And his desire to spend more time with her wasn’t just so that he could bed her. Thoughts of devouring Celestine were not all that consumed him. They were, indeed, a highlight, but they were not the sole motivation.
Edward, a man who had never wanted to marry, found suddenly that he rather like this state of life.
I cannot help but wonder now, what took me so long?
That was a thought that made Edward chuckle as he returned home that evening, hurrying through the front doors, eager to see his wife. Just as he was certain that she would be eager to see him.
He found her in the dining room, which surprised him as she ought to have finished eating a while ago. But when he saw who she was with, the reason for her tardiness became clear. Therefore, rather than walking in and announcing himself,Edward chose to stay by the doorway, silent and hidden, watching the scene unfold before him
“… it has come down to two choices,” Millicent explained to Celestine as they sat together at the table.
“And what is the problem? Why the indecision,” Celestine asked.
Millicent clicked her tongue. “One of the gowns is undeniably more elegant, and I know that Edward would likely wish for me to wear that one.”
“And the other…”
“It is…” Millicent grinned wickedly. “It is not so appropriate. At least Edward will not think that it is.”
“Ah, so it is a choice between scandal and propriety.”
“More like looking ravishing or looking as my grandmother might have back in her time.”
The two women giggled together, and Edward smiled to see it.
He had worried about asking Celestine to postpone their honeymoon until after the Season. While their marriage might not have been traditional, he was certain that she still expected such an engagement, and that she certainly looked forward to it.
As did I, for that matter, for obvious reasons…
But Millicent came first and she always would, and it was imperative that Celestine understood that and made her peace with it.
As he had come to learn this last week, not only had Celestine made her peace with her place in their home, she had risen to the occasion like he could not have thought possible.
The two women got along famously. Millicent seemed to trust Celestine as if she were her own mother, and Celestine clearly valued this level of trust and was eager to do as she had promised Edward that she would.
Often and throughout the day, Edward would find the two talking; sometimes sitting in the corner of a room, sometimes taking walks across the garden. He guessed those conversations to be the type which he was not suited for, and he could not have been more pleased that Celestine recognized this, saw how much she was needed, and dedicated herself to molding Millicent into a lady of theton.
It makes me wonder what I was so worried about all this time, just as I wonder at what I might have missed had Celestine not come along.
“So, let us be serious.” Celestine stopped her laughing and touched her chin in thought. “It is a garden party that you will be dressing for. Meaning, that it is a day event.” She licked her lips. “Meaning that it will be quite warm…”
Millicent sat up eagerly. “So, it would be strange if I dressed in a way that covered too much skin.” She giggled.
“We do not want you sweating all day,” Celestine agreed. “How horrid that would look.”
“Tragic,” Millicent agreed. “So, it’s decided. I’ll wear the…” She flashed her eyes wickedly. “The more seductive gown.”
The two women giggled further and Edward grimaced. While he liked that Celestine was taking care of Millicent, he wondered too if she might be a bad influence on her.Or am I the bad influence of Celestine, and this is the natural result?
“Let me see them both on your first,” Celestine said. “Then we will decide.”
“Yes!”
Celestine looked wryly at Millicent. “I do now wonder if this sudden concern for your gown is for a reason. Is there a particular man whose attention you are trying to capture?”
“Maybe.” Millicent looked away as if embarrassed.
“Oh, tell me who.” Celestine leaned forward.
