A few years later…

“James, ensure you are good for Ms. Gandy.”

“I am always good, Papa!”

Edward laughed quietly at the pout on his eldest child’s face, a dark-haired boy who had the same eyes as his wife. He gave James, named after his father, a mock-stern smile.

“Ensure you do, or else you know how Mama will get.”

“Oh, how will Mama get?” He turned, finding Rebecca emerging from their chamber, fixing her earring. She gave him an amused smirk as if questioning him. “Well?”

“Mama gets angry if Ms. Gandy reports back that we were naughty!” That comment came from Alicia, their second child. Edward burst out laughing as Rebecca spluttered.

“Heavens, you ought to go before these mischievous rascals say anything more,” Ms. Gandy, the childrens’ governess said quickly, grimacing. “Although, Ms. Gandy did not say anything about an irritable countess.”

“I am certain,” Rebecca chuckled. She walked into their children’s room, shared for now, for they could not separate them into their own rooms yet. James was far too attached to George, his youngest brother, and the third of their trio. “Now, my darlings, be angels as you know how to be, and ensure you go to bed when you are instructed. Papa and I will be back within a few hours.”

“May I stay up for you, Mama?” Alicia asked. She was toying with the end of her braid, her color a shade that mixed Edward’s and Rebecca’s. Her eyes were blue, though, like his. Thornshire eyes, his mother had said as soon as Alicia was born.

“No,” Rebecca said gently, and Edward wondered if she was thinking of the nights she herself had stayed up to ensure her father came home safely. They had never given their children a reason to worry, but he liked knowing Alicia wanted to wait up to simply see them again. “We will see you at breakfast.”

“If I am awake, though…” Alicia trailed off, giggling mischievously.

“Then I might slip you an almond biscuit,” Edward promised, much to the mock offense of his wife. Oh, how he loved to see her as that: his wife. She gravitated back to his side, and he automatically put an arm around her waist. They had been married for some years now, and he still spent every day grateful for her. He still thanked every lucky star he had that they had found one another again.

Every morning, he often held her and assured her that no, they were not like her parents, simply moving through the motions of a put-together life but secretly miserable inside. I am grateful for you every day, he said. And I grow more in love with you each time I wake up to see you there.

Now, they kissed their children goodnight and retreated from Thornshire House to go to the play where, once upon a time, Edward had fought his way out during a wave of panic before falling apart in the carriage.

“I heard from Elena,” he told her as they traveled to the theater. “She is very settled with Lord Connor in the Bath residence.”

“I still cannot believe you gave her the house in Bath as a wedding gift,” Rebecca smiled. “It was a beautiful thing.”

“Well, I had to do something with it. It turned out my wife wanted my company a lot more than I was anticipating.” He shot her a wicked grin, and she linked her fingers through his, easy and familiar by now.

“Of course, I did,” Rebecca said simply. “I fell in love with you.”

“And I you,” he promised, kissing her knuckles.

A moment passed as she gazed at him. “I am ever so proud of you, Edward. Only a few years ago you panicked going to James’s Christening. Now, you do not bat an eyelid at departing for the theater. Departing for anything at all, really. Now…”

“Now I do not feel nervous at all,” he told her, feeling a swell of pride in himself. “It took too long, but…”

“It took the time you needed it to, and regardless, you are a perfect husband and a perfect father. But, Edward, I want you to know that even if you still were not able to go outside then you would still be perfect.”

Edward sighed happily and pulled his wife closer to him. “Heavens, I love you. I love you as much as I did on our wedding day. More, if anything. Thank you for never leaving my side.”

And it was true, all that she had said: he truly was not nervous anymore, and he had never thought the day would come. They regularly attended the theater, and, as such, Edward had become one of their biggest benefactors. They had the best box in the place. At the start of their patronage, he had chosen the box due to its proximity to an exit that was more private, but he had only used it the first handful of times.

Now, he had no use for it.

Now, he sat through a function as normal, hand in hand with his beautiful wife, and he always returned home in good spirits to his perfect family.

“I love you, Rebecca,” he murmured, leaning in to kiss her.

“I love you,” she whispered, grinning into a second kiss. “Thank you for saving me.”

“Thank you for saving me,” he returned, laughing.

Finally, finally, his life was perfect and complete, and Edward would have never, ever traded it for another.

The End