Page 75 of An Arranged Marriage with a Cruel Earl
Epilogue
“Andrew...you are sure this dress suits me?” Emmeline asked as she stood before the long mirror in their bedchamber. Andrew, who was fastening his cravat—he favoured simple knots that were easy to tie himself—grinned at her over her shoulder.
“You look lovely, my dear,” he murmured, kissing her shoulder in a way that made chills erupt in her body. “Truly beautiful.”
“Thank you,” Emmeline answered. She gazed down at the dress. It was a new one; deep green with a green velvet waistband and puffed sleeves of gauzy fabric. It had been made along with several other dresses to accommodate her growing pregnancy. It was only four months, but even so, she was aware that her old dresses did not fit as well as they ought to, and Andrew had ordered four new day dresses to be made for her. She smiled at him lovingly.
“Are you ready?” Andrew asked her as she turned from the looking glass. Her long red hair was arranged in an elaborate chignon. A wide band of green velvet encircled the bun partly covering her hair. It was a token acknowledgement of the old expectation that married women keep their hair concealed, though most ladies of her age had abandoned the custom altogether.
“Yes,” she replied confidently. With pearl drops in her ears and another at her throat on a thin chain, her outfit was complete, and she was ready for anything.
“Good. Let’s go and find Grandma,” Andrew said with a grin.
Emmeline took his hand, and they went into the hallway. Grandma—Emmeline had long since stopped referring to her as Lady Rilendale—wore a pale blue dress and a silver necklace. Her grey hair was arranged in a bun and covered with a thin muslin cap. She smiled as she saw Emmeline and Andrew.
“My dears. You are such a vision of loveliness!” She beamed at them. She stood and Emmeline was delighted, as she always was, to see the dear older woman walking with such ease. Grandma still sometimes used a cane, but her steps were even and sure when she walked twice a day around the grounds with Emmeline.
“Thank you, Grandma,” Emmeline murmured modestly. “As are you.”
“Oh, you are dear,” Grandma said, flapping a hand at her as if to ward off the compliment. She was grinning, though, and Emmeline went over to join her.
“Are we ready to go down?” Andrew asked.
Emmeline glanced at Grandma, who nodded.
“Well, then,” Andrew said with a smile. “Down we go.”
They all went downstairs, walking slowly to match Grandma’s slower pace, and arrived in the dining room.
The room looked entirely different to how it had been when Emmeline had first seen it and, though the renovations had been completed over a month ago, she still stared at it in appreciation whenever she went in there. The wallpaper was new, white flocked silk with a design of acanthus leaves. The mahogany table with its spindle-legged chairs had been entirely sanded and stained again, and the curtains were thick green velvet. The room was beautiful.
Her eyes moved almost at once to the guests who occupied it, however. A cry of delight escaped her lips as she saw her mother seated at the top end of the table.
“Mama!”
She ran to her, throwing her arms wide. They had seen each other earlier, but the delight of having her much-loved mother in her home was too much to ignore.
“Daughter,” Mama murmured, holding her close. Emmeline breathed in the familiar scent of Mama’s lavender perfume and a feeling of being safe and cherished flooded through her.
“Niece!” Uncle Henry greeted her as she stepped back, staring in wonderment at her mother. “How grand to see you.”
“Uncle Henry.” Emmeline smiled and shook his proffered hand. “Aunt Patricia.”
Her uncle and aunt were beaming, and Emmeline’s soul soared as she looked around the room for the person she longed most to see.
“The coach is not quite here,” Uncle Henry said with a grin. “I think they’re deliberately slowing it.”
Emmeline smiled and Andrew chuckled.
“Wouldn’t surprise me,” he answered with a grin.
They greeted their other guests and then went to sit at the table. Almost as soon as they had sat down, Mr Pearson appeared at the door.He was wearing a new suit—he had more than one new suit made recently—and he looked as dignified and kindly as ever.
“Lord Neville and Lady Amelia,” he announced seriously.
Emmeline’s heart soared. Amelia was there, walking arm-in-arm with Neville. The long white dress she wore, of silk embellished with lace, suited her perfectly. Her thick dark hair was arranged in a chignon, the front a mass of ringlets decorated with pearls and little flowers. Her smile was radiant, her black eyes glowing bright like stars. Beside her, Neville, dressed in a black coat and a crisp white shirt, his long trousers of black wool, was staring at her with such amazement and love that Emmeline’s heart flooded with warmth.
“Congratulations!” Andrew called, and everyone in the room echoed the word, adding blessings and good wishes. Emmeline watched as Amelia blushed bright red and the two of them came to take their place at the table.
