The Baron’s Tender Affection – Extended Epilogue

---

OFFER: A BRAND NEW SERIES AND 5 FREEBIES FOR YOU!

Grab my new series, "Love and Secrets of the Ton", and get 5 FREE novels as a gift! Have a look here!

---

Five Years Later

Summer Village Fair

Elizabeth

“Mama, you let them get into the pie,” Elizabeth groaned, seeing the mess on the table.

She waddled closer, placing her hands on her hips at the sight of the mess. Her four-year-old twin boys had to be punished for a sin she had yet to remember committing. Elizabeth adored them, but they were a handful. One son might have been manageable, but two were downright torturous on bad days.

“I only turned away for a moment, dear,” her mother claimed. “I wanted to help Hannah with arranging the cushions for you. You know you have difficulty sitting on a hard bench when you’re with child, and I didn’t feel the cushions looked right.”

Elizabeth sighed. “I’m not blaming you, Mama,” she said, dabbing at the perspiration on her face. Walking around during summer and being heavily pregnant was harder than it seemed. “Hannah, would you get something wet to wipe their hands and faces? There should be a cloth in the bag. You need only wet it.”

“Yes, my lady,” Hannah replied, rummaging in the children’s bag.

“You two, come here,” Elizabeth said, calling her sons to her. They slowly made their way to her. “What did I say about eating pie before the others have arrived? What if you feel sick? What until your father hears about this.”

The boys looked at each other with mischievous grins, unremorseful of their actions. However, the looks on their faces changed the moment they heard their father’s voice.

“What did David and Daniel do now?” Samuel asked, appearing beside her.

He kissed her cheek and affectionately stroked her protruding belly before fixing his sons with a hard stare.

“So?” he said. “What did you boys do? I thought we promised this morning not to give your mother any grief today.” He looked at the heavy-laden table where one cherry pie had been consumed, and rather messily at that. “Was that you?”

“David said we can eat it,” Daniel confessed.

“No!” David cried. “I didn’t, Papa.”

“It doesn’t matter who decided to eat it,” said Samuel. “The fact remains that you ate it when you were not supposed to. No pie for dessert.”

The boys’ faces dropped in disappointment, but they nodded. They knew better than to argue with their father. Elizabeth settled into her cushions under the tree in the meantime, releasing a happy sigh. It was getting harder to walk long distances as she progressed in her pregnancy. She believed she might be carrying twins again because her belly was too large to be just one child or her baby was just too big.

“Are you feeling any discomfort?” Samuel asked, dropping beside her on the blanket.

Their family would sit at the table, but Elizabeth had opted to sit on a cushion on the blanket where she would be more comfortable.

“Some discomfort, but I feel better now,” she replied. “How did the sale go?”

Elizabeth wasn’t part of the horse business as much as she used to be, but that was by choice. She wanted to focus on her family, but her husband and brother still asked for her advice when necessary. The partnership between the Armstrongs and Ashbys was working perfectly well even after five years, with James really putting in the effort to learn more about the business. Edmund’s support as an investor ensured that they did well, even restoring their family business to its former financial glory. It was more than Elizabeth could have hoped for.

“We’ve had successes with all our horses,” Samuel informed her. “I left James speaking to the last customer. He wanted all our racing horses at the given price.”

Elizabeth’s eyes widened. “All eight of them? They would have fetched a hefty price.”

“And rightfully so,” Samuel replied. “The customer understands that good breeding means a higher price, so he was willing to pay what was necessary. The horses will be sent to his estate as soon as the sale has gone through and everything is cleared with our bank.”

“I’m happy for both of you,” she said. “We’re already doing well, and it’s just the beginning of the fair. We still have several days to go.”

“I’d like to spend the remaining days with my wife and children,” said Samuel. “I’m sure James feels the same way.”

James had married the vicar’s daughter and now had one adorable daughter with her. Edmund and Victoria had a son and daughter, leaving Elizabeth a little jealous that they had one of each. She wouldn’t trade her sons for anything but also wanted a daughter. Hopefully, the child in her belly would give her what she wanted.

“Edmund and Victoria have finally arrived,” Samuel commented.

“Oh, where?”

He gestured at the couple in the distance as her mother handed her a glass of lemonade.

“Thank you, Mama,” she said, smiling. “This was just the thing I needed. Now, will you sit down and just enjoy the day? No more running around. The boys will behave now that their father is around.”

“But I enjoy doing little things for my daughter,” her mother argued. “You’re my baby as much as your sons are your babies.”

Elizabeth chuckled. “A baby having a baby,” she said. “Sounds a little odd.”

“You know what I mean,” her mother said.

“I do, I do,” Elizabeth assured her. “Hannah,” she said, calling her lady’s maid. “Would you remove the pie dish and the crumbs on the table? Lord and Lady Bryndale will be at the table at any moment.”

“Yes, my lady,” Hannah replied.

Elizabeth sighed inwardly. It was just a matter of time before Hannah left her to start a family of her own. She had met and fallen in love with a physician who wished to marry her at the end of the year. Elizabeth didn’t know what she would do without her lady’s maid, but she was happy for her. They had been together for many years and were best friends, although they were mistress and servant.

Edmund and Victoria finally arrived at the table, exchanging greetings with everyone before taking their places. Their daughter and son ran off to play with the boys under the watchful eye of two nannies and Hannah.

“Have James and Emily not arrived yet?” Edmund asked.

“They should be here at any moment,” said Samuel. “Where is your mother?”

“She stopped to talk to a few acquaintances along the way,” said Edmund. “She should be along shortly.”

Edmund’s mother now adored Victoria. It hadn’t been so initially, as the dowager marchioness had set her sights on Lady Charlotte, but now they were good friends and had an admirable daughter-in-law and mother-in-law relationship.

“How are you feeling, Elizabeth?” Victoria asked. “This heat certainly isn’t doing you any favors. I recall being pregnant during summer and hating it every day. I thought it would never end.”

“I cannot go a day without cold compresses, ices, and soda water,” Elizabeth told her. “I also prefer light soups or fruits. I cannot seem to stomach much else.”

“I was the same,” said Victoria, looking away. “Oh, here come James and Emily. I see Edmund’s mother is with them. They must have met each other along the way.”

Elizabeth’s niece immediately left her father’s hand and ran toward the other children, all of them chattering excitedly. They were finally all together again, which had taken some doing. Everyone was always so busy, but Elizabeth had been adamant about bringing everyone together for at least a picnic.

James and Emily greeted everyone before they tucked into the food she had purchased from various stalls at the fair. Elizabeth had personally gone around the fair and picked out what they would eat, adding to her fatigue. She might be tired, but she was satisfied.

“You picked a wonderful spot for our picnic, Elizabeth,” Emily commented. “This big tree offers ample shade.”

“Which is precisely why I picked it,” said Elizabeth. “I almost lost it to an old couple earlier, but they eventually moved on. I asked a couple of men to drag the table and chairs here while Hannah helped me with the food. Everything is from the fair.”

“Really?” said Victoria. “Even the pies? They don’t taste the same as last year.”

“That is because Mrs. Darling’s daughter is now making them,” Elizabeth explained. “She has a lighter hand with pastry, and her fillings are more balanced.”

“We should buy some before we leave, Edmund,” said Victoria.

Edmund smiled. “Of course, dear. Whatever you want.”

Victoria grinned at him and resumed eating, consuming nearly half a blackberry pie. That wasn’t like her, leading Elizabeth to wonder if she was with child.

“Has anyone been to the bookstore lately?” James asked. “I heard Mr. Devine hasn’t been feeling well lately, so he’s closed the shop for a few days.”

Samuel snorted and looked at Elizabeth knowingly. “The old man is healthier than ever before. He has merely fallen in love with a woman younger than him and is currently following her like a lovesick fool. I sincerely hope she isn’t merely toying with his feelings.”

“The sly old goat!” Edmund exclaimed. “And I was feeling sorry for him!”

“Samuel and I were at the bookshop when we saw the woman walk in,” said Elizabeth. “Mr. Devine transformed into a young man and couldn’t stop offering her books free of charge. We asked if the offer was also extended to us, making him blush. Mr. Devine admitted that he had been pursuing her for some time. She’s a widow with a young son.”

“He’s a widower, so perhaps they could make a good match,” said Elizabeth’s mother.

“I suppose he’ll be wanting children, hence the younger woman,” the dowager marchioness commented.

“Perhaps,” Elizabeth’s mother replied. “I suppose all men wish to have a male heir.”

“We’re delighted with making our daughter our sole heir,” said James, smiling at his wife. “We want her to be independent, not needing a husband for her financial needs. However, we would like her to marry and have children to gain the happiness only a family can give.”

Elizabeth was proud of how far her brother had come. Before, he would have never made such a statement, but he now understood women a little better.

“Has anyone heard anything of Lady Charlotte?” Victoria asked. “I was just thinking about her the other day. I actually felt sorry for her. Her parents always put much so much pressure on her. I wonder if that changed?”

“An associate from London informed me that she married a duke three years ago,” James revealed. “She’s expecting her third child.”

“I hope she’s happy,” said Elizabeth. “It could not have been easy having parents who expect so much from you.”

“Hear, hear,” said Emily. “May we never do the same to our children.”

Everyone raised their glasses of lemonade and toasted to the same wish. “What about Sir Richard?” Elizabeth’s mother asked. “That man needed to be taught a lesson, but I’ll bet he managed to live a good life after all.”

“We heard about him the other day, didn’t we?” said Edmund, looking at Victoria. “Sir Richard is in America. He married a rich heiress and lives a comfortable life.”

“Well, that is not fair at all,” Elizabeth protested. “The man was a menace! Do you know if it was a love match?”

Edmund shook his head. “Not at all. I assume he duped her, but one never knows.”

Elizabeth pursed her lips. “I suppose you cannot have everything you want,” she said. “I wanted him to suffer a little, leading to his reformation. He has hardly learned his lesson if he is now rich and living in America. He must have more charms than I realized.”

Samuel chuckled, rubbing her hand. “Calm down, dear,” he said. “Your cheeks are turning red. I’m sure he suffered a bit before gaining a fortune in America. Who is to say he is happy now? He could be miserable. Why not think of that?”

“I suppose I could,” she said, frowning a little.

Samuel kissed her hand. “Would you like something else to eat? More fruit, perhaps?”

“More strawberries, please,” she said.

“No wonder you always taste like strawberries,” he said, kissing her on the lips before he stood up.

They didn’t realize everyone had grown quiet and was looking at them. “Do you need some time alone?” Edmund asked, grinning. “I think you forgot we existed for a moment there. I see nothing has changed.”

“Can you blame me?” said Samuel. “I have the perfect wife whom I thoroughly adore.”

“I love you, too,” said Elizabeth, blowing him a kiss.

“I think that is too much affection for the public,” James complained.

Elizabeth and Samuel laughed. They had been accused of the same thing many times, but they found it ridiculous. A husband and wife should be able to show their affection in light kisses and declarations of love in public. Elizabeth never thought she’d be someone who could quite comfortably do so in public, but with Samuel, it was nearly impossible not to do it. They made each other happy, proving that her heartfelt prayer had been heard on the day of her wedding. Elizabeth wanted for nothing except for life to continue as it was. Life was already perfect.

Readers who read this book also liked

---

OFFER: A BRAND NEW SERIES AND 5 FREEBIES FOR YOU!

Grab my new series, "Love and Secrets of the Ton", and get 5 FREE novels as a gift! Have a look here!

---