The Scarlet Lady’s Duke of Desire – Extended Epilogue

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15 months later

With a bonny baby boy bouncing upon her lap, Melody sat in the lush garden of their London townhouse, Petunia at her side. Now Lady Petunia Forsyth, the Marchioness of Rotherham, she was practically glowing as she said, “You know, Melody, I have to thank you.” 

Even as she spoke the two women looked down the lawn, watching as their husbands played pall mall. 

“Whatever for?” Melody asked. 

“If not for your marriage to The Duke of Haston, I would never have found my Maxwell,” Petunia pointed out and Melody could not help but scoff with amusement at the words. 

Only two years earlier Melody would have never believed that they would be having such a conversation. She had always been the one that men tried to talk to, only to gain the attention of her friend. She would have believed that if anyone were in need of help finding a match, it would have been her. 

“I am glad things worked out well in the end,” Melody admitted, blushing even as she remembered all that had occurred back then. 

“Can you imagine how intolerable life would be right now if your cousin had married the duke?” Petunia exclaimed. Melody cringed at the idea. 

“I think it is a very good thing that she found herself a viscount who would have her,” Melody said, remembering the invitation they had received only a few days ago, inviting them to the wedding of Lady Florence Thornton and the Viscount Jonathan Strotten.” 

“No amount of praying shall ever save that man,” Petunia commented, and the two women laughed. Though their relationship with her uncle, the earl and the rest of his family was far less tense than it had been in previous years, she couldn’t imagine that they would ever be close. 

“I do hope that they shall be happy together,” Melody admitted with a shrug of her shoulders. “Though I do not believe I shall attend.” 

“You are much too kind-hearted, Mel,” Petunia insisted, shaking her head furiously. “I would not wish anything good upon that witch!” 

Together the two women laughed. There had never been any love lost between Petunia and Florence either, and though things were much more settled, it was nice to know that her friend was always in her corner. 

Out of the corner of her eye she saw their husbands wandering back up the lawn towards them. Shooting her friend a warning glance not to mention Lady Florence in front of him, she turned a smile upon him and welcomed the way he took their son from her lap. Though only six months old, James Junior was growing well, and Melody’s arms ached to be relieved of him. 

The boy cooed and babbled as he was carried into his father’s arms and Melody felt tears prick the corners of her eyes to see them together. 

“What have we missed?” Maxwell asked even as James leaned down and kissed Melody upon the cheek. 

“Come, Maxwell, you ought to know better than to ask what gossip is afoot,” James said with affectionate warning. “We shall be here all day, stuck listening to it all over again.” 

Melody tapped her husband playfully upon the shoulder as he settled down in the seat beside her and proceeded to bounce their son just as she had been. 

“Actually, I was just telling Melody that…” Petunia began, looking as though she was trying to make something up when someone cleared their throat behind them. 

Melody looked around to find her husband’s man, Dennis, with his head bowed. 

“What is it, Dennis?” James asked. 

“Forgive the interruption, Your Grace, but you have a letter.” 

It was only when he straightened up and held the letter out that Melody realised that in fact, he was speaking to her and not to her husband. 

James looked expectantly at her as though she should know who it was that was sending any letter to her. Melody took it from the manservant and thanked him with a smile before she turned her attention down to the envelope in her hand. 

“Who is it from?” Petunia asked, as though she was as curious as her husband. Even Maxwell looked mildly intrigued, though Melody suspected he only wished not to be left out. 

Looking at the handwriting on the front of the envelope, Melody said, “It appears to be from my mama.” 

When she tore open the letter and began to read, she found that she was right. And as she read, she could not help but smile broader and broader. 

“Well, what has she to say? How is Yorkshire?” Petunia questioned. 

“She says that both she and papa are well, and the estate is blooming beautifully. They are sharing a great deal of peace between father’s many business trips,” Melody explained, skimming over the letter again to be sure that she had not missed anything. “According to her, papa has had a great amount of success in new trade of late.” 

Her heart swelled to see how well her parents were doing, even the fact that her mother had been invited to several parties, balls, and dinners while away in Yorkshire. Though it was slightly bittersweet to know that their sudden change in luck was down to the fine marriage she had made for herself, she was glad that her parents were finally given the break they so desperately deserved. 

“She also writes that she should like us to go and visit with James Junior,” Melody added though in truth the words had not been written upon the page. 

As though he knew the truth, James cocked his head at her and raised an eyebrow. “Wife, you know you need not make up excuses for us to go and visit your parents. I know you miss them dearly.” 

Again, Melody’s heart swelled. She leaned over and kissed her husband plainly upon the lips. “Whatever did I do to deserve you?” 

James smiled against her lips and kissed her back before suggesting, “You helped me cause a little trouble.” 

That evening, long after their friends had gone home, and after they had put James Junior to bed, having given all the servants the night off, she and her husband sat down to a private dinner in the smaller of their two dining rooms. 

The day had been warm and wonderful, just as all of Melody’s summer days were, now that she was married. She could find nothing to complain over and even in the lulls in conversation, Melody found tenderness and affection in her husband’s gaze. 

She smiled warmly back at him and asked, “Have you had a good day, sweetheart?” 

“I have indeed, my love,” James said as he leaned over and took hold of her hand upon the table. He squeezed gently before raising her hand to his lips to kiss her knuckles. “Just as all my days with you are good.” 

Melody’s chest tightened as she asked, “Are you certain that you must go tomorrow?” 

Though she had tried her hardest for several days to simply forget that he intended to go away for business, the eve of that day had come around all too quickly and she felt sick at the thought of it. 

“It is only for one night, my love,” James insisted, squeezing her fingers harder. 

“And it is one night that we shall not spend together,” Melody pointed out, her gut churning. They had barely spent more than a handful of nights apart since their wedding, and each one had felt like torture. 

“Come here,” James insisted. He tugged gently upon her hand and Melody got up from her chair and skirted around the small bit of table that separated them. 

James forced his chair back from the table and before she knew it, he had pulled her onto his lap. He slipped his hand beneath the locks of her golden red hair and cupped her cheek, kissing her with deep affection before he whispered, “I shall be back before you know it.” 

“It shall not be soon enough,” Melody protested. “I shall miss you terribly.” 

“And I you,” James assured her, stroking her cheek with the ball of his thumb. “And James Junior too.” 

“Speaking of him,” Melody said. She had been debating for several days now, perhaps even a week, as to when she ought to break the news. “I believe there may be one more person for you to miss this time around.” 

James pulled back from her, his eyes widening with astonishment. Even as she pulled his hand away from her cheek and pulled it down to her abdomen, his face grew pale. 

Melody feared suddenly that perhaps he would not be pleased. 

“You…you can’t be!” he exclaimed. “Tell me you are not with child!” 

“I am,” Melody said, tensing up. She had to bite the inside of her lip to stop herself from pleading with him to be happy about it. 

But the moment he seemed to hear her words, his face broke out into a smile and he kissed her so passionately that she felt her head spinning with the force of it. 

In the very next moment, James swept his arm back behind her and several plates and a glass went flying off the table. Several bounced upon the seat of her chair before clattering to the floor, others shattered where they fell directly off the table. 

Yet Melody had no time to react to such things as James picked her up and placed her on the table before him. He kissed her with such fury that she knew exactly what was coming. The intense nature of his kisses were filled with need and desire. 

The way he hooked his hands in the skirts of her gown made her insides twist with delight and she reached down to help him pull them up. Opening her legs wide to him, she whispered, “I feel as though I have been waiting all day to be alone with you.” 

“And I, you,” James admitted, his hands squeezing the fleshy parts of her thighs even as he worked the buttons of his britches loose. 

This had become somewhat of a regular thing, their desire and passion for each other leading them to spontaneous acts of love-making throughout the house, bent over the desk in the library or even against a wall in one of the halls. They had even made love upon the bottom of the staircase when they had been so overcome by the need for each other that they hadn’t much cared whether a servant might have walked in upon them or not. 

“You are happy then?” Melody asked in a panted breath even as the duke inserted himself inside her. 

“I am happy,” James announced, thrusting himself deep inside her as though he wished to claim her for himself once more. “You have made me the happiest man alive.” 

Wrapping her arms around him, Melody could only hold on for dear life and scream with pleasure as he thrust and thrust and thrust, working their bodies towards mutual climax. 

Every movement felt better than the last just as every love-making session seemed to grow more and more intense and soon Melody was quivering, concerned she might slip right off the dining table if he so much as stepped back. 

She anchored herself to him, wrapping her legs around him even as he made love to her. And when she felt him spill his seed inside her again, she bit her lip, smiling with desire. 

Afterwards, they remained right where they were, a tangle of arms and legs as they rested their heads upon each other, both panting for breath. 

The silence was only broken when James whispered, “I do hope that this time we shall have a girl.” 

Startled by his words, Melody lifted her head to look at him. “Why?” 

It was a shock to the system to hear him say such a thing. So many people had already told her that now she had one boy, she had to give the duke another, one to ensure that there would always be an heir for the Hastings line. 

James smiled and cupped her face again. He kissed her deeply before answering, “Because if she is as beautiful as her mother then I shall be a lucky man indeed.” 

“And what if it is another boy?” Melody asked. Her heart raced at the thought. James Junior was already so bonny, so utterly perfect, and he had caused her heart to swell with a love that she never dreamed possible. She wasn’t sure how she might feel if she were to have another, one just like their first son who looked just like his father with a shock of dark hair and hazel eyes that looked right into her and made her question how she could possibly love another being so unconditionally. 

“Then I shall greatly enjoy trying for a girl,” James responded, smirking at her as though he knew exactly what she would say. 

“Perhaps we shall get this one over with before we begin planning the next,” she said, laughing even as he mirrored her words. Together they laughed, falling into each other once more as he wrapped his arms around her. 

“Perhaps we shall but in the meantime, I shall have great fun practising,” James told her, then he kissed her again as if he meant to make love for a second time. 

Melody tensed up a little at the thought. Though she greatly enjoyed their love making, she was decidedly sorer from it now that she found herself pregnant again, and she was exceedingly relieved when James eased himself from her and instead dropped down onto his knees before her. 

For just a second she believed he might put his head beneath her skirts and clean her up with his tongue as he so often liked to do. 

Instead, he placed both of his hands upon her stomach and kissed her there. Melody watched, her heart swelling even as he looked up at her and asked, “You are absolutely certain, are you not?” 

Melody nodded. “I have not bled for three months.” 

As though that was good enough for him, James turned his attention back to her stomach and said softly, “Whatever you are, little one, I shall love you fiercely. Just as I love your mother and your brother, I shall love you.” 

He kissed her stomach again and Melody felt the tears beginning to stream down her cheeks. Never in all her years had she ever imagined she could be quite so happy. 

Gripping hold of his cheeks in her palms, Melody urged her husband back to his feet so that she could kiss him without too much difficulty. 

And when she did, she realised that soreness be damned. She needed him again. Emotions and hormones all over the place, she needed him more than ever. 

“James, make love to me again.” she kissed him with determination and feeling him smile against her lips, she knew that he would have no objection. 

“Your wish is my command, my lady.” 

As they made love once more, scandalously thrusting upon the end of their dining room table, Melody thought of all that the ton might have to say were any of them to catch wind of such a thing. It was simply not the done thing. 

And yet, she and James had never been a fan of following the rules. That much was clear. To this day she still smiled over how their story had begun, how the duke had asked her to dance simply to ruffle a few feathers. 

Though there had been enough heartache afterwards, Melody knew she would not have changed a single thing about how their romance had come to blossom. 

Just as her parents had, she had found love in the most unlikely of places. And no matter what anyone else thought of them, she knew that they were undeniably happy. 

Our love could fill a thousand novels, she thought, realising that it had been fifteen joyous months since she had last opened the pages of one of her beloved romance novels. She had no need of them now. She had a romance all her own, one that she was certain would overcome anything that life had to throw at them. Not even a scandal could break them now. 

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OFFER: A BRAND NEW SERIES AND 2 FREEBIES FOR YOU!

Grab my new series, "Scandalous Regency Affairs", and get 2 FREE novels as a gift! Have a look here!

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