At least, she hoped that she would. Hoped that everything would turn out all right… somehow.
“How could you? With what we know about that man…” Marigold was trying very hard not to sob now.
Diana pulled her into her arms. “I’ll manage,” she repeated. “And I don’t think he’s going to be that bad. I think it’ll all be all right.”
Because something about the gentle look in his eyes when he’d watched her during the ceremony, and the little smiles she’d caught as he did, led her to believe that maybe, just maybe, this could all work out for the best.
“But I will miss you.”
“I will miss you as well,” she admitted. “All of you.”
For quite some time, they stood like that, holding one another. Lost in their thoughts. And then Diana sighed.
“We had best get going. You can help me by looking over my gown and making sure that everything looks fine.”
“You are lovely,” Marigold told her, not even bothering to look at the dress. “I knew you would look lovely, but this gown…”
“It is lovely, isn’t it?”
And Diana had to admit that it was. Staring into the looking glass, she looked… vibrant, beautiful. The gown hugged every curve even better. But did it have to be so uncomfortable?
The seamstress had taken her measurements to make the dress, and now Diana wondered if the woman had sized it wrong because it was too tight around her waist, making it difficult to breathe. A fact that was not helped by the strings of pearls wrapped around her neck. A wedding gift from her mother that she had not been able to refuse.
“Come along then, it’s time for you to make your grand entrance,” Arabella said from the doorway, and her two sisters turned toward her with a brief nod.
One more hug between the girls and they were striding out the door and to the top of the stairs.
Marigold looped an arm through Arabella’s and moved around in front of Diana, looking her over yet again with a smile. “We’ll go first, and you… you look lovely,” she insisted again.
Diana gave the both of them yet another smile before watching them move out of the way. And then it was her turn. Her turn because everyone was turning to look at the stairs. At her.
With a slow, deep breath, she went down the stairs, taking each step carefully lest she trip and fall.
She’d been navigating these very same steps since she was a toddler, but it wouldn’t do to fall down now, in front of all of these people.
Her feet, however, seemed to have a mind of their own, moving as quickly as they would carry her. Before she knew it, she was at the bottom of the steps, and there was Matthew, standing there, holding his hand out for her, watching.
That same look from earlier was on his face. The unreadable look that only made her that much more curious about him. About… whatever it was he was thinking.
For now, he drew her into his arms and led her into the ballroom while everyone watched. But he didn’t lead her to the dance floor. Rather, he led her across the room to a man and woman who seemed deep in conversation, broad smiles on their faces.
“Your Grace,” the girl greeted Diana with a bright smile and a curtsey.
Diana’s eyes widened in surprise. Yes. She was a duchess now. The title was hers by right, but she guessed that from the way both of them looked at Matthew, this was not how they would normally greet him.
Matthew actually gave the two of them a small smile and then turned toward Diana. “Diana, these are my cousins, John and Isabelle.”
Diana bobbed a slight curtsey.
John laughed. “None of that now. We’re the ones who should be bowing to you. You’re a duchess now, after all.” He smiled as he said it, and she immediately felt at ease with the two of them.
“We’re going to be great friends,” Isabelle added. “After all, we’re going to be living together.”
“Oh?” Diana looked from Isabelle to Matthew, who only shook his head slightly but didn’t say anything.
“Don’t scare her off,” John chided, casting a beautiful smile in her direction “We don’t live with you. We just tend to spend a great deal of time with Matthew,” he added, before turning to Matthew. “Our father was unable to come today. He sends his regards. And of course, he is very pleased with your marriage.”
“He should be—he’s the one who told me that I should marry, and soon,” Matthew replied.
