A Forbidden Love (39 page)

He smiled back, the same mesmerizing smile he had showered her with since the day they’d first met. “If you promise to teach me how to mix that cough syrup.”

“Of course, I will.” And she kissed his throat for good measure. “Feeling better?”

“In more ways than one. I feel like a man who has found his place in the world at last.” His brow came to nuzzle her cheek. “Loving you, loving our future children, this is where I belong.”

She sighed at his whispered words, so sultry and truthful. And she knew whatever happened in the future, however much she changed to adapt to her new life, one thing would remain forever constant—her adoring love for one unforgettable rogue.

Epilogue

T
he steed hopped the low wooden fence without hesitation. Hooves pounded over crisp fallen snow as an eager rider made his way across the wintry glen.

I’m late,
he thought.
She’s going to kill me.

He would have stayed home that day had it not been for the summons of his tenants, concerned with the structure of the bridge at the far end of the property. Anthony had gone that morning to inspect the bridge, the only link between the tenant farmers and the local village, to find it was indeed damaged. Heavy snowfall and ice had weakened the structural supports, and if not attended to soon, the bridge was bound to collapse. A foreman had to be summoned in the morning.

It was near luncheon when he’d set out for the manor, plenty of time remaining before the ceremony was scheduled to begin. And he would have arrived in time had the wails of a lost and trapped sheep not interrupted his journey home. It had taken nigh an hour, with the help of one very distressed shepherd, to hoist the snared animal from the pit it had tumbled into.

Now he was late, and bounding for the manor house—or more precisely, the little church structure nestled at the rear of the house.

A few minutes later, the steed came to a skidded halt just yards away from the sacred entrance. Dismounting, Anthony hastened inside the holy dwelling, sweating and smelling of sheep fleece. A true country bumpkin, as his father would say. Not that he minded anymore. The title suited him just fine.

Sabrina was pacing in front of the altar. She glanced up at him with a disapproving glare, then wrinkled her nose as he approached. He offered her a contrite smile and a quick peck on the cheek before turning his attention to Vincent, who looked ready to faint from the strain of two wiggling infants in his arms.

“’Bout bloody time,” he heard his best friend whisper.

“May we begin?” the rector wondered.

“Yes, of course,” returned Anthony, and took his place next to his wife.

Vincent turned to face the altar, the rector lifted his spectacles to his nose, and soon the ceremony was underway.

When at last the blessed water hit the scalp of the first gurgling infant, a loud wail of protest ripped through the hushed surroundings. But when the water hit the scalp of the second infant, all Anthony heard was a soft yawn.

And so, with little fanfare, Edan and Gabriel respectively were christened into the Kennington family, the twin boys, no doubt, to be a joy, and perhaps a bit of a handful, to their parents.

But only time would tell.

About the Author

ALEXANDRA BENEDICT
has been writing stories ever since she was a little girl. She spent many childhood summers in Europe visiting family—and old castles, of course. The crumbling, vine-infested ruins helped fuel her imagination and her love of history. After taking a creative writing course in high school, she rediscovered her passion for storytelling and set to work on her writing career. A graduate of the University of Toronto with a B.A. in History, Alexandra enjoys collecting art and reading classic British literature. To learn more about her writing, please visit
www.alexandrabenedict.ca
.

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Copyright

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

A FORBIDDEN LOVE
. Copyright © 2006 by Alexandra Benedikt. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

Microsoft Reader October 2006 ISBN 0-06-125818-0

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