"I brought you together." Aunt Bertha straightened her spine, her chin lifting. "I saw an opportunity, and I... I took action."
That was not precisely how Vanessa remembered it, her aunt had been horrified when she'd realised what she'd done, but she decided not to quibble.
"You certainly did."
"Well." Aunt Bertha tucked her handkerchief away, her entire demeanor shifting. "Well. I suppose I have always had a gift for seeing what people truly need. Your mother says I am too meddlesome, but I prefer to think of it as... intuitive. Perceptive."
"Very perceptive," Vanessa agreed, biting the inside of her cheek.
"I knew, you see. I knew those letters would reach the right person. I felt it in my bones." Aunt Bertha nodded sagely, conveniently forgetting the weeks of tearful self-recrimination. "A woman's intuition is never wrong."
"Lady Wayworth! A word, if I may?"
They both turned. Martin was approaching, having apparently extracted himself from Lord Haberton's clutches. His expression was warm, his gaze moving between Vanessa and her aunt with obvious affection.
Aunt Bertha immediately went pink. "Your Grace! I…that is…congratulations on your betrothal. My niece is a wonderful girl. The very best girl. I have always said so."
"She is." Martin stopped before them, his eyes meeting Vanessa's for a brief, tender moment before returning to her aunt. "And I understand I have you to thank for it."
Aunt Bertha's blush deepened. "Oh, well, I…it was nothing, really…"
"It was not nothing." Martin's voice was sincere, all traces of his usual sardonic edge absent. "Those letters…they changed everything. I had spent six years convinced I could never have what I wanted. That I had no right to even hope. And then your package arrived, and suddenly... suddenly I could see a future I had never dared to imagine."
"Your Grace." Aunt Bertha pressed a hand to her chest, her eyes welling up again, but this time with happy tears. "That is... that is the loveliest thing anyone has ever said to me."
"It is only the truth. So thank you." Martin took her hand and bowed over it with all the grace and formality of a duke addressing a queen. "Thank you for being brave enough to send what my future wife was too cautious to send herself."
"Brave," Aunt Bertha breathed. "Yes. Yes, I suppose I was rather brave, wasn't I?"
Vanessa caught Martin's eye. He winked at her a small, private acknowledgment that they both knew perfectly well Aunt Bertha's "bravery" had been entirely accidental. But what did that matter? The result was the same.
"You were indeed." Martin released her hand. "I hope you will allow me to thank you properly once we are wedded. Perhaps a place of honor at the wedding breakfast?"
"Oh!" Aunt Bertha clutched her reticule to her chest. "Your Grace, I could not possibly, that is to say, of course I wouldbe honoured,though I am sure there are others far more deserving…"
"Nonsense. Without you, there would be no wedding." He smiled. "I insist."
Aunt Bertha looked as though she might swoon on the spot. "Then I... I accept. Graciously. As one does."
"Excellent." Martin offered Vanessa his arm. "Now, if you will excuse us, I believe I owe my fiancée a dance. If she will have me."
"Always," Vanessa said, taking his arm.
As they moved away, she glanced back at her aunt. Aunt Bertha had already cornered Lady Haberton and was speaking animatedly, her hands moving in expansive gestures. Vanessa caught fragments of the conversation…
"…knew from the very beginning, of course. A woman's intuition…"
"…I simply saw an opportunity and seized it…"
"…one might say I am entirely responsible for this match…"
Vanessa laughed softly. "She is going to treasure this story for years."
"Let her." Martin's thumb traced circles on her wrist. "She deserves to. Accidental or not, she did give me the greatest gift of my life."
"Flatterer."
"Truth-teller." He pulled her into the space cleared for dancing, where a few other couples were already waltzing to the string quartet's gentle music. "I meant what I said, you know. Those letters changed everything."
