Ellen gulped. “Only with my sister’s blessing.”
“What am I supposed to say to that?” Phoebe muttered, looking to anyone else for an answer.
Olivia shrugged, hiding a smile. “You could give your blessing.”
“Dickie has certainly been warned of the consequences,” Leah agreed. “And if Max and Caroline can weather the chaos of theircontinued happiness, I am certain that Ellen and Dickie will too.”
Matilda made a noise of assent. “For reasons unknown, society adores Dickie. He can do no wrong, even when he is doing wrong.” She paused, tapping her chin in thought. “Actually, if he were to marry Ellen, I am sure there are hundreds of mothers who would sleep easier. They would celebrate such a thing, not spurn anyone for it.”
“And though it is of less importance,” Anna said, “it would certainly help Caroline and Max too. But, as the Matchmaker, I have to say that I can feel the love between your sister and my brother. I am rarely wrong.”
Phoebe rolled her eyes, while everyone else tried not to laugh. “Fine!” she blurted out. “You have my blessing, but I swear upon all that is good and true that I will chase you down with my heaviest saucepan if you ever,everdo anything to hurt her, Dickie. I swear it.”
“As I swear that I am not the man I once was,” Dickie replied, “and that has everything to do with your sister. I will love her and cherish her—and only her—until I am gray and old. And it will be the honor of my life to do so.”
Phoebe pulled a face. “Yes, well, I hope your pretty words match your actions.” She jabbed a finger at Caroline and Max. “As for you two—you had best get someone to start pouring drinks, for I desperately need one. And… if I have not said so already, this isa very charming house. While we are all making grand gestures, I really think you ought to buy it.”
At that, the room erupted into laughter, and Max put his arm around Caroline’s waist, pulling her into his side.
Leaning down, he whispered, “I happen to agree. What do you think?”
“I could not agree more,” Caroline whispered back, for this was the house where he had first kissed her. A special, magical place that could only belong to them.
Three Months Later…
It seemed that all of high society had gathered at Westyork for the wedding of the century, the guests milling about the wintry gardens and sipping mulled cider to stave off the chill. Meanwhile, indoors, lively music drifted from the grand ballroom where couples were dancing and gossipmongers were hunting for the next scandal, while a crowd of children held their own ball in the sun room, watched by governesses and grandmothers.
Apparently, Matilda had been correct in her assumption that society would celebrate the auspicious event of Dickie Dennis finally being turned into an honest gentleman. Anyone who was anyone had been desperate to gain an invitation, and in thefuror of it all, the scandal of Max and Caroline had been all but forgotten.
“Does she not look ethereal?” Caroline sighed, resting her head against Max’s chest as he held her to him.
They had decided to take a private wander in the gardens, just as Ellen had come out onto the terrace to catch some fresh air. In the hazy glow that heralded sunset, Ellen really did look resplendent in a gown of cream silk with snowdrops in her hair.
“There shall never be a bride as ethereal as you were,” Max replied, chuckling. “Goodness, no one has ever seen an angel scowl as you did.”
She cast him a mock withering look. “I might scowl at you again if you continue to tease me.”
“In truth, I was thinking that we ought to have another celebration,” he said, steering her along the gravel path and into the famed walled gardens of the Westyork Estate. “A small gathering so we can have the wedding we should have had. At Cedar House, perhaps. Just friends and family.”
Caroline’s heart leaped. “In the summer?”
“If that is your preference.”
“Oh… I think that would be a lovely thing indeed,” she urged, filled with a sudden giddiness. “It certainly would be nice tohave my wedding to you where my mother wasnotweeping for the wrong reasons. And it would be pleasant to replace the memory of me resembling a cornered fox with something more voluntary.”
Max laughed. “For me, too.”
“As bizarre and messy as it was, I will never regret it,” she told him, slipping her hand into his for warmth as they continued through the somewhat bare gardens.
It was not even close to springtime, the buds and blooms hiding in their cozy soil beds, but there had always been a charm to the garden’s winter display that Caroline cherished. It was quieter as if everything was slumbering or lying in wait for the day that the flowers could burst forth again.
The moment they stepped into the square of the walled garden that contained the cedar tree, Caroline pulled Max underneath the wide-spread boughs.
“You are not going to climb it, are you?” Max asked, smiling. “Powder Puff will be terribly jealous when you tell her all about it upon her return. And she is already none-too-happy about being left behind with Mrs. Whitlock.”
The poor cat had a keen sense for when she was about to be temporarily abandoned, wailing at the top of her lungs and pacing in front of the door to stop Max and Caroline from leaving. Once or twice, it had been enough to keep the pair at home, which had only made Powder Puff bolder.
Caroline shook her head. “I am not going to climb it, but our children might want to when they visit their grandmother and uncles.”
