Authors: Jennifer McNare
Tiffany felt a delicious shiver of excitement that tingled
all the way to her toes.
“No, I won’t be
disappointed at all,” she admitted with a shy smile.
“Good,” Alex said, before placing one last kiss upon her
luscious mouth.
Although he’d made no mention of love, Tiffany tried not to
let it bother her as they made their way hand in hand back to the house.
Simply knowing how much he wanted her, enough
so that he was willing to cast aside his previous aversion to marriage, was
enough for now she reasoned.
For in
truth, she believed with all of her heart that Alex would soon come to love her
just as much as she loved him.
When Alex opened the door of the emerald parlor several
minutes later, he saw his mother pacing back and forth in front of the unlit
fireplace.
“If I didn’t know better, I
might think that you were attempting to wear a hole in the carpet,” he remarked
in a teasing voice.
Caught unaware, the countess looked up, halting in
midstride.
“Goodness,” she exclaimed,
raising her hand to her chest.
“I didn’t
hear you come in.”
Following Alex into the room, Tiffany smiled apologetically.
“We didn’t mean to startle you.”
“That’s quite alright, dear,” the countess said with a
smile, though her eyes were shrewd as they swept Tiffany’s appearance from head
to toe.
Approaching the two of them, her
smile tightened discernibly however, as she focused her knowing gaze upon her
son.
“Tiffany dear, would you mind if I
spoke with Alexander privately for a moment?”
Tiffany opened her mouth to respond, but Alex quickly cut
her off.
“Before you set about castigating me,” Alex began with a
roguish grin, “Tiffany and I have some news we’d like to share with you.”
“News?”
His mother’s
eyebrows rose questioningly.
He smiled gregariously.
“Mother, you will be delighted to know that Tiffany has done me the
great honor of agreeing to become my wife.”
The countess’ eyes widened, her expression changing
dramatically and instantaneously.
“Oh
my.
Oh how wonderful!” she exclaimed,
clapping her hands together in obvious joy.
“I thought that might bring a smile to your face.”
“Oh it has.
It has,”
she said, grinning from ear to ear.
“So, am I forgiven then?” Alex asked with a teasing wink.
Cecelia pointedly ignored her son’s question, turning to
Tiffany instead.
“I’m so happy for you
both,” she said with indisputable enthusiasm.
“Thank you,” Tiffany responded with a warm smile, thankful
that Alex’s mother seemed genuinely pleased.
Looking down at Tiffany’s hand, Cecelia noted the ring on
Tiffany’s finger.
Grasping Tiffany’s
hand, she held it aloft.
“Oh, it’s
simply beautiful,” she exclaimed.
“Your son is exceedingly generous,” Tiffany agreed.
Cecelia smiled fondly as she turned to her son.
“He takes after his father,” she said
proudly.
“I only wish he was here to
share in this special day.”
“As do I,” Alex responded earnestly, for he and his father
had always been close.
“Yes, well…”
she
trailed off wistfully.
Then, visibly
collecting herself, she turned her attention back to Tiffany.
“Good heavens,” she began with an eager
smile, “there is so much to be done.
We’ll need to start preparing the guest list at once, and of course
we’ll need to reserve the church as soon as possible, for St. Paul’s is
generally booked months in advance.”
“Mother-”
“Have you considered a date, dear?”
“Well, no, not exactly,” Tiffany said, casting a sidelong
glance at Alex.
“Mother-”
Cecelia prattled on however, oblivious to Alex’s attempts to
garner her attention.
“Hmm, a year from
now would put us into late fall,” she said with a slight frown, “but a spring
wedding would be so much nicer, don’t you think?”
“Well, I…”
Tiffany
trailed off, turning to Alex with a helpless expression.
“Mother,” he said, this time with increased volume, finally
drawing the countess’ attention.
“Tiffany and I have decided to keep our engagement period… relatively
brief,” he informed her.
“Brief?”
“We were thinking sometime next month, perhaps.”
Cecelia’s mouth dropped, her eyes going wide.
“Next month,” she uttered in stunned
disbelief.
“Yes,” Alex said, his tone tranquil, but resolute.
“And in addition, we would prefer to keep the
wedding a small, private affair,” he continued.
“Private,” Cecelia squeaked, her voice cracking slightly as
she glanced back and forth between them, her shock and dismay evident.
“Perhaps we should sit,” Alex suggested, eyeing his mother’s
sudden pallor.
Draping his arm around
Cecelia’s shoulders, he led her over to the settee as Tiffany followed a few
steps behind.
Clearly, his mother was
going to need a little time to adjust.
Thankfully though, as he would soon remind her, she still had Amelia and
Lizzie to help her realize her dreams of planning a large and lavish wedding.
Lying in her bed later that night, Tiffany replayed the
afternoon’s events over and over in her mind, committing each and every detail
to memory so that she would never forget a single moment of what was certainly
the happiest day of her life. She was engaged to the man of her dreams.
Smiling to herself, she raised her left hand
above the bedcovers, staring in wonder as the extraordinary blue diamond caught
and reflected the shaft of moonlight that shone through the open curtains of
her bedchamber window.
She couldn’t wait to tell Ashleigh, knowing how delighted
her friend would be with the news.
However,
she was sure to be equally surprised as well.
For in all honesty, who would have ever thought that a man of Alex’s
reputation, a man well-known for his rakish lifestyle and long-time aversion to
marriage, would have had such an abrupt change of heart?
Probably not Ashleigh, and certainly not her,
though she was beyond pleased that he had.
Turning onto her side so that she was facing the window, she
could just make out the faint twinkle of stars through the hazy night sky.
Focusing upon the brightest of the lot, she
closed her eyes and made a wish, for now she knew with absolute certainty that
sometimes wishes really did come true.
With that pleasant notion drifting through her thoughts, it wasn’t long
until she fell into a blissful slumber.
Descending the front staircase the following morning,
Tiffany observed an older gentleman carrying a small black satchel exiting
through the front door.
Curious, she
wondered who it could have been, for surely it was far too early in the morning
for social calls.
“Penrose, who was
that?” she asked, once she’d reached the foyer’s marble floor.
“That was Dr. Patton, my lady, your father’s physician.”
His physician?
“Has my father taken ill?”
“Not that I have been made aware of,” Penrose replied.
“I believe that it was a scheduled
visit.”
“I see,” Tiffany replied.
“Thank you, Penrose.”
A scheduled visit?
What on earth did that mean?
In fact, until that very moment, she hadn’t
even been aware that her father had a regular physician.
Oh well, she mused, he
was
getting on in years.
Perhaps he was simply becoming more mindful of his health.
Turning away, Tiffany started toward the breakfast room, but
the sound of the door knocker halted her before she’d made it halfway down the
hall.
Curious, she turned back around,
watching as Penrose moved to answer the door.
She couldn’t hear what was said, nor could she see who it was, but
within a few short moments Penrose closed the door and turned in her direction.
In his hands he held a large crystal vase filled
with one of the most beautiful flower arrangements she had ever seen.
“A delivery for you, my lady” he said.
Setting the vase onto one of the narrow
marble-topped tables that flanked the large foyer, Penrose pulled a small
envelope from amidst the flowers, holding it out to her as she approached.
Taking it from the
butler’s hand, Tiffany glanced down at the cream-colored envelope bearing her
name.
Waiting until Penrose had stepped
away; she then opened the envelope and withdrew the small card from
within.
It read,
Thinking of you, Alex.
Clutching the card to her chest, she gazed at the beautiful
vase and brightly-hued flowers in utter delight.
She could have stared at the dazzling display
for hours, but it was the sound of approaching footsteps that finally drew her
attention from the stunning bouquet.
Spinning about, she saw her father coming towards her.
“Good morning, father.”
Glancing briefly at the flowers, the marquess made no
mention of them as he turned his dispassionate gaze to Tiffany.
“I’m going out,” he said.
“I’ve had the coach brought around as you requested, my
lord,” Penrose said, reentering the foyer.
The marquess merely nodded in acknowledgement.
“You may inform the kitchen that I won’t be
home for luncheon,” he said, holding out his hand as Penrose handed him his
hat.
“Yes, my lord.”
Waiting as Penrose pulled open the door; William once again
turned his attention briefly to Tiffany.
“Until this evening,” was all that he said.
Then, tipping his head in farewell, he made
his way out the front door.
Settling into her seat at the breakfast table a short time
later, Tiffany contemplated her father’s reaction to Alex’s proposal.
Thinking back to the previous afternoon, when
Alex had officially asked her father for her hand, she recalled that the
marquess hadn’t seemed the least bit surprised by the request.
He’d given his blessing almost immediately,
with virtually no amount of thought or consideration, and oddly enough, he’d
seemed inordinately pleased with their decision to keep their engagement period
brief and their wedding a small, intimate affair.
Lifting a piece of toast from her plate, she absently
nibbled on the end as she continued to ponder the matter.
No doubt he was simply relieved to be getting
rid of her, she reasoned.
And of course,
as he would be paying for the wedding, a small, private service would ease his
financial burden significantly.
Oh well,
it hardly mattered, she supposed, and certainly wasn’t worth stewing
about.
She had far more pleasant things
to focus upon, she decided, glancing at her engagement ring.
Her spirits lifting at once, she turned her
attention to her plate and the delicious breakfast that sat before her.
Over the course of the next several days, Tiffany spent the
majority of her time at the Chesterfield residence in the company of Alex’s
mother and sisters.
Fortunately, Amelia
and Lizzie had welcomed her with open arms, and in turn, she had taken an
instant liking to them as well.
They
were also genuinely excited about her and Alex’s upcoming wedding, and were
eager to help out with the preparations.
However, with Tiffany’s blessing, Cecelia had taken charge of the bulk
of the arrangements.
Despite the
wedding’s small, intimate setting, they’d agreed upon the family chapel at
Chesterfield, Alex’s mother was determined to make the event as memorable as
she possibly could.
Regrettably though, as much as she enjoyed spending time
with Alex’s mother and sisters, it had become nearly impossible to enjoy even a
moment alone with her fiancé.
Yesterday,
when Alex had invited her to take a carriage ride through the park, Amelia and
Lizzie had all but begged to accompany them.
And the day before, when he’d suggested they visit the new exhibit at
the National Gallery, Cecelia had immediately claimed that she’d been longing
to see the exhibit herself.
It was only
when Cecelia had requested to join them on this evening’s planned outing to the
opera, that Alex had finally put his foot down, insisting that as an engaged
couple, they were no longer in need of a chaperone to watch their every move.
Now, as Tiffany stood in the middle of her bedchamber
preparing for the evening ahead, she could hardly wait until the appointed hour
arrived.