Heart of the Beholder

EPILOGUE

THANE SMILED AS HIS CONSCIOUSNESS slowly pulled its way out of a deep, restful sleep.

He could hear the birds singing outside the window and could feel the morning sunshine warming the room.

He rolled over, but was disappointed to find the other half of the bed empty.

He finally opened his sleepy eyes and looked around the room, which was also lacking the companionship he sought.

He pushed himself out of bed and dressed.

He tucked his white tunic into his black trousers, before heading to the door which would take him to his painting room.

Thane paused with his hand on the doorknob and looked up at the painting that hung on the wall.

It had been over a year since he had painted it.

He looked at it every morning, not only because it was of Bridgette and reminded him of when they first met, but because it represented the point in time when he stopped worrying about himself and started living for someone else.

It was a link between his dark past and bright future.

His signature in the bottom corner matched the signature on the painting of his mother that hung in the entrance hall of the manor.

He had painted it the year before his mother passed away.

He shook his head as he thought about how angry he had been when Bridgette had Edgar hang it up, afraid of the pain it would awaken inside of him.

He had been more than wrong to feel that way.

It was the best thing that could have happened, and now he was comforted to see his mother’s face watching over the manor every time he walked through the entrance hall.

It still stunned him how different things seemed only because he had changed himself.

Thane entered the painting room and frowned when he found no one in it, then smirked when he noticed the door to the balcony slightly ajar.

He padded across the room in his bare feet and quietly pulled the door open.

Bridgette didn’t turn around when he stepped out onto the balcony.

She leaned her forearms on the railing and smiled as she looked over the gardens below.

Thane wrapped his arms around her from behind and kissed the sensitive spot behind her ear before whispering, “You're up early.”

He smiled as she shivered and giggled in response to his kiss. “I couldn’t sleep. There is still a lot to do before our guests arrive.”

“When do our guests arrive, Duchess Thornwood?” he asked, then nuzzled her neck with his nose.

She laughed and turned around in his arms to face him. “Stop that,” she said and playfully flicked his nose. Thane ignored her request and drew her in, kissing her in a way that usually left her speechless. She didn’t resist, and when he pulled back, she had a smug grin. She looked stunning with her golden honey hair falling loose over her burgundy velvet cloak, which hung on her shoulders. “I am going to have to banish you to the music room so I can be productive.”

“Don’t do that. I will behave, I promise,” he said. “I am actually curious when our guests are arriving and who the guests are exactly.”

She glared at him and looked adorable. “Were you not listening to me last night? Or did you fall asleep the second your head hit the pillow?”

“The latter,” he confessed.

She sighed and smiled. “Sir Thistle and his family should be arriving shortly after lunch.”

“All four of them?” he asked hopefully.

“Yes. Ava wrote a letter to prepare me for their arrival. Thalena is already walking and will open anything that doesn’t have a lock. Bridger crawls faster than most grown men run and puts everything in his mouth,” Bridgette said.

“Sounds exciting,” Thane said. “I think I may recall that Sir Feathermoore will also be joining us?”

Bridgette smiled. “Yes, Charles will be arriving in time for dinner, with Alice.”

Thane cocked his head. “Together?”

Her smile grew into a grin. “Yes, I suspect an engagement announcement is not far off.”

“When did this happen?”

“He asked me what her favorite flowers were a few months ago,” she said, wrapping her arms around his neck.

“Charles said nothing about this to me, and I see him more than you do,” Thane said, slightly offended.

“I think he might have been a little embarrassed to approach you on the topic. Besides, I know Alice more than you do,” she said.

“I suppose that is true. And now that I think about it, they could be really good for each other,” Thane thought out loud.

“That is what I was thinking,” Bridgette agreed.

Laughter from the garden made them both look. Birdie pushed Clara in her wheeled-chair along the stone path through the expanded garden, toward the bird sanctuary Thane had built a few months after marrying Bridgette. Since the two women also lived at the manor, he wanted to make sure they were well accommodated and happy. Birdie often took Clara out in her wheeled-chair for a walk and a short visit to see the birds. Thane was more than grateful the specialist Sir Thistle had hired ended up being very useful and was able to cure Clara’s lung ailment. She was awake and coherent during the day, and other than needing a wheeled-chair, was fairly independent in most tasks she did. It made Bridgette happy when her mother was doing well, which, in turn, made Thane happy as well.

“Looks like the whole manor is awake now,” Bridgette said, smiling as she watched her mother and dear friend.

“Are those all the guests we are expecting today?”

Bridgette looked up at him and said, “Today, yes. Tomorrow, the rest of the dukes will arrive.”

“And then it will be only business for a while after that,” Thane sighed.

“That is the reality of it,” Bridgette said with a sad smile.

Over the last year, Thane had managed to dissolve the role of a single king and replace it with seven dukes over seven territories that made up the Oakwater Kingdom. It was not a perfect system, but with a duke in charge of a specific territory, who would report back to the council, it was easier to communicate directly with the people. It was also easier to get to the root of a problem, instead of guessing from afar. When there was a decision to be made, the dukes would gather and discuss, and eventually come to a unanimous decision.

Thane, Nathan Thistle, and Charles Feathermoore were three of the Seven Dukes of Oakwater. The other four were chosen from different locations and groups of people who met certain requirements. With Nathan and Charles being dukes of other territories, they had moved out of Cold Stone Hollow to see to their new responsibilities, which meant they didn’t see their friends as often. But when the dukes did meet, they usually made extra time for visiting. Thane had grown close to them and was surprised by how much he enjoyed their company. He was proud of what the new Oakwater was becoming, but he knew there was a lot more work to do. If things went how they usually did, the next several days would be long, with meetings and decision making, but it was work that needed to be done.

Thane tightened his arms around Bridgette, and they quietly watched the birds fly in and out of the sanctuary’s open windows.

The truth was, Thane was relieved not to be king. Being one of many leaders eased the weight of responsibility. When he’d announced the Seven Dukes to the kingdom, he’d revealed he was no longer a king and had no need for a castle. It was a place of bad memories for him, and he was more than happy to stay at the Thornwood manor with Bridgette. Bridgette had come up with the idea to turn the castle into an orphanage for children who had lost their parents or a refuge for others who might need the extra help. It was the perfect solution for those in need, and a convenient opportunity for Thane to separate himself from being a Blackmoore and take on his uncle’s surname. After the new government was created, he was known as Sir Thane Thornwood, Duke of Cold Stone Hollow, and he was okay with that.

Along with improving the government of Oakwater, Bridgette and Thane had spent a lot of their time checking names off the list of people he’d wronged. It had started with Anne and Mary, to whom he’d offered maid positions in his own manor for a good wage. They were both grateful and had accepted the positions. Anne hadn’t stayed too long after a visiting Lord from a different territory took interest in her. A large weight had lifted off Thane’s shoulders when he’d released most of the prisoners in the castle dungeons who had no proper reason for being imprisoned, including the royal surgeon who had declared Thane’s mother dead. Thane was surprised the doctor readily forgave him after two years of captivity he didn’t deserve. Thane offered the man compensation for his lost time and asked him if he would take Sir Thistle’s place as Cold Stone Hollow’s main doctor. To Thane’s relief, the man had accepted the money and the position.

Not all the names on his list were able to be amended, because some had died or could not be tracked down. One of those names was Jack. Thane wasn’t fond of the idea at first, but with Bridgette’s willingness to forgive the scoundrel, he’d agreed to seek him out. After searching for weeks and checking in with Jack’s family, it was concluded that he had disappeared. No one had seen him since Thane gave him a fright the night Bridgette’s cottage had burned down. Most people speculated he’d run away to escape the consequences of his actions, but whatever the case, Thane would offer mercy if he ever did show up again. If it weren’t for the woman in his arms, he would have not been able to even think of showing Jack any kindness.

Bridgette shifted and looked back up at him. She reached up and softly touched the old burn on the right side of his face. Since the curse had been broken, the burn had healed nicely with the help of Sir Thistle’s medical advice. He did not look like the prince he had been, but he didn’t look like a hideous, ugly beast either. Bridgette took great care to remind him it was just a burn and a missing ear, and that she would still love him, even if he did have fangs and horns.

She smiled up at him and whispered, “I love you, Thane.”

He kissed her softly and said, “If I only get you to myself until lunch, is there any way I could convince you to come back to bed for a little while longer?”

“If you do that, your grace, your morning tea will grow cold.”

Bridgette’s eyes grew wide, and her cheeks turned pink. Thane just grinned.

“Edgar, how long have you been standing there?” Bridgette asked, noticeably embarrassed.

Edgar cleared his throat and set the tea tray on a table in the painting room. He bowed and said, “Long enough to know I need to lock all the cupboards and move all breakable items to out-of-reach places.” Thane pulled Bridgette back into the room and shut the balcony door. “I will also see to it that all the rooms are ready for our guests this evening and that neither of you is needed until lunch.” The butler winked, and Bridgette’s face grew a darker shade of red.

“Thank you, old friend. You deserve another raise,” Thane said.

“That is not necessary, your grace,” Edgar said in his proper servant tone. “All I need is a place to lie my head until my days on the earth are done.”

“It is the least I can do, for all that you have done for us,” Thane said solemnly. He owed the man a great debt for taking the sword, and saving Bridgette, which in turn destroyed the glass rose. Had Bridgette been the one who had been stabbed, the glass rose would have been destroyed, but Sir Thistle had been adamant she wouldn’t have made it with her already existing wound. Edgar’s love and sacrifice was enough. And thank the Fates that the lung specialist had been able to help the man survive and recover well. Other than a deep cough when the weather was cold, the old butler was healthy as a horse.

“Very good, your grace,” he said with a smile and picked up the tea tray. “I will let the kitchen staff know to keep the kettle warm until you ring.”

“Thank you, Edgar,” Bridgette said, closing the door after he left. She turned around and gave Thane a knowing look. “You can’t use him to get everything you want.”

“You say that as if I told him to do that,” Thane said, putting his hands up in surrender.

“So you didn’t?”

“No, I just woke up. I barely know what my name is,” Thane teased.

“Well, I guess we have time for me to beat you at chess,” Bridgette said, and pulled him toward the bedroom door.

“I actually had a different idea,” Thane countered.

“Then you will just have to make sure you win,” she said with a wink over her shoulder.

One could say he gave up a life of luxury and riches for something which did not compare. But Thane knew without a doubt that he was the most fortunate man in the world.

THE END

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