“I hope you won't think it too forward, but I took the liberty of ordering tea for us all,” Papa said.
“I'm glad you did,” Lilli said as she went to embrace him. “We want all of you to feel right at home.”
Additional hugs followed as greetings were exchanged. Tristan’s father joined the party a few minutes later as well. He brought both Iris and Emma with him.
“I understand Lilliana will be helping you with your debut this Season,” Grandmama said, her comment directed at Iris, who now sat at Lilli's left.
“Yes,” Iris said. “She has been most kind, though I must confess, it's all a bit overwhelming.”
“It was for us too,” Annie said. She glanced at her husband as if he'd invented the stars. “But we found our happily ever afters, and so shall you.”
“I'm not so sure.” Iris spoke so low Lilli doubted anyone else had heard her.
Lilli leaned in. “Don't worry. When the time is right, I'll lend you the rose quartz crystal.”
Iris frowned. “I don't understand. How is that going to help with anything?”
“You’ll see,” Lilli promised. The stone had worked wonders for Grandmama, for Mama too it would seem, for Eva, Annie, Henrietta, and for herself. She smiled, content in the knowledge that it would do so for Iris as well.
On this thought Lilli glanced at Tristan who appeared to be in deep conversation with her brother. Nevertheless, his gaze shifted, meeting hers from across the room and igniting that same electrical spark she'd experienced when they’d first met.
Love had grown between them from that moment onward, more beautifully than any words Shakespeare had ever written. And it was all thanks to the extraordinary power of a mystical gem.
