Page 55 of Conveniently Trapped with the Marquess
“Do you think this might suit me better? Or perhaps this?”
Alice giggled, looking over at Emma. She’d brought all her best dresses to Alice’s bedchamber, claiming that she wanted to share this wonderful day with her sister in full and so did not want to miss out on a single moment.
As such, Emma and her lady’s maid now occupied most of Alice’s bed, searching through the dresses to see which one she should wear today.
When Emma glanced up at Alice, her fingers still running contemplatively along the lovely pink silk of one of her dresses, Alice looked back in the mirror of her vanity table. Feigning disinterest, she said, “That one.”
“You haven’t even looked!” Emma protested.
“That is because I do not need to.” Holding back her urge to laugh, Alice met her sister’s eyes in the mirror, raising a single finger. “One, because you look absolutely lovely no matter what you wear, and two,” she raised another finger, “because I know that if I do not decide right away, you’ll only grow more indecisive and rethink your every decision. And we simply do not have the time.”
“Well, now that you’ve pointed it out, I cannot help but rethink your answer anyhow,” Emma grumbled.
Alice hid her smile. Behind her Nancy was busy twisting her hair into an elegant hairstyle fit for such a momentous occasion, being her usual timid self. Alice imagined that had Emma not barged in her a short while ago, she would have been sitting in absolute silence.
“Why, may I ask, have you decided to get ready inmybedchamber?” Alice asked her sister.
“Because this is a moment that I would love to share with you! I hope that when it is my time to be married, you shall be right here with me telling me whether I should choose to wear my pearl jewelry or my emerald ones.”
Alice couldn’t hold back her smile any longer. Only a month after the incident, when Alice was still struggling to stay still in bed, Emma had rushed to her room filled with excitement, telling her that Lord Christopher had finally asked for her hand in marriage. Every time Alice saw her sister after that, Emma had been wearing a wide, everlasting grin that grew more dazzling whenever her dear betrothed was nearby. As of right now, they were set to be married within a few weeks and Emma was positively thrumming from excitement.
“Let me guess,” Alice drawled. “You are growing more and more anxious about your wedding day and you thought latching yourself onto me might help to lessen that feeling.”
Emma licked her lips, coming closer. She sat on the hassock at the end of Alice’s bed, her brows knitting. “Is it that obvious?”
“No,” Alice said. “I simply know you very well.”
“It’s just…I cannot help but wonder what might happen after we are married. I love him so much, Alice, but what if he grows bored of me now that he no longer has to win my heart?”
“Impossible. You are the funniest, most interesting lady I know.”
“You are only saying that because I’m your sister.”
“I’m saying it in spite of the fact that you’re my sister,” Alice corrected, which earned her a scowl from Emma. “It is the truth. More than that, however, there is no need worrying about such things. You should focus on the present.”
“And what of you?” Emma asked, tilting her head to the side.
Alice frowned at that. “Me?”
“When will you let yourself relax and stop being nervous about this wedding?” Emma followed her question with a raised brow, then looked pointedly at Alice’s hands. Suddenly, Alice realized that she’d been anxiously scratching at the back of her fingers without realizing, a nervous habit she hadn’t indulged in in years.
Emma smiled, shaking her head. “Why do you think I came here, Alice? To get your input on what I should wear to attend your wedding? Because that was only one reason, the other being that I knew you would be nervous yourself.”
Finished with the elegant hairstyle she’d put in Alice’s hair, Nancy stepped away. Alice rose, tucking her hands behind her even though she’d already been caught. “I don’t know why I’m like this. William has been by my side every day for the past six months. It is not as if I’m marrying a stranger.”
“I cannot explain it myself,” Emma said with a shrug. She rose as well, idly watching as Nancy brought over the dress Alice would be wearing. “But I’m sure it is nothing to worry yourself over.”
“I’m not,” Alice responded. She stood in the middle of the room, preparing to don the crystal-blue gown she’d only worn once, with eccentric embroidery along the hem and a silk overlay that flowed from a shapely bust. She would finish the attire with a lovely flower crown and let Emma take care of the jewelry that would match it.
She didn’t know if she could define what she felt as worry. Perhaps not even nervousness. The only way she could define it was as pure, unfettered excitement that she couldn’t contain. She’d waited for this day for six months, impatiently longing for the chance to become William’s wife. It was frightening, she thought, how eager she was to do that which she’d always ran away from: fall in love, tie her life together with someone else’s, open herself up the chance at being broken the way her father had been. None of it mattered anymore…all that mattered was William and that soon, she would truly be his.
Letting her leg heal had been one of the most difficult things she had to do, mostly because of her impatience. William had come to her bedchamber every day, under Nancy’s watchful eye. And when she had been approved by her physician that she could make the use of a wheelchair to get some sun and fresh air, he was the one who pushed her around the gardens for most of the day—of course, with Nancy present. But neither Nancy nor her father knew that he would sneak to her bedchamber in the night and that they would talk about everything under the moon.
And no one knew just how those nights had filled her with longing for the day she could finally be alone with him, with nothing standing between them—neither social propriety or her broken leg.
She couldn’t possibly say that to her sweet Emma and so she held her tongue, listening as Emma finally chose the pink dress and hummed while she got dressed.
Soon enough, they were both ready to leave. Her father had secured a special license, which meant they were able to have the wedding in the small chapel located on Warington grounds. As Alice and Emma left her bedchamber, arms linked, Alice had a feeling that her father was already at the chapel, almost as excited as she was.
