A Loving Governess for the Duke – Extended Epilogue

Six Weeks Later

Caroline couldn’t stop beaming as she watched Eleanor and Richard get married. Eleanor looked like she was high in the clouds with her happiness, and Richard looked equally pleased. It was clear to see the two of them loved each other. Then again, nobody could have missed it when Eleanor practically jumped into Richard’s arms to be kissed.

This was even more adorable than her own wedding, and Caroline didn’t think she would be saying that.

To say that her new life as the Duchess of Bayntree had been a bit of a whirlwind was an understatement. It wasn’t a title she was used to, but David said it wasn’t something she had to worry about right now. They had plenty of time to think about things before they went to social engagements as husband and wife. Hopefully, by the time she was ready and comfortable with her new status, the news that a governess had married a duke would have died down. Caroline knew that it was going around, and both Joseph and Eleanor had been approached about it, mostly to get some gossip about it all, but they were sent away with a flea in their ears.

She was a little concerned, but after thinking about it, Caroline decided it wasn’t something she should be worried about. She should concentrate on her own marriage and family, not on what everyone else thought. It would just end up with a headache that she couldn’t get rid of.

Being called ‘your grace’ was a little weird as well. Caroline often forgot that she was the one being addressed, but she was getting there. And she had to remind herself that she wasn’t Henrietta and Gwen’s governess anymore, something they thought was amusing. It wasn’t that easy to get rid of certain habits.

David thought it was cute. When he wasn’t teasing her.

At the breakfast, Eleanor came over to Caroline, beaming as she hugged her friend.

“I can’t believe this is actually happening!”

“Neither can I.” Caroline looked her up and down. “Congratulations, Lady Talbot. Being married suits you.”

Eleanor giggled.

“And being a duchess suits you as well. Your Grace,” she added with a deep curtsy.

“Oh, stop it. You’re going to embarrass me.”

“Well, it’s an improvement.” Eleanor’s eyes were sparkling. “Who would have thought you and I would be married in the same season? And you would find a husband when you hadn’t even left the house?”

“I left the house, Eleanor.”

“You know what I mean. You didn’t turn up to any social events, and you still managed to marry a duke. The fact that it’s David doesn’t take away from the fact you’ve done something incredible.”

Caroline didn’t know what to say to that. She didn’t think it was that incredible, but she was still thinking about David as a person. If she were to think about it differently and see him as a duke, she would see how surprising it was. It was how everyone else was talking about her, anyway. Lady Archer had mentioned that a few of her friends had been shocked at how a governess managed to seduce a duke into marriage, but she had shut that down quickly.

While she was mindful of her place in the ton, Lady Archer could be fiercely protective of those she cared about, and that included Caroline.

“Oh, by the way,” Eleanor glanced across the room, “I forgot to say, but Lady Mary is here.”

“What?” Caroline frowned and looked around. “Where? I haven’t seen her?”

“They must have sat at the back of the room when the ceremony was taking place. I saw her just now.” Eleanor held up her hands. “Richard’s family invited her and her parents. They’re friends, after all. It wasn’t my place to tell them no.”

“I see.”

Caroline was grateful for the warning, although she wished she could be elsewhere right now. She didn’t really want to run into Lady Mary; the other woman might behave irrationally and do something that would embarrass Caroline. Realistically, she knew that wouldn’t happen, but it made her feel a little uncomfortable knowing she was in the same room as the woman who tried to send her away with threats.

Then she caught sight of Lady Mary. And she was walking over to them. Caroline tensed. Was she going to cause a scene? She didn’t want to upset Eleanor on her wedding day, but if Lady Mary started something …

“Your Grace.” Lady Mary bowed her head and curtsied. “May I have a word with you?”

Caroline was about to refuse, but curiosity got the better of her. She nodded at Eleanor.

“If you’ll excuse us for a moment, Lady Talbot?”

With her friend frowning after them, the two women moved to a corner of the room. Caroline turned to Lady Mary, mentally bracing herself for a war of words.

“I know this may seem a little strange to you, but …” Lady Mary glanced towards the rest of the wedding guests. For the first time she seemed less certain of herself. “I just wanted to thank you.”

Caroline blinked. Of all the things for the woman to say to her, she never thought it would be that.

“You wanted to thank me? For what? I don’t understand.”

“Well, because of what you did marrying the duke, I was able to have a heart-to-heart with my parents.”

“I’m still confused.”

Lady Mary sighed.

“There’s someone I met in my first Season that I fell in love with. We’ve known each other for years, and he’s still unmarried. However, he’s not of the social standing my parents would want for me, and the one time I mentioned his name I was told he wouldn’t be suitable. They wanted me to further myself with a better social connection.”

“And that would be my husband.”

“Yes.”

Caroline could slowly see this making sense.

“Is this why you’ve been so stand-offish and rude? Because you were doing something you didn’t want to do? You could have told us about it.”

“I wouldn’t say I was stand-offish.”

“But you were rude.”

Lady Mary winced.

“I suppose I was. I was trying to make things how I wanted them so I would feel better about a marriage that I didn’t want.”

“I’m surprised that you didn’t want to marry a duke.”

“I’m glad I can still surprise. But my only love is the one I want to be with, and I know he loves me. Anyway, after I got over the shock of the duke stopping our courtship and thought about it, I realised that if he could pursue the woman he wanted in his life, then I should be allowed to do it as well. I managed to talk to my parents about it after they calmed down, and I was able to convince them that it would be better for everyone. If they wanted me to be happy, they would need to accept that I may not do things they like. It took a while, but they accepted this.”

Caroline began to see what was going on.

“You’re going to marry this gentleman of yours, aren’t you?”

“We’re going to have a small wedding in a few weeks. Then he’s going to take me to the coast. I’m looking forward to it.”

“And your parents approved?”

“As long as I don’t do anything stupid.” Lady Mary pursed her lips. “It’s almost like they don’t trust me.”

Caroline didn’t answer that. At least she knew there wouldn’t be an issue with the other woman in the future.

“I’m glad you’re going to have happiness yourself,” she said smoothly.

“This doesn’t mean we’re going to be friends, Your Grace. Even if you are a duchess now.”

“No, of course not. I wouldn’t think of anything else.”

Lady Mary arched an eyebrow.

“Anyway, while I don’t see us being friends, I would like us to be decent towards each other. We don’t need to hate each other, and I want to be a better person for my future husband. Do you think we can come to some sort of truce?”

That was as close to an olive branch Caroline was going to get. For a second, she didn’t know what to say. After knowing Lady Mary over the years, she thought they would never actually be friendly. But Caroline’s good nature won out over telling the other woman where to go, and she smiled.

“I think we can do that. You and I are grown women. I’m sure we can put everything behind us and start afresh when we want.”

Something flickered behind Lady Mary’s eyes.

“I appreciate it, Caroline. I mean …”

“When nobody’s around, you don’t have to worry about it. It’s going to take a while before I’m comfortable with being called ‘Your Grace’.”

“I don’t think I would be comfortable with it, either.” Lady Mary looked over at Henrietta and Gwen, who were talking to David and Lord Archer. “Will you manage with his sisters around? I don’t think I would be able to cope.”

“They’re a lot more interesting than you realise. Take the time, and you’ll see why.”

“I suppose.” Lady Mary dusted down her gown and gave Caroline a quick curtsy. “Thank you for talking to me, Your Grace. I appreciate your kindness.”

“And I appreciate you approaching me about this, Lady Mary. Congratulations on your upcoming marriage.”

***

David watched Caroline and Lady Mary across the room. Seeing the two of them together made him a little nervous. He hadn’t realised Lady Mary was present as well, and he wished he had known.

What were they talking about? He was tempted to hurry across the room and find out, but Caroline seemed to be handling it on her own. And neither of them looked angry, although Caroline appeared to be rather perplexed.

“You need to stop staring, David.” Henrietta giggled as she nudged her brother. “Your jaw is almost on the floor.”

“Henrietta,” David warned. “Stop talking like that.”

“Well, you are. Didn’t you tell me before that I’m going to catch flies if I have my mouth open like that.”

David rolled his eyes. Then he saw Lady Mary walking away from Caroline. He nodded at Lord Archer.

“If you’ll excuse me, My Lord? Girls,” he shot a look at his sisters, “behave.”

Gwen laughed.

“Do you not trust us?”

“You don’t want me to answer that, Gwen.” David squeezed the girl’s shoulder as he stepped past her. “I’ll be right back.”

Caroline turned as he approached, giving him a smile. She took his outstretched hand.

“I saw you and Lady Mary together.” David kissed her fingers, holding her hand close to his chest. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine. I think we just had a heart-to-heart, or something close to it.”

“So, you’re actually going to be friends with her now?”

“I don’t think so. But we can be civil. I’ll explain later.” Caroline’s smile warmed as she looked over at Eleanor, who was now with her husband. “I think Eleanor’s going to be bouncing off the walls for a while now.”

“You mean she wasn’t before? She’s not been known to sit still before, but she’s barely done that since Talbot proposed to her.”

Caroline laughed.

“That’s true. She certainly looks happy.”

“Like us?”

“Of course. I’m certainly happy with what I have now.” She squeezed David’s hand. “Although I never thought this was going to happen. I had practically given up on finding a husband, and I thought my new path was going to give me something different. I didn’t expect that it would lead me to a husband.”

David laughed.

“Do you regret it?”

“No, I don’t. I’m just surprised that it was my way of getting married.”

“Sometimes, we don’t need to do things in the conventional way.” David kissed her forehead. “And I think you and I were going to get married at some point. Even with everything between us, it would have happened.”

“You believe that?”

“Well, your parents were sure of it. And I’m glad I gave in to what I wanted; otherwise, I would be seeing you get married to someone else.”

Caroline scoffed.

“I think that would be my regret.”

“Glad that I changed your mind?”

“Of course. Although you did leave it until almost the last minute.”

David couldn’t argue with that. He tilted her head up and kissed her softly. That had Caroline breaking away with a gasp.

“David! We’re in public!”

“We’re also a newly married couple who came back from their honeymoon not long ago. I think people can forgive us for being amorous with each other.” David smiled. “Shall I do it again until you give in?”

Caroline was making a noise between a groan and a laugh when David kissed her again.

THE END

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