Page 275 of Ten Lords for the Holidays

At the slow caress of his lips over her cheek, she giggled. “Now you’re the bufflehead. Just what do you think you accept?”

“I accept your acceptance to be my mistress. But only until you are ready to be my wife.”

EPILOGUE: THE BEAST

The man-beast watched from afar three months later, as Mr. and the new Mrs. Brier Chapman (as they chose to be known in London, forsaking the more appropriateLord and Lady Brier Chapman) descended from the Marquis of Everling’s traveling carriage.

Today marked the end of their extended wedding trip to Yorkshire, where the rest of the sundry Chapmans tended to reside, when not being industrious in London, piratical over the seas, or engaging in one of the other outlandish modes of activity the extravagant family members were known for.

Today also marked the beginning of their new life together.

His heart ached at the sight of them holding hands, happy and free of care, especially after the terror he’d unwittingly caused, simply following her home that wretched, awful night, to ensure her safety from the vile ones who might steal the very breath from her lungs.

While waiting for their trunks to be unloaded, the couple nuzzled noses and laughed at something one of them said, making the pang in his chest deepen. He was ready to return to his own mate, without letting this lingering commitment draw him away ever again. Now that he’d seen his duty—the responsibility he’d felt for the female unfortunate enough to be caught up in things she had no notion of—discharged to his (and doubtless her own) satisfaction, he could halt his rounds this direction, no longer detour to and from his club, checking on her safety and happiness.

Brier Chapman, the Marquis of Everling’s third born, and his wickedly observant feline had seen to both.

“Sentimental fool,” the not-oft beastly man remarked with a mocking grin, chiding himself and acknowledging the truth of the words.

For ever since finding and marrying his own dear Francy months earlier, Erasmus Hammond, a marquis in his own right, had altered his thinking and perceptions on just about everything. His entire outlook on life.

One truth his beloved Francy had convinced him of held sway: Not all beasts are bad.

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