Stowaway (A Pirate Novel) (Completed)

Chapter 60 Epilogue

Elle and Emmaline had formed a true friendship over the past five years. Emmaline was more then a mother-in-law she was a friend and a second mother.

Elle lifted the cup of tea and took a sip. She hid her excited smile behind the lip of the cup. She was thankful that nausea didn't plage her early in the mornings as she spent most of them with Emmaline.

She had grown to love Talbot's parents. But learning to be a Dutchess had proved time consuming, tedious and frustrating. The responsibly of the castle alone took multiple hours per day. It was not just the running of the household. There were all manners of staff, in the kitchens, stabled, the gardens, the grounds.

And then there was Alexanders responsibilities. Elle had refused to sit in on any of his 'talks' with his father. At first he had insisted but at her continued refusal he had agreed to a point a steward in case of an emergency.

As they learned their duties she and Alexander had postponed starting a family of their own. Although her father, Augustus, Duke Liam and Dutchess Emmaline had made no secret that they would not be apposed to becoming grandparents.

Elle wanted so much to tell Emmaline the news. But she had agreed with Talbot to wait. They had an informal dinner party planned to announce the news to their family and friends.

Although it had been difficult at times they had managed to maintain friendship with Harv, Zara, Miles, Mel, Paul, Jr, Nathan, and a few of the others.

Unfortunately Nathan and his sister wouldn't be attending the dinner but the others, thankfully were.

It had been a week since she had seen Miles and Zara. The two had married three years ago with Zara finely agreeing to move to the country. They had opened their home to two orphaned children. The girls, ages 2, Lacy, and 3, Anya had lost their parents to a unmanned carriage. A year later a boy of seven, Galen, joined their family.

Mel and Paul had split up for over a year. Now back together they both refuse to make it official. Elizabeth thought that most of the refusal came from Mel. They managed some of Talbot's investments. He had purchased a small 3 ship fleet of ships, adding them to his own two ships.

Jr married his sweetheart, Eveline, and they had a daughter the following year. They named her Raya. He opened his mercantile but sold it last year. They moved closer to the Dukes castle. They were only half an hour's carriage ride from the castle. They lived within a ten minute walk from Zara and Miles.

Nathan, with the help of his foster family and an anonymous benefactor, opened his tavern at the age of 16. At 18 he had married the daughter of the Baker, Renee, just down the lane from the tavern. They just celebrated their first year together. Unfortunately, they lived to far away to visit often.

Alexander had convinced Elle's father to sell his business and move to a small cottage on the castle grounds. He now helped in the running of the kitchen and it's staff. That had been Duchess Emmaline idea.

"He ran his business for thirty years, running the kitchen and staff will be nothing compared to that." She had insisted just a week after he arrived. Augustus had agreed quickly. He had confided to Elle later that he needed to do something instead of sitting and growing stagnant.

"You look very pleased." The duchess smiled. She picked up her cup and took a small sip.

"I am. I do want the day go well. I'm a bit nervous." Elle admitted.

Emmaline placed the cup back on the saucer. She smiled reassuringly. "Elizabeth," she said using the name of Elle's birth, "you have arranged everything perfectly. You have checked and double checked every detail daily over the past few weeks. This isn't a formal state dinner. These are your friends. They will be so delighted to see you they will not care about minor details. You must learn to relax and enjoy the fruits of your labor."