Sixty-Seven
Over the next several days Louisa rode with Luc nearly everywhere. She learned about his mapmaking and his hunt for Zhi, the rightful owner of the diamonds. Luc wanted his family to meet Louisa and together they decided to pay a visit.
Louisa took to Luc’s mother immediately. She liked the fact that Irene Almquist was tall, like her, and that she was genuine and open. Her hair was a fresh shade of red, tucked casually into a twist on the top of her head. Her complexion was rosy and fair and her smiles were always kind.
His father, Karl, was fun and persistently teasing, often openly referring to Louisa as Luc’s Juliet. It was clear that the long-time rivalry between her father and Karl Almquist was a large part of how the two men measured one another.
Luc was a child of both his parents and Louisa felt welcomed sincerely into their family.
Irene invited Louisa fishing and the two women spent time alone together in the early morning light. Louisa showed her the carp Luc had carved for her the first time they had angled together. Later that day Irene shared her collection of whimsical figures Luc had made over the years.
On the last morning of their visit, Luc gathered his belongings to move into the cottage. They ate together, said their goodbyes and started off.
Back at Stavewood Louisa felt restless and ready to begin her new life as a wife. In her bedroom she found her belongings that had been sent from New York City. Luc had gone to stay at Mark’s ranch and so she sorted through the boxes alone. Most of them were filled with the latest fashions from expensive dressmakers. Louisa held up an evening dress, pulling it close to her waist in front of a long mirror. Glittering beads dangled from the hemline. Once it had been her favorite dress to wear to the speakeasies, the sparkling stones catching the light in the smoky darkness. Now it looked like the clothing of a complete stranger. Louisa set down the dress and studied her reflection. She remembered how she often felt trapped in the crowded bars where young couples converged and drank. More than once she saw twosomes in the corner kissing far more openly than was appropriate for a public place. Now she could not imagine how she had ever fit in.
Louisa smiled at herself. Her cheeks were rosy and her eyes bright. Across her nose was a sprinkle of soft brown freckles. She had filled out a bit now that she was no longer cinching her waistline tightly and she was far curvier. She hoped that Luc would find her attractive on their wedding night. Louisa was much happier than she ever imagined she could be, happy the way she had been in her childhood. She sighed with contentment.
Louisa put the dresses back into the boxes, took them up to the attic and walked out to the orchards. Her mother was there, her dark skirt brushing the ground as she spoke to a farmhand that was pruning branches from an apple tree. Louisa watched from the edge of the orchard for several minutes. Rebecca had always run the household and all of Stavewood with a velvet glove. In her delicate and patient way she saw to it that every detail of the beautiful estate was polished and maintained with care and attention. The workers at the estate loved her, always listening attentively to what she expected of them. She never missed an opportunity to thank them for helping her keep the home up to her standards and they felt appreciated. Louisa’s father had built the estate with hard labor and love and Rebecca had doted on every aspect of Stavewood since the day she had arrived. She was devoted to him and her children as well.
Louisa realized that being a wife was much more than the intimacy between a couple when they were alone together. Her mother always strived for true contentment and happiness. She gave it to her husband and her children and in doing so, gave it to herself. Louisa vowed that she would be a good wife to Luc and one day, a good mother to their children. She would always do everything she could to make those she loved happy. It would be the way she would find happiness herself.
Corissa Elgerson had chosen to smother happiness, Louisa thought. Then she had stubbornly stuck to her choice. She had listened to the lies of a man who did not care for her and let Jude Thomas into her heart. Louisa had nearly followed the same path. She had considered returning to New York City and marrying Talbot though she knew she did not truly love him. Louisa had wanted happiness and once she simply let it in she saw that it had been within her reach all the time.
“Loo!” Rebecca swept across the row between the apple trees and smiled at her daughter. The scent of fresh-cut apple wood hung about her.
“I didn’t know you were back. Is Luc with you?”
“We left his things at the cottage and he’s out at Mark’s helping at the ranch.”
“So the cottage is done then? I can send the maids out for a good cleaning if you like.”
“Thank you.” Louisa smiled. “That would be nice, Mama.”
“I have everything I need to fit your gown.” Rebecca’s eyes sparkled.
“I’m ready,” Louisa said.
“For a fitting?” Rebecca was certain her daughter had more than trying on a gown on her mind.
“Yes, and to marry Luc and to be a wife.”
Rebecca smiled and took her daughter’s hand and the two walked back to the house. “You have your own fairy tale happening right now, Louisa,” she said. “Being a bride and becoming a wife will be one of the most beautiful fairy tales in your life.”
Louisa knew that the wedding her parents had planned would be huge. Weddings at Stavewood were lavish and this one would be the largest ever. She wanted that as well. The Elgersons knew everyone and all of them had been invited. Luc had always expressed his admiration for Mark and had asked him to stand at his side as his best man. Mark had said he would be honored.
“I’m excited, Mama,” Louisa said. “Let’s see this gown you’ve been talking about for all of my life.”
Sixty-Eight
Louisa kept her eyes closed tightly per her mother’s instructions as Rebecca dropped the gown over her shoulders. She turned around and stood perfectly still. She could feel her mother pulling in a tuck here and there as she hummed and sighed deeply.
“Now?” Louisa, asked, the anticipation was overwhelming.
“Almost,” her mother replied.
The gown fit snugly across her shoulders and pooled on the floor around her. She kept her eyes closed.
She heard the knob turn on the sewing room door.
Emma gasped as she stepped into the room. Rebecca hushed her soundly.
“Mama!” Louisa continued to hold her eyes closed. “Everyone in the world is going to see my wedding gown before I do. Hello, Emma!” Louisa made a face.
Emma giggled and sat down in the rocking chair quietly, nodding silently to Rebecca in approval.
“You can look now,” Louisa’s mother announced.
Louisa Elgerson opened her eyes to see her mother’s dream for her wedding day, a gown Rebecca had worked on for several years. Louisa felt her chest tighten. She looked like a princess and could barely believe that it was her own reflection looking back at her in the long mirror.
It was a sparkling white, lightly embossed, pure silk brocade that fell from narrow straps at the shoulders, with a straight line across the bodice and a soft, delicate gathering below the breasts. It draped gracefully over her figure, flowing to the floor in an elegant Grecian style. It was simple, and sophisticated and perfectly suited for her height and lithe figure. Louisa put her hand to her face and choked back tears. “Mama, it’s perfect,” she whispered.
“It certainly is,” Emma said reverently. “I knew the gown was beautiful, but on you, Loo, it is truly magnificent. Won’t Luc be impressed with his bride!”
Louisa looked at Emma and smiled. The day that Emma walked down the aisle to be married to Roland Vancouver was a moment Louisa had never forgotten. If Luc were to look at her the way Roland had looked at Emma that day it would indeed be a dream come true.
Rebecca stepped back and scrutinized the gown critically, looking at the drape of the fabric, the length of the hemline, the fit and the style. Then she looked up at her daughte
r’s face and saw that her eyes were filled with tears. Suddenly it was not about the details of the project, the hours and years of design and construction, it was only about her daughter standing before her in her wedding gown. Rebecca was suddenly overcome. Loo was getting married.
When Rebecca burst into tears Louisa began to laugh with the joy of it all. “Mama, you have outdone yourself. I’m in love with a perfect man and I am getting married in the perfect gown!”
The three woman shared their joy openly. Louisa was not a child any longer. She was truly one of the women of Stavewood. “I feel like a woman now,” she laughed through her tears.
“Not yet!” Emma laughed as well. “That comes after the wedding.”
Louisa took a deep breath.
Sixty-Nine
Luc slapped his hat against his thigh and looked across the yard. He saw Louisa walk under the archway to the ranch and he could tell by the way she held herself that she felt confident and comfortable. Mark stepped up beside him.
“I guess the fitting went well, eh? She looks happy. Happier than I’ve seen her in a very long time. I sure missed her.”
“I’ll have to do some traveling for work, but I promise I’ll always bring her home,” Luc said.
Mark nodded to him in appreciation.
When Louisa walked up she was smiling, her cheeks rosy in the brisk breeze. “Luc Almquist, if you weren’t already completely in love with me you would be once you see me in that vision of a gown my mama made.”
Luc laughed. “I can hardly wait!”
Mark slapped him on the back. “You’ll be glad you did,” he said.
Louisa scowled and shook her head at Mark.
Stavewood was a beehive of activity. Tents were pitched with bright white canopies and stretches of tables covered the lawns. There were games for the young children in front of the stables and Mark and Colleen would hold horse races at the ranch. A wedding at Stavewood rivaled the most elaborate of festivals. Huge wooden cases of discreetly acquired champagne were stacked in the barns. Every detail had been planned over a lifetime. Louisa Elgerson was going to marry.
Katie and Colleen and Emma all arrived early for their fittings, Katie as the Maid of Honor. Their gowns would be the color of apricot ice cream, like the roses at the cottage, soft and flowing like Norse goddesses. Rebecca had made them all including her own, a rich ginger velvet trimmed in fine embroidered braiding.
Louisa and Luc planted the last apricot rose bush beside the gazebo with the yellow, pink and white roses of the women of Stavewood. She knelt beside him and silently dropped the oversized skeleton key into the hole they had dug. This was the key that had once opened the passageway beneath the house. They buried it deeply, expecting that long before anyone ever pulled up the rosebush, the metal would corrode into the rich earth. Louisa looked into Luc’s eyes and they nodded to one another silently. They planted the bush carefully.
“This is going to be quite a spread.” Luc got to his feet, took Louisa’s hand and looked out over the property.
“Are you surprised?” Louisa sighed. “I swear my father has invited the entire county.”
Luc laughed. “No,” he said. “Not surprised at all. My parents should be here soon. They didn’t want to wait until tomorrow and risk being late.”
“The guest rooms are all ready for them.” Louisa took Luc’s hand thoughtfully. “I’ll be spending my last night here in my old room.”
“Birget’s room?” Luc looked at her kindly.
“I miss her terribly. She would have been so excited to be here. I guess I took for granted how much a part of the family she always was.” Louisa squeezed his hand. “I have a handkerchief of hers that I will carry tomorrow. I want her to be a part of all of this.”
Luc lifted her chin and looked into her eyes.
“I love you,” Luc said.
When he bent to kiss her she put her arms around his neck and returned his affection. It was nearly time.
Luc held her close and tasted her kisses.
Timothy called out to them. “I want both of you to come with me. We need to run through this ceremony so you don’t wander around in confusion tomorrow morning when you’re all nervous.”
“Nervous?” Louisa said. “Not a bit! I have waited a very long time to do this!”
Timothy directed Luc to the altar and Louisa to the tree-lined lane that entered the estate.
“Loo, your guests won’t see you until you come out from under the maple trees. Then I will escort you up this carpeted aisle across the lawns to the altar. Everyone will have the chance to see you then. I’ll put your hand in Luc’s and the magistrate will start the ceremony.”
Louisa looked at the aisle between the hundreds of chairs set up on the lawns. “Heavens, Daddy! Look how far it is from the lane to the altar. I’ll have to leave the house before dawn to make it all the way out here!”
Timothy chuckled proudly. “Better start getting dressed,” he joked.
Timothy laughed heartily as Louisa feigned confusion. He shook his head and took her arm, walking her down the aisle, all the while whispering remarks into her ear about how she’d better be sure. She was taking a big step and maybe she ought to wait a couple of years, or even decades.
“Daddy, stop it.” Louisa poked him in the ribs. “I’m supposed to be getting serious now.”
“Now?” His laugh was deep and low. “You better have been serious before this.”
Louisa could see that while her father teased her nervously during their wedding rehearsal, Mark was doing much the same with Luc. She watched Mark take off his hat and swat Luc in the arm. Colleen left her ranks as bridesmaid, took the hat from Mark and scolded them both soundly. They stood up straight and tried to focus on their task.
By the time Louisa reached the end of the carpet everyone in the wedding party was struggling to keep a straight face. When a large crow flew overhead and deposited a generous white dropping onto Luc’s shoulder the family laughed, teasing him vigorously.
Luc shook his head as he watched his parents crossing the lawn.
Karl and Irene were greeted warmly by everyone while Louisa gathered handkerchiefs and wiped Luc’s shoulder lovingly. In only a few hours the families would be united.
Seventy
Karl watched the young couple sharing a fond moment at their rehearsal and turned to face Timothy Elgerson.
“Will there be logs on the river for this occasion or have I come here just for this?”
Timothy laughed. “You think you can still stay dry on those weary legs, old man?”
“My legs might be weary, Elgerson, but I’m still fleet of foot.”
Timothy laughed. “It’s good to see you, Karl.”
Roland stepped up beside Emma and laughed.
“They can’t be serious,” she whispered to her husband. “On Louisa’s wedding day they want to log roll?”
Roland said, “I think it might be just the thing.”
Timothy shouted out. “Maybe we ought to get this son of yours on a log and see how he can do.” He slapped Luc on the back.
“Oh, no!” Luc held up both hands. “I have other plans tomorrow. Any log rolling is just for the two of you. I will not be stepping out on the water at all, thank you. Maybe it’s time for you two to declare a truce.”
Rebecca smiled and shook her head.
“That was quite a meal!” Karl Almquist sat back in his chair, a satisfied look on his face as steaming cups of coffee were served in the big formal dining room at Stavewood.
Irene nodded in agreement and smiled at Rebecca.
The room was filled with the voices of the wedding party and their families, all sharing their excitement and eager anticipation. After dinner the women arranged plates of delicate pastries and the men gathered in the parlor with cigars and brandy. Louisa stopped in the foyer and listened to them from the hall. Their conversation was jovial and suggestive, as they offered manly advice to Luc on how to keep a wife happy and in line. Lo
uisa could not help but laugh. Her father and brothers were kind men. She had never once heard them raise their voices in anger, not her father to her mother, or Mark to Colleen. She could not imagine James raising his voice to Katie or perhaps anyone else either. Her younger brothers were brought up to respect women in the household and outside as well. This talk was simply their way of impressing each other, Louisa decided and she returned to the kitchen.
“Do you think the men want dessert?” Rebecca asked as Louisa let the door swing closed behind her.
“No, they’ve got out the cigars. I would wait a bit. They are giving Luc advice as to how to keep me obedient.”
They all laughed loudly.
“Then we’ll eat all of these tasty treats ourselves,” Katie remarked as she bit into a fat pastry.
Colleen shifted little Fiona in her arms. “Maybe we ought to be giving you advice on how to be a good wife.”
The women giggled.
“I seem to recall Emma telling me once how much better Roland’s injured leg was after she healed him.” Rebecca laughed and Emma rolled her eyes, declaring that she did not share that particular memory.
“Men aren’t that complicated,” Katie interjected. “Not my James anyway. He wants to be loved just like any other person. It’s the male ego that requires all the work.”
“Male ego?” Rebecca’s expression was both exaggerated and puzzled. “Men have egos?”
The kitchen erupted with laughter.
Louisa listened to them joking fondly about their men. Although their conversation was light, they spoke about how much they enjoyed making love, coloring the seriousness of what they said with laughter. It was clear they all loved their husbands without reservation. Louisa suddenly felt nervous and shy. Rebecca noticed her daughter had grown quiet and, without a word and only a look, she quieted the room.
The Secret of Stavewood (Stavewood Saga Book 4) Page 21