A Fiery Love for the Reluctant Duchess Bonus Scene

Thea looked at her husband and smiled. They had done this together. They had built a magnificent boarding school that was soon to be making changes throughout London.

They would open the school that very day and the students would come and give their names. Then, on Monday, they would arrive for the first day of classes.

"Can we have a look inside?" Thea asked.

"Of course, Mrs Tyndale," the duke replied.

They walked down the halls to where the younger students would be. Then they saw the rooms for boys around the age of ten to twelve before looking at the same room for a second class. When they reached the classes for older students, Thea was amazed by all of the supplies that had been provided for them.

There were grand books and globes and the sort of equipment that even some of the finest schools did not have.

Her husband had done all of this.

The dining hall was of such an enormous size that Thea wondered how many children they might be expecting. All meals each day were to be provided and every student would be given their fill.

"You have created something truly magnificent," Thea said, taking the duke's hand in her own.

"I could scarcely have done it without you by my side," he replied.

Thea remembered how hard the duke had worked to regain all the losses he had faced. Once his other trade investments came to fruition, he became involved in a great number of businesses. He had been far wiser in his decisions this time and Thea could not help feeling proud of him.

There had been a time they were not even certain they would manage to stay in their home. But now, here they were, with a school under their charge.

Of course, Thea would not manage to spend a great deal of time visiting the school. With their three-year-old son, Edward, and their six-month-old baby, Katherine, she hardly had time for anything else.

She longed to hold her baby in the halls of the school. But Kitty was with her mother then, allowing the duke and duchess to come on this journey.

The boarding school would be a significant place for young men in London. It would be a place where boys who were from a class much like she and her siblings had been would learn and grow and develop into tremendous young gentlemen.

They would have opportunities that none of them had ever imagined previously. Opportunities that their families had never experienced. For these young men, the boarding school would open doors to becoming leaders of the next age of England.

Thea then considered once more how grand this opportunity would have been for her brothers. If this had been presented to them, things could have been a great deal different for her family. But she did not regret a single moment of her life thus far.

No, indeed, it was her circumstances that led her to be this woman. It was her circumstances that led her to this man that she so loved. If she had not met the duke and if they had not married, she would not have her son and daughter whom she loved so desperately.

"My darling, do you believe that the opening is going to be ready?" she asked.

"Indeed, Mrs Tyndale. I think that we are prepared for a grand opening and many changed and transformed lives," said the duke.

Thea loved the way he thought about it all. It was so promising.

Seeing the boarding school had been a joy that Thea had not anticipated. But her thoughts moved to her daughter. She wondered what the world held for her. She wondered who she might grow to marry.

In many ways, Thea had risen above her circumstances, but she did not want her daughter to have to do the same.

It was true that her daughter was born into privilege, but just as the duke had not always enjoyed his status, her daughter could struggle as well. Her daughter could face the challenge of not always belonging or understanding the things that made her fortunate.

Kitty would have to live the life of idle, wealthy women. She would be expected to marry a man of her status, but Thea and the duke knew that this was not always the case. As they had grown to love one another despite their differences in class, they wished for Kitty to always have the same opportunity.

But there were more struggles than this.

Boarding schools were for boys, and Kitty would not have school, but rather, she would have a governess. This was not enough for Thea.

She did not want her daughter to be brought up believing in limitations. She wanted her daughter to grow seeing more in herself than merely her status and her surroundings. She wanted her daughter to know greater things than what women were expected to be.

There would be little opportunity for change and few seemed to believe that it was possible. It did not mean that society would never grow or develop, but it held a particularly harsh view of women. A view that Thea wanted her daughter to be protected from.

She delighted in the thought that one day, Kitty might be a part of a new generation of women who were strong and brave. Women who believed in the things they were capable of accomplishing. Women who knew that they were created for more than what society told them.

Thea believed fully that, with her husband's help, they could raise their daughter to be so.

"What are you thinking about?" the duke asked.

"I was just thinking about Kitty and her opportunities," replied Thea.

"And what opportunities were you thinking of?" asked the duke further.

"Simply the differences between those offered to young men and those offered to young women," she answered.

"Yes, I have thought about it a great deal as well," the duke said.

"And what conclusions have you come to?" questioned Thea.

"Primarily that I should support her in being strong and brave," the duke replied with a smile.

"Mummy, mummy!" called Edward, running from his nanny's arms.

Thea knelt down and scooped him up.

"And of course, this one is going to pave the way for his future regardless of what we think or say," she laughed. The three-year-old was active and Thea was grateful for his energy.

"Why does he always run to you first?" the duke asked, pretending to pout. His action caused a bubbly giggle from Edward's lips. The boy then reached his arms out for his father who took him happily.

Thea placed an arm around her husband's waist and leaned into her son's squishy cheeks to kiss them gently.

Within the walls of the coach that was carrying them home later, the duke and Thea continued to dream of a better world ahead. A world in which love like theirs would be honoured. A world in which their children would be further evidence that society had no say in a person's identity.

Yes, their family would be different from many others, but Thea did not mind that in the least. She wondered about their son and any that might come in the future. Or more daughters and how they would behave.

While these questionings were the likes of which to drive a mother mad, Thea did not mind them overly much. She cared a great deal about ensuring that her children grew into people she could be proud of.

Her husband had already proven himself to be a worthy father. He would be a tremendous example for their daughters in how they ought to expect proper treatment from men. And he would show their sons how to be good men of integrity.

She loved watching her husband's humility. She loved to see him work hard on behalf of others.

This boarding school was the pinnacle of it all. A solid education at an affordable rate for young men. It had hardly been done before. The dream of her husband was coming to pass as a result of how he had been determined to provide for his family and recoup what had been lost.

The coach came to a stop and Thea looked out the window. They were staying in London for the night as it would be too long a journey to get to their home after they had left the boarding school.

Thea ached for her daughter, but another night would do her well enough.

She was not, of course, alone. She was with her husband, a man who had once been a stranger to her. A man she had despised and hated in every way.

But now that man was her dearest friend, he was someone she adored and loved.

The Duke of Sandon had become all that Thea wished for and more. His integrity, his grace, and his unfailing good looks continued to amaze her daily.

It was only three hours the following morning before they arrived at their home. Mrs Markley handed Kitty to her mother and, along with the duke and Edward, the four of them retreated to the library where they had time every evening.

The time spent reading aloud to their children was a highlight of each day for the duke and Thea. It was a tradition they had promised to never abandon.

"My darling," Thea said when they reached the room.

"Yes, Mrs Tyndale?" he asked her.

"Do you love our life half as much as I do?" she asked.

The duke paused for a moment, a satisfied expression settling over his face in a way she had not often seen. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, enjoying the air.

"My wife, I cannot think of a better life. Not in all my dreams would I change a thing. I would not change how we met and came to be together. I would not even change the circumstances in which we disliked one another," he said.

"There is nothing at all you would change?" she asked.

"Well, perhaps there is one thing," he said.

Thea sat on the bed and waited for him to tell her.

"I would change the time in which we met. I would make it a great deal sooner that we might have a longer future ahead," he told her dreamily.

Thea watched his face until he finished.

"I think I would change that very same thing," she said.

"Then I suppose there is only one thing for it," the duke said.

"And what is that?" she asked, ruffling Edward's hair.

"To enjoy whatever time we have left."

The duke took her hand in his and Thea smiled, knowing they would have forever.