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Eloise blushed. She knew the whole ton was talking about what had happened at Saint Martin’s in the Fields, and that her name was now known far and wide.
“I only wish I’d been able to come to you sooner, but I was forced to go to Madame Jonquil’s for my last dress.”.
Miss Palin laughed and set aside her stitching. She rose from her place by the fire and took up her tape measure, indicating to Eloise to come and stand in the bay window looking out over a pretty garden at the back of the workroom.
“I’m sure Madame Jonquil dressed you up in all manner of bits of lace,” she sniffed, beginning to measure.
Her niece wrote down the numbers Miss Palin muttered, and Eloise glanced at Alice and Delphine and smiled. It was this she had always dreamed of – being measured for her wedding dress with her sister at her side. It was what any woman surely dreamed of in the days before her wedding. This was how it was meant to be, a stark contrast to the sorrow she had felt at Madame Jonquil’s.
“There was quite a lot of lace,” Eloise admitted, and Miss Palin laughed.
“A time, that’s all that’s needed. But we’ll find something just right for you, My Lady. You’re to marry the Duke of Kenwood, I see,” she said, glancing at an open periodical on the workroom table.
“Is it announced already? Goodness, yes, how news travel. But we’re getting married in Draycott, the village where my sister lives. I didn’t want a society wedding, you see,” Eloise declared, and Miss Palin looked up and smiled at her.
“So many women come here to choose their dress, and I rejoice with them. But so many want all the trappings without the love that should go with it. It makes me so happy to hear you say that, Lady Snowden. A simple wedding with one purpose alone, to marry the man you love, and to be married by the man who loves you.” She straightened up and examined the measurements her niece had written down.
Eloise felt a shiver run through her. It was precisely how she felt, and precisely how she knew Jackson felt, too.
“You’re quite right, Miss Palin. I only wanted to marry for love. That’s all.”
“And I promise we’ll make a dress worthy of those feelings. Now, let’s look at some material. No lace in sight.” Miss Palin turned to the worktable.
They spent a happy few hours selecting materials, trying on dresses, and talking of the wedding. It was just as Eloise had imagined it to be, and Alice and Delphine offered their advice before Eloise settled on a simple white dress without trim or embellishment, but elegant in its design.
“Oh, I think it’s wonderful,” she exclaimed, as Miss Palin and her niece beamed.
“We’ll make the adjustments to it and have it sent out to Draycott in plenty of time for the wedding,” Miss Palin said as she bid Eloise, Alice and Delphine goodbye.
“Oh, Miss Palin, you don’t know how happy I am,” Eloise bubbled, and the seamstress laughed.
“I see that same happiness on the faces of so many brides. It’s a delight, my dear, a true delight,” she said, as she waved them off.
The carriage was waiting for them, and it took them back to their father’s lodgings where they found the Viscount in a state of excitement.
“Ah, my dears, what a morning I’ve endured,” he cried, looking up from his desk, as Eloise and Alice entered his study.
Eloise was still marveling over the transformation that had occurred in her father since the day of her failed wedding to Lord Crawford. He was a different man entirely, as lighthearted as a feather, and with all the joys and kindnesses of a man who knows his blessings.
“What’s happened, Father?” Eloise asked.
“I’ve been removed from the privy council. My name, our name, it’s no longer welcome in high society. Apparently, His Majesty’s ministers have advised against my being welcome at court.” He laughed.
Eloise was confused. Her father’s happy tone was in stark contrast to the news he had delivered. He had always taken his position on the privy council very seriously. He was one of the most important men in England, and to have such privilege removed was surely a terrible blow. She looked at him curiously, glancing at Alice, who also seemed concerned.
“But isn’t that a bad thing, Father? I thought you delighted in your position on the privy council?”
Her father looked up and laughed again.
“What does it matter? Pomp and ceremony, stuffy formality, endless dull men talking endlessly about dull matters. But I’ve been on an adventure, my grandchildren showed me what really mattered, as did my two daughters. No, I want nothing more to do with privy councils, monarchs, or affairs of state. I feel entirely delighted at the prospect of never having anything to do with it ever again. I’m going to retire to Draycott and have adventures with my grandchildren.”
“I think that sounds like an excellent idea, Father,” she said, and her father beamed at her.
“I’ll have Anderton pack the house up, and I’ll take a small cottage near the farm. James mentioned one whilst we were there. I feel like a young man again.”
“And we’ll be only too happy to have you, Father. We can all live in scandal together,” Alice joked, and they all laughed.
They spent the next few days together in London, before returning to Draycott for the wedding. Eloise had not seen Jackson for over a week, but he had remained in the countryside, and upon their return to the farm, he had some welcome news…
