Page 84 of The Gentleman's Confession
Jemma shook her head. “It cannot be possible.”
“Mrs. Fielding knew both of her granddaughters well,” Lady Kellen continued. “She knew Lisette would not be happy with Mr. Jackson. But you would.”
Tears pricked Jemma’s eyes. “My grandmother said that?”
All the mothers nodded.
Jemma turned to her aunt. “And you agreed to it?”
“Wholeheartedly.” Mrs. Manning’s eyes filled with tears as well. “I knew if Mr. Jackson truly loved my daughter, they would have been married long ago. He is a passionate young man, but he always treated Lisette as his friend. It wasn’t until your grandmother pointed out that Mr. Jackson might make a goodmatch for you, Jemma, that I began to see how different he was in your company.”
“You saw what I could not.” Jemma leaned into Miles’s arm, grinning up at him. The smile he returned warmed her to her very toes.
“I will be the first to admit, we are not all-knowing,” Lady Kellen declared succinctly. “But no one knows their child like a good mother.”
Lady Felcroft put her hand on Jemma’s shoulder. “Your grandmother was one of those good mothers. She told us we could rely on your sharp intellect and determination to do right by your cousin and to see this match through. I bet she has her dancing slippers on in heaven and is celebrating how very right she was.”
“The Matchmaking Mamas succeeded again.” Miles’s tone was one of disbelief.
Mrs. Manning batted the compliment away with the toss of her hand. “If you young people think you’re romantic, remember we discovered love long before you did.” She tapped the side of her nose.
They all laughed, and some of them, including Jemma, shed a tear or two.
“Our turn,” Ian said, putting his hands on his mother’s shoulders and gently pulling her back. “We might be the dunderheads left in the dark, but we want to properly congratulate our best friends.”
The mothers filed out of the way, and the Rebels, including Mr. Bentley, who had his arm around Lisette, surrounded Jemma and Miles.
“How are we here?” Miles asked.
“We figured there would be an announcement after Jemma caused a scene at Gibbons’,” Tom said. “It was Lisette’s news that shocked us.”
“Jemma was at Gibbons’?” Mrs. Manning’s voice pitched from behind them.
“It was all in the name of romance,” Tom yelled over his shoulder, as if his shocking words would placate her.
Surprisingly, they did.
“I mean,” Miles clarified, “it was just yesterday that we declared war against the Matchmaking Mamas, and now look at us. Our lives are changed for the better.”
“We’ve been through a lot together,” Lisette added. “And now we’re all grown up, starting families of our own.”
“Except Ian,” Tom said rather bluntly. “Shall we remind Lady Kellen?”
Ian groaned. “No, please, no. I have family enough in this room, do I not?”
“But what is one more?” Paul teased, elbowing Ian.
“Did you just poke me again?” Ian shook his head. She wasn’t the only one who was a little shocked that the Rebel who didn’t like to be touched thought it necessary to do so.
“For good reason,” Paul said. “I had to get my point across somehow. There is still one Rebel against marriage who needs a change of heart.”
They all laughed as Ian groaned. “I am not as easily swayed as the lot of you.”
Miles cleared his throat loud enough to get their friends’ attention. “Ian, please tell me, how you could resist this?” He pulled Jemma to him. She raised her brows, wondering what he was up to. She didn’t have long to guess. He bent down and kissed her. She sighed inwardly with all the pleasure in the world. She didn’t hear Ian’s response or anyone else’s, for that matter, even after Miles drew back. As she stared into Miles’s brown eyes, she knew Grandmother had been right.
Love made everything more worthwhile.
Epilogue
