Torchlight

Chapter 19 Epilogue

Chapter 19 - Epilogue

It was midnight and Her Grace, Cassandra Moire, Duchess of Castlereagh stood at the dock yard beside her handsome husband and waited nervously for the passengers to disembark from the French ship anchored in the harbour.

It had been three and a half years since she had last seen Emilia. That long since her best friend had chosen to become a vampire. They had kept in constant written contact, Emilia describing her transition to immortality in great detail, but because of the dangers, they had not been able to meet until Jasper was convinced that it was safe to do so.

Now as they waited to see her, Cassandra's stomach was in knots. Will she look the same? Is she still the friend I knew? Cassandra agonised.

Beside her, Emmanuel felt his wife's fingers tighten around his. Sensing her anxiety he attempted to comfort her.

"Jasper would not be bringing her back if he was not absolutely sure she could handle it. She will still be the same friend you have always had, Cassandra. Only a little bit more... durable." Emmanuel decided to keep it light.

Cassandra laughed. "How do you always know the perfect things to say?"

"Well, yours is the only mind I know well enough, that I feel I can read it." Emmanuel bent and pressed his lips softly to hers. "Relax, wife. Everything will be fine." Cassandra leaned into the soft kiss, needing the heat it never failed to generate.

"Castlereagh! Save it for the bedroom!" Jasper's amused voice filtered through the couple's intimate moment.

Emmanuel broke away from his wife as he and Jasper laughingly embraced, slapping one another on the back as men were fond of doing. Mick's laughter mingled with theirs.

Despite Cassandra's blush, her eyes immediately sought Emilia's. She was standing not far from her, next to a watchful Elizabeth.

When their gazes collided, Cassandra couldn't stop her immediate thought. She is beautiful. Emilia looked exactly the same and yet completely different. Her skin was now so pale that her hair somehow seemed darker in contrast, her features so much more refined.

Rushing forward and then hesitating, Emilia broke the silence. "Hello, Cassie." Even her voice sounded different, almost musical.

Unable to stand the other woman's uncertainty and knowing that she was holding back for fear of rejection, Cassandra moved forward and wrapped her friend in a hearty embrace. Immediately she felt Emilia relax.

And so did everyone else.

"I have missed you so much, Em." Then pulling back slightly she remarked, "You look wonderful! Vampirism suits you," she said in a playful whisper.

"As do you! Motherhood suits you well." Becoming a mother of two had changed Cassandra's figure somewhat. Where she was once lean and flat she was now just a little rounder in all the right places. While she would never be fat, she certainly had filled out nicely.

The women embraced again. "Oh Cassie, it is so good to see you again. I have so much to tell you."

The other members of their party who had deliberately stood back to allow the women some privacy now stepped forward.

"What more can you possibly have to say after the barrage of letters that has been exchanged between you two?" Jasper teased.

"Never you mind," Emilia replied to the man who had changed her life, quite literally.

"Perhaps we can continue this reunion at the mansion?" Elizabeth remarked. It was good to have everyone back together again.

"Of course. Come Em, the carriage is this way." The friends walked arm in arm, one of the few times either had left their husbands to walk by themselves.