by Aston, Alexa
“I love you, Drake,” Faylinn said simply. “Nothing has changed. I am eager to wed you.”
“Some things have changed. We will not live at Stanbury or Newbury Manor.”
He faced her and took her hands in his. Bringing them to his lips, he kissed them tenderly.
“We have a new home, my love. One which I think you and our daughter will grow to love.”
It thrilled Faylinn that he’d claimed Elewys as his own. Tears misted her eyes and she blinked several times, wishing them away.
“It doesn’t matter, Drake. We will go anywhere with you.”
“My half-brother recently died in a tragic accident. I am now the Earl of Wakeland. We will live at Wakefield. That’s why it took so long for me to reach you, my love. Lord Garrett’s messenger first went to Mallowbourne and then had to travel from Somerset to Devon to find me. I came as soon as I could.”
Tears streamed freely down her cheeks now. “Our own home,” she said in wonder.
“Yes. You will be my countess. Elewys, our daughter. And I hope many, many more children will follow.”
“I can’t wait to wed you, Lord Drake. I plan to give you many sons and daughters.”
“We were destined for love, my sweet Faylinn,” Drake said.
Faylinn lost herself in his kiss, knowing it was the first of thousands to come.
Epilogue
Wakefield Castle—Christmas Day, 1343
Drake tried his best to appear calm as the feasting concluded. He scooped up Christabel, who would be three in a few months, and said, “Time to sleep, my little love.”
Looking to Elewys, his oldest child, he said, “Take your brother’s hand. It’s time for bed.”
She called out to Alwyn and when he ignored her, Elewys marched toward him and latched on to his hand.
“Father says it is time for bed.”
The boy popped a last bite into his mouth and grinned shamelessly. Drake saw so much of himself in his mischievous son.
“Come along.”
He led them from the great hall, which Faylinn had decorated with greenery for the Christmas season, and up the stairs to their bedchamber. The two girls climbed into one bed and their brother slipped into the one opposite them. Drake adjusted the bedclothes, eager to return to his wife.
“When will the babe be here?” demanded Elewys.
“Soon,” he promised. “By the time you awaken tomorrow, you will have a new little brother or sister.”
He left the room, ignoring the giggles coming from his girls, and hurried down the hall to the solar. Faylinn had gone into labor a few hours ago and had urged him to focus on the children, keeping them occupied as they celebrated the holy day in the great hall. His constant thoughts had been with her. He always worried every time her labor pains struck.
Opening the door to the solar, he heard laughter coming from the next room and the tension fled his body. A servant exited the bedchamber and saw him.
She smiled and said, “You have a son, my lord. He’s got thick, dark hair. More than any I’ve ever seen a babe have.”
“He is well? And Lady Faylinn?” he asked anxiously.
“Both the countess and the babe are fine,” she assured him.
Drake didn’t wait. He hurried to the door as two other servants left, along with the midwife, who nodded deferentially as she passed. His eyes went straight to the bed.
Faylinn sat propped against several pillows, her cheeks flushed, gazing down with love at the bundle in her arms. She must have sensed his presence for she looked up and called Drake’s name.
He came to the bed and sat on the edge, his palm cradling her cheek.
“All is well?”
“Very much so, my lord. You have another son. I’m surprised the entire great hall didn’t hear his lusty cries when he came into the world. He may be as loud as Cynric.”
His thumb stroked her smooth skin and then he moved his hand to touch the babe. The boy had large eyes and regarded him solemnly, as if he wondered who this new person was.
“This is your father,” Faylinn informed the babe. “The best man in all of England—and the man I will love forever.”
Drake gently kissed the babe’s brow and then gave his wife a soft, lingering kiss.
“You amaze me, Faylinn.”
She smiled. “I suppose this will be the best Christmas present I ever give you.”
“Your presence in my life every day, along with our children, is the greatest gift of all, my love.”
Drake kissed his countess again as he counted his many blessings, knowing Faylinn was the most precious one of all.
About the Author
Award-winning and international bestselling author Alexa Aston’s historical romances use history as a backdrop to place her characters in extraordinary circumstances, where their intense desire for one another grows into the treasured gift of love.
She is the author of Medieval and Regency romance, including The Knights of Honor, The King’s Cousins, The St Clairs, and The de Wolfes of Esterley Castle.
A native Texan, Alexa lives with her husband in a Dallas suburb, where she eats her fair share of dark chocolate and plots out stories while she walks every morning. She enjoys reading, Netflix binge-watching, and can’t get enough of Survivor, The Crown, or Game of Thrones.
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