A great and mighty wonder,
A full and blessed cure!
The rose has come to blossom
Which shall forever endure.
Then later:
Hark, how all the welkin rings!
Glory to the King of Kings,
Peace on earth and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled.
During the last verse of the last hymn she looked at Ash.
Join then, all hearts that are not stone,
And all our voices prove,
To celebrate this holy one,
The God of peace and love.
She and Ash came together as everyone filed out, as inevitably, Genova felt, as the sea kissing the shore.
“Hail, glorious morn. You look like sunrise, Genova.”
She knew she blushed, and then blushed more because of it. “And you look like a seraphim.”
“What?” His eyes lit with laughter. “No one’s called me an angel since I was a child.”
She told him of her first impression, admiring the truly beautiful work in the flowers that bordered the front of his ivory velvet coat to a depth of at least eight inches.
“You put my flowers-in-the-snow to shame.” Then she had to explain that, which led to thoughts of her embroidery and their meeting. But they shared the memories silently with looks.
“I’m surprised anyone but an angel dares wear such an outfit.”
He glanced down at himself. “Why?”
“A mere human might spill a spot of gravy down it.”
He laughed. “I would simply command the addition of another blossom. Lush embroidery is very practical, even economical, you see.”
It was as if he knew that in the night, she’d thought that frugality and economy could substitute for a fortune. A laughable notion now.
He tucked her arm in his, and gave his other to Thalia. They joined the procession back to the main part of the house, accompanied by Thalia’s inconsequential chatter.
Genova didn’t mind that. Everything that needed to be said flowed between her and Ash without words, the delicious and the bitter. She felt it so strongly that she was surprised it wasn’t obvious to all.
Thalia separated from them in the hall, chattering off to old friends. Genova saw Portia, in rich moss green velvet and some yellow jewels, and went over there with Ash to ask for news of Lady Elf. That was a business that all the money and the power in the world could not smooth.
Portia pulled a face. “Is truly laboring mightily, but there don’t seem to be any problems. I wish it were over for everyone’s sake.”
Ash let the women talk about birth and tussled with the problem of Genova Smith. He shouldn’t have smiled at her like that in the chapel, but how could he not when she looked as splendid as the dawn?
