Eight Years Later

A sea breeze was a different sort of freshness.

Breathing the salty air of the ocean made a person feel free. Vastness was at their doorstep, waiting to be awed.

Scarlett hadn't ever really spent time in the south of England before marrying Leo. But the Aston estate near Cornwall had quickly become her favorite spot of all. Everything was better here. Her breathing—though mostly controlled except for the occasional bad day—was better in the fresh air. And they slept more in the country.

When they were in London, Scarlett would often spend the mornings at her office at Potter Publishing. She usually enjoyed it. Now that things were more in her own control, Scarlett liked having a say over the words that Londoners read.

She'd brought Mischief in Mayfair over to Potter Publishing, too, though Scarlett only wrote when she felt like it and what she wanted. The sales weren't quite as good as when she'd revealed all of the ton's secrets, but that was to be expected.

Scarlett sighed, luxuriating in the moment. The windows of their bedchamber were open, the curtains swaying in the summery gusts. The room was decorated sparsely, leaving a light and airy feel. Behind her, Scarlett felt Leo stir in bed. He yawned loudly in her ear and threw a lazy arm around her waist.

"Must we get up?" he asked her, slumber etched in his voice.

"Well, there is the matter of our children," Scarlett replied matter-of-factly.

"Tory is watching them," he mumbled. "She can handle it."

Scarlett snorted. "Though she is a princess, an eight-year-old cannot watch five-year-old twins."

"Sure she can," Leo persisted, flopping over onto his back. "She's got all of the boys wrapped around her little finger."

"Even Felix?" she asked with a laugh. While Emilia and Will's oldest son, Francis, was six years old, their youngest, Felix, was only born a few months ago. Emilia had spent most of the summer recovering from the birth, which had nearly taken her life, and it took a lot of convincing to get Will to bring his family for a holiday at the Aston estate.

But Scarlett could tell that now they were here, the sea and comfort of family had been healing for all of them.

"Sawyer and Simon are surely awake by now," Leo muttered, drawing Scarlett's attention back to their own children.

"You know who else is awake?"

"Who?"

"I heard voices and the hooves this morning. I think Addie and Theo snuck off to the shore."

Leo chuckled. "Good. They deserve it. Though that means Tory is most definitely ruling the house, even though I'm sure Mrs. Combs is keeping an eye on her."

"I'm sure Weston is up too," Scarlett muttered. "He never sleeps." She groaned. "I am a terrible hostess. I should get up."

Scarlett wasn't the mistress of the house. But Lord and Lady Aston were still in London, so it was up to her and Leo to manage things in their absence.

In other words, it was up to her.

Scarlett jumped as Leo suddenly jerked upright.

"We have to get up!" he exclaimed.

She rolled her eyes and slid over to the side of the bed. "Yes, darling. I have been saying that."

"No, I mean, we have to get up," Leo repeated again, and she gave him a funny look. "We have to see Langdon off." He shot out of bed and began to hurriedly dress. Scarlett took a moment to admire his big heart, the way he loved that kid like he was his own brother.

"There's plenty of time," she said soothingly. Standing herself, Scarlett wandered to her dressing room and rang for Fallon to assist her.

"I'll meet you downstairs!" Leo called, and Scarlett shook her head in amusement.

It didn't take her too long to assemble herself, and soon she was standing next to Leo in the front doorway. Their boys, Simon and Sawyer, were playing out on the front lawn with Francis while the nursemaid attempted to keep them all in check. Surprisingly, Princess Victoria was nowhere in sight. Maverick sat on the front steps, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Mav," Leo called. "Don't sulk, okay? He'll come back to visit. Or we'll visit him."

Maverick spun to look up at his older brother. "Are you sure?"

Scarlett wasn't certain if his speech had gotten better over the years, or if she'd just grown more accustomed to hearing it. He began to chew on his tongue, something that Scarlett noticed he would do when idle.

"I'm sure, Mav," Leo reassured. "I know it's hard, but try to be happy for him."

Maverick didn't seem to know what to make of that, so he turned back around. A carriage started to make its way up the drive, and Leo put his arm around Scarlett as he watched it. After what seemed like forever, it rolled to a stop, and Langdon stepped out of it.

At nineteen years old, he'd turned into a handsome young man with an angled jaw and bright smile. He strode confidently toward them.

"Lord F," he said, nodding to Leo. "And Lady F." He gave a little bow toward Scarlett, and she smiled.

Leo shook his head, exasperated. "You're a man now, Langdon. Just call me Leo."

Langdon wrinkled his nose. "I don't think I can do that, Lord F."

Sighing, Leo relented, "Fine." He walked past Maverick and met Langdon at the bottom of the steps. "Then can you do something else for me?"

"Anything, my lord."

Leo clapped his hand on his shoulder. "You go out there and become the best damn doctor London has ever seen, Langdon Down."

The young man gave a cheeky smile. Scarlett couldn't help the flood of emotion she felt at the sight. There was just a little bit of Leo in that smile.

"I'm a long way off from that, but I'll try," Langdon replied, looking up at Scarlett's husband. "That's the goal, anyway."

Leo nodded and released his grip on Langdon, who stepped to the side, approaching Maverick.

"Hey, Mav," he said softly, kneeling next to him. "Don't be mad that I'm leaving early this summer, okay?"

Scarlett saw Maverick's head nod, his golden hair flopping on his head.

"I wish I could stay here," Langdon added, his eyes almost pleading. "I wish I could just sit on the beach with you and see who can throw stones further."

Maverick shrugged. "So stay," Scarlett heard him say, and she almost laughed. She was glad she didn't, though, because Langdon's expression was anything but humorous.

"I can't, Mav. I'm going to be an apprentice to a surgeon. I'm going to learn how to be a doctor."

Scarlett felt for him. The kind hearts of Leo and his parents combined with the good-natured openness that Langdon possessed had ensured there was never really a barrier between the two youngsters as they had grown up.

It hadn't mattered that Maverick had different abilities, and it hadn't mattered that Langdon came from a different class.

But often age and the passing of time brought undeniable truths. Langdon needed to go off and make a living, but how could he explain to Maverick that his life must move on whilst Mav's days repeat?

Maverick nodded again and stood. Langdon hugged him then, as a brother. "I'll see you in London when you come for the Season," he said as he released Mav. He began to take a step away, walking backward, not ready to turn entirely from the summers of his youth. "Keep an eye on Lord F for me, Mav. Someone's gotta keep an eye on that older brother of yours."

Maverick gave a little salute that had Scarlett chuckling.

Finally, Langdon spun on his heel and got in the carriage. They watched as it strolled away, bound for London. As soon as it was gone, Maverick turned and walked into the house, his expression unreadable. Leo was about to go after him when Scarlett stopped him. "He'll be okay. Just give him some space," she said.

Leo sighed and nodded. "Let us see to the little devils, then."

"They're your children," she said. "It shouldn't be surprising that they are the way they are."

They strode across the lawn together. The boys came running toward them, their waves of caramel hair bouncing on top of their heads. In one sweeping gesture, Leo captured them both in his arms, a huge smile spreading across his face as he did.

"Father!" Simon protested. Sawyer just giggled and tugged on Leo's hair.

"Little devil," Leo muttered under his breath, trying to shake the child's hand from his hair, his smile never fading despite his grumbling.

Scarlett kissed him on the cheek and then moved to whisper in his ear. "They might be devils, but I love them."

Leo put the boys down again, and they immediately ran off. He turned to face her.

"You always loved that devilish side of me, too." His lips twitched in amusement.

She laughed. "Not true!"

"Scarlett, don't lie to me," Leo warned. "You know I don't like it when you lie."

"Perhaps," Scarlett said, a teasing grin playing on her own lips. "But before I lied to you, I never realized that I loved you. Maybe a little lying isn't so bad after all."

Leo glared at her, and she moved to rest her head against his shoulder. "Yes, fine. I thoroughly enjoy your devilish side, Leo Pearce. Because it's actually rather sweet."

She glanced up at him. His ocean blue eyes stared out at the children playing, his hair rustling in the breeze. "That's the truth," she whispered. "Because I can't break the vow I made to you when we married."

"Never lie," he breathed, peeking over at her, his eyes instantly finding hers. "Always love."

"Always," she agreed.

"I don't like to think about before," Leo said abruptly. His head turned, and Scarlett admired the way little laugh lines had etched their way into his skin near his eyes, permanent now after so many years of smiling. Behind him, Emilia and Will were making their way across the lawn. Will had Felix in one arm, his other draped around his wife. Scarlett waved to them, and they grinned.

"What do you mean?" she asked Leo.

He tilted his head to the side. Scarlett saw the softness in his eyes as they roamed her face—the softness that had escaped her for too long when she'd first met him.

"Before," he said, "Well, before I thought that time was the passing of minutes, the passing of moments. But now I know that time is a feeling. The feeling of a moment, of a year, of a lifetime."

He looked at the children playing, and then he turned back to Scarlett. He placed a finger beneath her chin, tilting it upward. "And I don't like thinking about when I didn't know the feeling of a lifetime with you."

He brushed his lips over hers and then sighed. "I don't like thinking about before Will knew Emilia or before Adelaide became queen."

Speaking of the monarch, Scarlett saw her and Theo approaching on a horse and sputtered out a laugh.

"What?" Leo twisted, following the direction that Scarlett was looking. Then he began to laugh as well.

"Oy!" he hollered at the royal couple. "How does one fall into an ocean?"

Adelaide and Theo were dripping wet, their clothes plastered to them as they rode the horse across the estate grounds.

"One does not fall," Addie replied crisply, calling over to them. Even from the distance, Scarlett could tell she was trying very hard to suppress a smile. "One is tossed."

Leo threw his head back, laughing. "That's what I thought."

Theo didn't say anything, but he couldn't keep the pleased expression from his face. He jumped from the horse, his boots making a splash as he hit the ground. Reaching up, Theo pulled Addie down from where she sat on the stead. He didn't bother setting her on her feet; he merely turned and carried her into the manor.

"I daresay you are going to make one hell of a mess!" Leo called after them.

But they didn't get a reply, and Scarlett chuckled, saying, "I wonder if we will see them again today."

"I wouldn't count on it," Leo muttered. Then he smiled widely. "See?" Leo asked, looking back down at Scarlett. "We don't need to talk about what came before, Scarlett. Not anymore."

"But it wasn't all bad," she protested. "Some of it was good."

"Yes, it was," Leo whispered, "But do you know what was best?"

Scarlett shook her head, and Leo's eyes twinkled.

"After. Everything after."

He reached out to brush a stray curl behind Scarlett's ear. His hand stayed there then, toying with a piece of her hair as he added, "And everything that comes next."

THE END