Anna nodded. “I always felt rather sorry for her, defending a wretch like that.”
“She did not know any better,” Leah said, raising her glass. “As the founding members of the Spinsters’ Club, I think we ought to toast to her bravery. It is precisely what our heroine, the Countess of Grayling, would have done.”
Anna pursed her lips. “She is not my heroine, but yes, I think a toast would be a fine thing.” She raised her glass, too. “To Dorothy: her freedom and her happiness.”
The four others repeated the sentiment and sipped in quiet respect before their chatter resumed. There was so much information that Olivia still did not know, and as dinner and speeches would begin soon, there was not much time to tell her.
But just as Matilda and Phoebe were beginning their tale of how they had ventured boldly into the warehouses of the London Docks to find a mysterious man by the name of Bill Hodge, Leah felt a tap on her shoulder.
“Excuse me, ladies,” Ezra said. “I thought I might borrow my daughter for a moment.”
“Me?” Leah pointed to herself.
Ezra rolled his eyes. “As I have no other daughter, yes, I mean you.”
“I shall not be long,” Leah promised, following her father out of the Grand Drawing Room and down a labyrinth of hallways until they came to the chapel that was now his study. It was a room that Leah was rarely allowed to enter, making her nervous as she stepped over the threshold.
“Are you going to scold me to ensure I behave before Nathaniel arrives?” Leah jested, sitting awkwardly on the edge of a settee. “I have only ever been scolded in this room. Although, I suppose the same goes for the Grand Drawing Room, and I have been in there for half an hour without a chiding.”
Ezra went to his writing desk, opened the top drawer, and removed a wide but thin wooden box. He brought it back to the center of the room and sat on the opposite settee, putting the box on the table between them. “This is for you,” he said uncomfortably.
“What is it?”
“You are supposed to open it,” he grumbled, fidgeting.
Leaning forward uncertainly, Leah lifted the lid of the elegant mahogany box. Inside, on a bed of blue velvet, was the most beautiful necklace she had ever set her eyes upon: thick gold circles intertwined as a chain, ending in a sapphire pendant the size and shape of a robin’s egg, surrounded by an oval frame of tiny, glittering diamonds.
“It is a family heirloom,” Ezra mumbled, gesturing absently. “Every bride in my family has worn it. I have been waiting for years to give it to you.”
Leah furrowed her brow. “But you did not give this to me when I was due to marry Jonathan.”
“No, I did not.” Ezra swallowed loudly. “I think, though I could not admit it, that there was a part of me that knew that marriage was not right for you. I kept meaning to give you the necklace, but could not do it. Yet, as soon as Nathaniel asked for your hand and for a special license, I thought of it immediately and knew… it was right. It was time.”
Leah pulled the box toward her. “It is beautiful.”
“I know it does not absolve me of my bad behavior over the years, but I hope it improves your opinion of me somewhat. Nevertheless, though it may sound strange, I think I shall… miss our quarrels.” His voice caught in his throat, his finger coming up to hastily brush something off his cheek. “I think… I think I shall… I think I shall miss you terribly, Leah. It is not… easy to send one’s daughter away to be… taken care of by another man. I… worry that I shall… not know what to do with myself.”
Leah flashed him a shy smile. “You already told me, to my utter displeasure, what you intended to do when I am gone. However, I do secretly approve.” She chuckled. “I think Mama would like some affection again and for you two to remember why you fell in love with one another in the first place.”
“We might holiday somewhere,” her father said.
“You should. I think that would be nice for you both. Scarborough, perhaps?”
Her father smiled. “Perhaps.” He got to his feet. “Well then, I suppose I ought to relinquish you back to your friends. They are not so bad, I have decided.”
“Oh, well, as long as they have your approval,” Leah replied sarcastically, standing up.
But instead of making her way to the door and to the freedom of her friends, she stepped around the central table and put her arms around her father, hugging him tightly. He stood rigid for a few moments before he relaxed, embracing her in return.
“I really will miss you,” he whispered.
Leah smiled, giving him a squeeze. “I really will miss you, too.”
And as they stood there, hugging in a way they had not hugged since she was a child, Leah realized that she meant it. Everything was about to change, and though she was looking forward to it, excited to begin her new life as Nathaniel’s wife, she knew she would look back on her old life more fondly from thereon in.
* * *
“You are far too popular,” Nathaniel said, sneaking up behind Leah on the terrace outside the ballroom, wrapping his arms around her as he bent his head and kissed her neck gently. “I have barely had the chance to have a moment alone with you.”
