The Gentleman Who Stole Her Heart – Extended Epilogue

William was running around in circles with Rebecca and they both ran and ran until dizziness overwhelmed them and they collapsed upon the ground.

“Oh, good heavens! What are you two doing now?” Elizabeth asked, shaking her head and laughing.

“Do not worry, I shall take very good care of them all while you are gone,” Arthur said.

“Thank you, my love,” Elizabeth said, giving him a quick peck on the lips.

It was hard to believe that William was now nearly nine years of age, and Rebecca was six. The two were quite close, which she was grateful for. But Elizabeth wondered how they would be impacted by William attending school and not being home all the time.

Anna was three and toddled around at her father’s feet, which was her favourite place to be. Still, Elizabeth was often jealous for the attentions of her youngest, but she was delighted at what a tremendous father Arthur was to each of them, not treating one with more care and affection than another.

Elizabeth loved to be with her family, but life and duty were calling her away for the afternoon and she felt quite compelled by the visit to her friend, Mrs. Lockwood.

Once Elizabeth arrived at Mrs. Lockwood’s estate, she went in and was welcomed in the parlour.

“Oh, my dear Mrs. Lockwood, I am so sorry,” she said, grieving with her.

Mrs. Lockwood sat, forlorn and outfitted in black.

“Thank you for coming, Mrs. Whitaker,” she said.

“I could do nothing else. I have been so sad for you since the loss of your husband,” Elizabeth said.

Mrs. Lockwood nodded. It was clear that she was at a loss for what to say.

“Jenny, please bring tea,” she instructed the maid as Elizabeth sat quietly, waiting to see how she could best comfort her friend.

“Thank you,” she said in a hushed voice.

They were quiet as the tea was brought and Elizabeth remained patient.

“Please, drink up,” Mrs. Lockwood said, waiting until they were alone once more.

After the maid left, she looked at Elizabeth with eyes that conveyed a need to share he burdens.

“What may I do for you?” Elizabeth offered.

“What is there to be done? I am terribly heartbroken that I have lost my husband,” Mrs. Lockwood said.

“I know. I understand the pain of that. But do not think of the things that everyone does when a woman grieves. What may I do for you that no one else has offered?” she asked.

“I simply need you to listen and not to judge me,” Mrs. Lockwood said.

“I would never judge you. What is it?” Elizabeth asked.

“I know that you were a widow as well. If anyone understands the sadness that I feel, it is you. But I think that there is another, underlying emotion that I have which is plaguing me. And perhaps I am wrong, but I believe that you are familiar with it as well,” she said.

“What emotion is that?” Elizabeth asked.

“If is an intense guilt. And maybe you did not feel that, but I think that the reason behind it is something with which you are familiar,” she said.

Elizabeth waited for Mrs. Lockwood to explain. She was going around in circles, but Elizabeth recalled that grief and the shock of suddenly losing a husband can jumble one’s thoughts a good deal.

“What sort of reason?” she prodded.

“Mr. Lockwood was a very lovely man. He was kind and patient. He was always good and respectful to me. But I did not love him. Is that a terrible thing to confess?” she asked.

Elizabeth now understood very well the grief that Mrs. Lockwood was experiencing.

“Mrs. Lockwood, I do not judge you and it is not a terrible thing. There is a different kind of love that we face when we are arranged to be married to good men with whom we have no romantic affection,” Elizabeth said.

Mrs. Lockwood looked at her with hopeful eyes.

“Honestly, I can hardly blame you for feeling as you do. You know, Mr. Morrow, my first husband, was a wonderful man as well. And we lived a very good life together. But I did not love him,” Elizabeth said.

“I thought as much, but felt bad making an assumption of it,” Mrs. Lockwood said.

“Do not feel bad. I know it is difficult. I know how hard it is when you are married to someone and live with them and believe that you will spend your life with them, but in your heart, your care for them is only such that you are devoted to being the best wife that you can be,” Elizabeth said.

“That is it, precisely,” she replied.

“Do not feel guilty or ashamed with me. There are many who may not understand, but I do. We are arranged to be married to men we have never met or hardly know and then they expect us to be loving in all ways. It is not reasonable, but this is the life that we live,” Elizabeth said.

“You do not think it is wrong that we are unable to force ourselves to love them?” Mrs. Lockwood asked.

“If it is forced, it is not love. And that is perfectly all right. Do not worry. You were a good wife to your husband. You did all that you could. And now, I can see that your mourning is true. Just because you did not love him as you wanted to does not mean that your heart does not ache now that he is gone,” Elizabeth said, remembering the feeling.

“It is so true. I miss his companionship. He made me laugh and I do dearly miss that as well,” she said.

“There are many things that you will continue to miss in the months to come. At times, it will be very hard to remember that he is gone. But that is not lessened by the fact that it was not love that you felt for him,” Elizabeth said.

“I am so relieved to know that you have been through this. Your understanding is precisely what I am in need of,” Mrs. Lockwood said with a sigh.

“I must urge you, however, on one point,” Elizabeth said.

“What is that?” Mrs. Lockwood asked.

“You are still very young. There will be many who urge you to marry again,” Elizabeth said.

“How can I do that? I have only just lost Mr. Lockwood,” she said.

“They will not urge you immediately, but it will not be as long as you would like to wait. As you know, the only man who did not wish for me to remarry was the very one who wished to steal from me,” Elizabeth said with a shrug.

“Yes, I remember,” Mrs. Lockwood said.

“But I remarried for the sake of my son. Once more, I married out of duty rather than love,” Elizabeth said.

Mrs. Lockwood’s eyes widened.

“You do not love your husband? But the two of you appear so dearly in love with one another. I never imagined,” she gasped.

Elizabeth chuckled slightly and shook her head.

“No, no, Mrs. Lockwood. I do love him. Mr. Whitaker is my everything in this world. But we married before we knew one another. His family was struggling with their finances and I needed to secure William’s future. We married for a mutual, duty-bound benefit,” Elizabeth told her.

“You did?” she asked.

“We did. And I never imagined that it would lead to the love that I always wanted. But that is the very thing that I must urge you,” Elizabeth said.

She stood from her seat and went to kneel before Mrs. Lockwood, taking her frail and sad hands in her own.

“Do not marry again unless it is for love. there is no duty, no need, nothing in all of this world that will make it worth being remarried to someone who means nothing to you,” Elizabeth said.

“But what if I never find someone I love?” she asked.

“I trust that you will. But even if you do not, you have your lovely children to keep you company. There is no need to marry someone you do not love out of duty. Ignore those voices that tell you a woman cannot be on her own.

“Because if you marry a man you do not love and then you meet the perfect gentleman who fills your soul with joy, you will be very sad that you are committed in the same way that you were committed to Mr. Lockwood,” Elizabeth said.

Mrs. Lockwood appeared to understand very well.

“It is easy to be content with a match until you have known love. I should never like to see anyone settle for society’s insistence ever again when there is a chance at love,” Elizabeth said.

“And I dearly want to love and be loved,” Mrs. Lockwood said.

“Then wait for the day that it happens, and it is real and true. Do not marry anyone for other reasons,” she urged again.

“I understand,” Mrs. Lockwood said.

“Very well,” Elizabeth replied, returning to her seat.

“It is good to have a friend who understands,” Mrs. Lockwood said.

“Indeed. I know how your heart breaks right now and I want you to know that you may trust me. I shall not allow anyone to learn what you have said because I know how hard it is to live with the knowledge that you have,” Elizabeth told her.

“And will the guilt ever go away?” Mrs. Lockwood asked.

“Oh, yes. Because you have no reason to feel guilty. As I said, you were a good wife and you did all that you could to be so. We cannot convince ourselves to love someone. We can only hope that what we feel may be true. And if it is not, we must be diligent and respectful wives regardless,” Elizabeth said.

“Yes, that is often how I saw it,” Mrs. Lockwood said.

“Then you have done all that you can. Now, what more may I do for you? How may I help you through the grief that you feel at having lost your husband?” Elizabeth asked.

“I am terribly sad and lonely at times. My children keep me company, but it is difficult at night when I am on my own,” she confessed.

“Oh, yes. I had William sleep beside me for a full six months after Mr. Morrow passed away. I was so grieved at being alone and my son was the only one who could make it any better,” Elizabeth told her.

“I think it would be good if I have them stay with me for a time,” Mrs. Lockwood said.

Elizabeth agreed. She had two children, three and seven years of age.

Mrs. Lockwood was two years younger than Elizabeth and would certainly have time to marry again, if she so chose. Elizabeth recalled that it was difficult to find a husband willing to raise the children of another man, but she also knew that there were right and good men out there who could still love a woman and her children.

Arthur had been one of them, and for that, she was eternally thankful.

Throughout Elizabeth’s pregnancy with Rebecca, Arthur had looked after William a great deal. She had been very sick the whole time, not merely the first three months as she had been with William.

But as Elizabeth often laid in bed, weak and tired from not being able to keep down food or drink, Arthur had taken care of her far better than she had ever looked after him during the poisoning. This was in addition to spending much of his time with William, growing ever closer and being the father that her son would need as he grew.

“Mrs. Lockwood, I can tell you from my own experience that there is a brightness in the future. Nothing is ever hopeless, but throughout any struggles that you face, remember that your children are there with you through them,” Elizabeth said.

Mrs. Lockwood nodded and agreed.

As Elizabeth left the estate, she found herself pondering on her meeting with Mrs. Lockwood.

She had felt that guilty once. She had been ashamed that she had not loved Mr. Morrow as she believed that she ought to.

But that was the past. The future was with Arthur and the children. She was in love now and she was loved and that was what mattered most.

Elizabeth was thrilled when the coach pulled up to the estate she had been left by her first husband.

It was going to belong to William one day. As with his full inheritance, Elizabeth would urge him to share with his sisters. She had been raising him well, as had Arthur, and she trusted that he would make the selfless decision to care for them despite being only a half relation.

There was a good friendship between him and Rebecca and he was a sweetheart with Anna as well. A lovely brother, still quiet and timid at times, but very compassionate and sweet.

Elizabeth could not be prouder.

She made her way inside and began to call for the family that she loved so dearly.

“I am home!” she cried.

But there was no answer.

Finally, she saw one of the maids.

“Where is my husband and where are the children?” she asked.

“They are in the garden, Mrs. Whitaker,” the maid said.

Elizabeth rushed outside to see them all and found Arthur wrestling gently with William. Her son was making every effort to defeat her husband but it was quite clear that Arthur was doing all he could to simply avoid hurting William.

In the end, she chuckled along as William ‘won’ the match and Arthur dramatically breathed in an exaggerated way that conveyed exhaustion.

“You are far too strong,” he said.

“I am?” William asked.

“Certainly. But I am proud of you for beating me,” Arthur said.

“Is it my turn yet?” Rebecca asked.

Arthur and Elizabeth looked at one another.

“Oh, I don’t know. I don’t want to hurt you or get your dress dirty,” Arthur said.

“Please, Papa?” she begged.

Elizabeth smiled as Arthur caved to the request.

“All right, then,” he said.

With that, he was even more cautious and gentle with Rebecca and Elizabeth hoisted Anna onto her lap as she sat on the nearby bench and watched. William sat beside her and rooted for his sister to defeat their father.

Elizabeth already knew that Arthur would arrange it so that she would do just that.

The air was calm and peaceful, the smell of the flowers fresh and bright.

As the wrestling came to an end – with Rebecca victorious – Elizabeth was happy to have her husband and eldest daughter join them on the bench.

They stared out at the sky where the sun was beginning to make its descent.

“How was your afternoon with Mrs. Lockwood?” Arthur asked.

“It was very good. I am sorry she has been through so much, but I think that she is going to be happy once again some day,” Elizabeth said.

“Is she doing all right after the loss of her husband?” Arthur asked.

“As all right as she may be,” Elizabeth said.

She did not tell him that there was no love between Mrs. Lockwood and her husband, but she did not need to. She gathered that Arthur understood as much for it was hardly uncommon.

“I am glad that she has you to talk to about her grief,” he said.

“Yes, as am I. And I do hope that I have managed to show her that she may find happiness and love one day. It is not an easy thing, becoming a widow. But there is hope for the future and that is what I believe she needed to be reminded of,” Elizabeth said.

“I still like to think about our future,” Arthur said.

“As do I,” Elizabeth replied.

“When I think of all that we have been through and the happiness we have been given, sometimes I am still utterly amazed. But I do not think that this is the end. There is more joy to come,” Arthur said.

“I agree, my love. We have faced a great deal already, but that does not mean that the future will not be bright. We have overcome the trials and will overcome the rest,” she said.

“And as we do, we shall do it together. All of us,” Arthur said.

Elizabeth watched the sky grow to the deepest shades of pink and orange and she wondered what was on the horizon of their life. She knew that she would like to have one or two more children and that they still wanted to see more of England.

But for the moment, she was most content sitting right there with Arthur, William, Rebecca, and Anna. The four people who made her life fulfilled and complete.

“Are you all right?” Arthur asked.

Elizabeth looked at him and she realised that she was crying.

William and Rebecca looked at her with worry, but of course Anna did not even seem to notice.

“Oh, yes, I am,” she said.

“What is it?” Arthur asked.

“It is only that I am so happy. I have everything I could ever want or need. The five of us are here, together, and happy. What more is there?” she asked.

“Indeed, what more is there?” Arthur echoed, a satisfied look on his face as he turned back to the sunset.

Elizabeth wrapped her arms tighter around Anna and leaned her head on Arthur’s shoulder.

It was the most delightful duty she had ever had the privilege to fulfil.

THE END

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