Lady Belling's Secret (28 page)

To all those attending, and that was a great deal since the truly dedicated gossipmongers held out until the end in the hope of a last minute
en dit
, it was apparent Thomas and Francesca were a love match. As one particularly frazzled mother of three daughters out for the season said to another, “That kind of mooning couldn’t be faked.” There were many tears as the service proceeded, proving even the jaded, hardhearted
ton
was not immune to the power of a really good love story.

Epilogue

“Francesca!”

She was sitting at her desk in the morning room she favored. The early sun came through the windows along the north wall, casting the loveliest glow throughout the room. She gritted her teeth and looked down at the living, breathing throw rug near her feet.

“Well, Lucifer, at least I know it wasn’t you.” She nudged the giant dog with a silk-slipper-clad toe. She only got a grunt and a snore in response.

She sighed deeply and rose from the chair. At the landing, she looked down to find her two favorite males standing in the marble foyer. Thomas had his hands on his hips, his feet wide apart. Their three-year-old son stood next to his father, trying to mimic his stern stance but failing once he started giggling.

“Yes?” she asked, keeping her expression as innocent as possible.

“Come and get your dog,” Thomas demanded.

“Momma,” Anthony began, “Medusa has been in Daddy’s study.”

“Oh dear.” She stepped down the first riser, holding on to the banister to keep her balance.

Thomas ran up the stairs and took her other hand to steady her.

“And she scattered Daddy’s important papers,” the child continued, “and the newspaper is everywhere.”

“Try not to have so much glee when reporting her misdeeds, sweetheart,” Francesca told her son.

“Come see!” The child scampered off down the hall towards his father’s study.

“Are you feeling all right?” Thomas’s concern was written all over his face. “I’ll take care of it myself. Don’t worry yourself about it. I don’t know what I was thinking.”

“Thomas,” she chided. “I’m fine; I still have several weeks to go.” But she had to admit climbing the stairs was a challenge now that her belly eclipsed her feet. “Besides, I can’t possibly spend so much time in bed. I’ll go insane from the boredom.”

He kissed his wife’s cheek. “Have I told you you’re the most beautiful woman I have ever seen?”

“Not today.” She gave a regal toss of her head. “You may do so now.”

“Madam, you are the sun and the moon. You are everything lovely,” Thomas vowed, his ever-present grin making his beautiful face even more so.

Once they arrived at the landing, his hand went to the enormous bump under her dress. “I hope this one is a girl.”

“That’s what you say now,” she teased.

“Yes, a little flame-haired girl who will drive the boys crazy.”

“Actually, I was thinking of a little flame-haired boy to complement the raven-haired one riding the dog down the hall.”

Thomas looked up to where she pointed at his son astride Lucifer’s brother, Dante. The enormous dog didn’t seem to mind as it lumbered good-naturedly out the French doors to the garden with the boy on his back.

Francesca peered in the doorway to the study to find Medusa lying on a pile of papers in the middle of the floor. All the pillows were off the sofa and a prodigious amount of slobber smeared Thomas’s desk chair. As soon as she saw her people, the puppy’s rear rose in the air and her tail wagged furiously. Francesca laughed out loud as the puppy bowed to them in an invitation to play.

“Are you sure you want to breed these monsters?” Thomas’s face was no longer sweet and peaceful from flirting with his wife; instead it was cloudy from anger.

“Yes, I do. You know she’ll settle down just like the boys did.” She took her husband’s hand. “We never thought they’d live to see adulthood, if you remember, and look at them now, the big old lazy oafs.”

He ignored the dog, turned again to his wife and took her into his arms. It was decidedly more difficult now, and he had to stretch his neck to kiss her at this angle, but kiss her he did, and he kissed her well.

This project has had tremendous support and never would have been completed without the support of my hard working agent, Kevan Lyon, the patience of my family, the dedication and brilliance of my Sisters, the gorgeous cover art by Jaycee DeLorenzo, and the wisdom and camaraderie of the ladies and gentlemen of my Romance Writers of America chapter, Saguaro Romance Writers. Thank you one and all.

…they all lived happily ever after.

About the Author

Amylynn read her first romance novel in 2008 after being a lifelong literary snob. By the time she was done, she was hooked. Inspired, she challenged herself to write an entire manuscript from start to finish. Lady Belling’s Secret became the first in a three series set.

She is an Arizona native and lives in the same house her husband owned before they were married. Amylynn fears she will never call another state home unless someone tells her husband there are forty-nine others to choose from. In reality, she’d settle for a walk-in closet.

Her family consists of the aforementioned husband, two beautiful children, two dogs, two cats, some fish, and a hankering for a panda. She’d like it mentioned she’s never been in prison but we’ll see how that panda thing works out.