He tilted her chin up, meeting her gaze, capturing it in the intense silver of his own. "I couldn't admit it before. Not even to myself. I was too afraid of losing you. I thought I would lose you when you chose to leave, but instead I almost lost you when Peg—"
"Shh," she said. "I know."
And they slowed down then, removing the rest of each other's clothing with the reverence the moment demanded. There were times that called for wild passion, but this was a time that called for sweet, cherishing love. When Tris finally laid Alexandra on the bed and joined his body with hers, tears came to her eyes for the third time in a single day.
"I love you," they whispered together. And they soared together to a wonderland of their own making, a place they would make together time after time in the months and years to come.
Sometime later, sprawled on his back with Alexandra lying on top of him, Tris looked up at the gaudy turquoise and gold canopy. "I think I like the Queen's Bedchamber after all," he said.
EPILOGUE
CHOCOLATE PUFFS
Beat the white part of a good-sized egg till very stiff and then add a handful of sugar. To this add finely grated chocolate and then put small spoonfuls on a flat buttered pan with an area between them. Bake in an oven not overly warm for an hour or until the puffs are very dry.
Everyone loves chocolate, so these are perfect to take on a family picnic!
—Anne, Marchioness of Cainewood, 1773
TWO WEEKS LATER, on the peaceful rise overlooking Griffin's vineyard, in the last sweet days of summer, Tristan and Alexandra picnicked with her family once again on the red blanket. Her siblings and cousins gasped as she told the adventurous story of her quest for truth and justice.
At least, she made it sound adventurous. Griffin suspected it had been rather more dangerous than she was letting on—and he wasn't happy about that.
Brooding, he watched Claire lift the silver basket and turn it in her hands. "This is gorgeous. But it's dented."
"In two places," Alexandra agreed. "Peggy's hard head left quite a mark."
"I can fix it," Claire offered, having taken up an old family pastime of making jewelry.
Alexandra smiled. "I think not. I like it just the way it is."
Apparently still mulling over the tale, Corinna reached for another of the chocolate puffs Alexandra had brought. "So Peggy offered to make that list in order to control who was on it?"
"Exactly," Alexandra said. "There were others who knew Maude was alive, even if they didn't know Peggy was her daughter."
"And Tristan hadn't done any of those things while sleepwalking," Elizabeth said, her green eyes wide.
"Of course he hadn't." Alexandra scooted closer to her husband and leaned dreamily back against him. "I knew he hadn't all along."
"Have you sleepwalked since then?" Juliana asked him.
"Not once," Tristan said.
"And I'm sure he won't ever again," Alexandra declared.
"I wouldn't wager on that," her husband disagreed wryly, tilting her face up and back for a quick upside-down kiss. "Something tells me this irredeemable chit is likely to cause more tension sometime in the future."
Everyone laughed. Except for Griffin. He was glad to see his sister happy, but that didn't alleviate his misgivings.
Alexandra frowned at his clenched jaw. "What's wrong with you?"
"You should have come home," he gritted out. "When all that was happening, you should have come home."
"That's what Peggy wanted, but Hawkridge is my home now." She exchanged a glance with Tristan, apparently realizing Griffin was as disappointed with his friend for not making her come home as he was with her for not doing so on her own. Extricating herself from Tristan's embrace, she rose to her feet. "Let's walk," she said to Griffin, taking his arm to pull him up before he could protest.
"I could have lost you," he said as they headed down the rise to the vineyard.
"Have you not figured out yet that you're never going to lose any of us, Griffin? Not even after we're all married and gone from Cainewood. You're stuck worrying about us forever," she said all too truthfully and cheerfully.
They walked for a few minutes, sharing a healing, companionable silence that went beyond words. When they reached the vineyard, they headed into the middle of it, toward where Rachael wandered in the distance.
"What's wrong with her?" Alexandra asked.
"I don't know. Would you care to ask her?"
"I'll let you ask her."
"Hmmph."
She bent to touch a minuscule grape. "Your vines are bearing fruit!"
A ridiculous sense of pride washed over him. "Nothing worthy of wine yet, but it's something to celebrate."
"We'll toast your success with Hawkridge's wine in a few minutes." She wandered the row, still heading toward Rachael. "Are they English sweet-water grapes?"
"They're Rhenish." A few months ago he wouldn't have known the variety, but the vineyard truly felt like his now. "Since when do you know anything about grapes?"
"I have a vineyard now, too, you know. It's my responsibility to learn everything about Hawkridge."
His sister always had been rather responsible. But she was changing, Griffin thought. He couldn't put his finger on how, but he knew it was for the better.
"You should have come home," he repeated doggedly, "but I must thank you for persevering. Because of you, Juliana and Corinna have bright futures."
"Thank you for allowing me to marry Tris," she returned, then shot him a grin that was much more impish than the old Alexandra. "And for the excellent advice you gave me the night before my wedding."
He felt his face heat and suspected he was as red as the blanket on the hill. "I think I shall talk to Rachael now," he said and walked off.
Rachael turned as he approached, her cerulean eyes laced with unmistakable pain. "Leave me alone," she said miserably. "I came out here to be alone."
"My sister sent me to talk to you."
"Do you always
