Page 103 of His Forbidden Duchess
Felix kissed the top of her head. “It can be however we want it to be, my love. Whenever we want it.”
“Whenever?” she asked, looking hopefully into his eyes.
He nodded.
“Does that mean we can do this all over again tomorrow?”
Felix let out a laugh, tucking her closer to his side. “And the day after that, and the day after that.”
“Ad infinitum,” she said with a giggle. “I do love you so very much, Felix.”
“And I love you, Eloise. More than anything in the entire world.”
Epilogue
SIX MONTHS LATER
The grand ballroom was filled with the warm glow of chandeliers, laughter, and the soft hum of conversation.
Lady Brimsleigh’s London event was the social gathering of the season, and no one was spared an invitation. Eloise looked around, remembering the last ball they had attended there, and she was overjoyed that their marriage had become so much more since then.
Everyone who was anyone was in attendance; the whole of London had been invited. Even the begrudging Lord Mortcombe was there though he looked tired and worn down by life. At his side stood his rather displeased-looking wife, her lips pursed in a sour expression.
Felix leaned in close to Eloise, his brandy glass held close to his chest. “Do you think Lord Mortcombe realizes how miserable he looks? He is glaring at that punch bowl as though it had insulted his mother.”
Eloise stifled a laugh, glancing discreetly at Mortcombe and his wife. “Or perhaps he is weighing his options,” she whispered back, her eyes gleaming with amusement. “Either that punch bowl gets him through the evening, or he makes a run for the door.”
Felix smirked, watching Mortcombe’s wife cross her arms, her mouth set in a thin line as she chastised her husband for some transgression. “I would wager the door. That expression of hers could curdle milk.”
Eloise giggled, her gloved hand coming up to cover her mouth. “You are positively wicked, husband.”
“Oh, I know,” he murmured, his gaze warm as he looked at her. “But you would not have me any other way, would you?”
She met his eyes, her own softening. “Not in a thousand lifetimes.”
Felix leaned back and let out a sigh of happiness. “I would say you got away lightly, in fact. Just think—in another universe, another life, you could be married to Mortcombe yourself.”
Eloise groaned. “Do not remind me. Mind you, I think I would do a better job at keeping a smile on his face.”
Felix turned to her and ran a finger down her cheek. “But yours would be utterly miserable, my love. Without me.”
“I do not know,” Eloise said in a sensual whisper. “I would wager that even if I were married to someone else, I would find a way to get a… dance lesson or two from you.”
Felix snorted. “I do not doubt it. You are as bad as me when it comes to all that!”
“Oh, Felix, darling… there is nothing bad about it.”
Jeremy approached them from across the room with a smirk though his eyes narrowed when Felix’s hand settled at the small of Eloise’s back, his fingers trailing with possessive affection.
“Ah, here we are again,” Jeremy muttered, crossing his arms with exaggerated annoyance. “Must you two always make a spectacle of yourselves? Really, sister, have a care for the rest of us. We do not wish to be subjected to your nauseating affections all the time.”
Eloise’s eyes sparkled with mischief as she linked her arm through Felix’s, leaning into him with a grin. “Well, I would not want you to get too comfortable, Jeremy. Besides, you know we are just doing our best to keep you entertained.”
Jeremy huffed, but a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as he rolled his eyes. “Entertained? Tortured, more like. I am certain Lady Brimsleigh would thank you to save such displays for home. You know how proper she is.”
“Just because no woman wantsyou, Jeremy,” Felix teased. “doesn’t mean you have to speak so coldly about my own marriage.”
“Except your wife is not a woman, Felix,” Jeremy retorted. “She is my sister.”
