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“Whyever not?”
“I am not interested in forming an attachment with any of the men in the village.” She picked up a piece of toast and took a bite.
Anne put the brush down and reached for the hair pins. “Is there a particular reason you are so reluctant?” she asked.
Daphne swallowed her bite before saying, “They are vain and pretentious.”
“All of them?”
“They only seem to care for themselves, and I cannot abide that,” she said, setting the toast on the tray. “Besides, many of them invest in the mine, and you know my thoughts on that.”
“I do.”
“They treat the women and children despicably, and the conditions there are horrid.”
“I must agree with you. It is most unfortunate,” Anne remarked as she stepped back. “Would you care to dress now?”
Daphne rose and stepped over to the settee. After she was dressed, she moved back to the dressing table and admired herself in the mirror. She’d had this gown specifically made for the wedding, and she was pleased with the result.
“You look lovely,” Anne praised as she extended a pair of white gloves.
Daphne accepted the gloves and forced a smile to her face. “Do I look happy?”
Anne laughed. “No, you look as if you just ate something that didn’t agree with you.”
“I shall have to work on that on the way to the church,” Daphne said, smiling genuinely now. She walked over to the door. “I do intend to go riding once I return.”
“I will be waiting.”
“Thank you, Anne.”
Daphne departed from her bedchamber and walked down the hall towards her grandmother’s room. She stopped outside the door and knocked.
“Enter,” her grandmother said.
Daphne opened the door and stepped inside. Her grandmother was sitting at the dressing table putting lotion on her hands, her grey hair neatly coiffed. Daphne couldn’t help noticing that the lines on her grandmother’s face were beginning to deepen, marking her advancing age.
“Good morning,” she greeted.
Her grandmother gave her a knowing look. “How are you faring today?”
Daphne knew it was nearly impossible to hide her true feelings from her grandmother. It had been this way since she was a little girl. Her grandmother had the uncanny ability to know when something was bothering her.
“I must admit that I have been dreading this day ever since Eliza informed me of the betrothal,” Daphne admitted.
“I assumed as much, but life has a funny way of continuing on, whether we are a willing participant or not.”
Daphne smiled. “You are exceptionally wise.”
“No, I am just old and have much more experience than you do,” her grandmother said. “What exactly is bothering you?”
“I’m truly happy for Eliza, but I know my life is about to change now that she is marrying.”
“Change doesn’t have to be a bad thing.”
“How can you say that?” Daphne asked. “I’m losing my friend.”
Her grandmother laughed. “To marriage,” she teased, “not to death.”
