Maria hugged and kissed Anna’s cheek and said, “Thank you, dear Anna. Now we are truly sisters. None of this would have been possible for Percy and me without your gracious generosity.”
Anna smiled. “I am so happy I could help. I could not imagine marrying without you being as joyous as I am.”
The three grooms came to collect their brides.
“If you three married ladies are ready, they are waiting for us to open the dancing. Evidently, they cannot start without us,” Harry said, as he took Anna’s hand, leaned forward and kissed her again.
Christopher was accompanied by his mother, his father, and his two sisters, hanging onto his coat tails. “Come, dearest Dorothy. If I can rid myself of my clinging family, I bid you dance with me.”
“I would be delighted to, dear husband. For I can truly say that now. It is no longer just my fantasy.”
Christopher yanked at his coat to free himself from his giggling sisters and they headed toward the dance hall.
Maria looked at Percy and straightened his crooked cravat. “Can you believe this is to be our house now?”
He turned to examine the room. “I think I am going to need a map to find my way around. Or maybe we can tie a string to each other, so we never get lost.”
Maria laughed. “Percy, you are the silliest person I have ever known.”
The three couples took an appreciative last look at one another before heading to the dance and the rest of their lives.
The End?
