Page 36 of Winning the Wallflower's Heart

“Why do you have to be the voice of reason?” he groaned.

Georgiana laughed, pressing a chaste kiss to his cheek and running her fingers through his hair. “You do look very handsome this evening.” She loved the silver that had started to streak the dark hair at his temples.

“Where’s your gown? I’ll help you dress.”

“Very chivalrous of you.”

With a soft growl, he kissed her forehead. “I’ll show you later just how chivalrous I can be.”

“Is that a promise, Husband?”

Ellis playfully patted her bottom, guiding her over to the bed to help her dress.

Not long after, they walked hand in hand into the parlor, the fire casting a soft glow across the room.

Hester rocked gently, humming as she cradled their daughter, Seraphina, asleep in her arms. Esther sat close by, knitting furiously. Ever since Seraphina’s birth five months prior, both women had been in a frenzy of knitting jumpers, blankets, hats, and mittens.

“More?” Ellis teased.

“Ye’ll just have to have another,” Hester replied with a wink, tucking a blanket around Seraphina. “Only solution.”

“Only fair, now that you’ve moved us all into this monstrosity,” Esther added playfully.

Georgiana laughed. They had moved to Grosvenor Square nearly a year ago. Little by little, they had renovated the old townhouse, making it their own. She even had a studio off their bedroom with excellent light for painting. It was the perfect home, better yet with Ellis there, who had gradually reduced his hours at the club, allowing Shaw to step in.

“I think it best we don’t give him any ideas, ladies,” she whispered with a grin. But if she were being honest, she was beginning to have the same idea.

Ellis squeezed her hand, his eyes telling her he hadplentyof ideas. Anticipation prickled up her spine.

“Shall we?” he asked, his voice low and warm. She glanced once more at Seraphina, at her pudgy rosy cheeks, her lips slightly parted as she slept, and her beautiful short curls of strawberry- blonde hair.

“I can’t…” She bit her lip, reluctant to leave, even for an evening. “This is different from going for a ride in the park or a visit to the bookstore. Maybe you should go on, Ellis, and I will stay home.”

“Go on, now,” Hester said with a smile. “We’ll keep her safe. By morning, she’ll be reading poetry and singing nursery rhymes,” she teased.

Ellis chuckled, guiding Georgiana to the door. “At this rate, you’ll have her reciting Shakespeare at next month’s salons, Hester.”

“Ah, but she’s a bright babe. Ye watch.” Hester gazed fondly down at Seraphina, gently stroking her small back, her eyes warm with affection.

They each dropped a kiss on Seraphina’s head before donning coats and capes and stepping outside to their waiting carriage.

The night air was crisp, the snow blanketing the streets with a soft glow. Georgiana’s breath curled in gentle clouds as they reached the carriage, its dark frame dusted with fresh snow. She took one last look at their cozy, glowing windows, thinking of all that had led her here.

“It’s surreal sometimes,” she murmured, leaning into his arm as he helped her up into the carriage. “This life we’ve made.”

Ellis climbed in beside her, tucking her close as the carriage began to move. “It’s the lifeyoubuilt, Georgie,” he said, his voice filled with quiet admiration. “You took something broken and made it beautiful.”

She glanced at him, the glow of the passing lamps casting shadows across his face, warmth filling her chest. For years, she had fought for a place that felt like hers—a home built not of stone but of love and trust.

The carriage rocked gently, silence wrapping around them.

Once, she had been a young woman marred by an unspeakable past, now a woman sitting proudly beside the man she loved. A girl once haunted by shame, now rising above it. A mother who felt as fiercely for her child as she did for the artshe created, now proudly sharing it with the rest of London, and unafraid to use her voice.

“When I saw those flowers you painted in your room for the first time,” he murmured, “I didn’t understand how someone could capture so much warmth. You’ve taught me so much, Georgie—to see, to feel, to open up. That’s something I never thought I’d have.” His fingers traced her jaw. “You showed me how to be truly happy. And I’m so proud to be beside you tonight.”

Georgiana leaned into his touch, thinking of the paintings waiting at the Duke and Duchess of Abinger’s ballroom to be auctioned off to support the orphanage. Each stroke of her brush had been an act of defiance—transforming her past hurts into possibility. Just as she and Ellis had transformed obligation into love, fear into trust, broken pieces into something whole.

As the carriage rolled through the snow-hushed streets of London, Georgiana nestled against Ellis’s shoulder, at peace with all they had built together. Tonight, she would share her art to help raise funds for those who needed hope. But this—his heartbeat beneath her cheek, their daughter sleeping safely at home—this was her masterpiece.

THE END