The Devil Rogue (41 page)

John
then turned his disapproving gaze on Ian
.
“And what, exactly, were you thinking when you pulled that stunt with Angela?”

Ian knew what John was talking about, but still felt the guilt like a lead weight around his neck
.
He supposed it would take some time
to forgive himself, even though Angela already had
.
“I was trying to avenge your death,” he said, his voice low
.
Now that he said it out loud, in front of the very person he was avenging, it sounded ludicrous.

Angela rose from the sofa, and walked over to Ian, placing her arm through his
.
“It’s all right,” she said, looking up at him
.
“If it hadn’t been for that, we would never have met
.
I regret nothing
.
In fact, it was a most educating experience.”

Ian snapped his gaze down to her, startled – and thrilled by her bold words
.
“I do love you,” he said quietly.

“And you must know that I love you, too,” she replied.

Neither one of them noticed that both John and Blossom rolled their eyes,
but then
they
too,
looked at each other with the same expression of love as Ian and Angela.

5

Villarreal / The Devil Rogue
                                     

Epilogue

“
WELCOME HOME, LADY
Blackridge,” Mrs. Brown said with a please
d
grin.

“Thank you, Mrs. Brown,” Angela said breathlessly
.
“It’s good to be home
.
Has my husband returned yet?”

As soon as they
’
d
disembarked from the ship, Ian
had announced that
he
’d
had a business matter to attend to
.
He’d been quite mysterious as to the nature of the matter, saying only that she would find out soon enough
.
A
nd then w
ithout a care to their audience, he
’d
kissed her soundly, directed her to continue home,
and
t
old
her he’d
join her
shortly.

Angela stood in the foyer, while b
ehind
her a flurry of activity
ensued
as
servants carried in boxes and trunks from the carriage.

“Take them to the master suite,
and have a care!
” Mrs. Brown ordered
.
“
Oh, my dear, you’re looking well
!
The babe didn’t cause any mischief during the voyage?”

Angela rested her hand on her slightly rounded belly
.
“Just a slight case of seasickness on the trip over, but co
ming back I was fit as a fiddle.
”
After the wedding, she and Ian had decided to take their honeymoon
in
Moldova
.
It gave her a chance to spend more time with her father, and also to see his homeland.

Moldova
was a beautiful country, with rolling hills, rich farmland, and lush forests
.
A crescent of distant, hazy mountains partially surrounded the land, creating a picturesque backdrop
.
Angela immediately fell in love with the
quaint little towns
,
the tastes of the local fare
, and the smell
of newly turned earth, released into the air in preparation for the coming crops
.
She
’d
kn
own
she would miss all of it when they returned to
England
.

The people seemed genuinely happy about her return
. E
verywhere she went there were smiles and well wishes
.
The townsfolk proudly presented her with gifts of fresh fruits, vegetables
, and flowers
.
It was all so overwhelming, but their kindness filled her with appreciation that even though she hadn’t been raised in this country, they still considered her one of their own
.
She was ‘The Lost Princess
,
’ they
’d
proclaimed, part of a living fairytale every
one
in the land was familiar with, right down to the smallest child.

A special ceremony
had been
held
at the royal palace, during which
she
’d
formally abdicated her title as princess, becoming a
mere viscountess
, as Ian had teased
.
It didn’t really matter to her, although being a princess, even for a short time,
had been
rather fun.

Angela’s
father
later
presented her with
the
beautifully jeweled crown
that would have been hers, if she’d remained a princess
.
He said
if she were to have a
daughter
, it would be her birthright, as she would automatically become a princess and heir to the throne
.
If
Angela
were to have
a
boy, however, her father
promised
he would have one specially made for a prince.

There were other heirs
in line
before
Angela
, or any children
she
might have,
which made it highly unl
ikely
that
any of them
would
become the next king or queen of
Moldova
.
Her father had explained to her that as much as he’d loved Anna, he’d not been celibate over the years, and had produced several other children, ensuring a direct bloodline to the throne
.
And since he already had his heirs, he had no wish to remarry.

Ian’s mother, along with
Rosemary
,
had acc
ompanied them on their trip
.
Poor Rosemary
spen
t
the entire journey below, in her cabin, ‘heaving her guts
.
’
When they reached the royal docks, she was in such poor condition she
had to be carried on a litter.

She
now
remained in
Moldova
, newly married to a young and handsome count
.
Angela
had
teased her friend that she probably
married the first man she laid eyes on just so she wouldn’t have to travel by ship again.

“He may not have been the
first
man I laid eyes on,
”
Rosemary said, laughing
, “
but his attentiveness to my retched state upon arriving did sway me considerably
. That,
and his exceptional good looks.”

“He’s very handsome, and seems a good man, as well,” Angela s
aid
.

“He is, indeed
, and I love him so.”

“
Just a
s he appears to love and adore you, also.”

Angela would sorely miss her de
ar friend, but wished her well, content in the knowledge that she was happy
with her new love
.
Ian had promised they would make another trip after the baby was born, taking the edge off her sadness over leaving.

She ente
red the suite of rooms she would be sharing with her husband
.
How things had changed since she’d first arrived in this house
.
For her, it had started out as a means of escape from
Eberly’s
abuse, a chance to begin a new life
.
For Ian, it had been the only way
he knew how to gain some recompense for the loss of his closest friend
.

And since it had been a case of mistaken identity,
and
John Winston was alive, there was no longer a loss for Ian to mourn
.
Angela considered it ironic, that through Ian’s anger and thirst for vengeance, they’d found in each other a deep and lasting love.

Before they
’d
sailed
for
Moldova
, Angela
had
received word that
Eberly
had disappeared
.
Her father’s man, Mr. Hawk, and the inspector, Mr. Krenshaw,
had
followed his trail as far as they were able
.
It was suspected Eberly had
fled
England
for the continent, escaping criminal charges
.
His title had been stripped
and
his estate sold at auction, so there was nothing for him to come back to even if he were foolish enough to try
.
It was no loss to
Angela to see him gone from her life for good.

Ian
had
insisted he give her the explanation she deserved
.
He described the pain, the helplessness and the acute frustration for not being able to prevent the tragedy of
what he’d believed at the time was
his friend’s death
.
He told her it was her innocence, her kindness, and her generosity to those less fortunate that
had
made him fall in love with her
.
He said it
had
g
iven
him hope that his soul was not yet lost.

She was now his wife,
carrying
his baby
.
These days, her thoughts were completely taken up with the life growing inside her, and the changes taking place in her body
.
It would not be long before
her belly began to increase, and she
would feel
the first
movement
s
.
She gloried in the wonder of becoming a mother.

“Lady Angela?”

Angela looked up to see Viola standing in the doorway
.
She rushed over to assist the aging woman to a comfortable chair
.
“Viola
!
What are you doing here
?
Shouldn’t you be resting?”

“I wanted to talk to you – about your mother,” Viola said, settling into the chair.

“My mother?”

“She was very beautiful
.
It’s quite remarka
ble how much you resemble her.”

“I remember her beauty,” Angela said
.
“I remember how kind and loving she was, and the scent of her perfume
.
She was always humming or singing
.
She had a lovely singing voice
.
But she also seemed sad.”

“She loved you, my dear
.
Very
much
.
And your father
. . .
she never stopped loving him.”
Viola gazed into an unseen distance, lost in her memories
.
“She sacrificed herself for him.”

“What do you mean – sacrificed?”

“She married
Eberly
before your father left for his country
.
Anna knew
Matvei
would not go without her, but she also knew he was needed there
. H
is people needed him.”

“So she married Baron Eberly in order to free my father,” Angela said
, understanding her mother’s motives
.
Anna had
realized and accepted that the needs of an entire country outweighed her own needs
.
Angela was in awe of her mother’s ultimate selflessness.

“Yes.”

“What did you mean when you said,
the circle is complete
?
You also said once that maybe fate will right itself.”

“I only meant, dear, that your mother was a victim of fate’s
indiscriminating hand, but you had the opportunity to turn fate in your favor
,
with Blackridge.”

“By agreeing to marry him?”

“By embracing your love for him, regardless of what his intentions were in the beginning.”

“But I didn’t know that then
.
How did you
?
”

“I’m an old woman, I know many things,” Viola said cryptically.

To Angela, that was not an answer, but what could
Viola
say – that she had magical powers? Impossible
.
She was definitely ancient
.
She had always looked as old as she did now, as far
back
as Angela could remember.

Suddenly Viola sucked in a shaky breath, placing her hand over her heart
.
Alarmed, Angela leaned over her, placing her hand gently on the woman’s shoulder
.
She could feel the protruding bones, as fine and delicate as
blown glass
.
With a great deal of concern, Angela asked, “Viola, are you all right?”

“I have to go, my dear.”

“
Don’t y
ou
move
.
J
ust sit
here
quietly
.
I’ll be right back.”
Angela rushed from the room,
in
search
of
a
servant to send for Dr. Winters
.
She ran down the hall, taking the stairs two at a time, almost plowing into Mrs. Brown
.
“Quick, send for the
physician,” she
gasped.