Rushbrooke End (Book 4)

Epilogue

September 27th 1883

Lady Lilly Grimshaw, Countess Tavistock, sat inside the great library at Rushbrooke End, her daughter Charlotte on the ground next to her.

Lilly was sitting at her desk, her fingers inky and a cup of tea that had long gone cold balancing precariously on a stack of papers next to her. Her head was aching as she stared at the manuscript before her, willing herself to make some sense of what appeared to be a jumble of words.

"Lilly darling!" Luke's voice and his footsteps sounded from down the hall and he burst into the room a few minutes later, brandishing an envelope in his hand.

"What is it?" Lilly asked, barely turning away from her writing.

"It's from the company! A letter!" That got her attention and she stood up nearly knocking her chair over in excitement as she grabbed the envelope and tore it open, hungrily gazing at the paper, her heart thumping twice as hard as usual as she read.

"So?" Luke asked impatiently as his wife looked up at him, beaming.

"Yes! They want to-" but before she could finish Luke had swept her up in his arms and kissed her, smiling the whole time. "Put me down," Lilly laughed, pulling away, "you've not even heard what they said," she said, reading the letter out: "Dear Lady Grimshaw, I have read your manuscript and thought it a very fine piece of work indeed. I see no reason we cannot publish it after it has been revised a little. I would love to meet with you for luncheon on the thirteen of October, half past one. Please let me know if that is an acceptable time for you. Best Regards, Gregory Holt." She finished and grinned, barley able to keep a straight face.

"Darling that's wonderful!" Luke kissed her again before lifting her up and twirling about, much to the amusement of their daughter who laughed happily at her parents.

"Imagine it, a published author," Lilly suddenly grew sober, "but you mustn't tell anyone, I shall want to wait until I know for sure before telling anyone."

"Of course but oh my love, surely they cannot turn you down now! Thirteenth time's the charm," he grinned boyishly.

"Sixteenth time actually," she replied, "but what difference does it make? I am to meet with him! I shall write immediately," she sat down, pulling a fresh piece of paper towards her.

"Excellent, I shall go tell cook to make something splendid this evening for supper and of course, a lemon tart for dessert," he kissed her once more, kissed Charlotte and dashed off, swinging himself around the bannister of the stairs that stood in the middle of the library before dashing out of the doors, coattails flying out behind him.

Lilly, still smiling madly, started to write her response to Gregory Holt, thanking him and telling him she'd love to come and have lunch with him to discuss the book.

Late that afternoon Lilly and Charlotte were near the woods that covered a quarter of Rushbrooke's grounds. Lilly was sitting on a grassy hillock, tying flowers together idly as she watched her daughter toddle unstably around, chasing butterflies as her dark hair bounced around her small face.

Lilly was happy. Not just because of Gregory Holt's letter but because for the first time her life she felt like she truly belonged somewhere. Not that she didn't enjoy being with her family, but with them she had always felt the need to maintain a façade, to keep her flippant, insincere character alive.

But now she was able to be honest with herself and husband. She didn't need to roll her eyes at sentiment anymore and cast off affection. She as happy and as her daughter stumbled towards her, collapsing next to her, Lilly smiled happily, pulling Charlotte into her lap and inhaling her sweet scent of soap, milk and lavender. Charlotte squirmed and Lilly understood and let her go, watching with amusement as the little girl started after another butterfly.

Luke soon came out to join her, taking a seat next to her and slipping his hand in her's.

"My sister would love her," Luke said quietly. He always got quieter when the topic of their daughter's namesake came up. "She was always more comfortable around children." Lilly smiled sadly, squeezing his hand as they watched their daughter playing in the long grass.

"I know, and I am sure Charlotte would adore having her as an aunt."

"She would," Lilly rested her head against Luke's shoulder, saying nothing as they watched the sun set slowly over Rushbrooke End, that gothic house that had once seemed so threatening and full of secrets but now felt like just felt like home, as simple and comforting as that.

Annnnnnd we're done! Yes, after more than a year of writing, Luke and Lilly's story has come to an end.

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-B xx