Page 94 of When He Was a Duke
Mrs. Blythe chuckled. “Actually, we washed them thoroughly. But the sentiment remains.”
Rose laughed through the tears gathering in her eyes. “Then we’ll think of it symbolically.” She examined the intricate lacework along the edges. “The lace is extraordinary. Where did it come from?”
Mrs. Blythe’s expression grew tender. “That came from your mother, in a way. She saved it for you when you were just a baby.”
“She did?” Rose asked.
“It’s from your grandmother’s wedding gown—your mother’s mother. She kept it all these years, waiting for your wedding day.” Mrs. Blythe smoothed a finger along the delicate pattern. “She gave it to me for safekeeping, with strict instructions that it was for you and you alone.”
Rose sank onto the bed, overwhelmed. “Why didn’t Mummy use it for her own wedding?”
Mrs. Blythe’s mouth tightened. “Your father’s mother had other ideas about what Lady Eleanor should wear. That horrible woman insisted on choosing the veil herself.”
“Probably for the best,” Rose said quietly. “It would have been tainted, wearing it to marry him.”
“My thoughts exactly,” Mrs. Blythe said with a sniff.
Rose held the veil up to the lamplight, watching the lace cast intricate shadows on the wall. The handkerchiefs that had comforted her through her darkest hours, now transformed and adorned with lace her mother had lovingly preserved. It was almost too much to bear.
Rose reached for Prudence’s hand, squeezing it tight. “I’ve never seen anything more perfect.” Her voice broke. “That you would take something so precious to me and make it even more beautiful. I can’t find the words.”
“You don’t need words.” Mrs. Blythe dabbed at her eyes with her apron. “Your face says everything.”
Prudence tented her hands under her chin, beaming. “It does.”
Mrs. Blythe dabbed at her eyes. “Now then, we should get you to bed. Tomorrow is going to be a very long, very wonderful day.”
Rose carefully placed the veil on a chair. Tomorrow she would marry Sebastian wearing the cloth that had absorbed her tears and the lace her mother had saved with such hope. Nothing could be better.
Rose turned to Mrs. Blythe and Prudence as they made for the door.
“Mrs. Blythe, do you think Mother would be happy? About Sebastian and me?”
Mrs. Blythe’s smile was radiant. “I know she would be absolutely delighted. She once told me she hoped for a great love match for her daughter.”
“I wish she was here,” Rose said.
“She is,” Mrs. Blythe said.
After they left, Rose sat in the quiet of her room, fingertips touching the sapphire at her throat. Tomorrow she would wear Sebastian’s mother’s necklace and her own mother’s lace, carrying both families’ blessings into their new life together.
The pieces of her broken past had somehow arranged themselves into something beautiful. To think how she’d despaired, believing she was doomed to a loveless marriage with a monster. Instead, she was to have her happy ending. From here on out, she would choose to believe that good would triumph over evil, even when the world seemed to challenge the idea at every turn. She promised herself then and there that the home and family she shared with Sebastian wouldalways be one filled with love and compassion.
If so, perhaps Lizzie, her mother and Sebastian’s father would not have died totally in vain. Not when their legacy was one of love.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Sebastian stood beforethe tall mirror in what had once been Lord Wentworth’s dressing room, his hands shaking as he attempted to fasten his wedding waistcoat. The formal morning dress felt foreign despite weeks of practice, and his fingers seemed to have forgotten how to work the small buttons.
“Blast,” he muttered, fumbling with the ivory silk for the third time. His reflection stared back at him. Good God, was that a tinge of green to his complexion? Why had nerves overtaken him?
A soft knock interrupted his struggles. “My lord? It’s Finch. May I come in?”
“Please. I’m in desperate need of assistance.”
Finch entered, carrying a perfectly pressed shirt and a selection of cravats. He’d grown more confident in his role over the past weeks, though Sebastian could still see traces of nervousness in his bearing. They were both growing accustomed to their new places in a world that had not always been kind to them.
“Good morning, my lord. Are you feeling all right?”
