A Sisterly Regard
Page 27
She was tempted to pity him. Only tempted, for she still remembered how he had fooled her into believing him silly and affected. Since it was impossible for her to extract revenge from the man she loved beyond belief, she was content to see him suffer a bit at the hands of his friends. After standing silently and listening for a few minutes, she descended until she stood two steps from the bottom.
All the young ladies who had become her friends during the Season gathered 'round. Phaedra held her bouquet high, and looked at their hopeful faces. Some had already become betrothed, some were considered very close to capturing husbands, but a few were still hopeful. She chose, and threw the bouquet directly into Miss Graham's waiting arms.
Finally she was alone in a coach with Reggie, bound for Oakhurst. Since travel on the continent was still restricted by Napoleon's ravaging hordes, they had decided to postpone their honeymoon until they could go to Italy. "Even if I am a grandmother when we may finally go," Phaedra had laughed.
Reggie had promised that they would travel well into the night, if necessary, so they could spend their wedding night in their own home. Phaedra had concurred. "I hope I do not have to return to London for at least a year," Phaedra confided to her silent husband as the streets of Town gave way to open country. All she wanted was peace and quiet.
And Reggie.
He did not respond.
"Reggie, are you ill? You have hardly spoken a single word to me today."
"I am overwhelmed, love. You are finally my wife. I cannot take it all in."
She moved to the opposite seat and looked closely into his face. What she saw reassured her at the same time as it thrilled her. "I should be happy to prove my new state to you, my husband. Only this coach is, perhaps, a bit too public." She held out her hands to him as he returned her smile. "Or could we pull the shades?"
"Wanton!" he exclaimed, taking her into his arms. His kisses reassured her that he was quite well indeed. She had to remind him again that the coach was not as private a place as they could wish to prevent his consummating their marriage then and there.
Epilogue
Snow lay thickly around Castle Wilderlake. Wind howled about its stone walls. Inside, some rooms were cozy, for the renovation of that great draughty pile had been underway for more than half a year. Greens festooned the mantles of the public rooms and kissing boughs hung in every doorway. The party gathered in the main salon was merry, for it was the first time some of them had seen one another since Spring.
Phaedra and Chloe stood at a drawing room window, watching their husbands and brothers wade through the snow on their way to find a Yule log. "Do you know, Chloe, I have not seen a sign of the willful girl who sometime made our lives chaotic," Phaedra told her.
"Oh, she is still about, I am ashamed to say. Poor Herne! Sometimes I know he must regret his chivalrous gesture. But I keep her firmly under wraps most of the time, and doing so becomes easier every day."
"What did he do, beat you until you became more docile?"
"No, he just... Well, he is Herne. So gentle, yet so unyielding. Best of all, he never lets me forget that he loves me and finds me the most beautiful woman in the world. I am not sure he did love me when we married. I know I did not love him, for I had not the faintest idea what love could be...should be. But I know now, and am so glad that all came out as it has. How could I ever have considered marriage to poor Everingham?"
"I confess I wondered why you chose him to save you from your wicked family."
"Because he was the only one of my suitors lacking in sense, of course. Herne would have refused, even if I had thought to ask him to elope with me. He would probably have told Papa, in fact. And Mr. Martin was too gentle, too yielding. What has become of him, by the way?"
"He is to marry Sarah Graham in the spring. They became acquainted through the auspices of Lady Mary, whom he pursued all summer, until she convinced him she had no intention to wed for a long while yet. They seem to suit one another very well."
"Is his fortune large enough to please that odious mother of hers?"
"It is merely respectable, but Sarah can be most amazingly stubborn when she wishes. She insisted she would have him and no other. Her mother was forced to give in gracefully."
They stood in silence or a while, watching the snowflakes slowly drift down. When the men appeared, dragging an enormous log behind them, Phaedra said, "Do you regret your sudden marriage? I remember you had such dreams of a grand wedding."
"Like yours? I do and I do not. Oh, I was envious of your wedding, and disappointed that we could not travel to London for it. But there is so much to do here, to make this into a comfortable and elegant home. It is such fun to see how I can contrive to do so with a minimum expenditure. I am becoming quite the housewife, you know." Chloe threw her sister a complacent glance. "Though I should tell Mama first, I will be a mother in June. Herne is delighted."
Phaedra cried her surprise, then hugged her sister. "How wonderful. And I was planning to surprise you, having sworn everyone to secrecy. Our children will be the same age."
Laughing and crying, all at once, the sisters embraced one another. "I knew I could depend on you," Phaedra complained, although the tears she shed were happy ones. "Mama will want to be with you and I will have to settle for Cousin Louisa. For shame, Chloe. Could you never let me be first in anything?"
Chloe smiled. "Herne's mother is here and will care well for me. This time, sister, your needs will come first. And about time, I think."
"I love you, Chloe," Phaedra said, hugging her sister tighter than before.
"And I love you, Phaedra."
The door opened, bringing in a breath of winter air and the men who held their hearts.
THE END
About the Author
On her way to a career as a writer, Judith B. Glad made a lot of detours--into motherhood, short-order cooking, accounting, management, graduate school, botanical consulting. Eventually she decided she had to write those books that had been growing in her head for years--romances all. She believes every story should have a happy ending, even if it requires two or three hankies to get there.
After growing up in Idaho--the locale of several of her books--Judith now lives in Portland, Oregon, where flowers bloom in her yard every month of the year and snow usually stays on the mountains where it belongs. It's a great place to write, because the rainy season lasts for eight months--a perfect excuse to stay indoors and tell stories. Judith has four children, all grown, three granddaughters and a grandson, and a husband who admits he reads her books.
Visit Judith's webpage at www.judithbglad.com to learn more about her other books. While you're there, take some side trips to view early 20th century picture postcards, read about 5,000 ways to earn a living, or see what a Mentzelia really is.
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