Thank you so much for all the alerts and reviews. I am behind on replying but will get on it today.
You people broke 300 reviews with the last chapter. I'm humbled and thankful. Keep them coming.

The other brains behind this venture are Sunflower Fran & Alice's White Rabbit, who lend their talents to editing this.
RobsmyyummyCabanaboy and Deh are my pre-readers, plot coaches, shoulders to cry on, you name it, they do it.

So, let's get the other love birds married, shall we?

DISCLAIMER: I still don't own any of it.

CHAPTER 21

The distinctive sound of swishing silk pulled me out of my present musings, alerting me to a feminine presence encroaching on my self-imposed exile within the confines of the library at Cygnus Court.

I abandoned the bundle of papers I'd been perusing—even though we'd decamped to Bella's estate a week earlier in preparation for her birthday and Alice and Jasper's wedding the next week, my work never stopped, as the countless dispatches being sent on from Cornwall proved on a daily basis—and looked up to the extremely welcome sight of the lady of the manor herself.

"Come here, my love," I beckoned, and she obliged immediately, walking to my side of the desk and laying a loving hand on my shoulder.

"Still at your accounts, beloved?"

I answered with an exhausted sigh. "Alas, yes. The plantation is doing quite well despite my concerns. I'll be glad when Emmett finally gives me a straight answer to my offer."

"They'll be here tomorrow," she replied, leaning towards me for a kiss I eagerly reciprocated. I pulled her to sit on my lap before she could protest. To my utter delight, no protests came, only a shiver and a slight moan when my hand landed on Bella's silk-covered thigh.

"Right, for someone's birthday …" I said after breaking the kiss.

"Edward …" She sighed when I started a tantalising string of kisses down the column of her neck.

"Where's Alice?"

My sister had come to stay with us at Cygnus Court before the wedding while Lady Holcombe had elected to keep house for Jasper at Whitlock Hall and prepare the household for its new mistress. The easy distance between the two estates implied that on any given day, depending on wedding preparations, my sister could be in either location since she could conveniently rely on the presence of a chaperone anywhere she went.

"She stayed at the hall after luncheon. Some delivery was due from London, and she wanted to inspect it."

Ah, trousseau deliveries. Alice hadn't wanted to appear overly frivolous by demanding an extended trip to London to secure her new accoutrements, but with Bella and Lady Holcombe's counsel, she'd been convinced to drive down for a shorter trip to meet a few tradespeople with whom Lady Holcombe was already on good terms and who would accommodate her requests for deliveries in Somerset where necessary.

"She'll be back for dinner, I wager," I replied, mentally calculating how long I'd have before my sister intruded on my time with my wife again.

She'd almost caught the two of us in a compromising position a day or two ago. Nothing outrageous—but apparently, my young sister thought it quite scandalous for a married man to kiss his wife on a chaise longue in the cold light of day. It had taken Bella a good hour to explain that perhaps knocking would be a cautious, polite practice in a household where a newly married couple lived. Alice's blush had rivalled the intense hue of the ripe strawberries we'd had for dessert that evening, but she'd taken Bella's advice to heart. Her knocks now sounded unmistakable in both persistence and loudness.

With almost inhuman speed, I spirited Bella away from the library and into our bedchamber.

"What has gotten into you today, in heaven's name?" asked Bella as I marched her backwards to our bed without letting go of her or interrupting my ministrations.

"I've missed you today, love." Now positively ravenous for her, in my haste I divested my coat, waistcoat, and neckcloth in a haphazard pile on the floor. Young Higgs could deal with that later. I had better things to do. "You divine, tempting, alluring creature …" I whispered while my hand roamed under Bella's skirts. Damned petticoats. At least, she was wearing a gown that buttoned in the front—small mercy for an overeager husband.

"Edward …" She sighed against my lips.

I cradled her beloved face in my hands and stopped kissing her to gaze at her features. A new, powerful wave of desire drowned me, and my knees almost gave out underneath me when she looked up at me, her eyes alight with wonder and love, and her countenance flushed with excitement. "I truly cannot help myself, my love. And I'm not going to apologise for it."

She caressed me with the tips of her fingers, and her touch singed a trail of feverish want on my cheek in its wake. "Apologise for what, I pray?"

"For wanting you so much. It never stops, this yearning I have for you. I crave you constantly."

She lowered her gaze, suddenly shy at my brazen statement. Or perhaps it was because my hand persisted in travelling a path under her gowns, up the silken skin of her thigh, which trembled under my touch.

"Then don't."

The barely whispered words she uttered against my chest almost escaped me, and in my frenzied state, it took me an instant to construe her exact meaning.

"Don't apologise, Edward. It's the same for me, you know."

Louder and more determined, she now looked up at me with her hand resting at the top of my shirt as she slowly undid one button after another. With a stealthy motion I almost missed, her hands then began unfastening my trousers. The minx was nothing short of crafty and had been getting a tad more forward of late.

"I do want you, my love. Will you have me?"

She leaned back on the bed, pulling me on top of her, and in a rather undignified heap, I fell with her in more ways than one.

"Yes. My answer will always be yes."

A couple hours later, after I'd enjoyed a lazy and thoroughly satisfying afternoon with a rather adventurous Bella, we lay naked in each other's arms, procrastinating instead of preparing for dinner and resuming a more civilised state for Alice's return to Cygnus Court.

"I … we need to get dressed for dinner, beloved," Bella finally said.

"Always the responsible one, I swear. Fine, ruin my fun." I probably pouted like a petulant child.

"I don't believe I was ruining your fun earlier, was I?" she asked archly, running her delicate fingers through the smattering of auburn hair on my chest. Her movements were loving rather than suggestive, but her touch never failed to awaken my desire for her, which she clearly felt as entwined around me as she was. "Again, beloved?"

"You should be flattered, my love. You being near me is enough for me to … rise to the occasion," I quipped, curious to hear how she'd react to my rather forward remark.

"Scandalous, Mr Cullen, you're being positively scandalous. What will your sister say?"

I suppressed a laugh as Bella disentangled herself from under the covers and quickly stepped out of bed to retrieve her dressing gown. Her less than stealthy move treated me to a tantalising view of her naked curves, and I groaned, willing my ever-eager cock to stand down.

"My sister shouldn't even be mentioned while you're naked in bed with me, my love. But I'll overlook it because it's getting late. I wouldn't want to scandalise Mrs Higgins again."

I'd no sooner uttered those words than a sedate knock sounded on our door. It was Mrs Higgins' covert signal—Alice was back, and dinner would be served shortly.

It was time for Bella and me to be civilised again and leave the safe cocoon of our bed.

On the morrow, the day before Bella's birthday celebration, Bella and I welcomed Rosalie and Emmett back at Cygnus Court.

Alice—whose bridal sensibilities rendered her increasingly more agitated as the days wore on—had begged off dinner with them after the refreshments Mrs Higgins offered with our tea had not agreed with her weak stomach. There was still a full week before her nuptials, but Bella had privately suggested to me that seeing the first guests appear may have caused her early onset of anxiety. Bella and Rosalie, on their part, tried to rally her spirits and reassured her it was quite natural to feel nervous at such a time. Still, they said, if she wanted to retire early nobody would blame her, and she could certainly use a few more hours of rest with all the work she'd been doing in preparation for the wedding. Alice's early departure left the four of us to some amiable conversation after a lively dinner.

We sat in one of Bella's favourite rooms at Cygnus Court—the drawing room on the first floor that boasted a full-figure portrait of her parents. It reminded me of Bella's reluctance at having her likeness taken when I announced I'd hired a painter for her portrait. Maybe she would relent if I offered to sit with her, I wondered?

Mrs Higgins entered the room with one of the footmen, who helped her serve hot cocoa for the ladies and brandy for Emmett and myself, and then left with a curtsey in Bella's direction.

Once we were left to our own devices, I took my rightful seat beside Bella and smiled at her from my side of the settee when I refused to let go of her hand.

"Can I have my hand back, please?"

"I far prefer its present location, my love."

She huffed, shaking her head at my antics. It was a sort of running joke of ours—since we wed, I had the unceasing need to feel her, touch her, hold her, regardless of where we were or what we were doing. It had created some rather diverting incidents so far.

"I'm sure you do, but I'm having a hard time stirring my hot cocoa, one-handed as I am," she quipped.

If she hoped I'd behave in front of our guests, she was sorely mistaken.

"You are truly determined to ruin my fun today, wife."

Emmett chuckled at my repartee and threw in a comment of his own. "It's heartwarming, seeing the two of you like this."

"While I try to discipline your brother for polite company, you mean?" asked Bella, still quite amused at the entire situation.

"No, dear sister, not quite."

"Oh?" she asked again, no doubt unsure what Emmett's meaning might be.

"Happy. The two of you are truly happy together. You belong together. I'm wondering what Father would say if he knew."

Bella's gaze turned tender and contemplative. In a quite roundabout way, my father's wishes had come true. Bella had become a Cullen; she just married a different one. Emmett's comment prompted me to take a long look at him and Rosalie. I'd observed them quietly since their arrival this afternoon, and I'd noticed a few things.

Rosalie seemed less ebullient in her demeanour but hardly unhappy. There was a quiet grace and contentment in her features I'd not seen before. Emmett, on his part, had divested every last shred of moroseness our estrangement had caused him to harbour, and his bearing spoke of a man who'd shaken a massive burden off his shoulders. Also, a new light shone in his eyes—as if new hope for the future brewed in his heart.

"I'm sure he sees, Emmett," Bella said at length. "I hope you're no longer blaming yourself for what happened."

Emmett heaved a deep, cleansing sigh before replying. "No. I've ceased blaming myself for other people's actions. I'm determined to claim responsibility only for my own blunders from now on."

With a warm, loving smile on her lips, Rosalie patted his hand affectionately, and he entwined his fingers with hers almost on reflex. It occurred to me I'd rarely ever seen them show their affection in public before. Perhaps Emmett had taken my advice on that score, but it was hardly the time to question him on that.

"In fact, brother, I believe I owe you an answer. I'd like to give it now."

I nodded at him, unable to articulate my reaction into words yet. I thought it best to let him say his piece in its entirety before commenting.

Still clasping his wife's hand in his, he began. "Rosalie and I have had long discussions since you presented me with your offer a few weeks ago. We are honoured that you'd think of us … of me for this position, and we're aware it will be a drastic change to our life, but with your help and your advice, I believe we could be up to the task. If the offer stands, we'd be happy and proud to accept it."

I relinquished my hold on Bella's hand, rose from my seat, and offered Emmett my hand. When he shook mine, I pulled him to stand and clapped his shoulder in satisfaction.

"Thank you, brother. Now, we've got plenty of things to plan."

This wasn't the way I'd intended to wake on Bella's birthday, but I wasn't going to complain, especially if this vision turned out to be true and not the workings of my lustful imagination. Bella's luscious mane of mahogany hair cascaded on my chest, tickling my skin in delightful, tantalising ways. The touch of her hands singed my skin lower down on my abdomen, painfully close to my now erect cock, and then—and that's when I thought my grasp on reality was well and truly gone—Bella's lips enveloped me in their warmth. Her lips … on my shaft.

"Dear God in heaven, Isabella … what on earth …"

She hummed an unintelligible reply around me, and it vibrated all the way up my spine. I fisted the sheets to stop myself from any sudden movements that would injure her inadvertently or, worse, stop her ministrations.

She continued exploring me at her leisure, first unsure, then more daring as my response—which was rather confined to hisses and gratified moans, my powers of coherent speech being somewhat hindered at the moment—bolstered her confidence further.

Though lost in the pleasure she was bestowing on me, at length I responded, threading my fingers in her hair, and nearly came undone there, at her mercy, when a cogent thought finally surfaced.

"Bella … love … please, stop."

She released me but looked up at me with a puzzled, shy expression. "Did I do that wrong?"

"Heavens, no. Almost too right, my love." I pulled her to my chest to line her body up to mine and let my hands roam underneath the gauzy nightgown she was wearing. My brain was still too addled by her attentions to even parse how she'd ventured into the heady realm of fellatio—again, my own knowledge was sketchy and came courtesy of the bawdy talk overheard in Kingston's port taverns.

"Then why did you …"

I silenced her with a passionate kiss, which she repaid in kind. "Because I want to come inside you …"

With a saucy smile, she kissed me again and straddled my hips, flinging her nightgown off her shoulders. "Well, since it's my birthday …"

A few hours later, after we'd gotten our private birthday celebration out of the way, we rode with Alice, Emmett, and Rosalie to Whitlock Hall since Jasper had insisted on hosting a little party there for Bella.

It wasn't my first visit to the hall, but the elegant, neatly kept neoclassical façade of Jasper's main abode never failed to impress me. The family had done extremely well for themselves, and Jasper confirmed his value as an attentive administrator of the estate whenever we drove by the lands farmed by his tenants, which sprawled around the main house and its gardens.

Alice was clearly marrying for love, and both Emmett and I heartily approved of her choice, but seeing that she'd be well taken care of by her future husband was a huge comfort to us as well. They were well-suited to each other, as I'd had occasion to witness in the last week or so. Alice had a lively disposition, which had been somewhat dampened by the loss of our parents, but with Bella's help and Jasper's loving attentions, she was back to her usual, jovial self. Jasper had a penchant for seriousness, which suited a man of his age and position who had to contend with the level of responsibility thrust upon him on his father's death, but Alice's good humour helped balance out his gloomier moods.

Our little birthday celebration for Bella, though intimate, was animated by good cheer and even better company.

Rosalie and Alice kept up a steady stream of lively chatter with Bella, who only tut-tutted at Alice when my sister appeared all too eager to volunteer details on her wedding dress where Jasper could freely overhear her. He protested to the ladies that, despite Alice's faux pas, he'd not heard a syllable since he was too caught up in our own conversation to eavesdrop on the ladies.

For his own part, my brother made it his mission to pepper me with questions on the plantation and life in the West Indies, which I answered with candour and honesty. He needed to be well-equipped with facts to face that kind of journey. I had my own questions for him, too.

"And Rosalie? Is she really happy with this new development?"

Emmett stopped sipping his punch and paused before replying as an open, relaxed smile graced his features. "She knows it's not going to be a walk in the park, and our life isn't going to be as glamourous, or as comfortable as in London, or Cornwall, for that matter. But she yearns for independence, and for her own establishment. Treverva Lodge is, and has always been, her mother's house. She has no say in how the household is run. I believe she meant to interrogate Bella in that respect, too."

"Extracting information, is she?"

Jasper and my brother both chuckled at my quip. "Well, what can I say? How many households does she run at the same time? Cullen Manor, her London house, and Cygnus Court? I'd say she's highly proficient."

"That she is, Emmett," replied Jasper, helping himself to another pastry. One unexpected detail I'd discovered about my titled friend—he had a keen sweet tooth, a fact for which Bella and Alice liked to tease him to no end.

The disjointed hum of commotion coming from inside the house—because the weather had cooperated, we'd been having our celebration in the garden—interrupted our conversation.

A screech—or rather, a harsh, loud protest—sailed over the hushed, harried voices of servants trying to tame whatever mischief was afoot and turned louder and more piqued the closer to us it got. I recognised that harsh voice immediately and turned towards Jasper with a horrified expression. My obvious, unasked question lingered in the air.

Goddamn it all to hell and back! How had Lady Whitlock eluded her caretakers again to intrude on Bella's birthday? How had she even known we'd be here?

"I didn't tell her, Edward. I swear." Jasper's strained response allayed my anxiety but only just.

Lady Whitlock stood, in all her haughty, spiteful glory, before my wife, sister, and sister-in-law, arms akimbo, as she glared at them while an attendant tried to pull her away from the scene, unfortunately to no avail.

"There she sits, the prodigal daughter of my impoverished relations!" she spat at Bella, who made it a point not to lift her gaze to her aunt but rather proceeded to studiously ignore her.

The lady in question did not like being ignored and proved it by lobbing further insults at the other ladies present.

"And who is this?" she sneered at Alice.

That gesture alone broke Jasper's composure and caused him to rise from his seat and rush at his intended's side with a thunderous expression I'd never seen on his face.

"Mother, you were not invited here today."

"That I can see, you ungrateful son," she snapped at Jasper, unceremoniously elbowing her attendant to break free from her hold.

The sounds of further commotion filtered over from the house, and a few seconds later, Jasper's housekeeper and butler both arrived on the scene, murmuring apologies in their master's direction.

"I will not be confined like a prisoner in my own house," Lady Whitlock stated again, turning up her nose at Jasper's entreaties to return to her residence with good grace.

"Mother, you're making a scene. Please, return to the lodge. I will come visit you tomorrow."

"So that you all can peacefully celebrate my contemptible niece in my absence?"

Jasper's countenance turned furious, and he stepped closer to his mother in an attempt to shield her from the ladies. He hissed into her ear something I couldn't hear, but still, she wouldn't comply.

"And what is it I hear about a wedding? Is it a suitable lady, at least? Or some penniless, graceless, insipid girl?"

This comment piqued my interest, especially because I knew for a fact that Jasper had disclosed the news of his impending nuptials to his mother weeks ago, his reasoning being that the longer she'd have to get used to it, the better it would be for all parties involved. She also was informed of the identity of Jasper's bride, so her current protestations that she had no idea who Alice was were just another pretence. It seemed Lady Whitlock didn't care so much for the truth but was rather keener on being purposefully cruel to her relations, and it made me wonder about her motivation. Perhaps Bella was right—this woman had had a harsh life, had been treated abominably, but had chosen to cling onto her spite and anger instead of finding whatever peace she could.

But that realisation—and how malignant she'd been with her deliberate bold-faced lies—caused my hackles to rise. I'd had enough of the torrent of abuse she'd been raining on both my wife and sister. And poor Jasper—I pitied him and silently commended his patience at the same time.

As I made to rise and step closer to Bella, Emmett eyed my movement askance and shook his head at me. "Let Jasper deal with her," he whispered.

No sooner had I resumed my seat than another feminine, resolute voice rang in fury.

"Enough!"

I had to look twice to verify that, indeed, the imperious outburst had come from my own diminutive sister. Better yet, Lady Whitlock, probably too shocked at being rebuffed so openly, stood silent and still as a marble statue.

"Enough! We've all had enough of it. Your insults, your spite, your pretences, your unkindness. Enough. Can't you see you've been hurting your only surviving child with your behaviour?"

"And who might you be?"

"Alice Cullen, your ladyship," Alice stated with a flawless curtsey and a determined expression. She'd just reprimanded the woman without restraint but wouldn't forget her manners if need be.

"Ah, yes, one of those country bumpkins from Cornwall."

That last barb, apparently, caused Bella's own measure to overflow because she stood and put her arm around Alice's shoulder in a show of support.

"She's my sister-in-law, and Jasper's bride. For someone so intent on etiquette, you ought to show a tad more refinement, Aunt. Although why I bother with you, that's beyond me."

"You, ungrateful, disgraceful child!" she yelled, launching herself at Bella. With a sudden, effective gesture, Jasper intervened to restrain her in a firm but unbreakable hold. She struggled but relented when two more servants appeared with a glass of clear liquid in which they dissolved a powder of some sort—hopefully, a calming draught.

"That's enough, Mother. I've been understanding, even lenient so far, but I won't tolerate any further mistreatment of Bella or Alice. I've made myself clear. If you persist, I'll be washing my hands of you."

Jasper's voice, unyielding and grave, seemed to finally convey to Lady Whitlock the seriousness of her situation. Her shoulders sagged, and her former supercilious attitude evaporated like snow in the gleaming sun.

"You wouldn't … I'm your mother …"

"And there are limits to my forbearance. You've crossed them."

Alice moved closer to him, and he gathered her to his side in a loving embrace.

Lady Whitlock did not relent. "But …"

"You've made your bed, Aunt. I suggest you now lie in it," proclaimed Bella from her seat, with a steely expression on her face. "For years, we tried to be compassionate, but there's only so much venom you can spit at people before you poison them against you."

"You've hurt your own son time and time again, your ladyship. As his bride, I can't let you do that. I don't care one whit what you think of me, but if you believe I'll let you walk over me, and over him, you're sorely mistaken. I'm not a merciless person, but you've tried my patience once too many times already."

Jasper gave one last, unwavering look at his mother, then nodded to the servants, who proceeded to administer to Lady Whitlock whatever concoction they'd previously mixed. Her ladyship, now defeated and sombre, surrendered to her attendants and left.

Pride blossomed in my chest for these two women—my wife and sister—who'd had the courage and grace to stand up to their tormentor. I smiled at Bella from my seat, and she nodded at me. Alice melted into Jasper's hold, and he murmured words of comfort in her ear.

But alongside that pride, compassion for my friend's plight also lurked below the surface. For all that Lady Whitlock was still quite among the living, her latest episode had condemned Jasper to a course of action which implied that he must, forevermore, consider his mother all but lost.

All too soon a week passed, and we all donned our best finery to drive back to Whitlock Hall for Jasper and Alice's wedding.

Jasper, resigned to his mother's deteriorating attitude, had tried one last consultation with her doctors. A new alienist he'd summoned from London had shed more light on her case and held the professional opinion that her condition, though mired in a lingering melancholy she would probably never relinquish, wasn't caused so much by a mental deterioration, per se, but rather by uncontrollable moods. The doctor had recommended rest and a life devoid of strenuous emotions in a quiet, secluded environment. On the alienist's advice, Jasper had sent his mother to stay in another of their properties farther away with a nurse who'd come highly recommended in dealing with ailments similar to Lady Whitlock's.

The new development came as a huge relief to all of us, chiefly to Bella and me for almost identical reasons. I wanted Bella and my sister safe from Lady Whitlock's venomous behaviour while Bella wanted Alice safely away from her aunt and yearned for her cousin's concerns to be soothed as much as her aunt's illness would allow.

Free from the pall her ladyship's latest outburst had cast upon the impending celebration, the wedding went off without a hitch. As Jasper had predicted weeks ago, the festivities were well attended by all sorts of titled and non-titled fellows and a never-ending strain of highly elegant ladies.

All through the wedding breakfast, and well into the afternoon, the crowd wouldn't stop congratulating the bride and groom, who were so happy and taken with one another that they gracefully thanked everyone in between more laughter, more dances, and more cake than anyone could eat in one sitting.

Alice, a resplendently happy bride in a striking, stark-white silk gown, never strayed more than a foot away from her new husband, who, for his own part, had relinquished his serious, sedate nature for the day.

At long last, the happy couple deemed they'd made enough of a merry spectacle of themselves for their guests and announced they would be going away soon. Alice disappeared upstairs, followed by Bella, Rosalie, and Lady Holcombe, who had been instructed to help her change into her going-away attire. Jasper also followed, for he could hardly set off on a journey to Paris in his best set of tails.

Emmett and I lingered and chatted about inconsequential things while waiting for our wives to return from their errand.

"I heard some intriguing gossip from Lord Huntington," my brother began with a mischievous glint in his eye.

"And what did Lord Huntington report that's worth passing on to dear old me?"

He threw a sidelong glance around us to check for any eavesdroppers, but by now, most guests had either retired or waited for the newlyweds to reappear and were thus deep into their own conversations.

"Well, it concerns our old friend Blackwood. Does that pique your interest now?"

The damned blackguard. Would we ever be truly rid of him?

"Yes, it does, provided he's either under lock and key, disgraced, or besieged by greedy creditors. Or all of the above," I quipped, unrepentant in my uncharitable thoughts of the scum who'd been so abhorrent to my Bella.

"It sounds like the taunts Jasper fired at him at Cygnus Court a while ago weren't entirely groundless."

"We did know about the gambling already. Jasper had it first-hand from someone at his club, I believe."

Emmett nodded but had more information to relay. "Yes, but remember what Rosalie and Alice said back in London? About his sisters wearing old, made-over clothes? And Jasper mentioning a failed betrothal for one of them?"

This ventured further into the territory of ladies' gossip, but because it pertained to Blackwood, I'd retained that information and had wondered myself how much of it could be substantiated in any sort of way.

"Well, his mother, Lady Blackwood, seems to be quite upset with her heir apparent and his antics. She has tightened the purse strings considerably. He's been dispatched without ceremony to North Yorkshire, where they have horribly bourgeois but awfully wealthy relations with a trove of unwed daughters. He's been ordered not to return until he's secured the hand of one of them. His sisters have been pawned off to an aunt of theirs who resides in Bath in hopes of securing them palatable matches away from their brother's lack of social graces."

Emmett's glee at Blackwood's misfortune couldn't be contained, nor could his affected contempt for his common relations. He sounded like Mrs Hale during one of her condescending tirades and looked like Alice in the midst of an exceedingly well-appointed milliner's shop.

"And you have this on good authority? How does Lord Huntington know?"

Emmett had to suppress a chuckle before answering. "On the best authority. It's his son who'd been on the verge of proposing to one of Blackwood's sisters. Lord Huntington and his son confronted Blackwood about the gambling debts. The chap had the misguided idea of rebuffing them with the excuse that a gentleman shouldn't be questioning a gentleman's honour, and at that point, Huntington delivered an ultimatum. He wouldn't allow his son to marry into the family unless the debts were cleared immediately and with good proof. He said flat out he didn't want his son to fall into the role of shadow banker to his brother-in-law's shady dealings. And that was the sad end of the betrothal."

"Serves Blackwood right."

"Indeed."

"The two of you are gossiping worse than old ladies," quipped Lady Holcombe herself, now back downstairs for the happy couple's return.

"It's not gossip if the information is tried and true," countered Emmett, utterly unapologetic.

Her ladyship tittered into her fan. "I'll give you that, young man. I'll give you that."

"And how would you know, Aunt Millie?" I asked, now curious.

"Who do you think told Lady Huntington about the gambling debts?" she parried back at me with her own unapologetic smile.

When the bride and groom approached us in their procession towards their exit, we took our turns embracing them and conveying our well wishes and stood staring at their retreating carriage as they drove away.

"Paris, what an adventure!" exclaimed Rosalie with a contented expression. All of her former unease when in mixed company had vanished, and she'd also lost her more pretentious and awkward attitudes, perhaps because she'd been spending so much time with Alice and Bella, who were nothing but serenely confident and devoid of affectation.

"We are going on our own adventure next month, Rosie," countered Emmett.

"I know! I'm so excited. You'll write to me, Bella, won't you?"

"Every month, Rose. We'll be on pins and needles waiting for word that you've settled in," my Bella replied with a reassuring pat of her hand to Rosalie's arm.

"Oh, and Emmett? Please don't send anything express from Jamaica," I joked at my brother's expense, reminiscing his impetuous missive from almost a year ago.

"You may have mentioned something of the sort, brother," he grudgingly admitted.

"When do you sail?" Bella asked, winding her arm around mine. Eager to reconnect with her, I wove my fingers through hers and gave her an affectionate squeeze.

"Four weeks from today from Falmouth by way of Lisbon. So Rosie will have some sort of foreign adventure before we land in Jamaica."

We all laughed at Emmett's eager proclamation before noticing that all the other guests had now either left or retired. We retreated inside and walked upstairs to the rooms assigned to us for the night by the housekeeper. We bid goodnight to Emmett and Rosalie and entered our own bedchamber, closing the door on the world outside and on a merry but long day.

"We finally married your sister off," Bella said, sitting at the dressing table to remove pins and ornaments from her hair. I stepped behind her and began taking over her work. I could never resist the temptation of running my hands through her hair.

"To your cousin."

"Whom you didn't like one whit when you met him," she pointed out.

"Well, he wanted to separate you from me," I countered, remembering Jasper's stance towards me all those months ago.

"How our life has changed, hasn't it, beloved?"

Bella was, as usual, right. Jasper was not only a friend now but my brother by marriage. Bella and I were married. Emmett and I had reconciled, and he was about to upend his life to be of service to our estates in Jamaica.

Life was different now, so much different than when I embarked on a ship from Jamaica almost seven months ago. But this life, full of peace, serenity, love, and the promise of a brilliant future, was also exceptionally better. With Bella by my side, it would be extraordinary.

"Aye, it has. But I wouldn't have it any other way, my love."

We're almost done with their tale, people. Epilogue posts next Friday.

Talk to me!

ANNOUNCEMENT:

One of our own - Carey Anne Williams - is recovering from COVID-19. As a fandom, we have decided to help however we can in the fundraising effort to help with her medical bills.

We will be doing virtual author panels as Zoom calls—the chance to talk to your favorite authors and ask them all manner of questions.
Yours truly will be on the August 16 Zoom call, so if you have any questions for me, on this story, on what comes next, this is your golden opportunity.

All you need to do is make a donation of at least $5 to Carey Williams Go fund me page (www . gf . me /u/x4b6my) and email your receipt to: authors4carey AT gmail .com

You can also find more information about the calls, the participating authors, the calendar of the calls and how to join in this FB group, Authors' 411: www dot facebook dot com /groups / 179090090169978/

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