Epilogue

You were right, dearest Fanny. My happiness does lie in marriage to Lord Claybourne. A lifetime of love and fulfillment with the most wonderful man I know. What more could I ever want?

—Lily to Fanny

I am thrilled by your happiness, my dear Lily. If my new book is successful, the income may be sufficient to allow me to seek my own happiness in marriage. Who knows? Perhaps I shall turn to writing fiction and become an authoress. The accounts of how you and your sisters found true love would make delightful tales.

—Fanny to Lily

London, August 1817

On the quarterdeck of the Zephyr, Heath regarded his bride of three hours with pride and affection. Lily looked incredibly happy surrounded by her family and friends, her dark eyes big and bright with humor and excitement.

How he loved those glowing eyes, Heath reflected. How he wanted to kiss that luscious mouth…

Despite his impatience to have his bride all to himself, however, he would have to wait until the wedding guests departed the ship. At the moment they showed no desire to leave. They were too busy drinking champagne and offering congratulatory toasts and sharing entertaining tales about the newlyweds.

Laughter abounded, in part because the small guest list fostered an intimacy to the gathering. The marriage ceremony had been a simple affair in comparison to Drew’s lavish society wedding a mere few days earlier. And the celebrations afterward—a luncheon served on deck by Heath’s capable staff—were quite modest, nothing like the enormous wedding breakfast and ball at Danvers Hall following Marcus’s wedding, which had been held in the village church at Chiswick two months ago.

But Lily deemed the arrangements perfect. The nuptials had been performed by the vicar from Chiswick, the same clergyman who had married Marcus and Arabella. And viewing the myriad ships anchored on the Thames and docked at the quay only increased Lily’s anticipation of their wedding journey, which was to begin next week.

Much to Heath’s amusement, his new wife had made a point of drinking a mere half glass of champagne, claiming that she wanted no repetition of her shameless behavior in the stable loft the first time they’d kissed. Lily was determined to remain circumspect, despite the scandalous vocation of several of the guests.

Fleur and Chantel had eagerly attended, along with Fanny and Basil. The elder courtesans had spent much of the past hour crowing over their success in uniting the bridal couple, while Lady Freemantle had taken credit for bringing them together in the first place.

Her ladyship looked smugly delighted now as she exclaimed in her booming voice, “You know all I ever wanted was your happiness, dearest Lily.”

“I know, Winifred,” Lily replied, fondly embracing her friend. “Which is why I forgive your meddlesome attempts at matchmaking.”

“Humph,” Winifred said archly. “I make no apologies for my meddling, young lady. If not for my encouraging Lord Claybourne to follow you to Hampshire—where I falsely believed you to be hiding, I might add—you would likely not be married now. You were so adamantly set against imprisoning yourself in matrimony, he was forced to take drastic steps to pursue you.”

“I admit,” Lily said, laughing, “that I was greatly mistaken about matrimony being a prison.”

She glanced beyond her friend, searching for Heath. When she located him a few yards away, the smile she sent him was pure sunshine, golden with warmth.

Heath found himself gazing back at her, spellbound. Her impact was like a blow to the chest, straight to his heart. And as their gazes touched, a wave of tenderness washed over him so strong it made his knees weak.

Just then Marcus and Drew joined him.

“So now you are one of us,” Marcus drawled in an amused voice as he clapped Heath on the back. “I seem to recall not three months ago you adamantly protesting that the marriage noose was too restrictive to your freedom.”

Heath chuckled. “You were right, old friend. It only took meeting the right woman.”

“We all three learned that lesson,” Drew added with wry humor yet no trace of his former cynicism. “Although it is rather remarkable that we managed to find our ideal wives, and that they happened to be sisters.”

When the three noblemen turned to admire the beautiful Loring sisters, Heath knew his friends’ feelings for their respective ladies were very similar to his own for Lily.

“Yet I had to work for my bride,” Heath reminded them. “I had the devil of a time convincing Lily even to allow my courtship.”

“Then it was extremely fortunate,” Lady Eleanor interrupted as she moved to her brother’s side, “that you didn’t give up, Heath. You and Lily are perfect for each other.”

Grinning, Heath gave Eleanor a bow of acknowledgment. “And I have you to thank for helping Lily to come to her senses by pretending a betrothal to me.”

Marcus’s look was teasing as well as he put a brotherly arm around Eleanor’s shoulder. “What was that, Nell? Your third betrothal?”

She made a humorous face. “I suppose so, even though this engagement was a total fabrication and only lasted a few hours.”

Marcus turned to Heath. “I trust you used discretion in having that false announcement printed?”

“I did. The publisher and his printer are sworn to secrecy, with their palms well greased.”

“Good,” Marcus replied. “If word got out about yet another broken betrothal of Eleanor’s, it would only cement her reputation as a jilt and make it even harder for her to wed. And unlike Lily, she doesn’t wish to remain a spinster for the rest of her life. Isn’t that so, minx?”

Eleanor nodded cheerfully. “Yes, dearest brother. I would very much like to find true love as you and Heath and Drew have done. I have not given up hope. Miss Irwin’s book, which reportedly advises young ladies on how to catch a husband, is to be published soon. Perhaps it will help me to find my ideal mate.”

Lady Freemantle overheard her comment and called over to her. “If you need any assistance, Lady Eleanor, I am just the person you need.”

“Thank you, my lady,” Eleanor said with a smile. “I will keep your kind offer in mind.”

Fanny joined their conversation then. “Lady Eleanor, I would be pleased to let you read my book in advance. If you find my advice beneficial, you might suggest its purchase to your genteel friends.”

“I would be delighted to read and promote it, Miss Irwin.”

“Thank you. I am hoping the proceeds will be profitable enough to allow me to become an authoress full time.”

When Fanny glanced at Basil, whose face was still discolored from his beatings, the tender look they shared only confirmed Lily’s suspicion that they wanted a future together. Heath had promised Lily he would do his part to help their love affair progress, beginning with finding a more profitable post for Basil than law clerk. Thus far he had three possible positions in mind.

And Basil already looked the part of a nobleman’s secretary. The elderly courtesans had taken him in hand, intent on turning him into a fashionable gentleman. Under their direction, Basil had shed his clerkish aura along with his homely attire. Now dressed in an expertly tailored frock coat and pantaloons and shiny Hessian boots, he carried himself with far more confidence, more manliness, even, as if he planned to be the equal of a beautiful Cyprian like Fanny.

The crowd shifted a little just then so that Tess Blanchard could move closer to Heath. “I wish to thank you, Lord Claybourne, for your generosity to my causes. We are fortunate to have such a magnanimous benefactor. You may be pleased to know I have located a house that might do very well for your needs.”

“Oh?” Winifred broke in. “But his lordship already has a magnificent house—several of them, in fact.”

Lily replied for Tess. “We plan to start a home for needy women, Winifred. A place where desperate girls can find refuge and learn various skills that will allow them to seek respectable employment.”

“How admirable,” Winifred exclaimed, eyeing Heath in approval.

“I cannot take the credit,” he said, holding out his hand to Lily. “My lovely bride came up with the idea.”

Taking his hand, Lily moved to stand beside him. “But you are making it a reality. It is extraordinary, how willing you are to champion my cause.”

When the conversation moved on, Heath bent to murmur in Lily’s ear so that only she could hear. “That is what love does to a man, wife of mine. Makes him willing to slay dragons for his lady.”

Lily’s eyes danced as she gazed up at him. “Are you offering to slay my dragons, husband?”

“If you should need me to—although you are fierce enough to do your own slaying in most instances.”

“I shall take that as a compliment.”

“It was intended to be,” Heath said, pressing a light kiss on her temple.

He did indeed mean his comment as praise, Heath thought, watching Lily blush at his intimate gesture. He wouldn’t change a thing about her, most certainly not her passionate nature. She would face villains with fists swinging, but she would be standing at his side. And she would love him with a fierce loyalty, he had no doubt.

He felt the same way about her. The love he felt for Lily was intense, ungovernable, while desire echoed fiercely in his heart.

Winifred happened to notice Lily’s flushed cheeks and boldly called the company’s attention to the fact that it was Lord and Lady Claybourne’s wedding day. “I believe we should take our leave and allow the lovebirds some privacy,” her ladyship said in her own blunt style.

Heath agreed wholeheartedly, yet it was nearly half an hour later before the wedding party broke up for good. By then his servants had finished packing up the remains of the celebration and loading the tables and chairs into wagons.

One by one the guests said their farewells to the bridal couple. Arabella and Roslyn were the last to go. Rather surprisingly, tears shone in Lily’s eyes as her sisters embraced her.

“Please don’t cry, dearest,” Roslyn implored, “or you will have me doing the same.”

“Nonsense,” Arabella said fondly. “Neither of you has any reason for tears. Lily, it isn’t as if we are abandoning you. We will see you in less than a fortnight in Brittany.”

Arabella and Marcus were planning a voyage to Brittany as well, so that the three sisters could hold a reunion with their mother. Both Roslyn and Lily had wed since Victoria and her French husband had visited England earlier this summer and attended Arabella’s nuptials.

“I know,” Lily replied, dashing the moisture from her eyes.

She let her sisters go eventually but stood watching as their husbands escorted them safely down the gangway to the quay to settle in their waiting carriages.

“Are you still sad about losing your sisters to matrimony?” Heath asked curiously.

Slipping her arm through his, Lily managed a bright smile. “No, not now. It is just that we are all beginning new lives apart from each other. But I cannot be sad when I have you.”

She stood at the railing another moment, watching as the carriages pulled away. Heath, however, watched her. He had frequently imagined Lily at the bow of this ship, sunlight burnishing her dark chestnut hair as it streamed out behind her in the wind. There was little wind just now, but the sun brought out the shimmering copper and gold in the strands.

When Heath dropped a kiss onto the crown of her head, Lily turned to look at him with an adoring glance. “You needn’t worry about my happiness, Heath. I could not be any happier. And I have no doubt that our wedding voyage will be the first of many wonderful adventures together.”

“It will be if I have any say in the matter.”

Reaching up, Lily entwined her arms around his neck. “Do you know what I think?”

“No, sweetheart, what do you think?”

“That love will be the grandest adventure of all.”

“I could easily be persuaded to agree.”

He captured her enchanting smile with a kiss and drew her close. It had been far too long since he’d last held her this way.

“Shall we go below to our cabin, my lady?” Heath murmured when he eventually broke off.

Lily raised a teasing eyebrow. “Oh? What did you have in mind?”

“I mean to seduce my bride. I promised you a memorable seduction on our wedding night, did I not?”

She felt a surge of heat at the desire she saw shimmering in his eyes. “Indeed you did. So why are we tarrying here?”

Of one accord, they turned to cross the deck. Her blood pulsing with anticipation and excitement, Lily allowed Heath to lead her below. By the time they reached their cabin, her heart was thudding against her ribs.

And the moment he shut the door behind them, they were in each other’s arms.

“At last,” Heath rasped before taking her mouth with the same fervency Lily was feeling. She responded fiercely to his every touch, his every kiss, his demanding lips, his masterful arms. With every breath she took, she wanted him more.

They were both wildly out of control as they shed their clothing…and then they were naked, gloriously naked.

Heath’s eyes blazed with desire, with love, as he urged Lily to the berth. They fell together onto the silken sheets, locked together in a sensual tangle, so fierce yet so tender. A shower of heat bathed them when he came into her body and became part of her.

Lily shuddered as Heath filled her to overflowing. The powerful feeling pulsed deep inside her—a happiness so sweet and rare, it felt like shimmering sunlight. She was full to bursting with joy and wonder. And as her body shattered, she carried Heath with her.

When it was over, they clung to each other, breathless and sated, glorying in their joining.

Finally Heath muttered an exhausted oath in her ear. “Damn, but I meant our consummation to go slowly. That was hardly a seduction.”

“No,” Lily agreed weakly. “It was a conflagration.”

They laughed softly into each other’s mouths as they kissed again. Then, easing his weight from her, Heath rolled onto his side and gathered Lily to him with heart-melting care.

“It was worth the wait,” he murmured hoarsely after another long interval. “I never realized that carnal pleasure could be so satisfying.”

“Mmmm,” she agreed dreamily.

It was true, Lily thought as she lay with her cheek against his heartbeat. Their passionate lovemaking as husband and wife was more satisfying, more thrilling, more joyous than as mere lovers.

And while she lay there savoring his warmth, another realization struck her: She was bound to Heath now, yet she had never felt so free. She had found freedom in his arms, much to her amazement. He had taught her about trusting. He had taught her the power of love.

She had no doubts now that their union would prosper. Heath was her husband; her friend and lover for always. The man whose smile could control the rhythm of her heart.

Lily pressed her lips tenderly against the warm bare skin of his chest. Nothing in her life had ever seemed this natural, this right. And when Heath’s arms tightened around her, she sighed at the magic of being treasured by such a special man. She was loved, deeply loved.

No woman could ask for more.

“Have I told you how thankful I am for your persistence?” Lily murmured at last, lifting her head so that she could see his face.

“Not lately, wife. Why don’t you tell me again?”

“I am thankful, Heath. I am profoundly grateful that you would not give up on me. And even more grateful that you came to love me.”

His eyebrow arched. “I have told you countless times, I don’t want your gratitude…but in this case, I will make an exception.”

Slipping his hand behind her nape, Heath favored her with an alluring male smile—that same wickedly charming smile she had come to cherish. “But now, my lovely bride,” he said provocatively, “what of this seduction I promised you?”

Lily flashed him a saucy smile. “Perhaps we should hold a contest to see who can best seduce whom.”

“I am more than willing to compete,” Heath agreed huskily, bringing her mouth closer to his. “But be warned, angel, I intend to win.”

Giving a laugh of elemental satisfaction, she bent her head. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”