Enchanted by a Fair Damsel – Extended Epilogue

They had settled in their manor on the Devon coastline nearly a year after the wedding, and not long after that, Arabella had given birth to a baby boy. Now, nearly two years old, Brian had brought Arabella and Nicholas much joy in making their family feel complete. Though Nicholas had hinted that it would only be fair that his first-born son eventually had some company in a sibling.

Arabella gazed out into the garden with a smile of contentment as Nicholas laughed along with his son, Brian, attempting to teach him how to ride his hobby horse. Of course, the stick horse found itself being dropped onto the driveway of the manor, more than actually being ridden yet; Arabella had no doubt her son would soon get used to it. With deep brown eyes and thick dark hair, he was the picture of his father. Brian was as intelligent as he was adorable, and Arabella could not wait for her own father to meet his first grandchild.

Sitting with her father’s letter that had arrived only that morning, she had read how he was returning to England and looked forward to seeing her with great anticipation. Captain Helford would be arriving within the following two weeks, and he had much to tell her about his own life. Arabella could not wait to see him, for while he had wished to return much earlier, in fact, soon after her and Nicholas’s wedding, some civil conflict in the area where he had been stationed had halted all travel. It had taken this length of time for the authorities to settle the issue, and Arabella was thrilled that she would finally see him, for it had been far too long since she had laid eyes upon his face and felt his arms around her.

Arabella left the drawing room and made her way outside, still clutching the letter. As Nicholas looked up at her approach, he looked at the letter and then back at her with an enquiring glance.

‘It is from Father, Nicholas. He writes to say that all is now settled where he is stationed, and that he is finally returning to England and coming to visit.’

‘Oh, what great news. You mean I will finally be able to meet the man who brought my beautiful wife to me?’ He smiled warmly.

‘You will, and he will be able to meet you and Brian. He says that he is bubbling with anticipation, and he can hardly wait to arrive.’

‘Mama,’ Brian said, lifting his arms up to her.

Arabella picked her son up and settled him on her hip. ‘Hello, my beautiful prince. Do you know who is coming to see us?’

Brian shook his head with a smile, completely oblivious to Arabella’s excitement. 

‘Grandpapa is coming.’

‘Ganpa,’ Brian said, attempting to say the word.

‘Yes, Grandpapa. He cannot wait to finally meet you.’

‘When is he to arrive?’ Nicholas asked.

‘He says he will be here in a couple of weeks, though I do wish it were sooner.’

‘Well, my dear, it will give us a little time to prepare. Besides, Duncan and Julia will arrive at some time today. I can only assume they will be staying with us for quite some time, given the amount of days travel from London, and particularly with the children.’

‘Of course. Well, their rooms have all been readied, and I informed cook of their visit some time ago. She assured me only yesterday that she had put a larger order in for the grocery to be able to feed them while staying with us.’

Arabella finished her sentence and noticed Nicholas gazing at her with a soft smile. Returning his smile, she raised her eyebrows in wonder.

‘What is it?’ she asked.

‘Everything,’ Nicholas replied softly. ‘I am standing here looking upon you with my son in your arms, and I could never imagine I could be so happy and content. I do not know what I did to deserve you in my life, Arabella, yet I am thankful that I did it. You have brought me such happiness, and I do not know if I will ever be able to fully express my feelings to you.’

‘Thank you, Nicholas. I understand your meaning, for I do feel the same. It is strange sometimes when I find myself looking back on everything that has brought us to this point. If it were not for your persistence, we would not be together, and I would not lead such a satisfied and fulfilling life with you by my side.’

‘Had you not been so stubborn, I would not have had to be so persistent.’ He grinned.

‘Yes, well,’ Arabella, replied mischievously. ‘I had to be certain that you truly wanted me.’

‘I would like to think there was never any doubt.’

‘There was not, my darling. I am only teasing you.’

‘Good,’ Nicholas replied, stepping forward and kissing her gently. Stepping back again, he looked down at her. ‘I always knew we were meant to be together. I am only glad that you finally said yes.’

Julia and Duncan arrived later that afternoon, and as the children, Travis and Lucy, jumped down from the carriage and ran in the direction of Brian, Arabella and Nicholas welcomed the adults.

‘I am always in eagerness for the journey,’ Julia said, having greeted and hugged Arabella tightly. ‘And yet, I always forget how exhausting it is trying to entertain the children for the time it takes for us to get here.’

‘I am sure you are all exhausted, Julia.’ Arabella nodded.

‘You would think so, would you not?’ Julia nodded. ‘Yet, look at them.’ She gestured in the direction of her children, who were now attempting to ride Brian’s hobby horse under his limited instruction. 

‘They appear to have boundless energy, and I only wish I knew their secret.’ She sighed with a smile.

‘It is called youth, my dear cousin. Come, let us go inside where you can relax with some refreshments.’

Julia and Arabella walked on a little ahead of Duncan and Nicholas, who had already fallen into old habits of immediate and comfortable conversation. While Nicholas had distanced himself from Duncan after everything that had happened with him running away with Julia, they had slowly rebuilt their friendship over the past year and a half. Nicholas had told Arabella that it would never be the same as it had been before, yet, there was still a long history between the men, and Nicholas had felt it foolish, now that Duncan was married to Julia, to allow any long-term grudges to cause a chasm between them. They were all family now, after all.

With the nanny outside to keep a close eye on the children, the four of them were able to relax in the drawing room and catch up on all that had been going on in their lives.

‘We received a letter from Jack only a week ago,’ Julia said. ‘He is returning to London for a visit. I must admit, I cannot wait to see him.’

‘Oh, that is delightful news.’ Nicholas nodded.

‘I received a letter from him some time ago, also,’ Arabella added. ‘I was so pleased that he settled in Jamaica. The way he writes about it, you can just know that he loves the place.’

‘Oh, he does.’ Julia nodded. ‘And of course, now he has married, he is happier even still.’

‘I was thrilled to hear that news, too.’ Arabella smiled. ‘If anyone deserves to be happy, it is Jack.’

‘Papa hopes he will stay in England when he returns. It is strange, given the time that has passed, yet, Papa seems to have shown a newfound respect for Jack. Perhaps it is because Jack finally found his full potential and took the direction of his life into his own hands. Whatever Papa’s reason, I am only pleased that he has finally noticed in his son, what everyone else had always been aware of all along.’

After dinner that evening, Julia and Arabella sang a duet. Grateful for their joint fortune, they no longer needed to compete in either life or song, for as strange as it had all happened, they had both found a sense of happiness and contentment. Later, when Julia and Duncan had retired to bed, Nicholas and Arabella sat together, cuddled up on a chaise longue and enjoyed the quiet.

‘They look happier than I imagined they would,’ Nicholas stated plainly, clearly referring to Julia and Duncan. ‘And perhaps I ought not to be surprised, yet it is clear that Duncan absolutely dotes on his children. In fact, he seems happier within himself.’

‘Perhaps there was something deeper he was always searching for.’ Arabella sighed. ‘All that philandering and empty experiences may have been an attempt to find some form of fulfilment. He just did not realise it.’

‘You may be right, my darling. I suppose one will never know. We can only be relieved that all has turned out well for them, given the circumstances in which they ended up together.’

It was lunchtime the following day when the heavy clattering noise of horses’ hooves, and the rumbling wheels of a carriage, caused all in the garden to turn their attention from the games the children had been playing and gaze in the direction of the manor driveway. 

‘Who on earth could that be?’ Arabella asked, placing her needlework down on the table situated between herself and Julia.

Nicholas had left Duncan to keep a close eye on the children, and walking up the garden towards Arabella, also looked across at the carriage that now came to a stop in front of the manor.

‘I do believe that may well be your father, Arabella. There are numerous trunks packed on the back of the carriage.’

Arabella suddenly jumped up from her seat. ‘Yet, he is not meant to arrive for another two weeks.’ 

Nicholas and Arabella swiftly moved across the lawn and arrived at the carriage, just as their butler was assisting an unknown lady down from the vehicle. Turning towards them, she smiled widely and at that moment, Arabella knew that Nicholas was indeed, correct. Her father stepped down from the carriage next, and Arabella could hardly wait for him to steady himself before she threw her arms about his neck.

‘Papa! Oh, Papa. I can hardly believe you are here,’ Arabella cried into his neck.

‘My darling, Arabella,’ her father croaked, clearly struggling to keep the emotion from his voice as he held her tightly in a warm embrace. ‘You have no idea how much I have longed for this day.’

After a moment of reunion, Arabella finally pulled herself away. Both herself and her father wiped away tears of joy before turning towards Nicholas and the lady that stood, smiling as she gazed over towards Arabella and her father.

‘Let me introduce you to my wife,’ her father gestured towards the lady. ‘This is Mrs Honoria Helford. Honoria, this is my daughter, Arabella.’

Honoria was a very handsome woman, and though they had only met at that moment, Arabella could see from her expression that she was a kind woman of warmth. With dark hair tucked neatly under her bonnet and small features upon her face, Arabella guessed she was close to her father’s age. Her kindly smile drew Arabella to her immediately, and it was clear why her father had been attracted to her.

‘It is a pleasure to meet you, Honoria. I have heard so much about you in Father’s letters.’

‘And I you, Arabella. Though, I must admit, I could not have imagined how truly beautiful you were, even though your father has bragged about your handsomeness often.’

Arabella stepped towards Nicholas, who had patiently waited while all had occurred before him. Linking her arm in his, she guided him forward.

‘Papa, I would like to introduce you to my husband, Nicholas Strickland.’

Her father beamed a smile and took a step forward, thrusting his hand out in greeting. ‘I have been waiting in great anticipation to meet you, Nicholas. Thank you for all you have done in looking after my daughter and bringing her such happiness.’

Having taken his hand and shaken it, Nicholas nodded in acceptance of her father’s gratitude. ‘I am delighted to meet you too, Captain Helford, and if I am honest, the pleasure has been all mine.’

‘Please. Call me Randall. Are we not all family now?’ Her father smiled kindly.

‘Indeed we are.’

Having introduced his new wife to Nicholas, her father followed Nicholas and Arabella down onto the lawn, where the children were still playing under Duncan’s watchful guidance.

‘Brian,’ Nicholas called out.

Brian turned at the sound of his father’s voice, and upon seeing Nicholas waving him over, turned and left the other children. Once Brian had approached, Nicholas lifted Brian from the grass and held him in his arms, turning to her father with a proud smile.

‘Brian, I would like you to meet, Grandpapa.’

‘Ganpa,’ Brian said, pointing to his grandfather.

‘Oh, my dear child,’ his grandfather said, once more, struggling to control the emotion in his voice. ‘I can hardly believe it, for I have a beautiful grandson.’

‘Gandpa,’ Brian said again.

‘Grandpapa is going to be staying with us for a little while,’ Nicholas said. ‘Will that not be fun?’

‘Yes, Papa.’

After dinner, when all had been reacquainted, and new introductions had been made, the group enjoyed a relaxing evening in the drawing room once the children had been put to bed. Arabella had been confused earlier, for she had told her father that his letter had only arrived yesterday. He informed her that it must have been delayed for he had sent it some time ago. Apparently, it was common, coming from such a distance away, for on occasion, he had not received her replies for many months.

Having been asked by Julia, Honoria began to relay how she and the captain had met as they all sat around, enjoying port beside a crackling fire.

‘Well, I first met Randall when he rescued me.’ Honoria smiled across at her husband. ‘Had it not been for his arriving at the right place at the right time, I do not know what would have happened.’

‘He rescued you?’ Julia cooed.

‘He did indeed. I was travelling home in my barouche, having been to the market to collect some messages, when suddenly, the wheel struck a rock that I had not noticed and snapped the axle under the carriage.’

‘Oh, no,’ Arabella cried. ‘Did you injure yourself, Honoria?’

‘Only my pride, dear child.’ Honoria smiled warmly. ‘I am rather an independent woman, and being stranded alone, I had no other choice but to gather what I could carry and head in the direction of home. I had been walking for about a half-hour when your father, like a knight on his horse, discovered me. He had noted the broken carriage and had gone in search of its occupant. That, in a nutshell, is how we met.’

‘Oh, Papa, how very sweet.’ Arabella beamed.

Captain Helford looked bashful and shook his head, clearly a little embarrassed at the attention.

‘I only did what any other man would have done.’

‘Perhaps, yet you are not any other man, Papa. You are you.’

‘You must visit Mother and Father while you are here in England, Uncle Randall, for I do know they would be very pleased to see you and meet Honoria.’ Julia smiled.

Arabella watched as her father suddenly hesitated. She could hardly blame him after all the history between himself and Lord Benfield, and yet, since she and Nicholas had married, Lord Benfield’s change had been notable. No longer concerned with his reputation, he had turned a corner in his attitude and now paid much more attention to his family.

‘It is all right, Papa,’ Arabella said. ‘Julia is being earnest in her invitation, for Uncle Gareth is not the same man you once knew. Much has changed for the better, in your absence, and perhaps, after all that has happened, it would be good for you to reconnect with that side of the family.’

‘Arabella is right, Uncle Randall. Papa has indeed changed his ways. Somewhere along his journey, Papa has realised the importance of family, and I do believe, both he and Mama would be quite delighted to see you.’

‘Then I will endeavour to visit them before we leave again, Julia. Thank you for your invitation.’

When all had decided to retire, Nicholas and Arabella once more remained downstairs. Instead of settling on the chaise longue as they had done the previous evening, Nicholas took Arabella by the hand and led her outside. The wind was cool, the stars lit up the night sky, and in the distance, the waves could be heard, crashing against the shore. 

Standing behind Arabella, Nicholas wrapped his arms around her body, pulling her close into him, and hugged her tightly while resting his chin upon her head.

‘There is nowhere else I would rather be right now than right here with you, my darling Arabella. Each time I hear those waves crashing, they remind me of you.’

‘The waves remind you of me?’ Arabella whispered.

‘Yes, my darling. They are wild and adventurous and full of spirit. All those things are what attracted me to you at the beginning, and all of them are the things I will love about you for the rest of our days.’

THE END

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