Page 53 of The Viscount's Unwanted Bride
Kate cocked her head. “No. What do you mean?”
Amelia hesitantly reached out as if to place her hand on Kate’s, but then she stopped and withdrew it. “Ashford tried toleave her in the country while he returned to London. Emma was quite upset about it.”
“What did she do?” It was difficult to believe that Ashford would ever want to be away from his wife. He doted on Emma.
“She told him that if he was going to be stubborn and go to London without her, then she was going to visit her sister, not sit around waiting for him to return when it suited him.”
Kate grinned, pleased that Emma had stood up for herself. Their friend was lovely, and she deserved better than to be abandoned. “Good for her.”
Amelia nodded in agreement. “In the end, Ashford came to his senses and won her back, but she didn’t make it easy for him. My point is that Blackwell’s suggestion today doesn’t mean that he doesn’t care about you, just that he doesn’t know how to process his feelings.”
“That does help, actually,” she admitted.
If Emma and Ashford had gone through something similar and emerged with a happy marriage, then perhaps the same could happen for her and Blackwell, but only if she stood her ground and didn’t let him dictate their future just because he was afraid of his emotions.
“Thank you.”
“You’re very welcome.” Amelia’s smile turned devilish. “If you really don’t want to go through with the wedding, we can sneak you onto a ship bound for the Americas.”
Laughter burst from Kate, and she didn’t even try to stifle it. That was such a characteristicallyAmeliathing to say.
“You know what? I think we’re going to be fine.”
Amelia shifted closer. “I think so too.”
Amelia left a short time later, and Kate put out the candles and got into bed, closing her eyes and wallowing in the familiarity of the soft mattress beneath her, the faint smell offlowers, and the way the house creaked as people moved around it.
Tomorrow, she’d be somewhere new. Somewhere with different noises and smells and feelings. She was nervous, but excited too. Her entire life was about to change, and her instincts told her she could be happy if she tried—provided Blackwell didn’t let his reservations get in the way.
She dreamed of children with black hair and gray eyes.
In the morning, she rose early and ate breakfast, then retired to the bedroom with Margaret to prepare for the wedding. She studied the pink-and-white wallpaper, wondering how her new bedchamber would be designed. Perhaps it would be timeless and classic, or perhaps the previous Lady Blackwell had decorated to her tastes.
Whatever his hesitations about their marriage, Blackwell had given every indication that he would make things as comfortable for her as he could, so hopefully that extended to her being able to redo the room if it wasn’t to her liking.
“As we practiced, my lady?” Margaret asked, picking up the ornate hairbrush from the dressing table and coming to stand behind Kate. Their gazes met in the mirror.
“Yes,” Kate said. “You had it exactly how I pictured it.”
She’d had Margaret dress her hair earlier in the week so that they could discuss any changes that might be needed if she didn’t do it how Kate had envisioned. Fortunately, Kate’s thorough description and the sketches she’d done had been enough for Margaret to get it right the first time around.
“Are you terribly excited?” Margaret asked, beginning to brush the length of her hair.
“I’m excited to wear the dress.” Kate hadn’t quite decided how she felt about the rest yet.
“I’m sure you’ll be a beautiful bride.”
“Thank you. I hope so.”
Kate sat still as Margaret collected hairpins and held them in one hand as she gathered Kate’s hair. She pinned it in place on the back of her head, leaving sections along the front and each side untouched. Once the majority of the hair was secure, Margaret wove a braid around it and added more pins to ensure that nothing would fall apart.
That done, the maid grabbed the heating iron and used it to curl the locks of hair along the side of her face, sweeping her fringe into the curls as well. Kate closed her eyes and held very still, aware of the heat emanating from the iron, warming her skin. She didn’t want to twitch and inadvertently burn herself.
When Margaret was finished, Kate smiled at her reflection. Once again, Margaret had proved her skill. Curls framed her face and fell around her shoulders, while the back of her hair was up and off the nape of her neck. Rather elegant, if she did say so herself.
“Perfect,” Kate said as Margaret held up a second mirror behind her so she could see the back.
Margaret grinned and stepped away to give Kate room to stand. With her hair done, all that remained was for Kate to don her wedding gown and jewelry and ride to the small church they’d chosen for the ceremony.
