Duke Elleron,” Theo replied in his own imperial tones. Elle could hear suppressed mirth at the staging of the scene in Theo’s voice, but he knew only those who knew him well would recognize what that tone actually meant.
“What is this farce?” Lady Sadia snarled. This time Elle heard Adelina snort under her breath; she had been so sure that it would be Sadia instead of Sil who would speak out first.
Elle ignored her. “However, there is someone else who wore a dress to the ball and lives in this household.”
“Is there really?” Theo asked. “Well, bring them forward.”
Lady Adelina touched Elle’s arm, and Elle followed her to a seat away from his stepfamily. Elle took off his shoe and held out his stocking-clad foot.
“Me, Your Highness,” Elle replied with a smile.
“Adelina, you have quite the audacity, coming here!” Lady Sadia snapped as Theo bent down and touched Elle’s foot with the familiar ballroom shoe. “Dressing a servant in fine clothes and pretending he is the duke? How dare you malign my family in such a way?”
“A servant?” Theo asked, carefully practiced tones of disbelief in his voice. The shoe slid easily onto Elle’s foot.
“Yes, a servant!” Sil finally jumped in, his cold voice a strong counterpart to his mother’s slightly panicked tones. “I’d know my own servant, even when you put him in nice clothing. That boy has been cleaning our fireplaces for almost fifteen years. I demand you arrest him at once. How dare he impersonate a peer of the realm!”
“Impersonating a peer of the realm?” Lady Adelina asked sharply. “My lord, allow me to prove just who the impostor is.” She clapped her hands together sharply to call a servant.
“My lady?” Elle heard Lucy ask politely.
“Bring me the wedding portrait of Lord Elleron and Lady Olivia. There will be no doubts after today.”
Elle had been so very excited at this point. He knew he looked like his mother, but there was enough of his father in him that there would be no mistaking his lineage. Fear had quickly replaced it, however, when Sil snarled and jumped across the room, shoving Elle’s chair and sending him flying backward. Theo had immediately moved to Elle’s defense, and the guardsmen in the room had to forcibly stop Sil from continuing to pummel Theo.
The arrests had gone quickly after that. Sil was taken away swearing and struggling; Lady Sadia had gone demurely while giving quiet threats to all involved.
Everett had clearly expected to be abandoned to his own devices upon the arrest of his family, penniless aside from whatever dowry the Duchess Estelveld had arranged for her daughter. Theo and Elle had made it clear this was not the case—especially as Elle would prefer having someone he trusted to care for the manor as he would no longer be residing there.
Everett could only bow with a rustle of fabric as Theo led Elle from the wrecked parlor.
*
Could Elle speak about his years as a servant in his own home, culminating in the arrest of his stepfamily? He wouldn’t enjoy it, but he would do it.
Lady Adelina saw Elle’s decisive nod and stood up from across his desk. “You’ll do right by your family and your heritage,” she said firmly with a proud note to her voice before turning and leaving the office.
“The caravan’s packing list has arrived,” Patrick announced with a rustle of paper after the door swung shut again.
“The one carrying the goods for the local market?” Elle asked as he sat up in his seat. “Lovely. Please read it to me.”
“Twenty bolts of fine silk, five spools of silver wire, five of gold…” Patrick read while Elle listened intently. Patrick had been hired soon after Elle had moved into the palace with Theo and had proved to be honest and hardworking. Patrick had helped Elle understand the workings of his merchant network and was always available to copy letters and notes Elle dictated as well as read anything Elle needed.
“And thirty-eight wooden spoons,” Patrick finished, adding an exasperated sigh for the last item on the list.
“Where are the last two spoons?” Elle asked sharply. “I ordered forty.”
“Ah… There is a note that the caravan has bought two of the spoons from you at the bottom here,” Patrick answered, still using the same tone. He had fought bitterly against adding wooden spoons to the buying list for this particular caravan, but Elle had been insistent. The caravans usually bought and traded for high-quality goods that steadily increased the size of Elle’s coffers, and wooden spoons had seemed too incongruous for Patrick.
“Oh, stop complaining,” Elle said with a smile. He pushed back his chair and stood. “Those spoons will be incredibly popular in the local market. Trust me, I spent enough time there to know what is needed. Make sure the caravan is paid properly, and tell them to be on the lookout for decent cooking pots on their next trip north.”
“Yes, sir,” Patrick said with a sigh, used to Elle’s strange requests. The spoons would sell though, Elle knew, and once Patrick saw that, he would stop complaining.
“Thank you. I have another meeting to go to now, so I’ll leave it to you,” Elle said as he gathered his walking stick.
Elle made his way into the palace corridor where two wind chimes jingled to his right, the sounds sharp and clear. Elle followed the one with the higher pitch as it led him unerringly to Theo’s office. The other chime hung outside his and Theo’s bedroom door down a side corridor.
Adding the chimes had been Theo’s idea after Elle had gotten lost in the twisting palace corridors one too many times. Each of the half dozen chimes now hanging around the palace had a different pitch, and Elle rarely found himself lost since their addition.
Elle made his way to Theo’s office and tapped politely on the door before letting himself into the room.
“Right on time, Elle!” Theo said happily. A chair scraped on the floor, and Theo’s arms encircled him moments later. Elle rested his head on Theo’s shoulder, listening to his heartbeat. When Theo pulled away, Elle tilted his face up to accept a gentle kiss.
A knock on the door finally pulled Elle and Theo apart. Taking Elle’s arm, Theo guided him to a love seat with his usual confidence and gentleness.
“Enter,” Theo called once he and Elle were settled on the couch.
“Your Highnesses,” Dr. Barington greeted, bowing. Elle inclined his head politely, as he had been taught, and felt Theo gesture for the man to take a seat. He was the most renowned doctor the king could find, and he had been hired to take a look at Elle. The king wanted a professional to check Elle’s blindness and see that Elle’s years of hard living had not been detrimental to his health.
“I have the results of my tests,” Dr. Barington continued once he was seated comfortably in the chair across from them.
“And?” Theo asked. He tried to keep any sharp, anxious tones from his voice, but Elle sensed his worry. Elle was fairly nervous himself.
“Unfortunately,” he began slowly, “I can state unequivocally that there will not be any biological children resulting from your union.” Dr. Barington chortled to himself.
Neither Elle nor Theo found his jest particularly amusing, however. They might at a later time, but currently they had more pressing concerns.
“Firstly, I would like to state how lucky you are to be alive,” Dr. Barington continued. “A tumble like that can be quite deadly, and the damage you sustained could have been far worse.”
Elle nodded. He had always wondered why Sil had pushed him down the stairs. Sil had made it quite clear during interrogation that he had meant to kill Elle that day. Apparently, Sil had been ordered by his mother to remove the competition for the dukedom at the first possible opportunity. That Sil had failed was unfortunate, according to Sadia, but it had served as some amusement to see Elle forced to clean cinders from the fire.
Sometimes it surprised Elle how truly cruel his stepmother had been.
“I cannot say if immediate, proper care would have saved your sight,” Dr. Barington explained. An investigation had proved that the doctors his stepmother had hired while Elle’s father had been away were little better than actors. “As you cannot distinguish light or form with your eyes, even while under external stimulants, there is very little I can do now either. It is my saddened opinion that I must advocate no further care.”
“Thank you for your time, Doctor,” Elle said politely, pressing into Theo’s embrace.
“I am sorry I cannot do more,” Dr. Barington repeated, sounding truly upset. Elle heard him excuse himself and leave the office. Theo remained silent at Elle’s side, although his arm had tightened considerably around Elle’s shoulder.
Elle tilted his head toward Theo. “Are you upset I can’t have children with you?” he asked cheekily.
Theo puffed out a laugh. “I’m sorry, Elle,” he whispered, his breath rustling Elle’s hair as he spoke.
“I’m not,” Elle said firmly. “I have a good life now. I don’t need my sight to have that, do I?”
“No,” Theo agreed. “No, you don’t need your sight to live happily with me.”
“I didn’t think so,” Elle said as he snuggled deeper into Theo’s warm and loving arms.