“If that’s what you wish.”
Is there anything that bothers him?
New clothes from London, a stagecoach for the ride to the church. She searched her mind for anything else that might bother him. Because there had to be something, right?
“And perhaps we shall have special dishes brought in from town. Our cook is wonderful, but there are better, I am sure. We could bring in someone from town to prepare our wedding breakfast.”
Still, there was no response from him, and she worried that perhaps he would prefer such a ridiculous affair.
“We shall, of course, have music during the ball. I thought perhaps we should bring the Maudville Orchestra to perform.”
There was no reaction at first, and she wondered if he had even heard her, but then he blinked rapidly, and confusion flashed across his face as he turned to look at her.
“I beg your pardon?”
She worked very hard to keep her expression as neutral as possible as she repeated herself. “The Maudville Orchestra. I hear they are quite good. And they have played a number of public concerts throughout London.”
“You wish to hire a professional orchestra for the wedding ball?” Once again, his tone indicated that he thought she was joking, but she merely stared back at him.
“You said money was not a concern, did you not? That I could have whatever I wish for?”
“Indeed,” he replied, but his tone was uncertain this time, his words slow. “Bringing in an orchestra for the wedding ball is… a bit much, do you not think? The King himself has had no such thing.”
“Then I shall have something even more spectacular than the King,” she retorted.
His eyes widened slightly, staring at her for a long moment before she could no longer maintain her composure.
The small upturn of her lips gave her away at first, and then, as his eyes narrowed, it turned into a full-blown smile. One that, despite himself, suited her rather well.
With a sharp shake of his head, Matthew simply scowled at her. She was needling him. All of these ridiculous requests she’d made were nothing more than an attempt to annoy him. And he’d let her do it.
“You seek to make a joke of our wedding?”
“No. I seek to make the event special. It isyouwho wishes to ignore it altogether. And when I seek to draw you into the discussion, you cast my thoughts and opinions aside.”
“This is a matter that we must determine quickly, My Lady. It is not the time for this foolishness.”
“Perhaps if you could be bothered to pay attention, I would not feel the need to behave so,” she retorted, her smile immediately replaced with a scowl.
“There is nothing about this planning that I need to be informed of. Plan it as you wish and have done with it,” was his flippant response.
“You would simply have me spend the money on anything, yet you do not trust me to make decisions for your household?”
“Do not be difficult, Lady Diana,” he huffed.
Lady Diana only scowled at him harder. “I am not the one being difficult.Youare the one who refuses to listen and refuses to aid me in planning this wedding.”
“I wish only to have done with it. There’s no need for all this nonsense and fuss.”
“This ‘nonsense and fuss’ is still our wedding. And it is, apparently, the only event I shall ever have the opportunity to plan. As such, I would appreciate it if it could be made into something unique and special rather than simply an event that we toss together as we wish.”
“I much prefer to take out all of the fuss. And I certainly prefer if you do not make a mockery of the whole accord.”
“So I am the one to make a mockery of it, when you do not even bother to listen when I relay the details thereof?”
“This is foolish, Lady Diana,” Matthew retorted, frustrated.
“If you wish for me to take this matter seriously, Your Grace, perhapsyoualsoshould take it seriously.”
