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“Very good,” Sally said approvingly. “Now, come. We must get you to the carriage if you are to make it to the picnic on time.”
Rowena sighed and nodded. She would have put off the picnic forever if she could have. But if she wanted to make a good impression on her future mother-in-law, she must start with being punctual.
“All right,” she said, blowing Benji a kiss. “Let us go.”
Sally took her turn petting the puppy before escorting Rowena out of her bedchambers and to the staircase. Just as they reached the top landing and Rowena looked down the staircase, she gasped.
“Oh, my,” she whispered.
Sally squeezed Rowena’s arm and glanced at her with wide eyes.
“Are we late?” she whispered softly.
Rowena glanced at the wall clock down in the main hall of her family’s home. To her relief, she saw that she was not late at all; Andrew was early.
At the bottom of the staircase, Andrew chuckled.
“I know I am early,” he said. “But I have an annoying habit of being punctual. Besides, I thought I should escort my betrothed to the picnic personally.”
At that moment, Rowena noticed three things. Firstly, his suit matched her dress almost identically. Only, where she wore a light blue waist ribbon, he wore a frilly, light blue shirt beneath his dark blue coat. Secondly, it occurred to her that Andrew had never been late for any occasion in all the time she had been engaged to him. And thirdly, he was incredibly handsome and his sparkling eyes never left hers.
“Good day, Andrew,” she said as Sally walked her down the stairs and right to Andrew’s side.
Her fiancé bowed before offering her his arm.
“Good day, Rowena,” he said. “It would seem that we were of the same mind today.”
Rowena blushed, thinking of how strange it was that they should have chosen to wear the same colors. She couldn’t help notice how nice that particular shade of blue looked on him, but she masked her admiration with a small smile.
“It would seem so,” she agreed, taking his arm.
Their arms brushed against one another as she slipped hers through his. Her heart began to race wildly and thrills coursed all through her. Her breath caught when Andrew locked eyes with her again and smiled down at her. There was a pink flush to his cheeks, and his gaze was warm.
She thought her heart might burst as she stared into Andrew’s hazel eyes. She quickly got lost in the starburst of green and gold around his pupils, and she couldn’t help noticing just how handsome her fiancé truly was. Sally, still standing behind them, was forgotten, as was the realization that they were behaving quite scandalously, caught in their private moment.
A shrill bark startled Rowena and broke the trance between the betrothed couple. Rowena looked down at Benji with fond impatience. Never had she felt as giddy as she had while looking into Andrew’s eyes just then, but Benji was very adamant about something.
“He seems to want something,” Andrew said from beside her. He didn’t sound irritated at all. Rather, he sounded curious, as though trying to work out why Benji was barking.
Rowena nodded.
“He is asking to go for a walk,” she said. “One of the maids has been instructed to take him out while I am gone.”
Andrew looked down at Benji again and then back up to Rowena.
“Well, why don’t you bring him with us?” he asked.
Rowena stared open-mouthed at her fiancé. She knew how he felt about dogs, so it caught her off guard to hear him make such a suggestion. She realized that Andrew truly was interested in ensuring she had everything she wanted and needed at all times. Even if it meant doing something he wasn’t entirely familiar or comfortable with.
“Are you sure?” she asked.
Andrew looked down at Benji, who was standing close to his feet and clearly fighting the urge to jump up and put his paws on Andrew’s clean trousers. He smiled at Rowena and nodded.
“I am,” he said.
Rowena turned to Sally, who was already in the process of picking up Benji. Then, the four of them made their way to the carriage. Andrew helped Rowena inside first, then Sally and Benji. Andrew sat beside Rowena, while Sally and Benji sat opposite them. Rowena felt another surge of tingles while sitting so close to her fiancé. How was it that he could have such an effect on her? And was she going mad, or did he seem to be feeling some of the connection that she felt, as well?
“Tell me,” he said, thankfully breaking the spell he had been quickly casting on her. “How goes the planning for our engagement ball?”
