Madeleine nodded. “It would.”
Uncle Joseph was making his way back over to them, and for a moment, Madeleine considered letting go of Thomas’s hand. But then she decided against it. Uncle Joseph was the one who had pushed for this marriage. He would just have to accept this new closeness between Madeleine and the man she was about to marry.
She needn’t have worried. As soon as Uncle Joseph saw them, his face broke into a smile. “I see you two are getting along,” he said. “I’d hoped you would find a way to overcome your rocky start before the wedding.”
“I think we’re going to be just fine,” Thomas agreed.
Now Henrietta was hurrying up the road. Rachel came along behind her, a hatbox cradled lovingly in her arms.
“Mother,” Thomas said, a note of affectionate exasperation in his voice, “you really didn’t need to buy her another one.”
“Be quiet, Thomas,” Rachel said. “You have no idea about the needs of a young lady.”
“And what do you need a new hat for, may I ask?”
“There are about to be dozens of social events at Westcourt! I’ll be present at all of them, of course, because my brother is the one getting married, so of course, I’m going to need to look my best. Do you want to see the new hat, Thomas?”
“You can show him when you get home,” their mother said firmly. “You don’t need to take it out right now.”
“I’d like to see it,” Uncle Joseph said.
“You see?” Rachel said. “Lord Keenward wants to.”
Madeleine knew her uncle well enough to know that he wasn’t interested in the hat. He was trying to stir up a little bit of trouble. It was his way when he was around members of theton, and at times it had amused her, but now it made her feel worried. She didn’t want him to make a bad impression on the family she was about to join.
“If she takes the hat out now, she’ll get it dirty,” Henrietta said.
“Oh, it’s only a hat,” Uncle Joseph said. “They’re meant to be worn. Let her put it on, and let’s see what it looks like.”
Rachel didn’t wait for any more encouragement than that. She pushed the hatbox into Thomas’s arms to remove the lid and pull out the hat. She perched it carefully on her head and tied it beneath her chin.
“That’s not going to be appropriate for any balls,” Thomas pointed out. “That’s something you’d more likely wear to a garden party.”
“Then I guess we’ll have to have a garden party!” Rachel said.
“It sounds like a fine idea to me,” Uncle Joseph said. “I’ll be wanting to throw some sort of party to celebrate the wedding. A garden party would be the perfect idea. And it would give Lady Rachel an opportunity to wear her new hat, so it sounds like a perfect idea to me.”
Thomas shook his head fondly. “There you go again, Rachel, always getting things to work out how you want them to.”
“You really don’t have to host a party just because she’s asking for one, Lord Keenward,” Henrietta said.
“I would have wanted to host something anyway,” Uncle Joseph said. “And if I can provide an opportunity for my niece’s new sister to dress up, so much the better. After all, we’re all going to be family now, aren’t we?”
Henrietta looked at Rachel with some consternation. “I see you’ve already got him on your side.”
“Lord Keenward seems to be a gentleman who appreciates a party, much like myself,” Rachel said. “There’s no reason we can’t all have a good time. And if it means I can show off my hat, I won’t complain about that.”
“You did buy it for her, you know,” Uncle Joseph spoke up, smiling at Henrietta. “You must have known she would look for an opportunity to wear it.”
“I suppose I did.”
Madeleine couldn’t keep the smile off her face. It seemed difficult to believe that she had been worried about this marriage. Everyone was getting along so well. Even Henrietta and Uncle Joseph seemed to have befriended one another, and suddenly it felt to her as if she would be a part of a very happy family.
She kept hold of Thomas’s hand for the rest of the afternoon, and if anyone had anything to say about that, their words didn’t reach her.
CHAPTERNINETEEN
“Are you ready?” Horatia asked Madeleine gently.
