Amelia’s lips stuck out in a pout. “I always get found. I thought the passage would work.”
“Because it’s out of bounds?” Virginia asked, raising her eyebrows.
A loud thump made them all turn to see four-year-old Rupert grinning, laying on the floor at the bottom of the stairs. “I jumped four steps.”
Lucas laughed and assisted the boy to his feet. “Well done. But let’s not try five steps until you’re five years old. Will you do that for me?”
Rupert nodded, his grin still wide.
Phillip and Edward appeared on the steps, laughing and talking together. Phillip would start at Cambridge soon and Edward was doing well at Eton. They were both tall, handsome young men. Virginia looked her children over, from her elder sons, to her daughters, and her youngest boy. And there was one more in the nursery, their baby Frederick, called Freddy by the whole family.
How she had the energy to keep up with them, Virginia could not say. Lucas told her it didn’t take so much energy as it did patience and love. He must’ve be right.
“All of you, go clean up for luncheon and then pretend we haven’t spent the last hour running about the house.” She tweaked Emma’s braid and her daughter grinned up at her.
“Yes, Mother,” the group chorused, and a moment later there was more pounding as the children went upstairs and down the hall to their respective rooms. Lucas caught her eye and grinned, raising his eyebrows as they listened to their children chatting and giggling with each other.
“And what about you, Lady Calvert?” he asked, reaching for her. “Have you a need to freshen up before luncheon?”
“Indeed.” She placed her hand in his and walked with him down the gallery to their rooms, her heart full. “Do you think it will always be like this?” she asked, her voice quieter. “Children running every which direction and us right behind them?”
Lucas snorted and shook his head. “Of course not. Eventually, you and I will sit comfortably in our chairs and laugh while our children chase our grandchildren about the house.”
Virginia laughed and stopped, standing before a pair of portraits on the wall. “And how do you think those two feel about our antics?”
Lucas turned to look with her at the portraits, his and Abigail’s, and hers with Charles. Another hung in the parlor downstairs, of he and Virginia.
“I think they would both be pleased with the way everything is turning out,” he said at last, his tone more serious. “Aren’t you?”
Virginia stood on her toes to place a kiss on his cheek. He turned and captured her lips with his.
“Thank you for saving me, Lucas,” she whispered when they parted.
“Ginny, we saved each other.” He squeezed her hand, his heart in his eyes, and Virginia agreed. They’d filled their home and hearts with love, children, and laughter. Charles and Abigail would’ve been happy for them both.
“I love you.”
The world could not be more wonderful.
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Author’s Notes
Thank you for reading The Earl and His Lady. On The Gentleman Physician’s release date, I started receiving emails and messages from readers asking if Virginia would ever find love again. When I wrote my first book, The Social Tutor, I had Lucas and Virginia’s story all mapped out. I hope it’s proved as satisfying for you to read as it was for me to write.
Writing about grief is such a difficult task. I read the accounts of people who had lost loved ones and then remarried, both modern and historical. I consulted my critique partners, trying to make sure the emotion was written accurately and respectfully. Everyone mourns differently. I am in no way suggesting Virginia’s story is meant to tell others how to go about this process. I do hope her story was moving and emotionally satisfying for readers.
On another note, historical accuracy is important to me. If you know more than I about the time period, and noticed any errors, I apologize. I do my best to stay true to the era and accessible to modern readers.
Thank you to all my friends who helped me polish this story. Thank you, Johanna Barker, Carri Flores, Michayle Hales, Arlem Hawks, Shaela Kay, Heidi Kimball, Megan Walker, and everyone from the LDS Beta Readers.
Thank you to my readers for all your kind comments, your lovely reviews, and your encouragement.
About the Author
Sally Britton lives in the desert with her husband, four children, and a black dog named Cherry. She started writing her first story on her mother’s electric typewriter, when she was fourteen years old. She knew romance was the way for her to go fairly early on. Reading her way through Jane Austen, Louisa May Alcott, and Lucy Maud Montgomery, Sally also determined she wanted to write about the elegant, complex world of centuries past.
Sally graduated from Brigham Young University in 2007 with a bachelor’s in English, her emphasis on British literature. She met and married her husband not long after and they’ve been building their happily ever after since that day.
Vincent Van Gogh is attributed with the quote, “What is done in love is done well.” Sally has taken that as her motto, for herself and her characters, writing stories where love is a choice each person must make, and then go forward with hope to obtain their happily ever after.
All of Sally’s published works are available on Amazon.com.
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