An Innocent Affair

Epilogue

"Have you thought of an ending?"
"Yes, several, and all are dark and unpleasant."
"Oh, that won't do! Books ought to have good endings. How would this do: and they all settled down and lived together happily ever after?"
"It will do well, if it ever came to that."
"Ah! And where will they live? That's what I often wonder." J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

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Epilogue

November 1817

"Can I open my eyes yet?" Cressie asked impatiently.

"No," Jem said emphatically, and for the sixteenth time that minute.

"What if I ask you really nicely, and conclude my request by calling you my sweet husband?" Cressie begged, her hands still obliging him by covering her eyes.

Jem chuckled. Though, he did not think he would ever tire of being called Cressie's husband. "Not even then."

Cressie huffed. "Annoying husband."

"Husband all the same." Jem grinned, and despite Cressie's eyes being covered, he could see a tug at the corner of her rosy lips.

It wouldn't be much longer that he would be torturing Cressie with the suspense of their honeymoon location. They had been travelling for several days to the West Country, only Cressie didn't know that. Their honeymoon journey was a wedding gift from Adam and Grace, brought upon by Jem's idea for a perfect surprise for Cressie.

The wedding, itself, was a small affair. It would have happened sooner had Cecily not arranged for Belle to design and make Cressie's wedding gown ... for the second time. Belle had worked as quickly as her nimble fingers would allow, and once the banns were read and the dress was finished, Jem and Cressie were married by the Ashwood Parish vicar. By that time, Cressie's figure appeared a little fuller to those who were not the wiser.

Once they were returned to Ashwood, Cressie and Jem were separated, which neither one of them particularly enjoyed. But all was worth it by the time the wedding finally arrived and Jem got to see his bride finally floating down the aisle towards him.

It was hard in that moment of pure joy not to briefly recall the last time he had seen Cressie in a wedding gown. The ache of his shattered heart could still be recalled keenly when he pictured Cressie walking out of the London church five years earlier on the arm of another. Every trial had brought them here, finally. And while Jem would have wished that their road to their marriage had been easier, he knew that both he and Cressie were stronger, more compassionate people for it.

"I've lost count of the number of days we have been travelling." Cressie slumped beside him, the fabric of her dress settling atop her rounded stomach. He was glad that her eyes were closed. He couldn't help but stare at it with a giddy look on his face. "I wonder if Zara has reached Suffolk yet."

Zara had left for her grandparents' home in Suffolk shortly after the wedding, the same as she had been summoned back there shortly after arriving in Ashwood. The Delaneys' solicitor had been running about the country in the aftermath of Everett Delaney's death. The shock of their son's demise had brought on a heart episode, and the elder Mr Delaney had died a short time later. The elder Mrs Delaney had become quite indisposed, and rather neglected Zara despite wanting her home. The heir to the Delaney estate had been located in the last several weeks as a very distant cousin by the name of George Delaney. The young man was educated and free thinking, by all reports, and gave Zara permission to attend Jem and Cressie's wedding despite the observed mourning period. Upon speaking with Zara, Cressie determined that Zara was quite sweet on him.