Two swaths of cloth, one of satin in rifle green and one of silk in Pomona green, were the perfect amount to make two reticules.
“Your favorite color is green, but I wasn’t sure what shade. So the man at the East India Company said he would choose a dark and a bright.”
Kitty blinked back tears. “You went to Millard’s to buy all this for me? It’s too much.”
“No, it’s not. And don’t cry,” he said, panic in his tawny eyes. “I wanted to make you smile.”
“Happy tears, you ninny,” she murmured. “You don’t mind courting a woman who has aspirations other than being a wife?” The answer to this question could change her life.
“You met Nora. She was raised by Maggie. Can you imagine any male telling them they couldn’t pursue their dream?” He reached over and tipped her chin up. “I want you to be happy, Kitty.” He leaned forward and kissed her softly as her arms curled around his neck.
“My good luck charm,” she whispered in his ear.
“And you may be mine,” he told her, kissing her again.
May 1821
St. Clement’s Church
“I now pronounce you man and wife,” the vicar announced to the congregation.
Clayton kissed Genie, and Kitty quit trying to stem the tears. She let them fall freely for her friend.
Lydia squeezed her hand. “I’ve been through two handkerchiefs already. Lud, how I love that girl.”
Kitty hugged her, then turned to wait for Ben, who had stood up for Clayton. He stopped in the aisle to escort her out into the bright morning. He was dressed to the nines in black tails, violet waistcoat (to match her eyes), and a pristine white cravat. Behind them, Lydia followed on George Lockwood’s arm.
Genie confided that the man’s eyes had misted when her aunt requested that he escort her to the ceremony. Perhaps another wedding was on the way?
“Congratulations!” The cries echoed in St. Clement’s Church as the newly wedded couple departed the building. The people who loved them most called out their well-wishes.
Lydia began to cry again, George patting her hand. Maggie and Nora were wiping away tears too. Paddy and Gus were grinning. Harry and Sampson were both there, lopsided smiles on their faces, an arm protectively around their wives.
They had labored for weeks on a wedding dress of the palest rose; the intricate ivory lace overlay so delicate Kitty had been afraid to touch it at first. The lace had come from Italy, a gift from Genie’s father and stepmother, Lord and Lady Winston.
Clayton was so handsome in his slate coattails, his auburn curls barely tamed, and his moss-green eyes shining with love.
The couple laughed at the worn shoe thrown by Eli. A sign of good luck that Mr. and Mrs. Pierce hopefully wouldn’t need. They would honeymoon in Paris, another wedding present from Genie’s father.
Clayton dodged another old shoe thrown by Roger.
“May ye have a dram of the happiness I’ve had with my Maggie,” Paddy said, hugging them both, then kissing his wife on the mouth with a loud smack.
As they left for the wedding breakfast, held in the O’Brien’s backyard with tents to protect them from the sun, Kitty gazed across the street at Madame Chapelle’s. She would help Lydia run the shop while Genie and Clayton were on the Continent.
The carriage lurched forward, and Ben moved next to her on the squab. “I’ve never seen him so happy.”
“I thought Nora and Gus were riding with us.” She peered out the window. “What happened?” Her father was meeting them at the O’Briens.
When she turned around, Ben was holding a small box. His silly, lopsided smile was identical to his brother’s, a smile formed of love. Kitty smiled, her hand moving to her chest as if to protect her heart.
“Miss Katherine Felton, the loveliest, cleverest of women. I always thought I was luckless. A man who providence passed by, who never had a chance playing the odds.” He swallowed. “But I’ve found my lucky charm, and I hope to keep her by my side for the rest of my days.”
Her hand went to her mouth, joy bubbling up her throat and spilling out as tears. She began nodding her head as he opened the box.
“Will you marry me? Will you be my wife, the mother of my children, and the maker of my clothes?”
She began to laugh, wiping her cheeks. “Yes, you ridiculous man. Yes, I will marry you.”
