“Ican’t believe you’re getting married!” Millicent threw herself into Rosalind’s arms and squealed. “This is so exciting.”
Rosalind smiled, not because the idea of marrying Leeland Vandermeer made her happy, but because she had grown so accustomed to forcing herself to smile over the last four days that she could now do so without thinking.
“How romantic.” Jane sighed, stepping forward to give Rosalind a hug of her own. “I dream of my wedding day.”
“How does it feel to be the first of us?” Freya hugged her, her eyes bright. “Are you excited? Oh, four months seems so far away. How will we ever wait?”
“Will the wedding be here or in Seattle?” Jane clasped her hands together beneath her chin. “Please say it will be here. I’m not sure that Father will want to travel all the way to Seattle for a wedding.”
Again, Rosalind plastered a smile on her face. “It will be here.” Her father had granted her that much at least.
Or maybe he hadn’t granted her anything at all. Maybe he’d always intended for it to be in Sitka because he wanted to make a show of his wealth.
But the one thing she knew he’d granted her because of her engagement was a chance to host her friends for an afternoon tea. In the years she’d been living in Alaska, she could count on one hand the times he’d allowed her to have friends over.
But in this case, he’d been the one to suggest it.
“This is all so romantic!” Freya flounced over to the settee, where a proper English tea had been laid out in the library for them to enjoy, complete with a three-tier tray filled with finger sandwiches and minicakes and crumpets with cream.
“It’s really not.” Rosalind followed her to the settee. “People get married all the time.”
“Oh, don’t be ridiculous!” Millicent waved a hand as she sat in one of the armchairs across from the settee. “I hear that Mr. Vandermeer is unbelievably wealthy. Is that true?”
“Yes, I heard he has five houses!” Jane’s grin was so large it took up her entire face.
“Uh, I don’t know how many houses Leeland has.” Though he could well have five. Her fiancé had more money than he knew what to do with, but that still didn’t mean she wanted to marry him.
He was stern and short-tempered, and he spent far too many hours in the evenings drinking in her father’s study. Her father didn’t consume half the liquor Leeland did.
Was that intentional on her father’s part? Did he want to get Leeland drunk in the hopes that he’d give away some kind of secret or sign an unfavorable contract while he was inebriated? She didn’t know.
The one thing she did know was that, for the first time since her mother died, her father was happy with her. Even though shehadn’t managed to get the library named after him yet, he was still pleased. He hadn’t struck her once since Leeland arrived.
The least she could do was take advantage of his good mood by inviting her friends over once a week until she married.
Who knew if she’d be able to see friends at all after she married Leeland and moved to Seattle?
Ifshe married him. Because as much as her father wanted it, she couldn’t imagine herself walking down the aisle toward Leeland Vandermeer. Nor could she imagine speaking the words “I do” to him.
“Which of us do you think will get married next?” Freya helped herself to one of the crumpets and added a dollop of clotted cream on top of it.
Rosalind busied herself pouring the tea, making sure she poured it evenly into each cup without spilling so much as a drop.
Millicent grinned. “I think we should place a wager on it.”
“Millie, that’s scandalous!” Jane gasped, but her face had broken out into another smile as well.
Millicent made another swishing motion with her hand. “It’s no different than what the men do down at the bar.”
“I’d like to say I’ll be the next to marry, but I don’t even have a suitor.” Freya poked out her bottom lip.
“Don’t be ridiculous.” Jane picked up her teacup. “I saw Yuri Amos walking you home from the mercantile just yesterday.”
Rosalind flinched, causing tea to slosh from the pot onto the fancy white tablecloth. She swallowed. Would the housekeeper tell Father she’d put a stain on the tablecloth? Would he give her another?—
“Yuri walked you home?” Millicent clasped a hand to her heart. “Why didn’t I know about this?”
Freya’s shoulders rose and fell on a disappointed sigh. “I don’t think he fancies me that way. He was just being helpful.I ended up purchasing more things than I expected for Mother but didn’t bring a horse. When he saw me trying to carry four sacks’ worth of goods, he offered to carry them.”
