Page 110 of A Night of Desire with a Duke
"I love you," she whispered, not sure if he was awake to hear it.
"I love you too," he replied, pulling her impossibly closer. "Forever."
"Forever," she agreed.
And as sleep finally claimed them, tangled together in the morning light, Catherine smiled. That scared girl at the inn could never have imagined this—this peace, this passion, this perfect imperfection of a love that had started with a storm and grown into something eternal.
They'd found their forever.
And it was more beautiful than any dream.
Epilogue
Five Years Later
"You cannot be serious."
Catherine stared at her husband across their breakfast table, certain she'd misheard him. Outside, October rain lashed against the windows of Ravensfield House—a storm that had been building for days, threatening to become the worst weather London had seen in years.
"Completely serious," James said, calmly buttering his toast as if he hadn't just proposed something absolutely insane. "We leave this afternoon."
"James, there's a storm coming. The roads will be impassable."
"They were impassable five years ago too."
"Exactly! Which is why this is insane. You want us to deliberately travel north into a storm, to a coaching inn, for our anniversary?"
"Not just any coaching inn." His grey eyes found hers across the table, and that look, the one that still made her stomach flip after five years of marriage, crossed his face. "The Black Swan. Our inn."
"It's not our inn just because we..." Catherine glanced around, but the footmen had diplomatically disappeared. "...because things happened there."
"Things?" James raised an eyebrow. "Is that what we're calling the night that changed everything? Things?"
"You know what I mean."
"I know you're blushing, which is delightful considering all the things we've done since that night."
"James!"
"What? We're married. We have three children. I think we're past pretending we don't..."
"The children!" Catherine interrupted. "We can't just leave them."
"Already arranged. Mother's coming to stay with them. She's bringing great-aunt Agatha for reinforcement."
"Heaven help us all."
"Edward's thrilled. Agatha promised to teach him card games."
"He's four!"
"Never too early to learn, according to Agatha."
Catherine shook her head, but she was fighting a smile. Their eldest, Edward, was indeed precocious enough to probably beat Agatha at cards. The twins, Margaret and Jane, at barely two, would keep the Duchess busy enough.
"You've planned all this," she said slowly. "Without telling me."
"I wanted it to be a surprise."
