Page 26 of An Arranged Marriage with a Cruel Earl (Marriage Mart Scandals #2)

“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.

“There was a slight delay,” Neville said with a smile as he came to the table.

“Your coachman definitely didn’t do that on purpose,” Andrew teased.

Neville shot him a mock-angry look, his dark eyes bright with warmth. “Perhaps,” he replied.

Neville’s parents were seated on the left of the long table, and Amelia’s family on the right. Emmeline and Andrew were at the head and foot of the long table, the traditional places for the lord and lady of the manor. Emmeline beamed at Amelia, who sat at Andrew’s right hand. She was glowing and Emmeline’s heart filled with love for her.

“A toast!” Andrew called out as they all took their seats. “To the happy couple.”

Everyone echoed his words, lifting glasses that Mr Pearson had already amply filled. Emmeline grinned at Amelia and her cousin grinned wildly back. Emmeline was sure she had never seen her so happy.

“Congratulations,” Neville’s parents echoed, and Emmeline beamed to see the loving way they already looked at Amelia. Neville was gazing at her too, with an adoration that made Emmeline’s heart soar. She could not have been happier.

The first course appeared, served by two footmen who had recently joined the staff. It was a delicious soup of mushrooms—the early autumnal weather made it a good time for mushroom picking. Emmeline sipped at her soup, savouring the rich, earthy, salty taste. She could hear the laughter of the people around her and she smiled warmly to herself. It was a joy beyond measure to have such a happy gathering in their new home.

Course followed course, and by the time a rich chocolate mousse was being served, Emmeline stifled a yawn. She was profoundly sleepy. She gazed across the table and saw Andrew smiling at her. His gaze was warm and loving and a blush flooded her cheeks.

“I suggest a walk in the gardens after dinner,” Andrew suggested. “Or, for those who prefer, you are welcome to retire to your chambers to rest.”

Emmeline smiled at the suggestion. The west wing had been restored, and there were three or four guest chambers there, two with their own boudoirs. Their recent wealth allowed them to do even more restoration than they had planned, as well as allowing them to expand the staff and hire some of the local townsfolk.

“A terrific idea,” Neville said, sounding drowsy. They all smiled.

The dishes were cleared away and the guests slowly made their way into the grounds. The gardeners had the afternoon off—the whole manor was celebrating along with Neville and Amelia—but they had until recently been digging a new portion in the rose harbour. Bringing life back to the gardens was one of the slower parts of the renovation, since they had to accommodate work on the manor which affected some parts of the garden close to it.

“The reconstruction near the ballroom...is it still underway?” Neville asked Andrew as they strolled across the lawn. The flowerbeds near the house were a riot of chrysanthemums and other autumn-flowering plants. The sound of bees was just audible as they walked, providing a pleasant melody as a background to the conversation.

“It is,” Andrew agreed.

“But the ballroom is surely completely reconstructed now?” he hazarded.

“Yes,” Andrew agreed.

“It’s very grand,” Neville noted and Amelia, beside him, smiled.

“I’ll never forget the ballroom,” she said with a grin at Emmeline. “That’s the first time I saw Neville, you know.”

Emmeline grinned. “Yes, it was. Well—you must have seen each other before then,” she demurred.

“At your wedding. Not really,” Amelia commented. “He was a few pews behind me, and I didn’t see him properly. ”

“I did see you,” Neville said, eyes sparkling. “I couldn’t stop thinking about you. When Andrew mentioned, quite casually, that you would be invited to the ball, I couldn’t sleep the night before.”

“No!” Emmeline giggled. She had heard the story once before, but that part was new.

“I do not jest,” Neville said primly.

They all laughed.

Amelia grinned at Neville warmly. “I recall when I first saw you. I couldn’t take my eyes off you. I thought you were so handsome.”

Neville went slightly pink. “I was staring at you so much that I almost tripped up.”

They all laughed.

Emmeline glanced at Andrew, smiling. The story of their best friends’ meeting was one that always made them happy.

They walked slowly down the path and reached the water garden. Emmeline walked lightly through the archway and the others followed. She went down a paved pathway towards the central pond. Neville and Amelia went down another path, chatting happily with each other. Andrew came and joined her. They walked to the bench by the pond slowly, each lost in thought.

“I recall when I met you,” Andrew said as they reached the pond. “You didn’t know it, but I had been staring at you out of the carriage window.”

“You always said so,” Emmeline said, her own cheeks heating up. He had told her the story several times before, but it still delighted her to think that he had seen her riding and had fallen for her just a little then.

“You rode with such a sense of freedom. I envied you.” He spoke warmly. “I remember wishing I could feel as free as that.”

Emmeline grinned. “You ride even faster than I do,” she reminded him. Andrew was not reckless, but many could be forgiven for thinking so, since anyone with less expertise would be risking their lives riding at the speed he did.

“It’s not the speed,” Andrew told her. “It’s the wildness with which you rode. The untamed beauty of it.”

Emmeline was blushing, she could feel the heat in her cheeks. “Thank you,” she murmured, looking down at the paved path under her feet, feeling shy.

“You are a beautiful woman,” Andrew said feelingly. “But it’s your heart that I admire the most. Your passion and your courage. ”

“Thank you,” Emmeline murmured, her voice wobbling. For all her years in London, she had thought she was too wild, too bold. But Andrew had loved that about her before he even met her.

“I love you so much, my dear,” he said gently.

Emmeline beamed up at him. “I love you, too,” she said feelingly.

He bent close to kiss her, and Emmeline held him close, her heart soaring at the feel of his lips on hers.

As they sat in the drowsy silence, she watched the water of the fountain spattering upward, the droplets breaking the surface of the pond and sparkling in the sun. The words of her father came back to her memory like a whisper in the water’s melody.

Always be yourself, he had said. The world needs your light.

She gazed up at Andrew. She had listened to her father, and she had been true to herself always, even when it had seemed hard. That path had led her to all the treasures of her heart.

“I am so glad I found you, Andrew,” she murmured, gazing up at him.

“As I am that I found you,” Andrew answered, and he held her gaze.

He bent close and kissed her and Emmeline shut her eyes, her heart soaring, her soul singing .

Being herself had led her on a mighty journey, she reflected dreamily, and it had led her right into her heart and to all the joys she could imagine.

She nestled close to Andrew and together they sat and listened to the blackbird singing in the bushes by the pond. They were utterly content.

The End

I hope you enjoyed reading "An Arranged Marriage with a Cruel Earl” .