How to Fool a Dashing Duke – Extended Epilogue

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Jenny walked slowly towards the end of the garden path, gazing out over the rolling hills that seemed to spread before her like a blanket of verdant green. It was a chilly day; a hint of the winter that was about to come. She tightened the white shawl that she had wrapped around her shoulders before venturing out for her habitual morning walk.

She smiled slowly. This was the most beautiful vista that she had ever beheld, and one that she never tired of. The very first time that Benjamin had brought her here after their wedding day, she had known that she was home in a way that she had never felt before. As if this large manor house, and the landscape, had beckoned her, like a lost child, into its folds.

Her smile widened, as a deep sense of fulfillment swept over her. It had been five years since she had first come here, as a scared, anxious bride. The new duchess, desperately trying to do the right thing, even though she had no idea what that was. This manor house, nestled in the hills of Surrey, was apparently a minor property that Benjamin owned; part of his duchy’s assets.

The bigger country manor where his father resided was out of bounds then, and so they had decided to set up married life here until the storm over their nuptials had settled. Two years had passed before the old duke had begrudgingly decided to forgive his son, and to receive them at the main manor. But by that time, they had already made this their home, and Jenny could not imagine living anywhere else.

She knew that one day they would probably move to the main manor, but she kept resisting it. She did not know how she would leave this place when the time came, but she guessed they would cope with that like they had coped with everything else since they had first been married.

She was so lost in her reverie that she didn’t hear the footsteps behind her, until there was a small hand tugging at her skirt. She turned, staring down, her heart-melting.

“Mama.” It was Teddy, her oldest son, just four years old, and as precocious as a jumping bean. His blue eyes were shining. “You must come back to the house! Aunt Susan and Uncle Lewis have arrived!”

“Oh my goodness, they are early,” said Jenny, scooping the golden-haired boy up in her arms. “Did Papa send you out to fetch me?”

The boy nodded self-importantly. “He said that I must fetch you, and to tell you that Meg is awake and calling for you, as well.”

Jenny tickled him, in the stomach. The boy bent over, laughing, trying to squirm out of her hands. “Well, we had better go inside then, hadn’t we? We cannot keep your little sister waiting either. She will cry and we cannot have that, can we?”

Teddy shook his head. She set him back down on the ground, taking his pudgy hand in her own as they walked slowly back towards the house.

She felt a twinge of excitement. She had not seen Susan and Lewis in over three months. Even though they lived close – only five miles away, on a dreamy country estate – they had been leisurely touring the continent, and had only just arrived home with their three small children last week. She simply could not wait to catch up on her dear friend’s latest adventures.

She had grown used to having Susan close. During their first year of marriage, Susan and Lewis had lived abroad in Rennes, France, so that he could work, and Jenny had missed her desperately. But eventually, after the arrival of their first child, a blonde-haired girl named Rose, they had decided to return to England to bring up their family. 

Benjamin had helped them find Gabaldon House, just five miles away, and soon they were settled. Two more children had followed for the Leeson family, and Jenny was over the moon that her own children were growing up with Susan’s as their close cousins.

She gazed down at the golden hair of her son. Teddy’s real name was Edward, named for Benjamin’s father, but he had never been called it. Just like Meg, their two-year-old daughter, had never been known by her baptismal name of Margaret, either. Benjamin had named her, as well, for his late mother. But Meg’s second name was Ellen, for her own sweet mother.

Margaret Ellen, thought Jenny, with satisfaction. A name fused from both their worlds.

She had never forgotten her own family, as humble as they were. After the initial shock that their daughter was about to become a duchess, they had started speaking to her again. And they had even accepted a small cottage along the coast of Cornwall, as a gift from Benjamin. Her mother and father were retired, now, living a life they could never have dreamt of.

It had taken a while, but everyone had come around eventually.

They were almost to the door when it suddenly opened. It was Benjamin, standing there, grinning at her. In his arms nestled Meg, her small head resting on his shoulder, and her thumb in her mouth. She looked just like a china doll, with her big blue eyes, pale skin, and dark chestnut hair.

“There you are,” said Benjamin, his eyes raking over her. “The Leeson family are in the drawing-room, bursting with news of their travels.”

Jenny smiled at her husband. “I cannot wait to hear all the news.”

He held out his hand to her, and she took it. They all walked together, hand in hand, back into the house. Her little family. Just as they approached the stairs he leaned over, whispering in her ear.

“You look divine today,” he whispered. “I simply cannot wait to take you in my arms tonight, after they are all abed…”

Jenny grinned, turning to him, a mock stern look on her face. “Not in front of the children,” she whispered back.

He looked shamefaced, nodding, but his blue eyes were bright with desire and the promise of what was to come.

Jenny shivered. Suddenly, she simply could not wait for the day to be over, either.

                                                                             ***

Susan was sitting on the floor of the drawing room, playing with her two youngest children, Arthur and Gerard, when they entered. Lewis was standing next to the mantelpiece, his hands towards the roaring fire in the grate, as was their eldest, Rose.

Susan’s eyes lit up, and she sprang to her feet, almost hurtling towards Jenny. “Oh, it has been an age!” she cried, embracing her friend tightly. “We have so much to catch up on!”

Jenny smiled, her heart almost overflowing. Dear Susan. If it hadn’t been for her, these past few years and her sage advice on how to be a ‘real lady’, she did not know how she would have managed her new life at all.

It had been overwhelming in that first year, when her dear friend had been in France. The servants at this manor had heard rumors that the new duchess had once been a servant, like them, and had been wary with her. She had made many mistakes, and sometimes they treated her disrespectfully. Often she had felt as if she were still performing a masquerade, play-acting at being a lady.

Benjamin had dealt with all of that, of course, but it had still been hard. Slowly, they had come to respect her, but it had taken a long time. And it was only after Susan had come back to England, and set up home so close, that she had felt herself settling into her new role at long last. 

But she still had to pinch herself, when her title was announced.

The Duchess of Beaufort.

During all of it Benjamin had been by her side, whispering words of encouragement, when her courage had started to fail. He had never wavered in his belief that they had done the right thing; that their love was worth all the hardship they must endure. From the moment they had exchanged their vows, and became man and wife, he had been by her side, loyally supporting her.

She simply did not know how she had deserved such a fine husband.

Teddy had come almost a year to the day after their wedding, and then Meg, two years after that. They were a family, now. A close-knit family, that did simply everything together. 

She had never been happier in her life.

“Come,” said Jenny, to her friend. “Let us sit down, and you can tell us, about all your travels. I simply cannot wait to hear your adventures.”

                                                                         ***

Later that day, when the children were all upstairs resting under the strict eyes of their nannies, she and Susan wandered the vast grounds of the estate, arm in arm, in companionable silence.

“You know,” said Susan, when they reached the end of the walk. “As wonderful and exciting as it was to see all those beautiful countries and cities in Europe, this is still my favorite place in the world, and always will be.” She paused, her eyes roaming the hills in the distance. “It is true, what they say. There is no place like home.”

Jenny squeezed her arm. “I still cannot believe that we are neighbors,” she said, following her friend’s gaze to the landscape beyond. “And that we are allowed to call upon one another as equals…”

Susan turned to her, a look of amazement on her face. “I do not believe you, Jenny Bamber,” she said slowly. “Are you still feeling like my maid at heart, even after all these years?”

Jenny sighed. “I know that my life is real. But yes, at heart, I do sometimes feel that it is too good to be true. That somehow, it is all going to be snatched away from me.” She hesitated. “How many people get everything that they want from life, Susan?”

Susan frowned. “Jenny, you are being superstitious,” she said. “It has been five years, for goodness sake! You have a husband who worships the ground that you walk upon, and two beautiful children. Even the old duke has accepted you, at long last. No one is going to take it away from you, my friend. You must relax, loosen the grip on this old fear.”

Jenny’s eyes filled with tears. “I suppose it is superstition,” she said eventually. “There is an old folk tale about a girl who pretends to be something she is not and pays for it in the end.” She hesitated. “My mother used to tell it to me, when I was a little girl. I suppose its message sunk in…”

Susan snorted loudly. “A folk tale! Are you telling me that all this needless fear is because of a silly bedtime story?”

Jenny shrugged, feeling foolish, but she still could not let it go.

Susan swung her around. “Listen to me, Jenny Bamber,” she said, in a stern voice. “You are the Duchess of Beaufort now. It does not matter anymore how or where you started in life. The point is, to live in the moment. To appreciate everything that your life is now. It will not be taken away from you. You must believe me.”

“I suppose,” said Jenny, frowning slightly.

“Remember what you told me,” said Susan fiercely. “The duke, when he proposed, telling you that you were a true lady at heart, and always had been. It is true, Jenny. Not every maid could have made the transition that you have to this new life, but you have handled it with aplomb. With true grace and style.” She paused, gazing at her intently. “You have handled it because of who you are, deep down, and always have been. A clever, kind, witty lady, who just needed the chance to flourish and become who she truly is.”

Jenny gaped at her friend.

“I always saw it,” said Susan. “Why do you think we became such good friends, and why I insisted that we play that game of dressing you up for the duke? Because I knew that you were more than you were born to, and just needed the opportunity to become who you really were inside.”

Jenny’s eyes filled with tears. She felt a knot dissolving inside her at her friend’s words.

Maybe they were true. Maybe she had always been meant to become the woman that she now was. Maybe it had been her destiny, all along.

                                                                                 ***

That night, after Susan, Lewis and their children had left, Jenny kissed her children good night before trailing up the staircase towards the marital bedchamber. She felt exhausted after the whirlwind visit, but also strangely exhilarated, in some way.

She shivered, with anticipation. Benjamin had promised that they would lie in each other’s arms tonight, and she had felt his warm gaze upon her all through dinner.

I am the luckiest woman in the world.

He had proven to be a wonderful husband. Not only had he supported her in her new role, right from the start, but he had bent over backward to help her desire to improve herself. He was constantly buying her books, which she devoured. They often discussed them, deep into the night. 

But it wasn’t only that. The deep physical attraction that had pulled them together to begin with had not diminished with time. They had fallen deeper and deeper in love with each other, and he had skilfully made love to her, every night. She blushed slightly, thinking of the passion that burnt between them. It was simply astounding that he still desired her as fiercely as he had since they had first lain together.

I am the luckiest woman in the world.

A wonderful husband. Two beautiful children. A perfect home. She did not care about the trappings of wealth and position that came with her new life, but she knew better than to dismiss the benefits of these. She had come from a hard background and always thanked the Lord that her own children would never go hungry like she sometimes had.

She opened the bedroom door. He was sitting up in bed, reading a book, but he put it down quickly, staring at her with burning eyes.

“My love,” he said, reaching out a hand towards her. “Come to me.”

She smiled, acquiescing. On the edge of the bed she sat down, gazing at him steadily.

“Jenny Bamber,” he said, his eyes trailing over her. “You are more beautiful than the day that I first laid eyes on you, and that is saying something.” He picked up a strand of her hair, letting it fall between his fingers. “Not a skerrick of grey in there.”

She sighed with pure love. “Why do you always call me Jenny Bamber?”

“Because that is who you are,” he said, pulling her towards him. “The Duchess of Beaufort is only a title, my love. And because I am proud of who you are.”

She smiled quizzically, into his chest. It was strange, but somehow she believed him.

It had been so hard for him, at first. She knew how much effort it had taken for him to finally accept her for who she was, before they were married. But it was as if as soon as he had made the decision, everything had changed for him.

He wasn’t ashamed that she had once been a maid. He wasn’t embarrassed by her in the least. Rather, his love and admiration for her had grown stronger. Now, he proudly proclaimed who she had been before she married him.

It was a mystery, but one that she was forever grateful for. She didn’t know if she could have borne it, if he had regretted his decision to marry her.

“I love you,” she whispered against his chest. “I love you so much.”

“Just as I love you,” he whispered back, into her hair. “And I always will. Nothing will ever change that love, Jenny. You are mine…forever.”

He pushed her beneath him, on the bed, hovering over her. Then slowly, he bent his head, kissing her, in a lingering way. She felt the familiar surge in her blood, whenever he touched her. That fierce desire for him, that never abated.

“Just be careful,” she whispered, her eyes alight with mischief, as he kissed her neck. “I might be in the family way again…”

He pulled back, staring at her. “Really?”

She nodded, her hand hovering over her belly. “I think so,” she whispered. “I will soon know for certain. Are you happy? A third child…”

He grabbed her, pulling her up, so they were both sitting atop the bed. He took her hand, kissing it tenderly.

“I am over the moon,” he said, gazing into her eyes. “You know that I have always wanted a large family.” He looked a little regretful. “I suppose I should leave you be…”

“Why?” she whispered, leaning forward, and biting his earlobe. “It shall not hurt the babe, if there is one. How could it? It was conceived in our love, after all.”

They didn’t say another word. Slowly, he leaned over her, blowing out the candle so that they were in sudden darkness.

She felt his hand on her again, and the searing caress over her flesh. She closed her eyes in ecstasy.

She was exactly where she wanted to be. And she was exactly who she wanted to be, at long last. As if she had finally grown into the role, and the woman. The lady.

She was Jenny Bamber, the Duchess of Beaufort. A perfect fusion of both worlds. And she wouldn’t change a single thing, of her past. All of it had led to this moment, to lying in this man’s arms, with her children sleeping down the hallway, and another perhaps nestled in her belly, waiting to be born into their love.

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Grab my new series, "Lust and Love in High Society", and get 5 FREE novels as a gift! Have a look here!

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