“Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened.” Dr. Seuss

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Epilogue

Six Months Later

It had been a whirlwind six months for both David and Elena. Their engagement had been formally announced to the Spanish Court and a grand ball was held just as soon as Joaquín had returned from Andalucía. The damage the storm had caused was far worse in Andalucía so Joaquín had promised his subjects there that the Crown would do everything that was needed in order to restore the homes and businesses.

Soon after, Elena and David departed Spain with Lupe as chaperone. Her mother was most anxious to attend the wedding, and to meet with Elena’s future in-laws. While Joaquín could not spare the time away from Spain to attend the wedding, Elena was glad to have some family there.

It had been Lupe’s first time leaving Spain since having arrived as a young bride from Denmark, nearly eight and twenty years ago. Lupe had also made plans to travel on to Denmark from England to visit any living relatives and to see Gabriela and her child, should he or she be born in that time.

David and Elena were married from the church in the Ascot village, surrounded by David’s large family. Joaquín surprised Elena on her wedding day, a happy coincidence, having decided that he could not allow anyone but him walk Elena down the aisle. Joaquín had sailed his fastest ship while leaving their brothers as his stand-ins at Court during his absence. While they were not particularly close, Joaquín trusted his brothers to behave appropriately before the Court while he was gone.

Once the wedding festivities had concluded, Lupe moved on to Denmark, albeit quite tearfully, and Joaquín returned to Spain.

Elena and David fell happily into married life, with the newlyweds barely spending mere minutes from the other’s side.

The marriage of the heir to the Dukedom of Ascot to a Spanish princess had caused a stir amongst the English elite. Everyone was desperate to get a glimpse of the newly married couple. David and Elena were now expected to attend London for the season along with David’s younger sisters in an effort to find suitable husbands for them, though it seemed that neither Alexandra nor Imogen were very enthusiastic about doing so. Alexandra’s preference of Joaquín above others was very evident when he arrived briefly for Elena’s wedding. Joaquín was not oblivious, nor did it seem that the affection was one sided, however Joaquín was too honourable to cancel the contract with Greece. Alexandra would have to find a husband elsewhere. Imogen was not looking forward to sitting out all the dances and being looked over because she was neither tall enough, nor strong enough, to capture a man’s attention.

Nevertheless, married life suited Elena perfectly.

It was a rare morning when the Ascot household did not all eat breakfast together. Married women traditionally were served breakfast in their bedchambers, however the women of Ascot joined the family in the dining room for breakfast.

On that March morning, however, David was absent. Elena did not need to wonder at his whereabouts. He had risen very early that morning to continue working on his next project.

Elena quietly conversed with Bess as they discussed their plans for the day. The ladies had been invited by Charlotte to luncheon. Elena first wanted to write a letter to Marisol. She tried to write weekly, to make sure that Marisol knew that she was in Elena’s thoughts. Marisol returned the favour, and Elena received letters from her often. Marisol was enjoying her life in Portugal, and she had been received as a welcome addition to the royal family. Apparently Elena was not in good favour, not that she minded, but Marisol had made up for Elena’s absence. In the last letter that she had received, Marisol had written that she was pregnant.

“Ah, you will never guess who we are finally to meet,” remarked Emmett as he read one of the many letters that had arrived that morning. Mr Clarke had delivered the pile to Emmett on a silver tray as breakfast was served.

“Who, Papa?” asked Imogen.

“Colonel Simon Spencer, writes Rebecca,” replied Emmett, “her husband’s favourite, and ever mentioned, youngest brother. He is coming to Salisbury Hall to stay indefinitely. It has been several years since James and Simon have seen each other. Colonel Spencer has retired from the militia with his fortune and is apparently looking forward to knowing his niece and nephew, and experiencing country life for the first time,” summarised Emmett. He put the letter down on the tray and smiled. “I must say, I am most anxious to meet this man. From James’ descriptions, he sounds like a remarkable fellow, a very accomplished military man.”

“How can one earn a fortune in the militia, Papa?” asked Alexandra. “It was to my understanding that one had to purchase their own commissions.”

“Prize money, Allie,” answered Emmett. “Colonel Spencer has clearly been deployed on various campaigns and has reaped the rewards. Successful military expeditions warrant generous monetary prizes from the Crown.”

“Oh,” replied Alexandra, who sounded quite impressed.

“He must be a very talented and brave soldier,” added Imogen, who sounded equally impressed. “Does Rebecca say when Colonel Spencer is expected?”

Emmett’s attention returned to the letter as he searched for a date. “No,” he replied, “though you may ask Rebecca at luncheon to see if she has received any more information since writing this letter.” Emmett set aside the letter and began flipping through the other letters, skipping the invitations which could wait until last. “Oh, there is one here for you, Elena,” Emmett said as he pulled a letter from the pile.

“Is it from Marisol?” asked Elena.

Emmett shook his head. “No, it is sent from Copenhagen,” replied Emmett, sounding quite surprised. “This would be from Gabriela, would it not?”

Elena, who was quite shocked, practically snatched the letter from Emmett and broke the seal with her butter knife. She had not heard from Gabriela since she had left Ascot all those months ago. She had been worried that her letter might have been lost, though perhaps her travels and her pregnancy had delayed her writing. Nevertheless, Elena eagerly read her sister’s words.  

My dear sister,

I sincerely hope that this letter finds you in good health. I apologise for my slack correspondence though you will understand why soon.

Madre tells me that you have been married to David Wilde. I offer you congratulations. What wonderful news. When we meet again, you must tell me how exactly this came about. I am eager to learn of the romance!

Madre has been residing at the palace with Christian and me for these last three months. She adores speaking in her native tongue once more. She had not forgotten a single word! Her tutelage, I must say, has been wonderful. Has Madre’s sudden transformation been strange for you, too? I cannot complain, as I have longed for her affections for years, as you well know.

My Danish is quite good now, and my husband and I are able to converse with some ease. This has eased the strain on our new marriage considerably.

Of course, I do owe the easing of the strain to someone else, as well.

My child has been born! She was born safe and sound nearly a fortnight ago. She was slightly earlier than expected, though Christian believed she was simply eager to meet us.

Yes, we have a daughter, just as I had hoped. There is no disappointment on either of our parts. My husband is absolutely besotted with her, and he even announced that work was to stop for the day so that our daughter’s birth could be celebrated by the people.

She will be christened Elin Louisa Agnetha Margarethe, but to her Spanish mother, she will be known as Elena.

Elena stopped reading for a moment and smiled fondly. “Gabriela’s daughter has been born,” Elena announced. “Princess Elin has been named for me. To her Spanish relatives, she will be ‘Elena’.” There were several cries of joy around the table as Elena read on.

My daughter is perfect and beautiful. I have never known love like this. When I look at my life, Elena is all I see. She is all that matters to me. My husband adores her. He is already calling her ‘Lille Elin’, which means ‘Little Elena’. He does not mind at all that she is a girl. Our love for Elena has brought us together. While we are not perfect, nor passionately in love, we are united by Elena, and by the future children I shall bear.

My husband’s mother, Margarethe, and sister, Agnetha, have already been decided as the godmothers, but I wanted you to be Elena’s godmother in spirit.

I hope you will meet her one day. Perhaps we shall take a tour of England when Elena is a little older and I shall bring her to Ascot. While my Danish is acceptable, my English is still poor. I shall need my translator!

I hope you know the joy of motherhood one day, Elena. It has changed me for the better.

All our love,

Your sister, Gabriela, and your niece, Elena.

“Princess Elin Louisa Agnetha Margarethe is the name that has been chosen for my niece,” announced Elena once she had finished reading the letter.

“Congratulations to them both,” cheered Bess. “What good news that is. Why, it puts me in rather a cheerful mood to start this day.”

“As it does me,” agreed Elena. “Excuse me, will you? I must find David and convey the news. He is an uncle to Elena as well.” Elena rose from the dining table and abandoned her breakfast. She crossed the foyer quickly and began to climb the stairs.

When she reached the third floor, she entered into one of the first bedchambers in the family’s private corridor. This was the nursery, where every child born at Ascot spent their early years. David had been spending many hours of the day in the nursery, practically rebuilding it, in eager anticipation of his and Elena’s first child.

David had added a lovely long window seat to the nursery so that they could look out at the view while tending to their child. He had also carved and upholstered a stunning rocking chair. His next project was a cot for their child once it had outgrown the bassinette. The iron sides were at the blacksmith, waiting to be welded to the rest of the contraption, though David was hard at work creating and fixing a lovely headboard to the wall.

Just as soon as Elena had realised that she was expecting a child nearly three months earlier, David had been ecstatic. Elena was now four and a half months pregnant. She was due to give birth in the summer, which would no doubt cut short their plans of a London season.

“David,” called out Elena.

David immediately turned around to see Elena standing in the door way. He abandoned the head board and immediately came to her, wrapping his arms around her comfortingly. “Hello, my beautiful wife,” he murmured in her ear. “What do you think?” he asked once he pulled away, gesturing to the head board that had been fixed to the wall.

The timber head board had been sanded and treated to the point of absolute smoothness. David had then begun to carve the letters ‘A M W’ into the centre.

Elena smiled. “A little presumptuous,” she commented, nodding towards the ‘A M W’. “We do not know yet if it is a girl.”

David shrugged. “If it is a boy then I shall just turn it around and carve his initials into the other side,” he said simply. “But do you like it?” he asked hopefully.

“I do,” replied Elena, “it is beautiful, just like everything else that you have made.” Elena went over to the rocking chair and sat down, enjoying the comfort and serenity of rocking backwards and forwards. Elena rested a hand on the small protrusion that was her stomach.

If their child was a daughter, then she was to be named Aurelia Marisol Wilde. In Spanish, Aurelia meant ‘golden’ and both Elena and David liked that interpretation. To them it meant that Aurelia was precious. She had not decided on any male names, though if her child was a son, he would most definitely be receiving Joaquín as either his first or second name.

Elena suddenly remembered that she had Gabriela’s news to convey. She produced Gabriela’s letter and showed it to David. “Gabriela has given birth to a daughter,” Elena informed him, “a daughter that has been named for me.”

David read the letter quickly before finding the child’s name. “Elin Louisa Agnetha Margarethe,” he said slowly, stumbling over the pronunciation of ‘Agnetha’.

After reuniting, Elena had heard the names of many of Lupe’s family members. Luckily, she was familiar with the correct pronunciation. “Ahn-yetta,” said Elena slowly, “is how you say the name.”

“Agnetha,” repeated David correctly. “It is very lovely of Gabriela to name her daughter for you. Does that mean that we should name our daughter after her?”

Elena rose from the rocking chair and took the letter from David so that she could cuddle into his chest. “We shall have many other daughters and sons, I hope. Gabriela will have her namesake one day.”

“Just how many are you planning, Mrs Wilde?” asked David playfully.

Elena grinned. “Oh, I do not know. Perhaps enough to fill one of your beloved cricket teams?” she teased, causing David to laugh heartily.

“If you wish it, my dear.”

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THE END!!! 

I hope you all enjoyed this story. I adored writing it :) Now on to Imogen's story where we will finally meet the elusive Simon! I'll hopefully get the first chapter up this week, but if not, it won't be until next Monday. I'm moving on Friday the 9th so you can imagine that we're packing like mad and I've got zero free time. We won't have our internet connected until the 12th which will be the Monday so that might be when I get the first chapter up. I'll Instagram sneak peeks so if you have Instagram, follow me! @littlelowriter :) But the awesome news is we're getting Foxtel for the first time ever!!!! Foxtel is like pay TV so I'm so looking forward to having MTV so I can watch Teen Wolf without having to hunch over my laptop :P We'll be getting all the American shows really quickly. Australia shows everything so late. We're still on bloody season 3 of Scandal. Thank god for on demand because I would be going crazy :P We're also getting Fox Sports which means I won't miss any Essendon games :DDDD Sometimes they're not televised on free to air TV so my brother and I have to follow the live scores instead. Anyways, so excited for Foxtel :)

If I don't see you again this week, I'll see you on the 12th when my internet is connected. Otherwise, follow me on Instagram for photos of the move. I'll most definitely be documenting my tearful goodbye but I'll get over it when I jump in the new pool :D But it is sad. We've lived in this house since 1999. Age 5 to 20. All of my first day of school photos were taken in the garden, the door which I kicked and broke my toe on is the hallway door (total clumsy accident lol), my room is still pink from when my mum painted it when I was 7. Coincidentally, a 7 year old girl is moving into my room so that's kinda poetic :) Anyways, bye house!!

Anyways, vote and comment!!