Page 88 of The Dreaming Beauty
Tansy frowned. “I know you are angry with your mother—we all are—but we have lost too many people in this family. We need each other... we need all of us.”
Marcus gave a slow nod. “I am beginning to see how true that statement is.” It would take time and a great deal of trust-building, but he intended to care for all of them.
Iris set her hand on Tansy’s shoulder. “The curse is finally broken; I can feel it. Love has healed where death and pain caused grief.”
Aster’s arm came up to Tansy’s shoulder too. “I can feel it as well.”
“We can all be happy now,” Tansy said.
Marcus nodded, his expression somber. “Because dreams do come true.”
“Yes.” Daisy leaned against her sisters and sighed with pleasure. “And fairies are real.”
Epilogue
Two weeks away for awedding trip, and the small drawing room of Rose Cottage had taken on a marked change for Tansy. The decor was unaltered, even though she hoped to change that soon with at least another sofa, but the company and the comradery inside were drastically different from its norm. Daisy sat casually on the arm of the sofa above Tansy and Iris, while Aster served them tea. Lady Melbourne was in the chair by the fireplace—she now shared this home with her sisters—with Simon’s elbow perched on the back. Marcus leaned casually against the doorframe. It wasn’t quite comfortable between everyone, but it was more so than before, and the progress was notable.
“How was your trip to the lakes?” Lady Melbourne asked.
Tansy and Marcus had explored the Duchy of Westmorland and the extent of the Lake District. “It was lovely, wasn’t it, Marcus?”
“I quite agree,” he said. “If this is to be our home for the majority of the year, we are determined to know and love every inch of it. I think this was a good start. We even found a few places for Simon and Tansy to paint. There are a few outdated prints at Ashbury Court that we decided should be replaced with some paintings created by our resident family artists.”
“I should be happy to assist in such an endeavor.” Simon lifted his teacup in toast form and took a long sip.
Daisy set what was left of her finger sandwich on her saucer and dusted the crumbs from her mouth. “I still cannot believe the Dark Rider was at your wedding.”
Tansy gave a soft laugh. “Lord and Lady Cadogen have promised to visit again since they live on our side of England. But when they do come, please humor me and call him by his title.”
Daisy frowned. “Can I at least call him the Masked Baron?”
Tansy shook her head.
“It will be hard to remember,” Daisy said with a sigh, “but I shall try.”
“Speaking of remembering, I had almost forgotten something.” Aster picked up the tea set they had finished with and collected the empty cups. “While you were gone, your wedding present came. I will fetch it now.”
“Oh, Marcus, I cannot wait to show you.” Tansy stood and moved to his side, wrapping her hands around his arm.
He set his hand on hers. “What wedding gift is this? I thought we agreed thatyouwere my gift.”
Every inch of her warmed at his words. “I am, and you must not forget it. This is a bonus present. I’ve been working on this for you since before we were even engaged. While I fetch it, go wait in the willows for me.”
“I have to open it out there, do I?” He shook his head, but his smile was teasing.
“I want to peek at it first and make sure it is just as I wanted. Go on, be a dear.”
He tugged her hand free from his arm and kissed it before retreating from the house.
Once the front door shut, Aster brought in a large square package wrapped in brown paper. She laid it on the tea table, and Tansy untied the string and unwrapped the parcel. The frame she had sent for perfectly accentuated her canvas.
“Tansy, it’s simply lovely,” Aster cooed.
Iris nodded. “It’s almost as if you sneaked out in the middle of the night to paint it.”
“I could have painted it from my window.” Tansy bit the side of her lip before realizing what she was doing and laughed at herself. “All right, I sneaked out a time or two.”
“Cousin, you put my work to shame.” Simon sighed. “I would like to think something I taught you contributed to this.”
