never for one moment interested in marrying me. It ought to have been obvious to everyone that he had eyes only for Jessica—and that she had eyes only for him, though I know you were all hoping for a match between her and Mr. Rochford. Please believe me. I am not nursing a broken heart. I am not even in search of a husband yet. I am only twenty-three. I am going to live in the country with Bertrand for a year or two when the summer is over. We are both agreed upon that plan. Meanwhile I am very happy for Jessica and Mr. Thorne.”
“Only twenty-three,” the Dowager Countess of Riverdale said, throwing up her hands. “Whatever has happened to girls these days? It was very different in our day, Edith, was it not? Any girl not married by the time she reached her twentieth birthday was very firmly on the shelf.”
“It is a relief to hear that you are not upset, Estelle,” Wren said, smiling kindly at her. “That would have been very unfortunate.”
“I am surprised at Avery, Louise,” Mildred said. “You told us only a short while ago that he had withheld his blessing upon Mr. Rochford’s suit until after his father has been officially declared Earl of Lyndale, though that is a mere formality. Yet he gave it yesterday to Mr. Thorne, about whom we know far less. He is said to have inherited property and a fortune somewhere to the north, and he is said to have brought a fortune with him from America. It is all very vague, however. He has Sir Trevor Vickers to vouch for him, of course, but really I would have expected Avery to investigate more thoroughly, to make absolutely sure that Mr. Thorne will be a worthy husband for Jessica.”
“You can rest assured,” Louise said, “that Avery has investigated very thoroughly indeed, Mildred.”
“Then where is this property of his?” her sister asked.
“Mr. Thorne wishes to go there in person and settle a few issues before he makes any public announcement, Aunt,” Anna said. “He wants to go soon, but he also wants Jessica to be with him when he does. That is why they have decided to marry the day after tomorrow.”
“We must be thankful, then,” Matilda said, “that they have not decided upon a wedding exactly like yours and Avery’s, Anna. Yes, I know, Elizabeth. You are about to remind us all that it was the loveliest, most romantic wedding you have ever attended—with the exception of your own, no doubt. But you were there. The rest of us were not. Perhaps we will forgive you in a decade or two, Anna.” Her eyes twinkled at her niece. “The wedding breakfast is to be at Archer House, then?”
“Oh, of course,” Louise and Anna said almost simultaneously.
“We must discuss flowers,” Althea Westcott said briskly. “What do you have in mind, Louise? Elizabeth and I will look after those, if you wish.”
“And me too, please, Mother,” Wren said. “I will provide all the vases—from the new collection at my glass-works.”
“Predominantly roses,” Anna said. “Mostly pink. Mr. Thorne has been sending a pink rose to Jessica every day for the last few weeks—except once when it was yellow. I would like to know the story behind that one.”
“He has been sending her roses? Daily?” Edith said. “What a very romantic young man he is. It is a love match, then?”
“But of course,” Anna and Wren said together.
“We have been blind,” Mildred said, shaking her head. “All of us. We made our plans and we forged onward with them and saw none of the signs. That half hour they spent over at the pianoforte during your party, for example, Elizabeth. We were annoyed that Mr. Thorne had drawn Jessica away from Mr. Rochford.”
“And the church, Louise?” Matilda, always the most disciplined planner of family events, asked. “Will we be able to decorate that with flowers too? I will see to that. You too, Viola? Do we know which church?”
Wren came to sit beside Anna while the room was buzzing with happy plans for the wedding, small though it was going to be.
“Anna,” Wren said, keeping her voice low, “I suppose you know—do you?”
“Well, I do,” Anna said, “and so do Avery and Mother. If you mean what I believe you mean, that is.”
“Alexander was part of the group at Elizabeth and Colin’s party when Mr. Rochford told his story,” Wren said. “He was uneasy about it. He had a word with Avery.”