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Three months later…
“I cannot believe that this is actually happening!” Eleanor cried, looking at all of Amelia’s suitcases by the door. “I know that we have talked about this for over a month, but I never really thought that this day would come. How am I supposed to even begin to say goodbye to you?”
Amelia chuckled lovingly and placed her final bag upon the top of the heap of her things. “This is not goodbye, this is just ‘see you soon’, my dear. I am not leaving you forever, I am just going to go and stay with my sister until I am able to find accommodation for myself. I am sure that I will be able to find somewhere not too far from here so that we might continue to see each other very frequently and continue our wonderful friendship.”
Amelia squeezed Eleanor’s hand and gave her a brave smile, but Eleanor could tell that underneath it, she was feeling the same way that the author was about her departure. After Eleanor and Alexander had married, Amelia had officially been ‘unemployed’ by Eleanor, but of course she had still insisted on paying her for staying at the estate with them. Eleanor would have gladly supported Amelia for the rest of her life if she had stayed at the house, but she knew that she couldn’t impose that upon her friend. She had to let her go out into the world and have her own life.
“I suppose that is all right,” Eleanor said, walking over to her and giving her another hug. She had been embracing Amelia almost constantly all morning, as she could not think of anything else to do. “But who will coach me through all of my problems in life? What shall I do when I am experiencing writer’s block?”
Amelia laughed and rubbed Eleanor’s arm. “You have Alexander for all of that now, you don’t need me to be your constant companion anymore!”
“Yes, but he doesn’t know me as you do quite yet,” Eleanor said truthfully. “You and I have spent so much time together over the years that you know me better than I know myself, and that has always been such a great comfort to me. Any time I think I’ll never be able to figure out what to do about something, you just pop in and give me the exact advice I need!”
Amelia sighed good-naturedly. “Then you need to begin training Alexander so that he might become better at it more quickly.”
Both women laughed, and then Alexander arrived from the direction of his office.
“All packed up and ready, Amelia? I’ve asked the carriage to be ready to go for you in thirty minute’s time,” he informed her. “You know that you do not have to go though, right? We have enough rooms in this house for fifteen extra people, and you are more than welcome to stay here forever, if you’d like. I know that we would love to have you stay.”
Alexander slipped his hand inside of Eleanor’s and she was immediately comforted by the feeling of his warmth. She was absolutely dreading bidding farewell to her dear companion, but the fact that she had the rest of her life with Alexander to look forward to was a great comfort to her.
“Oh yes, you have both offered me that option from the moment that I told you I decided to go,” Amelia replied. “But you have to start your life together, and I do not wish to become that lonely old woman who no one really knows why she is here. She just wanders the halls all day, doing her needlework and looking longingly at nothing in particular.”
Eleanor laughed out loud. “Amelia, if you ever become a lonely old woman, then I will have failed you entirely as a friend! You’ll be a part of our family if you stay here, my dear, and you know that.”
Amelia slowly shook her head. “Thank you, thank you both ever so much…”
She trailed off for a moment and looked off in the direction of the servant’s stairway. Eleanor knew immediately why she was doing that, but she didn’t dare say a word. It had silently broken Eleanor’s heart that her companion’s relationship with Mr. Bates had never blossomed into anything more. They had taken a great many walks together over the last few months, they had taken such pleasure in each other’s company, and she had seen them exchange so many longing looks that she felt like telling them both to get over themselves and be together already.
But alas, it seemed that Mr. Bates never got up his nerve to ask Amelia to be with him. She supposed it was because his job was so important to him and he did not wish to give it up when they married, but Eleanor didn’t see why he had to. Amelia would live in the house with them, and Mr. Bates could continue to work for as long as he’d like. Eleanor had even started planting ideas of constructing a cottage on the property so that the couple could retire to it when the time came.
“But I’m afraid that my mind is already made up. I shall go and stay with my sister for a time, and then when I am able to find somewhere to live, I will move there. I will come back and visit very frequently though, as I promised the both of you,” Amelia reassured them.
An idea suddenly popped into Eleanor’s mind. “Well, how about if you haven’t found an appropriate place to live in six months’ time, you come back and stay with us for a few months? I do believe I shall be requiring some…extra assistance right around that time as well.”
Eleanor looked excitedly towards her companion, and at first, Amelia looked utterly confused. “Why will you need extra help in six months, Eleanor?”
Eleanor sighed. “Amelia, I thought that you might be quicker than that. Why would I require extra assistance around the house? What happened three months ago? Three plus six is…”
As Eleanor watched, the realization slowly dawned on her ex-companion and she began jumping around excitedly, clapping her hands and cheering.
“You’re pregnant! You’re pregnant!” she cried excitedly, her eyes immediately welling up with tears of joy. “I cannot believe it. Of course I will come and stay with you once the baby arrives!”
Amelia hugged Eleanor tightly and did not let go for quite some time. While they were hugging, Eleanor looked to her husband, who was laughing. Eleanor had told him as soon as she had the inkling that she might be in the family way, and he had been just as ecstatic as Amelia was.
“I cannot believe our luck!” he had said to her at the time. “To be welcoming a baby so soon after the wedding…that is absolutely incredible! Oh Eleanor, you have made me the happiest man on earth!”
They had kissed for what had felt like an eternity, and it made Eleanor feel all warm and fuzzy as she thought about it now.
Amelia eventually let go of her ex-employer and went to deliver the same embrace to Alexander. “I could not be happier for the two of you; you deserve all the happiness in the world!”
Eleanor suddenly heard footsteps from behind her and when she turned around to see who had come upon the scene, she was very surprised to see Mr. Bates.
“I do hope that all of the cries I have been hearing emitting from this hallway have been ones of excitement, as opposed to despair,” he said.
Eleanor nodded and chuckled, and then looked back in the direction of her husband. “Shall I inform him?”
Alexander nodded emphatically and then Eleanor turned her attention back to the butler. “Mr. Bates, Alexander and I were just informing Amelia of some rather exciting news.”
“Is that right?” Mr. Bates asked. “And what news was this? Has a reason been invented for Miss Jenkins to stay with us?”
Eleanor shook her head sadly. “I wish that were the case, but no.”
“Winston,” Alexander said gently, “Eleanor and I are expecting our first child in six months’ time.”
The butler stared at the couple, absolutely dumbfounded. “A…a child? You are having a child together? This soon? How did that…no, that is not what I wish to ask. But even still, how did that happen?”
Eleanor thought at first that the butler sounded…annoyed, but then she saw that his eyes were welling up with tears. “Mr. Bates are you…are you crying?”
Mr. Bates quickly wiped his eyes. “Certainly not, it is just very bright in here. But I am quite happy to hear of this news. I cannot express how overjoyed I am.”
Mr. Bates said his sentiment in a very serious tone, trying to keep his composure, but the moment that Alexander opened his arms to him to embrace him, he couldn’t control himself. He began crying for real, and he accepted his employer’s embrace with gratitude.
“We know exactly how happy you are, as your sentiments are mirrored in our joy,” Eleanor heard Alexander say to his dear friend.
The men continued to embrace, and so Eleanor and Amelia hugged once more, absolutely overjoyed.
They then switched so that Mr. Bates was hugging Eleanor, and as they embraced, the butler whispered, “Lady Corbyn, I must ask you to simply refer to me as ‘Winston’ from now on. There is no need to stand upon occasion anymore.”
Eleanor laughed. “Winston it is, then, so long as you call me Eleanor. I do not believe I shall ever get used to being called a Lady!”
They both laughed, and then they broke apart.
When they did, Winston looked at her and said quietly, “Eleanor, should I do it?”
At first, Eleanor did not know what he was referring to, but then he looked back in the direction of Amelia and she understood.
“Oh for goodness’ sake, if you don’t, I shall inform her for you,” Eleanor said, exasperated.
Winston smiled at her and winked, suddenly looking slightly nervous.
But then, he turned around and abruptly said to Amelia, “Miss Jenkins, you do not have to leave if you don’t want to.”
Amelia froze. “Yes, I am very well aware of that, thank you Mr. Bates. Alexander and Eleanor have offered me…”
“No, no,” Winston corrected himself, “I do not mean that you have to accept their offer. I mean that you might stay here…with me.”
Amelia looked confused. “With you? Mr. Bates, that is very kind of you, but I do not believe I would be of great assistance within this household. You could certainly hire me on as a housekeeper, but I am far slower than I once was.”
Eleanor watched as a delighted smile crept across Winston’s face. “Amelia my darling, I do not mean that you should stay here with me as an employee of this household. I meant that you should stay here with me as my wife.”
Amelia’s eyes widened and she gasped. “Winston, are you…is this…”
But she didn’t have to finish her sentence, as Winston went down on one knee, took her hand and said, “Amelia Jenkins Hounslow, I have been in love with you since the day that I met you oh those many years ago. I was so happy that you were able to have your life with your late husband, but now I would treasure the chance to be with you. I am not able to offer you much, but I can promise you that I will love and honour you for all of the days of your life. You are the most magnificent woman in the world to me, and if you gave me the chance to be your beloved, I would endeavour to show you how special you are to me forever.”
Amelia looked completely overwhelmed and began crying and shaking. She was quivering so hard that she could barely keep her hand inside of Winston’s grasp.
Finally she caught her breath enough to say, “Oh, Winston. You could not have made me happier if you tried. Yes, yes I will marry you!”
And then Winston and Amelia kissed and embraced, and Eleanor began bawling. Alexander came to her and held her while she cried, but she could tell that he was crying too. When the newly engaged couple finally broke apart, the embraces began all over again and everyone laughed.
“Amelia, I must tell you that I honestly cannot say which I am more excited for: the fact that you are going to be married to Winston, or that you will finally get to stay with us,” Eleanor admitted honestly.
“Yes, I suppose that I should have my bags taken back up to my room, shouldn’t I?” Amelia said, laughing through her tears. “I cannot believe that he didn’t do this sooner so that I did not have to go through all of that packing!”
Both women laughed uproariously and Eleanor gave her one last hug before she went off to be with Winston. The couple walked down the hall together, hand-in-hand, and Eleanor felt positively overwhelmed with happiness.
She turned back to her husband and said, “Well, if that didn’t work out perfectly, I don’t know what would! Winston really should have told her that sooner, but I suppose that I cannot fault him. People will surprise you no matter how well you know them.”
Alexander put his arm around his wife and pulled her into him. “Eleanor, it is funny that you should say that.”
They walked down the hall towards their room holding hands and Eleanor replied, “Really? Why is that?”
Alexander opened their bedroom door and Eleanor saw that there was a book lying upon their bed. “You see, I came across this fascinating sounding book not too long ago, and I finally had the chance to give it a read. It is a romance story about a young author who falls madly in love with a Duke, but there are parts of the book that would made a young maiden’s cheek blush, and so I don’t believe I shall tell you any more about it.”
Eleanor looked closer at the book and began feeling embarrassed. “Oh, is that right?”
“Yes, and as you can tell from the description alone, there are a great many similarities between the story and another relationship that I have recently become privy to,” Alexander informed his wife.
“Well, that sounds simply fascinating,” Eleanor tried to say nonchalantly, “but I haven’t heard of this book. Should I have?”
Alexander smiled coyly at her. “Eleanor, we could continue to play this game, but I don’t feel like teasing you, at least not in this way, right now. The book was written by a ‘George Gregory,” which I believe is the most obvious pen name I have ever seen. Is there any chance that you might have written such a book?”
Eleanor blushed. “How could I have written a book like that, my love? I have never written a romance book in my life, and I believe that I would have informed you if I wrote any other book since we had been married!”
Alexander chuckled and took a step towards her. “Eleanor, if you aren’t going to admit to the fact that you wrote this book, then I shall have to do something to get that confession out of you.”
Alexander ran his fingers along her cheek and goosebumps appeared on Eleanor’s skin.
“Well then,” she said seductively, “I suppose you’re just going to have to use those tactics and see if I crack under…pressure.”
Alexander chuckled darkly and then kissed his wife passionately.
“This is going to be fun,” he whispered in her ear, and then lay her down on the bed. For the next hour, Alexander tried his very ‘hardest’ to get Eleanor to admit to having written the book, and in the end she finally admitted to it. But that was only because the Duke had been so kind as to have his way with her and made her feel more pleasure than she had ever felt in her life. She felt as though this was a fair compromise, after all.
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OFFER: A BRAND NEW SERIES AND 5 FREEBIES FOR YOU!
Grab my new series, "Lust and Love in High Society", and get 5 FREE novels as a gift! Have a look here!
Hello my dear readers. I hope you enjoyed the book and this Extended Epilogue! I will be waiting for your comments below. Thank you so much! 🙂
Another amazing story. This plot had me enthralled from the very start. The characters are wonderfully portrayed, and progress on a beautifully crafted journey from mistrust to a delightful HEA. The extended epilogue, is a brilliant device to bring their story’s to completion.
I am so glad to hear that, my dear Stephen!
This is a different story in which the characters actually flirted with each other in a careful way. I liked it because the characters were so delightful and the dialog great. The epilogue was frosting on the cake.
I am so glad to hear that, my dear!
These characters were so believable that I found myself falling in love with them. The romance of the book was lovely, and the ROMANCE of the book was very exciting. I think we forget that people from the past had enormous love and passion for each other just as we do today. I always surprised to think we didn’t invent it!
My dear, I am so glad to hear that!
A very good but different story with a good plot and engaging characters
Thank you so much, my dear Gwen!
Flirting and teasing; what a strange way for two people to act. Not really but if you knew the Duke you would think he was out of his mind. Women just fell to his feet until he hired Eleanor. A great way to get to k ow each other and a great story it was. A must read even though the proofreaders missed some errors.
Truly enjoyed reading this book. It was lively, interesting and entertaining read. Characters were different from the usual. Storyline moved right along. Extended Epilogue was perfect in letting us see what happened to Amelia. Would like to have seen the Duke with new baby and the gender.
I really enjoyed the story.
Oh wow! How to change a rake in about tow easy lessons. As for the Prince Regent, I have heard many stories about him. But this time he lost, and a lovely young couple had a life of love and happiness.
Very enjoyable read that was way different from others I have read. Prince was humorous and how he interacted with the Duke was intriguing. Loved the dual love stories.
The story held your attention as the there was a part where you were sure nothing was going g to between them. I almost skipped chapters to see the ending it I didn’t. I am glad that I didn’t as it was a delightful read. The extended writing. It’s brought so muct together. That you for writing a different kind of story.
I reading this book, I’m glad they got to be together, with the prince he was a jerk & a lizard telling him the duke he had to get his permission to marry, because he was 6th from the thong, I love what he did to the prince with the paper from the book, thank you For you writing such good books.
This was a very well-written book! I loved the character development and felt that I was experiencing the feelings of the couple.
My dear, I am so glad to hear that!
A nice story of mind playing of who was to win, Eleanor or Alexandra. In the end they both won and had their happy ending. The Prince Regent was a jerk who abused his status. I’m glad Alexandra was able to beat him at his own game. The extended epilogue completed the story by including Amelia and Winstons fate. It would have been even better if Eleanor and Alexandras baby’s gender had been included
A great, entertaining love story. So happy both Eleanor and Amelia found happiness, despite the disgusting Prince Regent.
A delightful story of two individuals who initially had no interest in each other in a lasting way. Eleanor was there to write his memoirs; but Alexander wanted her to notice him at set about to make her squirm.
Another great story with a different twist. Eleanor is not your normal boring maiden, she is more real than the usual heroine. Alex is a true rouge but we all love rouges. Fun read!
A great story- but frequent grammatical errors that drove me crazy! Your editor/proofreader did yo a disservice.
A great story- but frequent grammatical errors that drove me crazy! Your editor/proofreader did you a disservice.
Thank you for your message, my dear Ellen!
You’re right and I really appreciate your feedback! I will keep that in mind for my future stories.
Make sure to stay tuned because I have more coming!
I loved this story of Alexander and Eleanor and was glad that Winston and Amelia also found their happily ever after. Wonderful story as always Henrietta
Thank you so much for your kind words and support, my dear Cheryl! It means the world to me!
So glad you enjoyed the story! Make sure to stay tuned because I have more coming!
Thank you again and have a lovely day!
You write your characters in a very believable, genuine way. Lovely story. Thank you.
Thank you so much for your kind words and support, my dear Sue. I truly appreciate it!
So glad you enjoyed the story! Make sure to stay tuned because I have more coming!
Thank you again and have a lovely day!
A riveting story with well developed, believable characters. Length was good too. Loved the read and especially the Epilogue, you dangled us to the end with the other romance. Definitely icing on the cake.
Thank you.
Thank you so much for your kind words and support, dear Lorraine. I truly appreciate it!
So glad you enjoyed the story! Make sure to stay tuned because I have more coming!
Thank you again and have a lovely day!
Loved the story and all the different plots going on at the same time. Nice ending in the extended epilogue
Thank you dear Irene!
Stay tuned there is more coming!
I Really enjoyed reading this wonderful journey of two characters who are absolutely different and are thrown together by a higher powerful and selfish man. The story is quite interesting and entertaining as are the other characters. Absolutely beautifully crafted with amazing twist in the extended epilogue to a beautiful ending. I absolutely loved and enjoyed reading this wonderful journey of love. Definitely a must read.
Thank you so much for this amazingly supportive comment my dear! I am glad you enjoyed it!
Another really intriguing story. Just the right amount of suspense and great character development. I could not put it down and the ending was perfect and the extended epilogue perfectly completed the story. I really love the way you portray the love and passion that developes! Perfect. I have read many of your books but I just read the digital versions and I believe that converting to digital is not a perfect process yet but I believe that is the problem mentioned about errors that were most likely not present in a printed version. I will be reading the next one you refer to next. Always different and intriguing and a Happy Ending! Thank you for making my life more pleasant in my older years. I am 82 now and recently discovered recency romance stories so I do not read anything else. I do not care that much for modern day stories and I love the time period and history of Recency Romance. On to the next one! Thank you!
Thank you so much for your kind words and support, dear Karen! I truly appreciate it!
So glad you enjoyed the story! Make sure to stay tuned because I have more coming!
Thank you again and have a lovely day!