It didn’t matter if Louise didn’t show. Greer had on her boots and her warmest cloak. She had her hat and mittens. She had her necklace. She’d make do.
Resolve strengthened her stance.
She could do this. Shewoulddo this.
Even so, she released a silent sigh of relief as Louise ducked in through the doorway, her younger sister, Norah, close at her heels. Louise guided her through the crowd of brides, all but shoving her to their row.
“It seems your family bench isn’t altogether full, Louise Beaufort,” one of the Stewards behind Greer noted.
Louise, just about to sit, stopped short and turned to face their group. “No, Steward Wresling. My brothers Rhys and Riley are at home, taking care of Mama. She is, understandably, too distraught to join us.”
“Distraught?” Michael Morag echoed. “But this is a happy day.”
If Louise was upset about having to explain her family’s tragedy, to lay it bare and exposed to the whole of the town, she did not show it. She allowed her hazel eyes to meet the Steward’s without shame or anger. “Because of Ellis. Because he disappeared yesterday. Because you all believe him dead.”
The room fell into uncomfortable silence.
“Mama’s grief has brought her to the point of hysteria, and we thought it best to keep her at home, to avoid creating a scene. Like this,” Louise added flatly. “However, if you’d like us to fetch her, so that she, too, might pledge support to all these joyful couples, I can certainly send Norah home. Steward Mackenzie will have to speak rather loudly, though, to be heard over her wailing.”
The Steward swallowed. “No. No, I don’t believe that will be necessary.”
Point made, Louise took her seat beside Norah, her movements deliberately slow and unhurried.
Greer stared at the back of her friend’s head, wondering at her thoughts. Louise’s neck swiveled as she scanned the room, giving a stern look at anyone caught whispering about her family. Before turning her attention to the front, Louise glanced over her shoulder and offered a discreet nod to Greer.
For a moment, the anxiety plaguing Greer dimmed. One part of her plan had fallen into place.
Hessel tightened his grip around her elbow, as if branding her with a silent warning. “I’ll see you at the end of the aisle,” he promised, speaking loudly enough to sound like a proud father. Only Greer heard it for what it really was—a thinly veiled threat.
She resisted the impulse to throw out a final retort.
Instead, she met his eyes, wondering if this was the last time she’d ever see him.
Once she found Ellis—and she had no doubt she would—there would be no need to return. With their beaded jewelry, they could go wherever they wanted. Nothing would stop them from wandering to the coast and finding a ship. Greer thought of her bright-blue ink. They could venture there, to that faraway land, and see the peacocks for themselves. Their beads meant that the entire world hadsuddenly opened to them. Greer felt dazzled by the prospect, enchanted, beguiled.
She just needed to escape Mistaken first.
So Greer said a silent farewell to her father and joined the group of brides, trying to appear as innocent as she could.
Hessel looked as though he were about to say something, looked as if he’d somehow guessed her plan, knew that she’d stolen a necklace, knew what she planned to do with it. But Ian Brennigan slapped at his shoulder, ushering him to the front so that the ceremony might begin.
Greer bided her time, waiting to see what Louise had planned.
Hessel drew the room’s attention, welcoming all who had gathered. He commended the couples waiting to be joined and reminded them of their sacred marital duties—to each other and for each other and for the good of the community.
“For the good of Mistaken,” the townspeople repeated when prompted, and Norah Beaufort immediately burst into tears.
“How can anything in Mistaken be good now that Ellis is gone?” she sobbed, throwing herself upon Louise, her smaller frame heaving.
“Oh, Norah,” Louise began, rubbing at her younger sister’s back. “We talked about this, didn’t we?” She glanced up as the weight of the room’s stares fell upon her. “I’m so sorry. It’s just…this is all so fresh, so raw.”
“He’s gone!” Norah wailed, her voice screeching in pitch. “He’s gone, and they wouldn’t even look for him. Ellis! Ellis!”
Snot bubbled from the youngest Beaufort’s nose, and tears streaked her cheeks.
Greer’s heart ached for the young girl, and for Louise as she tried to pick her sister up from the bench. She bent in all the wrong angles, too heavy an object to stand on her own.
“I’m so sorry,” Louise stammered, all but falling over as Norah began to flail, tossing herself this way and that, trying to escape her sister’s grasp. “I think…I think it best…”
