Sarah sighed and felt two sets of arms wrap around her waist. Both Margaret and Deborah surrounded her in a hug. She held out her hand to Christopher, who joined their group embrace. They were a family.
Chapter 22
The days following the memorialservice were busy ones. It took Sarah and the entire sewing circle working several hours a day to finish making over her mother’s dresses for Nelly’s trousseau. Some of the girls were cool toward Deborah at first because of the whispers about her running away, but Miss Wentworth was so warm and welcoming that they soon all followed her lead. Deborah’s chin still stuck out on occasion, but she no longer criticized or compared herself to Margaret. Christopher had told her to count to one hundred before she said anything in anger. Sarah often caught Deborah whispering, “Sixty-one, sixty-two, sixty-three ...” Her young sister-in-law had not completely learned to hold her temper, but she was improving. What probably helped the most was that Christopher took her riding almost every morning.
Her husband understood that love meant time spent with someone.
He also gave time to Margaret. He taught her how to play a harmonica and let her teach him how to play the pianoforte. Margaret made great progress quickly, and Christopher did not, but they had a great deal of fun.
Sarah continued to tutor Margaret on the harp, and she thought that by the end of the year, her student would surpass her in talent. Dear Margaret had even expressed an interest in learning more instruments, including the violin. Christopher wrote at once to his man of business in London for the best instrument to be purchased and sent to Manderfield Hall. Playing the violin was not typically a female accomplishment, but the Moultons had taught Sarah that change could be a beautiful thing. And Margaret was certainly musically gifted.
Carefully, Sarah packed the last trunk that had once been her mother’s. Sarah did not think that even a London debutante had a more beautiful trousseau. Closing the lid, she smiled. Her mother had loved beautiful clothing and would have enjoyed seeing these dresses have a second life.
Sarah pulled the cord, and a footman came to take Nelly’s trunk. It was her maid’s wedding day, after all. Nelly should not have to carry anything.
Sarah’s own dress was nothing to sneeze at either. She had remade a gown from her debut and flattered herself that no one would guess that it was not new: dyed-blue silk with a matching overlay, tucks underneath the bodice, and flower-petal sleeves. She’d also dyed both her gloves and slippers to match. She had perhaps done it too thoroughly, for her hands were still the same color of muted blue. She would need to keep her gloves on.
She left her room and met Christopher. Her heart leaped in her chest as it always did at the sight of her husband. He took her hand, bent over it, and kissed it. Then he brushed a kiss to her brow. “You look enchanting, dove.”
“You look very handsome yourself, my darling.”
He held out his arm. “May I escort the bride’s attendant down the stairs?”
Sarah loved placing her hand on his arm. “I should be most pleased, sir.”
They walked slowly down the stairs to where they were met by his sisters, and then they left the house for the carriage, which was in a line with two others and two wagons. Every servant wore their finest and planned to attend Guy and Nelly’s wedding. The ride to the chapel felt much shorter than it had on Sarah’s wedding day. The route was lined with bunches of flowers, rushes, and herbs. When they arrived at the church, Christopher helped Sarah and his sisters out of the carriage, and they took their seats on the first bench. Sarah met withMrs. Harmony. The housekeeper had awoken early to make the bouquets for the wedding. She picked up her own nosegay and Nelly’s bouquet of white roses and camelias.
Nelly entered the church wearing Sarah’s wedding dress. It looked even more gorgeous on her dear friend. Sarah handed her the flowers and hugged her friend. “If Mr. Robinson calls you the most beautiful bride he has ever officiated over, then you’d best believe him.”
Her maid chuckled. “I am so glad that you are here. That you came back, Sarah. Manderfield Hall wasn’t home without you.”
Sarah straightened her friend’s veil as she pulled it over Nelly’s head to cover her face. “Nor without you, dearest Nelly. Enjoy your wedding week, but hurry back to us.”
Winking, Nelly added saucily, “You’ll need your lady’s maid when you travel the world.”
“We are only touring England.”
“It’s a start, my lady who is no longer in waiting.”
“A wonderful start, my maid who never waited for anything.”
They both laughed, and Sarah moved to let Mr. Wigan escort Nelly down the aisle. She took her role dutifully at her friend’s side. Guy’s brother stood as his attendant, but she could see Christopher sitting on the first row. It was the same church where her own wedding was held a little over a month before. How much had changed in her life, and so quickly. She had thought staying at Manderfield Hall would bring back Mama, and maybe it had. Sarah was able to move past her mother’s death and remember only the good things. She’d given Mama’s gowns a second chance to be enjoyed. She’d moved into Mama’s rooms and made them her own.
She had married her husband for all the wrong reasons. She had married Christopher for her mother and Manderfield. How foolish she had been! He was worth so much more than an estate or a house. Manderfield Hall was only brick and mortar. It wasthe people who mattered. People like Nelly and Guy. Mr. Wigan and Mrs. Harmony. And all the wonderful people who made it home.
Christopher had married her to take care of his sisters. To give them an opportunity in Society and help them make good matches. She was glad that neither he nor herself were in any hurry to see Margaret and Deborah leave. Sarah had meant to be a good sister-in-law, but they no longer felt like a responsibility. She loved them, and they loved her.
Sarah’s eyes moved back to Mr. Robinson. A light shone in his countenance as he performed the marriage service. He opened his scriptures to read from the Bible. “In 1 Peter 4:8 we learn, ‘And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.’Charityis the purest love of God. If we replace the wordcharitywithlovein this verse, it gives us additional insight to the meaning: ‘And above all things have fervent love among yourselves: for love shall cover the multitude of sins.’”
Love covers a multitude of sins.
Sarah believed that with all her heart and knew that she needed to tell Christopher she loved him. Her husband did everything in love. He was humble, gentle, and patient. She believed he loved her deeply but guessed that he felt too shy to confess his feelings first.
Mr. Robinson finished the ceremony and declared Guy and Nelly to be man and wife. The new bride and groom were the last to leave the chapel as the bells rang merrily. Their fellow servants, family members, and friends stood on each side of the pathway, ready to throw flowers and rice at the happy couple. Sarah was also hit with her fair share of projectiles and couldn’t stop smiling. She felt only love, pure and holy.
The guests piled into the carriages and wagons to return to Manderfield Hall for the wedding luncheon. Farriers andcarriers sat in the same dining room seats that had held dukes and kings, and they conducted themselves with great decorum. It was lovely seeing all the tenants sitting with them as equals, breaking bread with them and eating Mrs. Watkins’s delicious apple tarts. Sarah devoured her own piece.
The wedding guests continued to eat and make merry, but Sarah could wait no longer. She took Christopher’s hand and led him out of the dining room and the grand hall and from the house. She did not stop until she’d pulled her husband under the rose garden arch. It was quite private from the house and from prying eyes.