Author's Note:Right...we all know what this means...This is the moment of truth...frankly I don't know how to begin...or end for that matter!

Ladies and Gentlemen this is the final post of Prisoner of Love.

I should just like to say that this entire story would not have come to be had it not been for all the readers out there who thought it worthwhile. I would like to send out a HUGE THANK YOU to all of you for reading this story! Your FB, BUMPS and constancy gave me the inspiration and desire to write even more and produce for you only the very best of fiction I could offer.

This has been one helleva ride! Especially with a storyline like this...its always exciting! I enjoyed every moment and every word that I created and I hope you all enjoyed them too!

I should like to list all of you and give you my own personal thank you but I'd hate to forget anyone...so this is to everyone once again THANK YOU! THANK YOU THANK YOU! heh.

Now I shan't babble on and get all blubbery on you folks cause I know you want to get to reading!...I'd just like to say though that the ending may not be what you were expecting...but after all the ups and down and twists and turns throughout the story...i felt a simple, pure ending was the ticket. It's also not very long but bear with me here...:rolleye

Anyway...Enjoy!

Part 40

Darkness shrouded her. Blackness danced around her eyes.

The first thing Liz realized and was thankful for, was that she was still breathing. She was not dead as she had feared upon waking from unconsciousness. The darkness was deceiving.

She could hear voices around her. Muttering, murmuring, though she could not yet grasp the words. They were most definitely male however.

There was a sudden thump and whatever she was laying on shook violently, or so it seemed to her in her groggy state. She wanted to groan in protest, but her lips would not obey her. She was forced to bear the horrible onslaught on her senses in silence.

There was some shuffling and scruffing noises before Liz heard distinctly and clearly, the resounding timbre of her father's voice. "Enough of this nonsense! Mr. Worthington I beg you to restrain yourself, this is highly improper."

"Well then perhaps His..Grace," the word itself dripped with disdain," would care to explain why he-he...attacked Miss Elizabeth in such a manner!"

Attacked? Goodness, she thought groggily, she was attacked! When? How? and by whom? All she could remember was dancing with..well Mr. Worthington...and then...she mentally frowned...the crowd went silent...someone important had walked into the room...Her mental frown deepened as she attempted to recall...

His Grace...the Duke of Everington...

And then the life was choked out of her. Liz's eyes snapped open as the memory reasserted itself . She remembered seeing a man walk into her line of vision after Blake's announcement...and it was then she knew why she was lying here.

Miss Parker are you alright?..you look like you've seen a ghost...

She had! her mind and heart cried. Oh dear god...

The shock sent her body into an upright position as it all came back to her.

"Max!"

"Elizabeth thank goodness!" she turned her head abruptly at the mention of her name and saw her father approaching her with concern and relief on his face. He kneeled by her side and inquired urgently, " are you alright Lizzie? do you hurt anywhere?"

Liz stared at him for a moment and then blinked a few times, attempting to regain her composure. " Er..yes-yes I'm fine. I'm unhurt." she replied faintly.

Then she looked questioningly at her father. " What happened?" and then before she could answer, her eyes widened and her pupils dilated as she recalled who she had seen. " Oh god Max...Father..Max...I-I saw him," she looked desperately into his eyes, " I saw him! He was alive..." she whispered.

Jeffery stared back at his daughter. " Elizabeth-" he cut himself off. Liz waited expectantly for her father to dismiss the idea as nothing but the unhealthily delusions of her mind that had conjured up his image. What actually came out of his mouth shocked her to the very core of her soul.

" I know you did Lizzie, because..." he took a breath, " I saw him too.."

"What?" she whispered, wondering if her father was now seeing ghosts as well.

"Something-something's happened Elizabeth, that even I myself can't believe," there was a note of disbelief and wonder in his voice, "Somehow...he actually escaped and..." his voice trailed away as he bent his head to think of how to put whatever had to be said into words.

That only served to put the rest of the room into Liz's line of vision. She was in a study it appeared...her host's she assumed. There were also two men standing by the big oak desk. One, she recognized as Jack. The other...her breath caught when their eyes met...was a ghost, although the vibrant alive eyes told a different story.

" Came back for you," he continued huskily on behalf of Jeffery, who'd already noticed that she'd seen him and turned quiet. " Like you asked of me. Like I promised myself."

Liz's mouth opened and closed. Words failed her. All she could do was stare.

"Excuse me, but I feel I must interrupt this...strange moment. I confess I have no idea what is going on, but I would like to know who you are sir and what business you have laying your hands on Miss Elizabeth." demanded Jack into the ensuing silence. He glared squarely at the Duke.

Max turned dark eyes on the other man. " I don't believe I owe you any explanations Worthington, but I will tell you this...I have every right to lay my hands on Elizabeth...after all, she isn't taken is she." This prompted a glare from Jack, who couldn't by any means refute that.

Jeffery decided it was time to break this little party up before it further agitated his daughter. " Please gentlemen, I would appreciate it if you could take this quarrel elsewhere. My daughter has been distressed enough this night..."

Jack Worthington looked about to protest but instead nodded, then bowed stiffly. He then directed a warm glance at Liz. " I hope you are well soon Miss Elizabeth." Then he turned without a backward glance and walked rigidly to the door.

Silence prevailed when the door was shut. Jeffery looked at his daughter who was staring unseeingly at the wall, and then at the man who couldn't take his eyes off her. He coughed awkwardly, " perhaps you should take your leave for now..your...grace, " That word felt too alien for him still.

Before he could reply, and Jeffery was sure a resounding 'No' was on the tip of his tongue, Liz snapped out of her daze and frantically exclaimed, " No!"

It was then she looked at the man before her in the eyes once more. This time she could not look away. Jeffery suddenly felt like an intruder and decided to vacate the room and give them some privacy. He tread swiftly on the carpeted floor to the door, turning the knob, " I'll be outside if you need me." he offered though he doubted they paid any attention to him. He knew they needed to resolve this matter between them. Shaking his head, he stepped out and softly closed the door behind him.

The click was loud and nerve wracking in the deep silence that Jeffery left behind.

Liz looked at the man that stood before her. Tall, broad shouldered with slicked back hair and a sinful mouth. He wore a neat, starch white shirt with pressed black pants, shined shoes and an elegant black coat. Silk gloves encased his large, strong hands.. A true dark lord.

And yet all she could see was that dark hair of his wind swept , and that white buttoned shirt, open and billowing vigorously in the wind. Boots replaced his elegant shoes, and no gloves enveloped his rough but gentle hands as he gripped the wheel of his mighty ship with confidence and a radiating strength.

The man that stood before her was a lie.

"Max?" she whispered hesitantly. Her eyes suddenly unsure.

"Hello Liz." He said gently.

"I-I don't understand...you're...you're supposed to be-" she couldn't even bring herself to say the word. Dead.

Suddenly he was striding towards her, and before she knew it he was kneeling on the floor in front of her. Fire lit within his eyes. "I'm here Liz. That is where I'm supposed to be."

Liz swallowed thickly, not knowing how to reply. She gazed at him, pain, sorrow, anger and doubt shining in her doe eyes. She bit her bottom lip. Her hand raised up, as if to touch, feel that it was really flesh and blood that stared back. Her fingers lightly brushed his cheek. Warm skin greeted her fingertips and she swallowed a gasp.

" Are you a dream?" she mused wonderingly.

His lips drew up in a semblance of a smile, and Liz's heart fluttered. " No. I am very real." His hand came up and lightly ran down her face. Liz shivered at the contact. Before it could fall away however, her own hand reached up and gripped it. It felt solid, and so strong and warm.

She couldn't hold it in any longer. Tears burst forth on their own accord and streamed down her cheeks. She wasn't dreaming. She wasn't trapped in a horrible illusion. She certainly wasn't going insane. He was really here. Max. Max was here. And he was alive!

"I thought...I thought you were-dead." she whimpered, and before she knew it she was pressed against his chest, her faced buried in his neck. Her tears scalding his flesh as Max crooned softly to her. " Hush now, it's all right. I'm not dead." He held her encased within his embrace as if he wasn't ever going to let go. She didn't think she ever wanted him to.

She reluctantly pulled back and wiped her arm beneath her nose-very unladylike- and sniffed. " I don't understand. Father said the Hawk-you- were...hanged." The last word trembled upon her lips.

Max sat back on his haunches as he explained somberly. " Your father wasn't wrong. The Hawk was indeed hanged."

"Then how-"

"It was all a ruse Liz. The guards captured 'someone' they thought was the Hawk. I escaped. It was the only way."

Liz absorbed that piece of information." So you could begin a new life as a new man," she paused as she recalled how the butler had called him 'Duke', " as a Duke." She really didn't know what to make of that.

She was confused however to see Max smiling slightly. " No Liz. Not to begin a new life...but to return to my true one."

It took a long moment for that to sink in, and when it did Liz's eyes widened and her jaw grew slack. No. It couldn't be true. Impossible! "Are you telling me...are you saying that...you are in actuality a Duke!" her voice had risen by the last words and she promptly stood up in agitation, only to be thrust back down onto the couch by the hand that still gripped hers.

The room spun around her and suddenly she felt very faint.

"Don't you dare pass out on me again Liz." Max demanded as he stared determinedly into her eyes. Liz blinked.

"At the moment I am very much tempted to." she murmured. Shock was becoming a regular occurrence for her tonight. " I don't understand...How can you be a Duke?"

" My true identity as a duke had to be abandoned the moment I set out to find Di Galvani. I had to become someone I was not so as not to cast suspicion upon myself, and to be able to find to find him. A pirate was the easiest solution. But now that pirate is dead, and I am what remains." he said seriously.

Liz nodded in understanding, then she mused," I still cannot believe you are really here." she squeezed his hand reflexively. " If this were a dream I would wish I'd never wake up."

"But this isn't a dream you stubborn woman." Max growled as she let go of her hand and cradled her face between his palms. " I am here and alive. And I have come back for you, and I am not leaving without you!"

Hearing this Liz hurled herself into his arms with a force that knocked him back on his knees. Her arms wrapped themselves around his neck tightly and his went around her petite body to mold it closely to his.

"I'm glad" she whispered. She didn't understand it. Didn't want to understand it. All she knew was the Max wasn't dead after all. He escaped. He wasn't really a pirate, but a duke and he had come for her. She couldn't help but think though of the horrible days she had spent after learning of his 'death'.

She pulled back far enough to be able to look him in the eyes. His eyes shined and she couldn't help but drown in their mesmerizing depths. " I could hit you for putting in so much pain cap- your grace. When I learned of oyur death...I fell apart" she threatened and confessed at the same time.

One hand held the back of her head tightly. " I could hit me too."

"But- you are here now. In my arms, before my very eyes. Alive." She squeezed his neck, not threatening any more. " And for that I shall kiss you instead."

Max wasted no time. His lips connected her hers in a first tender, butterfly kiss that Liz savored on her lips, before diving once more for more of her sweetness. Plunging his tongue deep into her mouth tasting her, drinking from her like a drowning man. Liz twirled her own tongue around his, welcoming his exploration and thrusting hers into his mouth in return. It was a raw passionate kiss. It left her breathless and hungry for more.

They broke apart at length, both breathing heavily. When Liz managed to finally open her still tightly shut eyes she saw his already boring into hers, full of an unearthly light that she knew must be reflected in hers as well.

They were both kneeling on the floor by then, and Max placed his forehead against hers. " I have so much to explain." he began, but Liz placed a hushing finger to his lips. " I know" she cut in softly. Then she said, " Since I met you I have been on an adventure of the body and the heart. You have turned out to be so many different kinds of men Max, and I know that you will explain all of that to me, but you know what I think?"

"What?" he murmured.

" You are no duke to me, or even a pirate, or a man avenging his sister, or a man seeking revenge. To me," she took a deep breath, getting ready to make one of the biggest confessions of her life. She may have said it before, but this time, it was much more real, "...to me, you are the man I love. I-"

But she never got any further because he was claiming her lips again in a kiss that was robbing her of all senses. She couldn't understand how he could do that do her with a simple kiss. She supposed he always would.

When they broke apart once more Liz saw that he was smiling. For the first time since she had met him, this was the first time she had seen him smile with pure unadulterated joy. " And you know what my dear Elizabeth?"

"What?" she asked breathlessly.

"I love you too."

Liz's smile was wobbly in her attempt not to burst into tears again." If you came back just to tell me that, I'm certainly not disappointed."

The pads of his thumbs moved over the spots below her eyes, evidence that she had not succeeded. " But I didn't come back just for that. How do you feel about being a duchess?"

Liz's heart nearly stopped. Her mouth suddenly felt dry and she swallowed convulsively. " A duchess in general...or-" she babbled.

"No not in general...my duchess. Mine and only mine." He interrupted sternly.

" I like the sound of that." she replied softly and minutes ticked by as she was kissed beyond reason once more. It wasn't the most eloquent proposal Liz thought, but coming from Max...it was perfect. And she accepted with an open heart.

" I don't think I'm ever going to get enough of you. " he whispered huskily against her lips. " You light up my world."

"Then there shall be no more darkness in your life," She promised. And hers shall only be brighter.

"Do you remember what you said to me, that night in the prison, when you visited?" Max asked at length, after indulging himself with kissing the breath out of her once more.

Liz frowned in concentration as she thought back to that terrible time. " I said quite a lot." she looked at him questioningly, " What was it I said?"

"You said your were a prisoner too. Of love."

Liz remembered. She couldn't believe she had said that. It was her first confession of her growing love for him. She hadn't understood how this could have happened. How on earth had she fallen in love with a pirate!

Slowly she blushed but nodded. " Yes I remember. What of it?" she asked curiously.

Max shook his head. " After you left, your words rang in my head, and when you came and freed me, all I could think of was that I had escaped one prison, only to become trapped in another. That was when I realized I loved you."

Liz smiled fancifully, " so we were both..oh say...prisoners of love then." she laughed softly at the silly thought.

" Do you suppose we shall ever get out? or is it a life sentence?" he asked wickedly, getting to his feet and taking her with him, yet keeping her within the circle of his arms.

"Oh I can most definitely confirm that this is for life.." Liz played along, wrapped warmly in his embrace. Thankful, relieved, and truly happy for the first time.

"Excellent." he approved and promptly kissed her again.

It was much later that Jeffery and Nancy Parker were able to congratulate them on their betrothal. Jeffery and Max appeared reconciled after a lengthy talk in Lord Parker's study.

Michael was horrendously and voilently furious at Max for not telling him he was alive but he soon got over that and hugged him repeatedly, saying he was damn glad he was alive. There was even a hint of a tear or two in his eyes. In Max's too.

A month later Maxwell Evans, the Duke of Everington returned to England with his bride and duchess and introduced her to his mother who thought the world of Elizabeth and was extremely happy for her son.

Liz visited Isabel's grave one day to grieve for her and silently thank her for bringing her and her brother together. She also secretly informed her that had she been alive, she would be expecting to be an aunt not long from now. Her husband had yet to find out.

Elizabeth placed a hand on her belly and smiled.

The End

Mia