Six years later

“Ten, nine, eight, seven, em…, five? No, six, three, two four, one, coming!” Marcus and Clara stifled their laughter as they watched their eldest, four-year-old Gerald, begin searching the drawing room for his young sister, Bethany. The little girl was just coming up to her third birthday. 

“I do not know which is more amusing, Gerald’s attempts at counting backwards or Beth’s ability to hide and yet be completely obvious at the same time,” Marcus observed as he and Clara sat side by side on the large settee.

Winston chortled from his seat next to Diana on the sofa opposite. “I admire the lad’s effort,” he said as they watched Gerald hunting high and low, “but I think Beth wins fair and square. She has excelled herself this time.” 

They all snorted with laughter as they looked at where the child had concealed half of herself under an armchair but with her legs sticking out quite openly. 

“She works on the principle that if she cannot see us, we cannot see her,” Diana said, joining in the general laughter.

“Found you!” Gerald shouted triumphantly as he almost fell over his baby sister’s legs. He bent down and pulled the giggling girl from under the chair.

“I think I had better help Beth,” said Evelyn, now a grown-up young lady of fourteen. “She has not learned how to hide very well yet, and it is not fair that you keep winning so easily, Gerry.”

Well, I asked you if you wanted to play in the first place, Evie, and you said no because you were holding Baby Camilla,” Gerald pointed out with some frustration. Evelyn was indeed dandling her baby half-sister on her lap. At barely six months old, the baby looked up at her adoringly with big blue eyes, smiling gummily and chewing on a strand of her big sister’s hair.

“Give her to me, darling, before she eats all your hair,” Diana said, smiling across at the pair as she held out her arms. “You can go and help Beth to hide from her brother for a while before tea.”

“All right, but just for a while,” Evelyn replied, getting up and handing little Camilla carefully back to their mother before going to join her young cousins. 

“It is quite a revelation to me how my daughter likes to eat so much hair,” Winston remarked proudly, tickling his daughter’s chin and setting her off giggling. “She is rather like a cushion that stuffs itself,” he added, eliciting general laughter.

“I know,” Marcus said, “it is amazing what they will pick up, and whatever it is, it goes straight in their mouths. One has to be very careful what one leaves about the place. I found Gerald trying to eat half my cigar I left in the ashtray once. I just got to him in time.”

“And thank goodness you did!” Clara exclaimed, recalling the incident vividly. “It would have made him terribly sick, I am sure, and you would have gotten into dreadful trouble with his nursemaid.”

“And been sent to bed without your dinner, no doubt,” Diana teased, familiar with the nursemaid’s threats.

“It is your turn to hide now, Gerry,” Evelyn said. “On your marks, set, count! Ten, nine . . .” The spirited game of hide and seek resumed, and this time, Gerald slid on his stomach between his parents’ feet and under the settee. “Shhh, do not give me away,” he whispered to them, holding his finger to his lips as he vanished from sight. They smiled at each other and shook their heads in amusement.

While the game progressed, Clara looked across at Winston and Diana. They were sitting close together, fussing over Camilla, their faces radiant with the happiness of a couple who have found love and companionship in each other. Clara could not help comparing the sad, grieving Diana she had first met all those years ago with the beautiful, vibrant woman she saw before her. 

The years had been kind to Diana. The shadows of her sad past had now been replaced by a glowing contentment that seemed to emanate from within. Clara also noticed with a smile how Winston’s eyes seldom left his beloved wife and baby, whom he adored.

Clara squeezed Marcus’ hand in hers, silently marvelling at the twists and turns of fate that had brought them all to this point in their lives. The love and contentment the four of them shared was a testament to the healing power of time and the resilience of the human heart. The bond that had developed between their children was, to her, a reflection of the deep love and unity that tied the once broken family together. And having lost her own family, she loved being a part of it all.

She turned her attention back to Evelyn and Beth. Evelyn was leading the child around the room, encouraging her to look in every nook and cranny in search of Gerald. “I do not think he is small enough to fit in the sideboard drawers, dear,” she said as Beth began pulling them open to look inside.

“She likes to be thorough,” Marcus said.

“We shall be here all night at this rate,” Clara answered laughingly.

The door opened then, and the Dowager came in. As soon as she saw them all, she beamed. “Ah, hide and seek again, is it?” she said, going to sit next to Diana and holding her arms out for Camilla. Diana handed her daughter over to her doting grandmama. 

Clara watched as the two played together, fascinated to note how the Dowager’s face had softened over the years. These days, she seemed to have lost her former stiffness and often openly expressed the love and pride she felt for her ever-growing family. Clara looked at Marcus and saw he was watching them too, and they shared a loving glance.

They were rudely interrupted by Evelyn and Beth, who were lying on their tummies to see if Gerald could be hiding under the settee.

“Found you!” Beth shouted gleefully as they spied him. He slithered out like a snake.

“That was a very good hiding place. You didn’t find me for ages,” he crowed, clearly pleased with himself.

“Good gracious! Where did you pop up from, young man?” The Dowager exclaimed, playing along. The little boy ran over to her and cuddled her and the baby affectionately.

“I was under the settee, Grandmama, that is why you could not see me. But I was there all the time.”

“Well, you are certainly very good at hiding,” his grandmama told him with a doting look.

“I know,” he replied with comical self-assurance. Evelyn and Beth came up to the Dowager.

“Hello, Grandmama,” Evelyn said, giving the Dowager a peck on the cheek, while Beth decided she wanted to sit on her lap with Camilla and began clambering up onto the sofa.

“Bethy, I do not think Grandmama can manage you and the baby, my love,” Marcus said, starting to get up to go and fetch his little daughter.

But his mother waved him away. “It is quite all right, dear. I can manage perfectly well,” she insisted. And somehow, the elegant dowager duchess managed to accommodate both her grandchildren in her lap quite comfortably. They cuddled up to her with contented expressions that matched hers. 

“It is my turn to hide now, Gerry,” Evelyn told her cousin. “I bet you will not be able to find me as easily as Beth.”

“I bet I will,” the sturdy little fellow exclaimed, covering his eyes and beginning to count, while Evelyn darted off to hide.

“That’s the spirit, my boy,” Marcus said laughingly, looking at his little son proudly. 

“I like his confidence,” Winston said with a chuckle.

A knock at the door revealed Gadsby, who announced that tea was ready in the dining room. The children abandoned their game immediately and were first out of the door.

Winston took Camilla from the Dowager so she and Diana could go in together, and then he followed them out, bouncing his daughter up and down and singing her a little hunting song. She seemed to like it, for she giggled delightedly. 

For a few quiet moments, Clara and Marcus tarried alone in the drawing room. They embraced and hugged each other tightly before exchanging a lingering kiss.

“Are you happy, my darling?” he asked her, gazing down at her lovingly.

“Happier than ever, my dearest husband. You know, I think I fall more deeply in love with you every day,” she told him, smiling up at him happily.

“Good, that is what I like to hear. It shows I am being a good husband, and that is what you deserve, my beautiful wife.”

“Are you happy?” She already knew the answer, but she wanted to hear him say it. It always gave her a thrill.

“Happier than ever, my sweet, and all thanks to you.” He paused for a moment, kissing the top of her head before continuing in a thoughtful tone, “you know, I feel full of gratitude for the blessings that have been bestowed upon us. Sometimes, when I think back to the trials we faced and the obstacles we had to overcome simply to be together, I marvel at the strength of the love that saw us through it all.”

Clara stood on tiptoe and kissed his cheek tenderly. “A love so strong that it will last us a lifetime.” Then, she hugged his arm, and they went to join their family for tea.

THE END