I nearly dropped the heather. “Come in.”
Elizabeth stepped into the room. She’d changed out of the simple muslin dresses she wore most days into one of her silk gowns from London. She sat beside me on the dressing bench and fixed a loose pin in my hair. I wondered what my mother would have thought of me. Had she ever imagined my wedding day? If she were here, would she hold me tight and tell me she was proud of the woman I’d become?
“There now.” Elizabeth smoothed down a curl. “You look lovely.”
I touched the dried bouquet of heather delicately. There had been a man once—one of Mother’s clients—who bought her a china set with a heather pattern. I must have been thirteen years old at the time. Mother loved fine china, but she’d sold the set to buy me an elegant dress.
There’s only one way out of this life for you, Juliet, she had said. In a few years you’ll need to find a respectable young man. Wealthy. From a good family. Charm him, make him fall in love with you, and never, ever tell him who you really are.
Montgomery wasn’t from a respectable family, nor was he wealthy. But he loved me despite my faults, and I loved him despite his.
Elizabeth helped me undo the ties of my robe and carefully slipped the dress over my head. I’d expected it to be stiff with newness, but it was soft as silk. As Elizabeth knelt to adjust the hem, a stray pin from the bouquet stuck my finger and a bead of blood appeared. My strength wavered. Was love enough? What would Montgomery do when he discovered Edward hiding away in the attic?
“Are you nervous?” Elizabeth asked.
“Yes, a bit,” I confessed. “It’s difficult to know what the future will hold.”
She gave me a sympathetic smile. “Whatever comes, you’ll weather it. Besides, whatever happens can’t be as bad as poor Victor Frankenstein’s wedding night, can it? There’s only room enough in this house for one cursed wedding tale. I promise you—no murders, no attacks, no monsters lurking in the shadows. Now smile, and marry that man.”
I took a deep breath and nodded. Elizabeth squeezed my hand. The door opened and Balthazar stuck his head in. He wore an old black sash tied around his neck in a bow, since all of the formal wear was too small for him.
He stood at attention. “We’re ready, miss.”
BALTHAZAR LED ME DOWN the stairs. With my arm in his, we stepped out of the glass-encased winter solarium into the south garden, where the servants gathered around an altar of winter greenery. Montgomery stood at the front. His hair was combed back, his hands clasped in front of him. As far back as I could remember, he had always been in my life. Now he always would be.
I had taken him for granted back when I’d been a foolish girl in awe of my father, but I wasn’t foolish anymore. I was keeping Edward secret from him, but he was keeping secrets, too. In time, everything would come out, and we would lay ourselves bare and make amends. We had years for that.
I took another step, the lace hem sweeping the ground. Lily and Moira whispered to each other about how lovely my dress was. I spotted little Annabelle in the back, standing on tiptoe to see until Carlyle picked her up and set her on his shoulder.
I squeezed Balthazar’s arm. “I’m sorry again about last night. I hope you can forgive me. There’s no one I’d rather give me away than you.”
“It’s all right, miss,” he said somberly. “Just remember your promise. After the wedding, you must tell him.”
He stood straighter, taking his duties seriously. I was in awe of him. No human could forgive and forget so easily.
Lucy stood to the side of the wedding party, dressed in a purple gown with Edward’s pocket watch glinting around her neck, no longer a sign of his death but of his life. She caught my eye and gave me a reassuring smile to say that everything was all right with him, and then raised a fiddle and started playing a reel. I had forgotten she could play. The music was beautiful. Overhead, the sinking sun found breaks in the clouds and cast a golden-colored light over the wedding party. Balthazar led me toward the altar.
“Montgomery says we shall live here, at the estate,” Balthazar whispered to me. “He said this will be our home forever.”
My stomach clenched. It reminded me of when I’d fled Father’s island, when I’d known we had to leave Balthazar behind even though it broke my heart. I squeezed his arm harder, reassuring myself that I’d never have to make a choice that difficult again. “Of course we shall.”
He grinned, and we walked the rest of the way to the wedding party. Balthazar patted my arm and then moved to stand next to Lucy. She gave his hand a squeeze, and he beamed.
Montgomery came to stand beside me. I could feel his presence like warm sunshine, my mind racing to take all this in, the flowers and the clouds overhead and his hands clasped behind his back.