An Earl’s Fake Courtship – Extended Epilogue

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One Year Later

“I heard something about Lady Elizabeth,” Jack said as he came out of the stable where his horse was kept. “She’s getting married.”

Harry raised his eyebrows.

“Really? I wasn’t expecting that.”

“Apparently, he’s a young viscount who is rather shy and doesn’t really come to many social gatherings. They ended up meeting at a mutual friend’s house over Christmas, and her father said romance blossomed in a way he wasn’t expecting.”

Harry hadn’t heard anything about that, and it was surprising that Lady Elizabeth was getting married now. She had said plenty of times that she wanted to marry Harry, although that had faded away pretty quickly once she realized that Harry was in love with Sophie and she wasn’t going to get him to change his mind. In fact, Harry was surprised when Lady Elizabeth gave both of them a heartfelt apology for the way she had behaved, and she promised to leave them alone if that was what they wanted.

Neither of them had seen her since, so to hear that Lady Elizabeth was getting married to someone who was not Harry was news he had not expected to hear. But he was glad. Even someone like Lady Elizabeth Warren deserved some happiness in her life.

They weren’t at a position where she was a friend – more like a distant acquaintance – but Sophie said that she could see things getting better as they all grew up. His wife was more forgiving than Harry, even after what happened.

“Well, good for her. She deserves that.”

“Even after what she did?” Jack asked.

“As long as she doesn’t cause trouble for us again, then that’s fine by me.”

Harry tugged off his gloves as he and Jack left the stables and headed towards the back terrace. It was a warm day, and Sophie had said she would be on the terrace with Alexandra, enjoying the sun. She had been feeling a little under the weather lately, so to hear that she wanted to sit outside was a relief after she had spent a lot of time inside and saying the sun was too bright. Harry had been worried about her.

Hopefully, it wouldn’t be long before it went away completely.

“Sounds like love and everything that comes with it is more trouble than it’s worth,” Jack commented, wiping his sleeve across his sweaty forehead. “I never understood it all before and how it could get so messy. Now I’m beginning to understand it better.”

“What are you talking about? You sound like you’ve come to some sort of epiphany.”

Jack’s cheeks went a little red, and it wasn’t from exertion. Harry wondered where Jack was going with this. Since the drama the year before, his stiffness had faded away and Harry began to see the person he had been friends with for so many years. Jack was pretty much back to his old self, although there were moments when Harry was worried about his friend’s state of mind, but it was fleeting. Jack was doing his best to get better at everything, including working on his relationship with his sister. Sophie loved her brother so much that she was willing to work on it, and the relief was visible when Jack was told that. Things were much better between all of them.

His wife was happy to have her brother back. And Harry was happy that his wife was smiling again because of it.

“Well, I guess I came to something,” Jack mumbled, adjusting the sleeve he just used to wipe his face. “I’m planning on proposing today.”

“Really?” Harry blinked. “You’re thinking of finally getting married?”

“It’s something I should have done a while ago, but I was too shy.” Jack cleared his throat. “I love her, and I’ve sat back on it for too long. I want to marry her, Harry.”

“Who are you talking about?”

“Alexandra.”

Harry let that sink in. He was surprised that Jack said he was in love with Alexandra. It was clear that Alexandra had feelings for Jack, and she thought that he would never look at her like that. But to hear it from Jack himself…

“Really?”

“You think she would accept me? I don’t want to go through it and then get turned down.”

Harry chuckled.

“I have a feeling that you don’t have to worry about that.”

“Why do you say that?”

The sound of laughter reached their ears, and Harry held up a finger to urge Jack to stop talking as they turned the corner. Sophie and Alexandra were sitting in chairs on the edge of the terrace, both of them holding parasols to protect their faces from the sun. Alexandra saw them first and sat up. Sophie looked around, smiling warmly at her husband.

Harry didn’t think it was possible to fall further in love with someone. The sight of Sophie always warmed his heart, and he couldn’t help but smile in return.

“How are you feeling, darling?” he asked as he approached her and kissed her head. “You’re looking like you’ve got more color in your cheeks.”

“I feel so much better after having some breakfast.” Sophie pressed a hand to her stomach. “Hopefully, it will stay down for now. The doctor said that I should eat little and often, just to be sure.”

“Which means she’s going to need someone to wait on her hand and foot,” Alexandra teased.

“Then I have no problem doing that,” Harry declared.

Jack laughed.

“Of course you don’t. You’ve been like this since you finally decided to tell everyone you loved my sister.” He turned to Alexandra. “Why don’t we give these two a bit of time alone, Alexandra? We don’t want to get in the way, do we?”

“I didn’t think we were.” But Alexandra got to her feet, adjusting her parasol, “However, I wouldn’t mind a walk in the garden. But shouldn’t we get a chaperone?”

“Just stay in sight of us, Alexandra,” Sophie said. “Then you don’t need to worry about that. Besides, I’m sure you can trust my brother.”

Alexandra blushed, and Jack cleared his throat. He held out his arm to her, and Alexandra took it. As they walked away, Harry took the seat Alexandra had been sitting in.

“Expect some squealing in a minute and protect your ears,” he said.

“Why?”

“Jack’s going to propose to Alexandra.”

Sophie raised her eyebrows.

“Really? I wasn’t expecting that. They’re not courting, are they?”

“You know what your brother is like. Jumping into things and missing out a few parts in the process. He’s not changed with that.”

“I know that much. I’ve grown up with him.” Sophie reached for an open letter she had pinned to the table under her glass. “I received this letter while you were out. I thought you might want to see it.”

“Who’s it from?”

“The current Duke of Rothbury.”

Harry wasn’t expecting that. He knew that the title had been taken from the man who tried to steal Sophie for himself, but he hadn’t paid attention to who had been given said title and wealth.

“Who is he?”

“Rothbury’s younger brother, Edward. He’s been getting things stabilized and wiping all traces of his brother from everything.” Sophie adjusted her parasol again. “He apologized to me for his brother’s actions, and wishes that things had been better. He also wrote about things Rothbury did when he was younger that explains a lot about how he behaved when he was a child. He’s remorseful for not getting help for his older brother and making him a normal person. He hopes that I can forgive him.”

Harry frowned as he read the letter. It was very eloquently put together, and he could see the genuine remorse in the words. It seemed that Rothbury’s brother was better at understanding things.

“He shouldn’t need to ask for forgiveness when he wasn’t the one who did anything wrong. That’s not fair on him.”

“He says he’s feeling guilty because it was his family who caused me a lot of stress last year. He wishes that he had been in a position to deal with him then, and that transporting his brother to the other side of the world with no chance of returning is the only right solution.” Sophie sighed. “I feel awful for Edward, having to take the place of someone as horrible as Rothbury.”

“What are you going to do about it? Are you going to respond?”

“I think I will. Just to assure him that he’s done nothing wrong, and I’m not going to hold anything against him for what a family member did to me.”

“Which is the right thing to do.” Harry reached over and took his wife’s hand. “Do you want to write to him later or leave it for a while?”

“I’ll do it later. I want to enjoy the time I’m having without feeling sick.” Sophie rubbed her stomach. Her hand hadn’t left her belly the whole time. “The doctor said it was perfectly normal, but I would need to take it easy.”

Harry arched an eyebrow.

“It’s perfectly normal? How can this be normal like everyone does it?”

“Well, not everyone goes through it. But, apparently, it’s common with women.” Sophie gave him a smile. “And things will go back to normal in a few months. Of course, there is a bit of weight gain and swollen ankles that go with it…”

“Weight gain? How does that work when you’re being sick all the time?”

Sophie laughed.

“Have you not figured it out yet? What do you think I’m trying to say?”

“What?”

“We’re having a baby, Harry. I’m pregnant.” She placed his hand on her still-flat stomach. “In a few months, we’ll be welcoming our first child.”

The words sank in, but it took a while for Harry to realize what she was saying. His mouth fell open.

“You…you’re pregnant?”

“That’s what I said.” Sophie laughed. “You should see your face right now, Harry.”

Harry shook himself, pulling Sophie into his arms. He kissed her soundly, silencing Sophie’s laughter.

“I think that tells me what I need to know about your response to this,” Sophie giggled when they broke apart to breathe.

“Absolutely.” Harry rested his forehead against hers. “I love you, Sophie. I’m so proud of you.”

“I haven’t done anything yet.”

“You’re going to be carrying our child. I’ll be saying that I’m proud of you now so you know it when things get further along.”

“You mean when I’m grumpy and constantly complaining about how heavy I feel?” Sophie teased.

“I’m sure it won’t be like that with you.” Harry looked across the lawn at Jack and Alexandra, who were almost at the rose garden. They looked deep in conversation, standing closer than they should, but the body language was clearly intimate. “Although I’m sure Alexandra’s upcoming wedding will distract you enough that you won’t notice too much.”

“You think she’s going to marry my brother?”

“Oh, I am absolutely sure about that.”

Harry wasn’t often completely certain about things, but when it came to Jack and Sophie, the certainty was never in any doubt.

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OFFER: A BRAND NEW SERIES AND 2 FREEBIES FOR YOU!

Grab my new series, "Whispers of Regency Love", and get 2 FREE novels as a gift! Have a look here!

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