The Duke of Tremont II - Bloodspell

Chapter 41
 

*************************************************

Author’s note: Well, we are at the end and it’s very bittersweet for me because I really do love these characters, but I won‘t miss the deadlines I gave myself. It’s been a long road and I want to thank all my readers for sticking with me through this story, and the first “Duke“ as well. Also, a great big THANK YOU to my wonderful beta, Thyme. Not only did she fix my mistakes, but she encouraged me and kept me motivated, even cracking the whip a little when she felt I was flagging. Thanks as well to Margaret and the whole gang at Moonshadow Tribe, for inviting me in all those years ago, and giving my stories a fabulous home. Okay, enough of that! Read and (hopefully) Enjoy!

 

*************************************************
 

Epilogue

"To Kelton and Daphne!" Justin bowed to the newly wedded couple and took a sip from his cup amid cheers.

"Here! Here!" added young Prince Brian, who had traveled to Lofton with his wife Rosalinde and their two young children to attend the wedding. King Jonathan had decided to give his son the opportunity to get out of the city for a well deserved break since young Brian had governed so wisely while Jonathan had been away in Maynor.

Jonathan and Elaine sent their regrets, but the two were more than ready for some rest and recuperation after all they had been through in the last few months.

Timothy and Ethan were also absent, having made a trip to Maynor to visit Tristan. Both men were naturally curious, and wanted to learn more about the country that had been shrouded in mystery for so long. King Tristan was a very gracious host and was more than happy to share his country's sights and customs with them.

Hunter had returned to Westlake as soon as the war with Maynor ended, but he came back for the wedding, bringing his wife Molly and their baby son, Brice, with them. This visit was the first time that Brian had laid eyes on his great-nephew and it had been love at first sight for both of them.

Daphne and Kelton's wedding was a small, informal affair. Daphne had insisted that there was no need to make a fuss since her parents were dead and Kelton's were farmers and unable to leave their home to make the trip. Lindsay had tried to talk the couple into a much grander affair, but Daphne held firm.

The young healers were wed in a small chapel in Brian's castle. Daphne's only capitulation to grandeur was to have Prince Brian give her away, and Bishop Vic perform the ceremony. In a complete break from tradition, Justin stood by her side as her "Man of Honor," though she did not make him wear a fancy gown as Brian suggested.

A small reception dinner was held in the large sitting/dining area of Brian and Justin's apartment, and everyone was currently sharing the multitude of desserts that Deb had created for the occasion.

"Deb, I so love your berry tarts!" Justin exclaimed.

"And you didn't even have to steal them with magic this time, Sunshine," Deb cackled as she regaled everyone again with the story of Justin stealing her freshly made food and magically leaving a note. Everyone listened politely, though they had all heard it many times before, since it was Deb's favorite story to tell.

When she was finished, Brian, who had foregone dessert, and was sitting by the fire holding baby Brice, turned his attention from the baby to Deb. "I swear every time you tell that story you increase the amount of food Justin took. You make it sound as if we nabbed a ten course meal from you instead of a little venison and some loaves of bread."

"Oh, hush you!" Deb flicked her hand at him. "It's my story; I'll tell it how I want!" Carl patted Deb's hand and kissed her on the cheek while the other's laughed.

Emmett sighed and propped up his chin with his hand.

"What's wrong, Em?" Justin asked from his spot next to Daphne.

"Oh, I just miss Theodore. It feels like he should be here."

"Frankly, I was surprised you didn't go to Maynor with him," Daphne smiled slyly.
"There's a certain handsome knight that I thought fancied you."

Emmett blushed a little. "Oh, well, yes, Sir Drew is nice enough, and we had some fun, but I couldn't leave you all. You're my family."

"To family!" Young Brian raised his goblet again, and the others followed suit.

"To family!" they replied.

“Speaking of family it seems you two got married just in time,” Brian called over to Daphne and Kelton. “I guess now I won’t have to challenge Kelton to a duel to protect your honor, Daphne.”

Everyone turned questioning gazes to Brian, including the newlyweds. “What do you mean, Brian?” Daphne asked, more than a little puzzled. Surely he wouldn’t make a case of her pre-marital indiscretions on her wedding night, would he? Brian was the last person to ever bother her about things like that.

Brian rolled his eyes at them. “You’re both healers, you figure it out.”

Kelton’s eyes widened as it dawned on him what Brian might mean, and he immediately reached over to lay a gently hand on Daphne’s stomach. Daphne’s expression matched her husband’s as she placed her hand over his and they both used their gift to look “inward.”

“Oh my God!” Daphne breathed as she snapped out of her trance and looked to Brian. “How on earth did you know? It’s very new.”

“My foresight gift kicked in,” Brian shrugged.

“Know what?” Michael asked. “What’s going on?”

Kelton smiled at the whole room. “Daphne’s with child! I’m going to be a father!”

The room erupted in joy as congratulations were once again bestowed upon the surprised, but happy young couple.

“You all right with this?” Justin whispered into Daphne’s ear as he hugged her tightly. “I seem to remember a young girl from a few years ago who was never going to marry or be tied down with children.”

Daphne laughed even as a tear ran down her cheek. “That was before I met Kelton. You of all people should know how the right person changes everything.”

“That I do,” Justin replied. “You know I’ll be the best uncle ever, right? Anything the baby needs, he shall have, if it’s in my power to give it.”

“Of course I know that. And you’ll be more than just an uncle; you’ll be the Godfather… well, if it is all right with Kelton, that is?” Daphne was speaking loud enough that her husband could hear.

“Of course,” Kelton nodded his head.

Daphne and Justin laughed and hugged fiercely again.

A short while later Justin broke away from the group surrounding the happy couple and moved to sit next to Brian, where he still sat holding Brice. “Did you hear, Brian? I get to be the baby’s Godfather!”

Brian smiled. “I heard, Sunshine. She’ll be a very lucky little girl to have you.” Brian’s voice lowered down to a whisper.

“She?” Justin looked at Brian in surprise.

Brian cuddled Brice to his chest and placed a finger to his lips. “Shh.”

Justin smiled. "You saw that too, didn’t you? Daphne‘s having a baby girl?” Justin sounded surprised.

Brian simply raised an eyebrow.

“Ahhh,” Justin replied. “I take it you're not going to tell the proud mama?"

"Eh, with their gift they’ll probably figure it out on their own. I’ll let them have that moment.” Brian shrugged and shot Justin a sly grin. “Besides, they didn’t ask.”

"You are evil, my lord."

Brian leaned over to kiss Justin. "I'm sweet."

"You are," Justin agreed.

Brice chose that moment to smile at his Uncle Justin, who took the baby from Brian's arms, laid him on his knees and began to entertain him with funny faces, and kisses on his neck and belly.

Brice laughed out loud at his silly uncle and Brian watched his lover with a full heart.

"Do you want this, Justin?" Brian asked in a quiet voice so only his lover could hear.

"Want what?" Justin asked, his attention still on the baby.

"A baby? I mean of your own?"

Justin looked up sharply. "What?"

Brian stuck his tongue in his cheek. "It's not a difficult question, Justin. Do you want to have a child of your own some day?"

"I don't think I have the right parts to carry our child, Brian." Justin didn't bother to hide a sly smile.

"Stop it, Justin. I'm serious; we could maybe find a serving girl or one of the ladies from town who would be willing to…"

"No," Justin interrupted Brian, and then studied his lover for a moment. He looked down at the baby in his arms. "No, I don't think I do. I love Gus as my own, and I'll love Brice and this new baby, but I like to be Uncle Justin. I don't want the responsibility of being a father."

"You're sure?"

Brian looked so concerned and serious that Justin's heart leapt to his throat. Sometimes he was still amazed at how much Brian cared for him and the lengths the man would go to make him happy. "I'm sure, Brian. I don't want to have a baby."

Justin spoke louder than he meant to, and the others all stared at the two men on the couch.

"If you're trying to get Justin pregnant, Brian, I think there's something you should know," Mel commented wittily.

Brian dropped his head into his hands as Justin answered Mel. "I was just explaining to Brian that I don't really feel the need to be a father."

"Oh, Justin, you're so young to make such a decision," Lindsay replied.

Before Justin could reply, there was a ruckus from the bedroom where Gus and Young Brian's two children had been quietly playing. "I told you not to touch that, Gus." Little Princess Jessica's six year old voice rang from the bedroom.

"Augustus, come out here, now!" Mel called sternly, but she was hard pressed not to burst into laughter when the three children shuffled into the dining room. Gus was holding a familiar pot and all three of them were covered with an oily looking liquid."

"What happened?" Young Brian asked.

"I found this by Daddy and Justin's bed," Gus replied sheepishly. "I was looking inside, when I dropped it and it splashed over all of us."

"Well, what is it?" Young Brian asked as he wiped at a blob on Jessica's cheek. Princess Rosalinde rolled her eyes and kicked her husband in the shin. The young prince was indignant for a moment until he met his wife’s insistent gaze. After a few moments it finally dawned on him what the kids had gotten into. "Oh my…oh!" he exclaimed.

Snorts of barely contained laughter could be heard throughout the room.

"What is it daddy?" asked Jessica.

"It's a special potion Auntie Mel made for our sore muscles," Brian replied almost gruffly as Justin turned beet red. Brian stood up. "Here, Gus, give that to me. You know better than to get into my things." He moved quickly to take the jar back to his room. After a moment he called out to his wife. "Lindsay! Call the maids. It's all over our carpet and our bed!"

Justin stood quickly and handed Brice off to Hunter, who was beet red with suppressed laughter. "I…uh…better…um…go check the…uh…yeah." Justin hurried to the bedroom, but before he entered the room he turned back to his brother-in-law. “Make sure you don’t drop the baby in your mirth,” he snapped.

When he was finally gone Hunter actually exploded, and eventually did have to hand the baby off to his wife so he and Young Brian could support each other as they tried to regain control of themselves.

Justin found Brian kneeling on the carpet trying to dab the oil out of the it. "Damn!" He looked up to his lover.

"I know," Justin answered, his blush still prominent. "I'm so embarrassed. Again! Why do these things happen to us?"

Brian looked puzzled. "Embarrassed? The whole jar has been spilled. That was a good batch too. Mel made it nice and slippery this time."

Justin simply stared at Brian as if he had grown an extra head. It was only a few moments before they both broke into hysterical laughter. When they finally got themselves under control Brian pulled Justin to him and smiled. "So, are you sure you don't want a child?"

Justin smiled brightly and snorted as he ran a hand over their ruined bedcover. "I would say that's a definite no."

The maid arrived and Brian wrapped an arm around Justin and led him out of the room to let her work. The others were doing their best to get the children cleaned up, but it was difficult to do because one person would start laughing again and that would set the others off.

Brian and Justin stopped to survey the scene. Gus spotted his father and escaped his mother and her wet cloth. He ran to Brian who immediately caught the boy up in his arms. "I'm sorry, Papa. Are you still angry with me?"

"I know it was an accident, son. I'm not angry."

"You're the best Papa and Justin in the world." Gus reached out to kiss Justin's cheek.

"I love you, too, Gus," Justin returned the boy's kiss.

"Gus, come on," Lindsay called. "Now you'll have to have a bath before bed."

"Oh, no!" Gus replied sadly.

"Go on, son." Brian set him down and gave him a light swat on the rear.

The other's all took their leave after the last congratulations to Kelton and Daphne. When Brian and Justin were finally alone in their room, Brian pulled Justin to him and kissed him soundly. "I think you're the best Justin in the whole world, too."

"And you're the best, Brian." Justin leaned up take Brian into a kiss that soon turned heated. "Mmm, let's go to bed." Justin's voice was husky.

Brian began to pull him to their room, but he stopped short. "Oh, no!"

"What is it?"

"Our oil. Gus spilled all our oil."

Justin's face fell. "Well, I guess…"

He was cut off by a knock at the door. Brian moved quickly to open it, and there stood Mel. "I thought you might need this." She held up a small pot identical to the one Gus had spilled earlier.

Mel actually let out a yelp when Brian and Justin both pulled her into a massive hug.

"You're the best Mel ever!" they both exclaimed together.

"Uh…thanks?" Mel replied, quickly turning to make her escape back to her and
Lindsay's rooms. "Your husband and his lover are so odd," Mel commented to Lindsay later as they were snuggling into their bed.

Lindsay raised an eyebrow, but simply smiled. "I know," she replied. "But I wouldn't have it any other way."

The End

 

Return to The Duke of Tremont II