On their part, the Treblingers were grateful that all had worked out well, and that the visit to Bath had not caused the broken hearts they feared it may have. At length, the party broke up, and the Treblingers escorted the Dinksters up to the big house where they found everything in order, but for the evidence of a litter of puppies having soiled the carpets, a fact they could easily forgive.
The Dinksters remained some days at Springside, enjoying the company of the Mills, and savouring the happiness of the estate. For it remained a place of great happiness for many years to come, even after Lord and Lady Treblinger had passed away and their sons came into the inheritance. For it was always said that at Springside, happiness was in the air.
~
The stories of what happened next could fill another volume, but suffice to say that in the early autumn the weddings of Daisy, Bart, Sara and Cameron took place at the little church in Springside, the couples dressed simply yet finely as they gathered with their family and friends to express their love for one another publicly. All the village and the estate turned out for the celebration, and the church was filled with great bunches of wild flowers picked from the surrounding countryside,
Afterwards all remarked that Mr. Hardbottom’s sermon had been excellent, as he reminded the two couples (married in succession) of the importance of openness in love and of giving oneself to the other in everything. At the giving of the rings and the first kiss, a great applause arose such as had never before been heard in church, and as the couples walked down the aisle, the good folk of Springside provided them with an escort.
The reception took place at the home of the Treblingers, and there was a merry feast awaiting them as they walked from the church in the warmth of the late summer sun to a celebration which lasted well into the night.
The Duke of Mantelhurst had of course financed the proceedings, and he spent much of the day surrounded by his new friends and family so much so that at the end he declared himself to be one of the happiest men in England, for indeed he was. And afterwards he and Mary returned to Bath where she happily remained his companion, and the two lived together until the Duke’s death at a very ripe old age.
Both couples moved to Bath, though of course each could choose from a number of estates, but it was always to Springside that they returned whenever time allowed. It was here that they would cast off the shackles of state, for both men rose to important positions, and enjoy the simplicity of the life which Mr. and Mrs. Mills still lived with their daughter Susan who did not marry, but became well known for the poetry and novellas which she wrote. The twins married two local farm lads, to live most happy lives on the estate.
And so our tale ends as it began, in the little village of Springside, that beautiful and quintessential English village, with its cottage by the brook, home to the Mills family and of the kind and benevolent Treblingers, whose thoughtfulness and desire to see others thrive and flourish had ensured that both Sara and Daisy, and indeed all the characters in our story, were to find happiness and fulfilment to the end of their days.
The End.
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Miss Elizabeth Downton lives in the county of Staffordshire in England with her two cats Darcy and Bingley in a beautiful cottage situated by a delightful lake. Elizabeth has been a writer of fiction for nearly twenty years and has a keen fondness for the novels of Jane Austen. In Elizabeth’s speciality genre of Regency Romance she always tries to cast memorable characters and dramatic situations that capture the readers imagination.
Elizabeth hopes you have enjoyed this book and will continue to take delight in her future work.
You can contact her at [email protected]
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Other Titles by Elizabeth Downton
BOX SETS
REGENCY ROMANCE COLLECTION 30 BOOK BOX SET
THE ENCHANTING DUKES COLLECTION 6 BOOK BOX SET
DASHING DUKES AND DESIRABLE DAMSELS 24 BOOK BOX SET
THE DUKE’S COLLECTION (10 BOOK BOX SET)
THE DELECTABLE DUKES MEGA BOOK COLLECTION (14 BOOK BOX SET)
SINGLE TITLES
Mistletoe and Etiquette
The Christmas Bluestocking
The Hidden Duke
The Devilish Duke
Deception of a Duke
An Unfortunate Arrangement
The Duke and the Orphan Girl
The Tormented Duke’s Proposal
The Pirate Duke
Enchanted by a Duke
The Duke’s Infatuation
The Beauty and the Beastly Duke (Christmas Regency Romance)
To the Devil a Duke
The Governess Bride
The Duke and the Pauper
The Scandal of the Duke’s Secret Baby
The Agreeable Rogue (The Sedgewick Sisters Book 3)
The Reserved Earl (The Sedgewick Sisters Book 2)
The Viscount’s Secrets and Sensibilities (The Sedgewick Sisters Book 1)
The Secret of the Decadent Duke
For the love of a Duke
Tales of a Duke (four book box set)
The Revenant Duke
The Masquerade of a Duke
The Duke’s Love and Liberation
The Duke’s Atonement
In Pursuit of a Duke
The Duke’s Unrequited Affection
Saved From Scandal - The Duke’s Pregnant Bride
The Pompous
If you liked this regency romance tale, why not try Elizabeths other clean romantic tales…
Mistletoe and Etiquette
A war-weary British aristocratic army Captain and the flighty, wilful daughter of an American merchant seem not to be a likely match made in heaven. A notion shared by Fiona Muller's American father, who demands his daughter return to America when he hears of Captain Tom Brady's attention.
Tom's first Christmas back from the Napoleonic wars is only brightened by having the restorative young Fiona at his side. During the year leading up to his next Christmas, Tom is deflated and forlorn but determined not to bow to self pity. Will his plan to revive the spirit of happiness he knew that Christmas be fruitful? Can the brave war veteran conquer an American will? Will Tom get to steal yet another kiss from Fiona under the mistletoe bough at Daven Hall, his familial home?
Written in a most delightful way, the author paints a true picture of the ways of courtship in this period of romance and rules, and how love can be lost through simple misguidedness.
Here is a Taster:
“Welcome home, Captain Brady,” the doorman nodded with a sincere smile.
Tom returned the greeting, remembering that it wasn’t looked well upon to embrace the staff. His mother had always been particularly strict about him and his brother maintaining a certain decorum around the household staff.
“Mistress Brady is in the garden, Sir,” the doorman added.
Tom gave the man a curt nod, “Thank you,” he replied. He knew the man’s name but had been forbidden by his mother to call any staff member by name while they were on duty.
Daven Hall looked much the same as it had when Tom walked out of it four years earlier. The four years he’d spent in the British Cavalry during the Napoleonic Wars had kept him in the French countryside and away from his homeland. The war might have ended, but it was hard for Tom to reconcile the reality of war with the civilized and austere society he was thrust back into now.
The gardens of Daven Hall spread out under blue skies, and Tom’s heart ached at the sight of it. “You look mightily dreary for a man who is fresh home from war,” a bellowing voice said off to Tom’s right. He turned to see his father walking up the steps from the rose garden below. The man’s feet made soft thuds on the stone landing despite his considerable weight.
His father’s face lit up with warmth as he smiled.
Tom collapsed gladly into the embrace the man threw around his shoulders. Tom
spoke finally as his father loosened his hold and allowed Tom to straighten, “I’m not downtrodden, Father. I just…” Tom looked around at the budding flowers and sighed through a small smile, “I just thought I might not see it again.”
“That’s not an unreasonable thought for a man at war,” his father shook his head sadly, “Come on, let’s go see if we can search your mother out. She will be most pleased to see you,” he laughed. “She’s talked of little else besides your return since the arrival of your letter.”
Tom followed his father down the stone steps, and in companionable silence they sought the mistress of the house who was known for losing track of time while she inspected the flowers. A half an hour later they found her at the far end of a winding maze of rose trellises.
Mistress Brady turned at their approached and dropped the rose from her hand unceremoniously to the stone path. “Thomas!” The woman’s voice was filled with joy as she lifted her skirt up a few inches to aid her rush toward her son.
Tom smiled at the woman as she rushed to him. Her slender arms circling his waist. She looked frail. Tom wondered, as he held her gently, if she’d always seemed so. “Hello, Mum,” Tom whispered softly. It was a silly childish name, but for a moment he was just a child and she, his mother.
Mistress Brady smiled up at her son. “Since receiving your letter I’ve read it a thousand times. We are so thrilled to have you with us again. Maybe now, sleep will come back to me.”
“Are you not well?” Tom asked as he frowned with worry.
His mother shook her head, and patted his cheek fondly. “I am more than well now that you are home. After all, how can a mother sleep when her child is off on a battlefield?” Mistress Brady took a deep breath and smiled softly, “That’s all in the past now though, because here you are, come home a proud Captain of the British Cavalry, and I must welcome you properly.”
Tom’s heart sank. “I pray that doesn’t mean what I think it does. Can I not have a week’s respite?”
Master Brady chuckled at his son’s expression of disapproval. “I told you the boy would have none of your nonsense so soon after arriving home. You’ll be lucky if he doesn’t choose to go back to Paris.”
Tom’s mother gave his father a look of stern disapproval, and the man quietened his chuckling even though the smile stayed on his face. Mistress Brady turned to Tom, “It’s merely a picnic,” she said, “it is the season after all, and you know that we often host such affairs, especially this time of the year!”
It was foolish at best to try to dissuade his mother from her social tendencies, so Tom simply chose to nod along.
His mother took this for complete surrender and pounced with all the poise of a seasoned general. Tom’s submission was all but signed and guaranteed, so his mother swiftly moved onto another topic to prevent his weaselling out of her plans. “Did you linger long in London?”
“No,” Tom admitted. “I was eager to come home. It was jarring to be back in London.”
His father nodded his agreement. “I remember my time in the army. I always wanted to return straight home once I was given a chance.” Tom’s father had been a major in his time in the army. The man’s thinning hair and plump waistline could almost make one forget that fact at times. “What do you say, let’s go have some tea, hmm?” The man seemed to assume Tom’s agreement as he turned on his heel and headed toward the house.
Tom chuckled. “I guess that means we are having tea.”
His mother scoffed and fanned herself a bit, “If you call whiskey with a dash of Darjeeling a suitable tea time.”
“Nice to see some things don’t change,” Tom smiled down at the woman as he offered her his arm.
“You old halfwit, I wondered when you would be around to see me.” Tom laughed at the insult his brother threw at him as the man raised up from behind his desk. “Well, don’t just stand there like a fool, come in!”
Tom shook his head as he closed the door behind him, “If Jane heard you talking like that, she’d ring you around the ears.” Tom was referring to his brother’s wife, but the warning only earned a grin from the redhead as he came over to thump Tom on the shoulder.
“It is good to see you, old man,” Tom clasped his brother’s arm, “I saw Mum and Pa, they seem to be much the same. I can’t say the same for you though. You might want to loosen the lead a bit.”
Joe laughed at Tom’s joke, “I think I see a bit of envy in that puckered face of yours, Tommy.”
“That you might,” Tom admitted with a laugh, “How many children do you have now? Twelve?”
Joe wagged his finger at his brother. Being the eldest brother, he had stayed out of the war to run the family business. Tom had done what most loyal and honourable second sons would do, Tom had chosen to take a commission in the war at the age of twenty-three. The man’s tone took a sombre turn. “You look horrid.”
Tom rubbed his chin. He knew he still had stubble from his impromptu flight from Daven Hall under the pretence of a visit. “Rightly so,” Tom said, “Mother is in the middle of her Season.” Tom gave his brother a dramatic look for effect.
Joe led his brother over to a table and poured them both a glass of scotch. “You will need this then.” Joe’s eyes held amusement as Tom took the glass tumbler and downed the contents. “I heard about the picnic she planned, actually. I don’t think you’ll get out of that one.”
“That’s what I feared,” Tom mourned with a sigh.
His brother gave him another thump on the shoulder, “Bully up there, man! You’ve survived Seasons before.” Joe took a long mouthful of his drink. “Oh, and, speaking of Seasons, I suppose Mother probably informed you that Catherine married the oldest son of Duke Sheldon.”
Tom hid his surprise, “It must have slipped her mind; after all, that was a long time ago.”
“I imagine it seems so,” Joe started, “You seem different.” Joe’s tone was serious, and Tom looked at him. Joe eyed him astutely. “I’m sorry if I caught you out of sorts with news of Catherine.”
Tom waved off his brother’s concern, “Think nothing more of it. I think it is good for her that she has found herself a good husband.”
“You always were a bit too forgiving,” Joe smile at his younger brother. “Come now, do you want to stay for tea?”
Tom grinned, “That depends on how much brandy you put in yours.”
Joe joined his brother in a chuckle, “I see you’ve fallen into Father’s bad habits.”
“Let’s just say that I have begun to see the logic of his ways,” Tom agreed as he followed his brother out of the room.
Jane met them coming down the hallway. “Thomas! I didn’t know you were due in for a visit!”
She may have been scolding, but Tom saw the light in her eyes in his presence. Jane had always been a lovely woman, and he was glad his brother had persuaded the feisty brunette to settle down with him.
“It was decided on a bit of a whim,” he said, “I’m sorry to put you at an inconvenience.” Tom apologised for the impromptu visit.
Jane brushed off his concern and smiled warmly, “We are just happy to have you home,” she assured him. “Coming downstairs for tea? I was just coming to remind Joe that he too has to take a break from work sometime.”
“I still can’t believe you allowed a scoundrel like Joe to win you over.” Tom teased the woman as the three of them made their way into the sitting room where Jane had already put out a tray of cucumber and tomato sandwiches and cups. Tom could smell the tea’s warm scent as he sank down in a chair.
Jane poured a cup of tea and set it in front of Tom. “’Allow’ is a bit of a reach, especially when he left me little choice at all.”
Tom smiled at the couple as they settled down across from him. Perhaps one day he would have someone to settle down with, but that did not seem likely as he thought more on it. As romantic a notion as a war hero was to some women, Tom thought it still unlikely that a young woman would want to saddle herself with a battered
war veteran too much her senior.
“Have you given any thought to what you will do now?” Jane asked as she picked up her teacup, eyeing Tom expectantly.
That was the thought that had begun to plague him since he left London. “I’ve thought of little else, but I am still unsure at the moment.” Tom took a sip of the tea.
Joe leaned forward, “You should come work with us,” he piped up. “We’ve got some new opportunities with the trade routes opening back up after the war.”
“Maybe,” Tom said noncommittally. He was not sure he could do what Joe did. It seemed to be mostly writing and signing papers and he already was the type of man content with being a scribe.
Joe raised his shoulders in a familiar shrug. “If you change your mind, we could use some men who know how to get things done in the field. We are always looking for new points of contact.”
“That’s enough talk of contacts and business, Joe. Can’t we just have tea?” Jane pleaded with a hopeful smile.
Joe softened, “Of course, Darling.”
Talk of work was put away as Jane and Joe filled Tom in on what had been happening in social circles during his absence. Although most of it held little interest to Tom, he enjoyed talking with the couple. He even told them some of what the war had been like, but he was very conscious of what he said in front of Jane. He had no urge to harm the woman’s sensibilities with talk of the cruelty war brings out in men.
When it came time for him to make his way back home, Tom took Joe’s hand as they said farewell at the door of the couple’s townhouse. Tom smiled at his brother, “You’ve made a nice life for yourself, Joe.”
Joe smiled, cheekily, “I’m sure I won’t be long solitary in my wedded bliss. I hear our mother is quite adamant about seeing you happily settled soon,” he said, raising his eyebrows with a knowing smile.
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