Page 1 of Lydia Acquires Adoration (Bennet Ladies Liberation #5)
Prologue
The bouquet in Lydia’s hand was deceptively simple, yet there was so much meaning tucked among its petals. Holding the assortment of flowers in her hands was oddly surreal. She had spent so many hours fantasizing about her wedding day, envisioning its every detail. Lydia must have been around six when she had watched a bride leave the church on the arm of a tall, well-dressed man. The bride had been so beautiful, her smile so wide and so happy, that it had stuck with Lydia, for all that it had grown hazy with time. Even as young as she had been, Lydia remembered thinking that one day she would be that beautiful and happy.
Gazing down at her bouquet, Lydia fingered a petal of one of the pink roses. It was the most delicate shade of blush, calling to mind the dress she had envisioned for herself all those years ago. She had once dreamed of a light pink dress. It was going to be long and flowing, with small, darker pink roses sewn into the sleeves. Though over time, as she—and the latest fashion—had changed, so did her vision. By the time she was twelve, Lydia had learned of floriography, and knew she would one day carry a bouquet full of beautiful flowers, all of them full of meaning. It was then that Lydia decided she was going to have a perfect wedding.
It was also the year that Lydia had realized that a wedding implied the need for a husband. With her father as her primary example of a husband, she had not been in a rush to get married, though it did not stop her from dreaming of her wedding. She simply decided that she would find a man better than her father to marry.
Though she had always known she wanted roses and peonies, Lydia had never cared what her groom would look like. Her only wish was to find a man who possessed more kindness than her father. But, of course, her list of requirements in her groom grew and changed as she matured. In her early teens, Lydia had been partial to a man in a red coat, though she quickly learned that men in uniform did not stay in one place very long nor did they have the funds to support a wife and children in the manner she was accustomed to living. Lydia wanted a lot of children, so men from the militia and the regulars never made it on to her list of potential suitors.
Frankly, she had trouble adding anyone to her list, and if they managed to make the list, they did not stay very long. Shaking her head as she reminisced, Lydia retied the bow at the base of her bouquet, wanting the cream ribbon to fall just so. All she asked for was kindness and a genuine affection for children. Of course, people were so much more difficult to arrange than ribbons. It had been disappointing to realize that society gentlemen eschewed kindness and most of them rarely had any interaction with children, even their own.
She had always thought it was a good thing that she was never in any hurry to marry. Lydia was happy to visit her sisters and mother to play with her much younger brother and little niece and nephews. Or at least she had been.
“Lydia, are you sure?” Elizabeth’s gentle voice drew Lydia out of her musings. Focusing on her sister instead of her bouquet, Lydia immediately recognized Elizabeth’s deep concern as she said, “You still have time to change your mind.”
With a smile, Lydia enveloped Elizabeth in a hug. She would miss all the time they spent together desperately, but she had already made her decision and was not about to change her mind. There was too much riding on what she was about to do and, oddly enough, her soon-to-be husband met her two requirements. Leaning back, Lydia kissed Elizabeth’s cheek before saying, “I understand your concerns, but I have made up my mind. I have confidence that it will all be for the best.”
Stepping back from her younger sister, Elizabeth nodded her head with a watery smile. “You always were always the bravest of us.” Elizabeth reached out and gave her hand a squeeze before wiping at her eyes and slipping from the small anteroom.
The surreal feeling returned, or maybe just intensified. Here she was, on the verge of getting married, her mind filled with anticipation and disbelief at how her life had changed in such a short time. She would no longer be dreaming of that one-day wedding because that day was already here. Even with all of their doubts, her sisters had done what they could to make the rushed affair beautiful, and she would be forever grateful for it.
Someone signaled that everything was ready, and Lydia set her shoulders and lifted her chin. She was ready to walk into the church on her mother’s arm. She was confident that despite the rush, the room and flowers would be simple yet beautiful. Lydia’s bouquet, filled with her favorite flowers, was everything she had dreamed of. Her new periwinkle dress, though not the pink she had wanted as a child, was stunning in its elegant simplicity. With a smile on her face and every hair perfectly in place, Lydia took a deep breath, knowing that the time had come for her to start a new chapter in her life—marriage.