"I may not always be with you
But when we're far apart
Remember you will be with me
Right inside my heart" Marc Wambolt, Poems from the Heart
—-
Epilogue
Five Years Later
December 25, Derbyshire, 1856
"A watched pot never boils," mused Emmett from the settee in the drawing room. Bess shot her husband an irritated glare. She had been waiting at the window for hours in between greeting their guests.
"I know that," snapped Bess, "but I want to be here when they arrive."
Emmett abandoned his newspaper and rose from the settee so that he could join his wife. "Bess, the snow is horrid. Even if they are on their way, they will not arrive today. Not with this weather."
The snow had been dreadful for days. Bess had been watching the ominous clouds hatefully, wishing that they would leave her county alone so that her children could finally return.
It had been five long years since all three of her children had been home. Ascot House had felt empty for five long years. Of course, it was never empty. Bess and Emmett were always entertaining their family members, but they were not the same as her own children.
How she missed them.
It was Christmas Day, and this reunion had been planned for months. David was to finally return home with his family and Alexandra was to visit with hers. Imogen, who returned home every Christmas with her family, was to meet with her siblings in her London before they all travelled to Ascot together.
At least if they could not be home on Christmas, they could be together elsewhere.
Bess turned away from the window and sighed, resting her head back on her husband's chest. "I just wanted them to be home with us this Christmas," she murmured.
Emmett pressed his lips to Bess' temple. "Everyone else is here. Cheer up. We will see them."
Bess took a deep breath and nodded, choosing to focus on the other members of her family that had trekked through the snow over the past week to spend Christmas with them.
She smiled when she saw Charlotte and Nate by the pianoforte. Charlotte was sitting on the stool playing carols while Nate leant on the lid. Charlotte and Nate had only recently returned from an extended trip to London. They were spending time with the families of the gentlemen Georgie and Lizzie were courting. Meanwhile, Edward had been given his first opportunity to run the estate. Edward was still unattached. He very much reminded Bess of Nate when she had first arrived at Ascot. Carefree, debonair, and very charming.
"Aunt Bess." Bess' attention was grabbed by the calling of her name. Bess saw Rebecca standing at the door motioning for her to follow. She supposed it was time to go downstairs to prepare their Christmas dinner.
"Alright, anyone who wants to help cook is most welcome to come downstairs," Bess announced. She stood up on her toes and kissed Emmett's cheek before going to leave the drawing room. She heard movement behind her so she supposed that there were a few volunteers.
"Are you alright, Aunt Bess?" asked Maggie as they all started down the servants' staircase.
"Maggie, you did not need to help," Bess said, avoiding the question. "You have the baby to tend to." After a few years of being a family of four, two new additions had recently joined Maggie and Max's family, Charlotte, their daughter, and the latest, their first son.
Maggie scoffed. "Max can tend to him for an hour or two," she retorted. "I am sure they will be here, Aunt Bess," Maggie said confidently.
"Thank you, dear," Bess replied sadly.
When they reached the kitchen, Bess set everyone to work. Charlotte and Rose, like they did every year, set to work on making the filling for the lemon meringue pie. Rebecca set to work on glazing the ham and Maggie was firing up the stoves ready to cook the vegetables.
Bess distracted herself by making several pounds of pastry, both sweet and savoury. She had taken herself over to the far bench so that she could work by herself, though she was not left alone for long.
Marie joined Bess. She set aside her glass of wine and began to knead the pastry with Bess. Marie had moved from Bath back to Ascot House eighteen months ago, after the loss of her husband, Stephen.
Stephen had passed away peacefully at the old age of six and seventy. Stephen had known it was his time for a while, and Marie, Derek, and Rose were by his side as he died.
His loss was felt deeply within their family. Stephen had been the comic relief at their dining room table for a long time.
Thankfully though, Marie had not returned to her old bitter self. She had graciously agreed to have Stephen buried at the Ascot cemetery beside Derek and Rose's son, Matthew. Although Bess knew Marie had reservations about Stephen and her previous husband being buried in the same cemetery, but she understood why Derek wanted his father beside his son.
Both Rebecca and Max had honoured their grandfather in the names of their children. Rebecca had since given birth to a daughter, a younger sister for James and Simon. She had been named Alice Stephanie. Maggie and Max's newborn son had also been named for their late grandfather.
Bess was certain Marie would stay in mourning for the remainder of her life. She wore a fine, black velvet gown, and the onyx pendant that Bess had given her so many years earlier. It was fortunate the stone was black.
While Bess and Marie had not always gotten along, ever since Marie had moved back to Ascot House, they were closer than ever. Marie understood longing for one's children.
"Darling, you can still have a merry Christmas without the children here," Marie said tenderly.
Bess frowned and paused her kneading. "Marie, I was so looking forward to this. It has been years. I have five grandchildren that I have never met!"
Bess looked forward to every letter that her children sent her. During their travels, David and Elena's brood had grown to five. Alexandra and Joaquín had also had two children. The news that the English queen had given birth to an heir had been printed in the newspapers in England. Bess had learned the news of her grandson from the newspapers before Alexandra's letter had reached her.
Those sorts of things broke her heart.
While she could not change either Alexandra or Imogen's living arrangements, she was so thankful that David was returning home permanently after five years abroad. He and Elena had travelled the Mediterranean, but now that their oldest daughters were ready to enter the schoolroom, they had decided it was time to return home to Ascot.
Bess was very anxious to meet her son's three newest children. Their son had been born in Portugal while they visited with Marisol and Carlos. He was named Joaquín, but his British father called him Jack. Their daughter Gabriela was born in Barcelona and their newest addition, Ariana, was born only a few months ago in Madrid.
She was also very eager to meet Alexandra's two children. Alexandra had given birth to a son a year into her marriage. The birth of an heir was met with jubilant celebration throughout Spain, as they had spent so long without a Prince of Asturias. Their son was called Nicolás. Two years later, Alexandra had given birth to Princesa Isabella.
Imogen and Simon had not been blessed with children of their own, but to Bess, that was a relief, though she would never voice that thought. No matter how strong and healthy Imogen was now, she was still far too thin, and far too small to bear children. Bess knew that Imogen was content with the fact that she might not ever bear a child, and she was very happy raising Hannah and Harry. Imogen had done so well with those two. She had taken on the role of governess, and was enjoying teaching the children. Simon was a very good match for her. Bess thanked God for that man.
Imogen not only took care of her children, but she also made a good living as a health writer. This had started after she had been featured in several medical journals. She was then contacted to write about her experiences. Bess made sure that Emmett ordered Imogen's column every month. Her column was a popular piece that consisted of exercise regimens and anecdotes that proved their authenticity. Bess could not have been prouder of her. After all that she had been through, she was her own person, and she did not need anyone to carry her, both literally and figuratively.
"They have not forgotten you, Bess," Marie said comfortingly. "They still write you religiously, and have only been deterred by this storm. It will only delay them. They will not simply give up, board and ship, and return to Spain or wherever."
Bess knew that Marie, and everyone, was right, but she would not feel satisfied until her three children were under her roof, and in her arms.
Bess commanded the kitchen and ensured that the meal was cooking properly. The meats were cooking, the pies were baking, and the vegetables were boiling. Bess sent Rebecca and Maggie upstairs to set the table while she, Charlotte, and Rose carried the food up to the dining room. Marie merely carried her wineglass.
As she watched the family sit down to dinner, Bess lost her appetite. It just simply was not the same. She quietly excused herself, and was thankful that Emmett followed her, even though she felt guilty for taking him away from the happy feast.
As they climbed the stairs, Emmett looped his arm around Bess' waist and cuddled her into his side. "Do you know, once upon a time, it was just the two of us, like it is now."
Bess smiled. He was trying to make her laugh. "We only had one Christmas on our own before Davy," she said quietly.
"But was not that Christmas memorable?" Emmett mused. "We had a lovely dinner, Mother was snappy, I was poisoned," he listed the last thing as if it were nothing.
As they walked along the corridor to their bedroom, Bess elbowed Emmett in the ribs. "That was not my favourite Christmas."
"How about the next one?" Emmett asked as he led Bess into their bedroom and sat her down on the edge of their bed. "Davy was born during the two years that Nate was away. I remember you used to tease me that he had Nate's blond curls."
Bess grinned devilishly. David had had adorable blond curls in his childhood but they had dropped out and his hair had darkened as he had grown into a man. "I remember," she laughed. "That was a fine joke."
"No, it certainly was not," replied Emmett sharply.
Bess furrowed her eyebrows. "Did you not trust me?"
"Of course I did," promised Emmett. "It was him I did not trust."
Bess rolled her eyes. "Oh, yes, I remember how silly you were when Nate wanted to court Charlotte," she teased, knowing that it would irritate Emmett.
"I was not being silly, I was being cautious," he retorted. "Nate had I had had our fair share of women. We boasted frequently of our conquests, forgive me for not wanting my sister to be one of them."
Bess pursed her lips in a displeased way. "Do not remind me of your conquests," she said bitterly. "I still remember how envious the maids were of me when you brought me to Ascot, or rather dragged me."
Emmett smirked. "The best thing I have ever done," he said proudly.
"Ever the charmer," murmured Bess serenely.
"I did let Charlotte go eventually, though, did I not?" challenged Emmett. "I even let Rosie go after a while. I never thought I would live to see the day where someone in our acquaintance would acquire a divorce, but we did. We only had to endure that dreadful Claudia woman for a little while."
Bess' teeth clenched at the mention of that woman. It was wrong to speak ill of the dead, though the memory of Claudia trying to seduce her husband in her own drawing room was something that never ceased to anger her. "Yes, well," she huffed, "I am glad everything worked out well for Rosie and Derek and their beautiful family," she said. "Well, almost everything," she added sadly.
Emmett's arm tightened around Bess. "Stephen is taking good care of little Matthew, I am absolutely certain of it."
That thought was comforting to Bess. "I am glad that Stephen and Derek found their way to Derbyshire, though," she continued, "and I am glad that Rebecca and Max made their home here as well."
"Do you remember when Maggie and Max first met as children?" asked Emmett. "They were but nine or ten years old."
Bess chuckled quietly. "Oh, yes. Young Max fell in love with our Maggie. A childlike love, the adorable kind that deepens as one grows. I will never forget seeing his artistic talent at that age, though. It astounded me." Bess looked over to the wall of their bedroom. The drawing that Emmett had commissioned of young Max had hung there all these years. It brought great comfort to Bess to see her children immortalised as toddlers.
"Whatever happened during their time in America, I am glad they went. They returned in love, just as we all had hoped them to be," Emmett recalled.
"And they have the most beautiful, exotic children," added Bess. Their four children were not as dark as Maggie was, but they still had a beautiful tone to their skin, as though they had spent a summer out in the sun. Janna and Nora had grown into gorgeous young ladies. Charlotte and Stephen would not doubt grow to be attractive children as well.
"And then everything was calm in Derbyshire for a while," murmured Emmett.
Bess knew where her husband was leading the conversation. He was certainly distracting her from her woes by re-living their cherished memories. The love story of her son was perhaps one of her favourites. "Everything was calm until a certain someone found her way into the Ascot servant hall." Bess' first memory of Elena was crystal clear. She had been cleaning David's bedroom just as Bess and David had entered. David found her hiding under the bed. Bess had never seen anyone so terrified. She had also seen a change in her son. David had never been one to let another take care of him before. Being the eldest, he had always felt a responsibility to be the caretaker. Elena had crumbled his defences, until David had learned her true identity.
"Elena certainly brought fire to the halls of Ascot," joked Emmett. The association between Elena's family and fire was a common joke between both families. Their surname, Del Fuego, meant fire. "She brought with her a king for Alexandra."
The fact that Alexandra was now ruling a country beside Joaquín was still astounding to Bess. As a mother, Bess had wanted great things for her children, but joining a royal family would never have been something that she would have predicted. "That was a long year," recalled Bess. The year that Alexandra pined for Joaquín was one of the longest and most arduous years that Bess had ever parented.
"It was lucky that she had a twin to understand what he would not," Emmett said fondly.
The bond between Alexandra and Imogen was something that Bess dearly missed seeing every day. The girls were simply attached at the hip. The said and thought the same things without even realising, they could communicate simply by looking at one another, and they spent every night sneaking into each other's bedrooms. The latter they had done since they were young teenagers and they had received their own bedrooms. They thought they were being secretive but Bess always knew. It had become part of her nightly routine. She would dress for bed, wash her face, get underneath the duvet, close her eyes, hear Alexandra's door open and the sound of scurrying feet, smile, and then she would sleep.
"But the girls had to grow up someday, and it took Simon coming along to start that process," said Emmett.
That was very true. Simon's arrival in Derbyshire had put everything into motion. His arrival had sparked Imogen's determination to better herself. Imogen had become more independent, and somewhere in the middle of him putting her one a horse without her parents' permission, and running off to collect his children after Imogen's accident, they had fallen in love.
"They all had to grow up," Bess said sadly. "Not just David, Alexandra, and Imogen, but all of them. Your sisters, our nieces and nephews, even your mother, everyone. They all grew up."
"And none of them would have if it were not for you," Emmett said proudly.
Bess arched an eyebrow. "How so?"
Emmett smirked. "If you had not come to Ascot, do you really believe that I would have allowed Charlotte and Nate to wed? If you had not badgered me, and if you had not written to Nate demanding that he come home, he could well still be in America at this moment. That would mean that we would never have met Maggie, she never would have married Max, and their children would not exist."
"Derek and Stephen would have still come to Ascot regardless of my presence," protested Bess.
"Not necessarily. Nate encouraged me to make the sale of Pendleton Park to the American hoteliers. Had he not been here, I probably would have rejected their offer, and they would never have come to Derbyshire. Without your interference, Rose would still be unmarried, Derek would never have brought Rebecca and Max to Derbyshire, Mother would not have married Stephen, and Rebecca would not have married James. Without James, Simon certainly would not have come into our lives which means that we might have still had a sickly, little girl in our care, and not the brave, confident woman living in Kent with her family."
Bess was smiling. She loved Emmett for this. There was one last couple he had to make a connection to her. "And what about David and Elena. Elena still would have come to Derbyshire regardless of my being here."
Emmett looked at Bess lovingly. "Without you here, my darling, David would not exist, and Elena would still be a frightened, Spanish housemaid. Everything comes down to you."
Bess leaned in and kissed her husband softly. "I love you," she whispered, "more and more each day."
"More than when we first met?" Emmett winked teasingly. "I do not know how you could have resisted that devilishly handsome man."
"Oh, quite easily. You reeked of whiskey and you compromised my reputation," Bess snapped comically. She reached up to Emmett's forehead and brushed away his hair, revealing the very faint scar that she had stitched up all those years ago. "No matter how I loathed you in the beginning, I am very glad that your drunken backside found its way onto my table."
"My drunken backside is very glad as well," he joked, before kissing Bess again.
"Avert your eyes girls!" called a voice that Bess had missed so very much. "Mama and Papa are kissing."
Bess' eyes snapped open and she pulled away from Emmett. Standing in the doorway of their bedroom were her three beloved children. They were wearing travelling clothes and they had fresh snow in their hair, but they were there.
"We are sorry we are late, Mama," apologised Alexandra, "the snow was a nightmare. And we kept having to make stops to warm the children when we found inns but naturally Nic and Isa tried to catch pneumonia by frolicking in the snow." Alexandra rolled her eyes.
"The three of us met in London and we have been travelling for over a week. We hope we have not missed dinner," Imogen said hopefully. "Hannah and Harry have been looking forward to the ham for weeks."
"And five years without Mama's Christmas toffee is simply too long," added David. "Elena and I also have a few little ones we need to introduce to you both. Would you like to come downstairs?"
What would Bess like to do? She did not have much choice in her next move.
Bess burst into violent sobs that shook her entire body as she launched at her three children. She could not hug or kiss them fast enough. They had grown so much since the three little ones that had sat for Max two decades ago, but to Bess, they would always be her three little angels.
"We missed you, too, Mama," said Alexandra, smiling. "We missed you both," she added, looking over to Emmett who was standing behind Bess. Alexandra's hazel eyes subsequently filled with tears. "I do not think I realised how much I had missed you until this moment. It feels so right to be standing here in this room with you all."
"It feels right to be home," added David. "It was time."
The word 'home' was music to Bess' ears.
When they broke apart, the three children went to hug their father. With an arm around both of his daughters, Emmett said, "Your mother has been very forlorn without your three. We both have."
"It is still strange that we simply cannot walk down the hall and find you," said Imogen.
"It has been five years," added Alexandra, "but I still feel as though I have only left my bedroom down the hall to come to find you."
Bess was grinning from ear to ear, watching the scene before her unfold. "It will always be your bedroom," she promised, her voice cracking. "Your bedrooms will always be here for you, just like we will be."
"We know, Mama," said David softly as he wrapped his arm around Bess' shoulders. "No matter what happens, you are always constant."
Bess took a deep breath and sighed contently. "This family is my life. I will remain constant for as long as you need me."
"We will always need you, Mama," promised Imogen.
Bess' heart swelled. "I love you three so very much," she said sincerely. "Shall we go downstairs?" she asked tenderly. "Papa and I would like to meet our newest grandchildren."
The five Wildes exited the bedroom and made their way toward the stairwell. Bess and Emmett walked behind their children. David, Alexandra, and Imogen walked down the hall in a row as they animatedly chatted.
These halls held such memories for Bess, some wonderful, some frightening. No matter the fact that her children were grown with their own families, something told her that the best memories were yet to come.
—-
The end :)
I hope you enjoyed this roller coaster of a journey. I have adored writing the joys and woes of this family for you. I will miss them so much. I cried writing this. I feel like it's pathetic to feel this for fictional characters but then I realise I'm a Delena, Olicity, Captain Swan, Outlaw Queen, Walter/Paige, Jamie/Claire, Iris/Barry, MerDer, Jolex, Peraltiago, Caskett, and anyone else I forgot, shipper so I guess it's natural to get invested with fictional characters.
I'd like to say thank you especially to my friend Kassi who made all my amazing covers. If you don't follow Kassilassie, you should :) Kassi is not only my friend on Wattpad, she's my friend in real life even though we're never met. I bounce all my ideas off her and her opinion really matters to me. I send her impossibly long emails with great detail of my upcoming chapters just to see what she thinks, so thank you Kassi for keeping my on track with all my stories!
I'd also like to thank everyone who has followed this series from when I started "The Accidental Duchess" in 2013. It started as me wanting to write a story about a girl named Bess because I always liked the name from "The Magic Faraway Tree". Then my ideas kinda exploded from there and your support has meant the absolute world to me!
One more funny story for the road? Yeah? Okay.
So yesterday my mum and brother come home from the supermarket and my brother goes to me, "Laura, guess who we saw at Coles?" I'm like, "Who?" and he goes, "Jobe Watson and Scott Pendlebury." Jobe Watson is the Captain of my football team, Essendon. I have his memorabilia on my wall, I adore and love him, I would like to have his children, let's not get into how crazy I am. Scott Pendlebury is the captain of Collingwood. I hate them. I didn't care about him. Anyways, naturally I went Full Boyle (Brooklyn 99 anyone?) I went nuts. I was screaming and going "OMGOMGOMG what did you say? OMGOMGOMG I'm like 1 kilometre away from Jobe Watson holy crap!" Then he started laughing and said that he saw Jobe Watson and Scott Pendlebury dolls and not the actual people. While crying with old joy/new sadness, I'm like, "I hate you, you will burn for this!!". I am very dramatic. Mum then told this story at work today during her lunch break and had all her friends in stitches. I am now the laughing stock of their prospective social groups. Lordy.
Below is an updated family tree which some of you asked for:
John Wilde (dec) m. Marie Wilde (nee Evans)
- Emmett Wilde
- Charlotte Wilde
- Rosamund Wilde
Emmett Wilde m. Elizabeth Wilde (nee Jones)
- David Wilde
- Alexandra Wilde
- Imogen Wilde
Nathaniel Swift m. Charlotte Swift (nee Wilde)
- Margaret Swift
- Edward Swift
- Georgina Swift
- Elizabeth Swift
Derek Montgomery m. Rosamund Montgomery (nee Wilde)
- Rebecca Montgomery
- Maxwell Montgomery
- Grace Montgomery
- Matthew Montgomery (dec)
James Spencer m. Rebecca Spencer (nee Montgomery)
- James Spencer
- Simone Spencer
- Alice Spencer
Maxwell Montgomery m. Margaret Montgomery (nee Swift)
- Janna Montgomery
- Nora Montgomery
- Charlotte Montgomery
- Stephen Montgomery
David Wilde m. Elena Wilde (nee Del Fuego)
- Aurelia Wilde
- Ana Wilde
- Joaquín Wilde
- Gabriela Wilde
- Ariana Wilde
Joaquín Del Fuego m. Alexandra Del Fuego (nee Wilde)
- Nicolás Del Fuego
- Isabella Del Fuego
Simon Spencer m. Imogen Spencer (nee Wilde)
- Hannah Spencer
- Harry Spencer
A lot of you have also been asking about what I'm doing next. My next priority is to finish editing/re-writing Taming Jane for publication. I will let you all know when the beautified and mistake free (hopefully!) version is available for purchase :)
I do have a new historical idea for a story but I do not have a title yet and I do not have the story properly planned.
I do have an extensive plan for a modern day story which I am quite excited about but I'm not sure if I'm going to put it on Wattpad. If it turns out as good as it sounds in my head, I might try my luck with a publisher :)
Anyways, signing off for a little while, though I'll still be on Wattpad regularly. Send me a private message or write on my message board. I'll do my best to get back to you.
Bye for now xxx