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Dinah turned toward Emily. “Your sons are dear boys, and I have no doubt that all of their good-natured tendencies come as a direct result of the time you spend with them. If you enjoy taking your sons outside every afternoon, then you should continue to do so.”
Emily’s mouth pressed into a resolved line and her eyes sparked with a bit of determination. “I think you are right,” Emily said, hazarding a glance toward Aunt Beatrice. “I think...I think I shall continue.”
Aunt Beatrice harrumphed, spun on her heel, and stalked away.
Emily let out a loud sigh as the older woman disappeared. “Thank you,” she said. “I never would have had the nerve to stand up to her if it hadn’t been for you.”
Dinah shrugged, the last tendrils of shame at Aunt Beatrice’s judgements slipping away. “Women such as her simply need to see that you aren’t willing to budge. When you do that, they see that they don’t actually have power over you, and they have no choice but to back down themselves.”
Emily’s brow creased. “Gracious, I don’t know if I could ever do such a thing.”
“You just did.”
Emily’s concern melted into a smile. “I did, didn’t I?”
“You most certainly did.” And it made Dinah happy to see as much.
“My boys are still sleeping,” Emily said suddenly. “Would you care to take a turn about the garden with me?”
“Going outside evenwithoutyour sons?”
Emily laughed. “You’ve sparked a rebellious side in me, Dinah. I’m not sure I’ll ever be the same.”
They laughed even as they turned and started toward the door which led out back. Dinah could hardly imagine Emily being truly rebellious; she was too gentle by half.
“Only,” Emily said, “let us talk of more pleasant things than how Aunt Beatrice believes I should be raising my sons.”
“Gladly.”
“Don’t get me wrong,” Emily said, turning toward Dinah slightly. “She all but raised David and Henry single-handedly. She did a marvelous job with them. I feel quite ungrateful and sinfully proud every time I consider discounting her advice.”
Then the late Lady Stanton had died quite long ago. Dinah filed the bit of information away; she would ask more after Henry’s mother eventually, but just now, she was enjoying her new connection with her sister-in-law.
“I know you’ve had a few modistes come in,” Emily said as they walked side by side down the path. “Have you found a dress to your liking? For the ball, I mean.”
Dinah didn’t need Emily to explain which ball she was referring to. Emily had slowly been speaking more and more of the ball they were throwing in honor of her parents’ visit and less and less about anything else these past few weeks. Though the ball was still several weeks out, it seemed it and her sons were the only things Emily was able to focus on anymore.
“Not yet,” Dinah confessed.
“I do not mean to speak out of turn—”
Dinah doubted Emily could truly be rude, even if she were furious; Dinah’s new sister-in-law was sweet to a fault.
“—only, the ball is not so far out as that, and I’d hate for you to be caught unprepared.”
Really, what Emily meant, was that she wanted nothing more than for everything to be perfect for her father and mother. Truthfully, Dinah had never seen a woman trip over herself so unabashedly in the effort to make sure everything was perfect for her parents.
It was unkind of Dinah to cause her sister-in-law more stress than necessary. “I am sorry for not picking a dress before now.” It was just that none of the ones she’d seen were therightdress. None had elicited that undeniable jolt in her stomach, that thrill through her bones. Usually, choosing a dress was easy for her. But this time, the simple decision was proving quite elusive. “I promise to have something selected soon. One of the modistes I spoke to last week is returning in a few days with some other plates, fabrics, and options.” Perhaps it was time for a change of topic once more.
“Has it been long since last you saw your parents?” Dinah asked.
“Yes, nearly five years.”
Dinah pulled to a stop. “Then they have not met either Little Eddie or Baby John?” Where had her parents been all this while? The East Indies? The Americas? Honestly, Dinah could not find a reason for two individuals to not see their grandsons other than an ocean being between them.
Emily only dropped her head and then shook it gently.
“Have they even met David Jr?”
