Henry glanced down into Cecilia’s face, a hopeful smile on his lips. “Of course. It is my sacred duty, one I shall cherish for all my days.”
The earl shuddered at the romantic display before him, which earned him a quick slap on the arm from Henry. He took his leave of the couple to rejoin his group of friends.
Henry and Cecilia made their way across the room, to the back corner Cecilia and her party had claimed. Juliet had rejoined Rosamund but her parents were nowhere to be found.
Juliet caught sight of them first as they approached, and her face came alive with joy once again. Cecilia couldn’t help laughing, covering her mouth with her free hand. The wonder and newness of it all rendered her a giggling mess.
Her younger sister bestowed a kiss upon her cheek. When she pulled back, tears had sprung into her eyes again.
“Oh Jules, why are you crying? This is a joyous moment,” Cecilia chided softly, pinching the younger woman’s cheek.
“Exactly. I know how desperately you’ve wanted this, and I’m happier than words can express that you’ll have everything you want and deserve.” She sniffled before looking up at Henry. “I knew you could do it. Congratulations, both of you!”
Rosamund lingered further back, eyeing the exchange cautiously. When Cecilia caught her eye, the other young woman smiled sheepishly and came forward. “I am so very pleased for you, Cecilia. Lord Neil, I hope you know what a grand prize you’ve won tonight.” Cecilia thought she heard a slight melancholy in her friend’s voice.
“I can assure you, Miss Henshell, that I feel I am the luckiest man who has ever lived on this Earth, past, present, and future. That is how grand a prize I have won.”
Henry bowed his head respectfully to Rosamund and spoke with such an eloquent gravity that even the apprehensive young lady couldn’t help smiling with relief.
“But wait, where are Mama and Papa?”
“Oh I imagine Mama has already run to the newspapers,” Juliet shrugged. Cecilia gave her sister’s shoulder a gentle push and the younger woman laughed. “I’m sorry, Sissy, but I couldn’t stop them. They’re already spreading it about the room to anyone who will listen.”
Cecilia shook her head. “I suppose I’m not surprised but let them do it. I can hardly contain it myself.”
“Cecilia...” Everyone turned to look at Rosamund, who had a curious expression on her face. “What about the other...incident? From my parents’ masquerade? Has that chapter been closed?”
An exuberant smile slowly spread over Cecilia’s face, so deep and intense that she felt her cheeks might burst from the pressure.
“Yes, that chapter has closed, because a fantastic new one has just begun. You see, Henry was that mysterious masked gentlemen I met that night, the one I pined for all Season.”
She gripped Henry’s arm a little tighter, and when she looked up into his face she saw her own feelings confirmed. Their paths had been destined to cross, as if it were written in the stars, the way the sun rose every morning, the way the ocean always ran back to the shore.
“He’s the one I’ve been searching for this whole time. He’s the one I was meant to find. It was always Henry from the start.”
Unable to contain himself, Henry leaned down to give Cecilia a peck on the cheek, a whispered “I love you” brushing against her ear as he did so.
Cecilia didn’t need to say it out loud. She could see in Henry’s eyes that he read her perfectly. He knew the unspoken truth in her heart.
But she said it anyway. “I love you, too, dear.” The words sounded sweeter than any music she’d ever heard. At least, until they stood together before the altar and said “I will.”
Epilogue
Cecilia’s fingers stilled over the keys as she finished the piece, the last notes lingering in the air before drifting back into silence. She had practiced her new self-composed song numerous times already today, anticipating a request to perform it soon.
“That was lovely, darling.... Now come on, my friend, why can’t you just do as you’re told? How am I to write you out of this conundrum you’ve gotten yourself into?”
She turned so she could see her husband at his desk, his pen flying across the page, brows drawn low over his eyes, lower lip protruding ever so slightly. Cecilia giggled hearing her husband chastise his characters. They often got ahead of him to his frustration but to her guilty enjoyment. She found this habit to be one of his most endearing qualities.
“Thank you, my dear Henry. How goes it over there?” Cecilia stood from the bench and crossed the room. She stood behind her husband’s chair and threaded her arms around his shoulders, resting her cheek against his.
His hand stilled and he closed his eyes, sighing contentedly. He pressed his face to Cecilia’s for a moment before planting a kiss on her cheek.
“I’m making progress. I think it will turn out well. But I’m not sure how to proceed with this part I’m coming to. Will you read it later and give me your opinion?”
He scratched his temple and wrinkled his nose at the papers before him, another habit Cecilia had discovered shortly after becoming the baron’s wife which she found exceedingly charming.
“I would be more than happy to. But for now we must get ready for the Henshells’ ball,” she chirped, massaging Henry’s shoulders.
“Is it that time already? My goodness...” Henry sounded dazed as he set his pen down and stood, leaning over Cecilia’s smaller frame. “Can you believe it’s already been a year since we first met at this very dance?”
Cecilia wrapped her arms around Henry’s torso, burying her face into his shoulder as his arms looped around her waist. “Yes and no. Somehow I can’t believe that a year has already passed since that night. But I also can’t believe that only a year has passed, because it feels like we’ve shared so much together in that time. Isn’t that strange?”
“Hmm, yes and no,” Henry chuckled. “It is a strange idea, but it makes perfect sense to me because I feel the same way. I wonder what life will be like this time next year?” He pulled her body away from his to give just enough room for his hand to rest gently on Cecilia’s stomach.
She smiled shyly but excitedly. “I certainly hope so.” She laid her hand over her husband’s and interlaced their fingers. “But stop trying to distract me, Lord Neil,” she said firmly. “It’s high time we got ready for the ball.”
Henry tilted his head back and laughed. “How can you be so sure that it isn’t you who is distracting me?”
Cecilia pouted and turned away. “Me? Distracting? I would never!” She called out over her shoulder as she strode out of the room, throwing a quick wink to her bemused husband.
“Oh, you look just breathtaking, my lady!” Violet cried, clasping her hands together at her chest, her eyes glowing like a child seeing her first Christmas tree.
“Thanks to you,” Cecilia emphasized to her maid. She was so glad that she’d brought Violet with her when she married Henry. In addition to being very nearly a friend, Violet could button a dress and arrange curls like no one else.
And besides, Violet had indeed become a dear friend to her over the years. Not only had she borne witness to Cecilia’s heartbreak, but she’d also been there for her through her triumph. The maid nearly shed a tear when Cecilia had come home from the farewell masquerade and told her that she’d soon be helping Cecilia into a wedding gown.
Violet blushed at the compliment, never fully comfortable with praise. “I’ve said it before, my lady, but it is you who brings the dress and the hair and the makeup to life.”
“You are too kind, my dear Violet,” Cecilia tutted.
But looking at herself in the mirror, in the beautiful custom-made green dress with swirls of embroidery, and the pearls threaded delicately through her hair, Cecilia was struck by a strong sense of déjà vu.
Almost exactly one year ago, she had stood before a mirror examining a reflection that had surprised her then. But she smiled at her reflection now, thinking back on the anxi
ous young woman who had no idea that her life was about to change in ways she’d only dreamed of.
Cecilia held her hand out to Violet for her mask. She could have had a new mask made, but it didn’t feel right to let go of this one just yet. This was the mask she’d worn on that fateful night, after all. It only seemed fitting that she should wear it again on the anniversary of their meeting.
She thanked Violet and made her way downstairs to join Henry, who had likely long finished up his preparations. But the foyer was empty, to her surprise.
“Henry?” She called out, with no response. “Where could that man have gone to?” She mumbled under her breath as she turned back down the hallway. Even as the question left her lips, she already had the answer.
“How did I know I would find you here?” She asked with a hint of playful exasperation as she opened the door to the study.
Henry didn’t look up as she entered the room, his hand scribbling furiously, his eyes beneath his mask darting over the papers spread before him. “I’m sorry, my love. I just had a sudden idea and needed to get it out before I lost it.”
Cecilia could only chuckle as she watched her husband pour himself out onto the page.
“There!” He slammed a triumphant punctation onto the last line.
Finally, Henry looked up from his work. His eyes travelled up his wife’s figure, from the ruffled hem of her dress up to her patient eyes. Cecilia blushed, still made shy by Henry’s gaze even after months of marriage.
“You’re stunning...” He whispered, slowly standing from his desk.
“And you are so very handsome, my wonderful husband.” Cecilia noted the tight cut of Henry’s coat, a new piece he’d had ordered just for this night, and his stylish coiffure, and of course the sharp jawline and welcoming lips beneath his mask. The same mask he’d worn a year ago.
Of the rest of his face she could only see his eyes, but there was no mistaking the deep flame of love that burned in them.
When he crossed the room, he took Cecilia in his arms. She tilted her head up to receive his kiss, slow and deep and full of feeling that could not be expressed with words. True to his promise, Henry made sure to kiss her every day. Each one felt like a breath of fresh air, a rejuvenation of her spirit. Yet at the same time, each kiss felt like home, as if their lips meeting was the most natural thing in the world.
Henry pulled back and stared down at his wife. “You’re even more beautiful than the night I met you. Just a year ago, I would have thought it impossible to live a life this happy and fulfilling. How can I be sure I haven’t just dreamt this all up in my sleep?”
Cecilia smiled. “If you’re dreaming this, then I must be sharing that same dream. But I can assure you I am quite real.” She stood on her tiptoes to kiss Henry again.
She could feel his smile in the kiss. “Yes, there is no way something like that couldn’t be real. That must mean you are my dream made into reality.”
Henry pulled Cecilia tighter to him, nuzzling his head into the crook of her neck as she ran her hands up his broad back. Cecilia’s chest swelled with pure joy and unbridled love.
Yes, here she stood, holding her dreams in her arms, both real and miraculous all at once.
About the Author
Penny Fairbanks has been a voracious reader since she could hold a book and immediately fell in love with Jane Austen and her world. Now Penny has branched out into writing her own romantic tales.
Penny lives in sunny Florida with her charming husband and their aptly named cat Prince. When she’s not writing or reading she enjoys drinking a lot of coffee and rewatching The Office.
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Behind The Baron's Mask: A Regency Romance (Resolved In Love Book 1) Page 23