Jillian’s walls came up once more. How could such a cold woman understand the depths of love? She bristled silently.
Lady Bradford stopped and gathered herself. “Of course, if that is what matters, I could assist you in finding a different, but equally promising match. There are several handsome footmen who might set your heart going, and a tidy sum as dowry could set you up very comfortably. A man like that would not need you to be something you are not. There can be as muchskippingas you desire.”
“I think…” said Jilly, trying her very best to remain civil, “I think it is best if you go now. You have had your say, and not for the first time. I am convinced you think you act in your son’s best interests, but I am equally certain you have no idea what they are. I will not give him up. Nor should I have to. I have accepted that I will not be beloved in your eyes. But I remain hopeful that time will soften the enmity between us. Perhaps, when you gauge how truly happy Lewis is…”
“Oh, he is happy,” her ladyship said bitterly. “He is absolutely delighted that he has found a way to torment us. The question is rather whatyouwill do when he has had his fill of throwing tantrums and takes on the role of gentleman more fully. It will be no comfort for me to say I told you so. Just remember, Miss Kinsey, marriage vows are forever. Take care that you have not imprisoned yourself with them.”
And, with that, Lady Bradford stood quite suddenly and walked straight past Jillian as if she no longer existed. The sound of brushing silk receded rapidly. The front door opened and closed. Less than a minute later, carriage wheels crunched on the gravel of the drive until this sound, too, vanished into silence.
Jilly balled her fists. Trust Lewis’s mother to spoil a day that should have been filled with excitement and joyful apprehension at seeing her own family again. If only Lady Bradford were more like them. She would not, then, be shunning her son’s wedding or trying to bribe his betrothed to break it off with him.
Thank goodness she and Lewis would be staying in the summer cottage once they were wed! Jilly did not relish the thought of Sunday dinners with the Bradfords, but at least their interactions would be limited to a few hours a week. She was certain Lady Bradford shared this sentiment.
“Is everything all right?” came the worried voice of Ellena from the doorway of the drawing room. “I saw the carriage and thought perhaps Lewis had managed to swing by after all. But your face tells a different story. Has something happened?” Ellena stepped closer and seated herself carefully next to Jillian, her subtle perfume touching the air as Jillian breathed it in. “Do you want to talk about it?”
Did she? Jillian considered the question. Ellena shared many of the same concerns as Lady Bradford, although she remained loyal despite her misgivings. Even if Ellena said nothing, her reservations would be displayed unambiguously across her facial features. And Jillian was in no mood for it.
“It was Lady Bradford.”
Ellena’s body stiffened. “She was not unkind to you, I hope. It would be a tremendous impudence to come to our home with the purpose of insulting you even further.”
“She seemed worried about me.” Jilly shrugged. “The insult simply followed naturally.”
Ellena considered this in silence. “Will she interfere with the wedding?” she asked with some concern.
“Not after today. We may never be friends, but Ishallbe her daughter-in-law. She has a week to accept the idea. Or she can choose to reject it for all time. But she will not stand in the way of our happiness.”
“Jilly…” Ellena laid a cautious hand upon her friend’s. “Youwilltry to make peace with her, won’t you? Lewis might bluster about how little he cares for their opinions, but they are still his family. If there is a chance for these high emotions to subside, you will encourage it, won’t you?”
“Of course,” said Jillian a little irritably, “though I could take umbrage at such a question. You know me better than to ask such a thing. It is notIwho keeps bringing up reasons for future unhappiness. If I knew how to please her—other than abandoning Lewis—I would do it.”
Ellena lowered her gaze. “I’m sorry to have asked it. And I’m sorrier still not to attend your wedding. You know I cannot yet travel with little Christopher, and I am not ready to be without him. But I understand that you are eager to wed. Else I would have asked you to be patient. It is a great pity that you could be at my wedding, but I cannot do the same for you.”
Jillian fell back at once to her old habit of soothing her once-lonely friend. “Ah, now, you look about as miserable as you did the day you left Trenton Grange to be married. All worry and misery. And look how well it all turned out in the end! By contrast, I have every reason to be happy on the day. My parents have let me choose my own groom. And I have most of the village and my three brothers to cheer me on. Goodness knows which of those two parties will be the rowdiest in their support!”
She squeezed Ellena’s hand. “I will miss you, but I know you will be with me in spirit. Besides, I shall be back in Munro within the month. You shall hear all my news from the source.” Her face creased with a broad grin. “We might even invite ourselves over for Twelfth Night celebrations if Lord and Lady Bradford have not forgiven us just yet. Better to be in the company of friends if his family is still sulking.”
“You will be more than welcome,” Ellena assured her, “though I hope it does not come to that. With your own family such a distance away, it would be a blessing to have the comfort of a new one in Munro. Even if they are a little stuffy.”
Jillian shot her friend a determined look. “If anyone can rid them of said stuffiness, I feel amply qualified. If it were up to me, I would have them all dancing a reel around the Christmas tree.” She clapped her hands. “They will have one, don’t you think? I hear several of the noble families have taken on this German tradition. I have never seen one, but they sound beautiful! Maybe even your parents will decorate one at Trenton Grange. They certainly have enough trees to choose from on their estate.”
“My father would never dream of it!” Ellena exclaimed. “You know how tight-fisted he is. For all his wealth, he will never spend a single coin without considering if it can be spared. Mother and I even had to share a lady’s maid. I’m amazed you have forgotten.”
Jilly shook her head. “I never understood the fuss about a lady’s maid until I came to Munro. I simply brushed my hair and dressed myself. There seemed little else to it. But a lady of theton’s style of hair and garment is so much more complex. So many laces and ribbons in out-of-reach places! I hope Lewis knows how to undress me on our wedding night!”
“Jilly, you are incorrigible!” Ellena laughed. “Your husband will certainly have his hands full with you!”
“I should hope so! And I don’t think he would mind that at all! I am grateful that we shall have the seclusion of the cottage, that he may chase me about the house and I may let him catch me…”
Ellena pretended to be shocked at such forward speech, but Jilly knew she understood these natural feelings. She therefore felt no need to force a blush upon her cheeks. Instead, she continued with her scandalous honesty. “Our servants will have many an afternoon off to allow such chases to occur in private. They shall like very much to be employed by us.”
“Stop!” Ellena was still laughing, but she was making every effort to bring herself under control, her eyes wide with alarm. “My own servants are everywhere. They would love nothing better than to share such morsels of salacious gossip with each other.”
“Oh, I have probably said as much to their faces.” Jillian shrugged.
“You haven’t!” Ellena’s eyes grew large with horror, her mouth stalled in a half-open pose.
“You know very well I am cut more from their cloth than yours. This is how we simple folk talk.”
