The three women present all laughed, rewarding Algernon for his wonderful lightheartedness.
“Algernon, people do not offer little boat rides as part of the wedding celebration. Really, when have you ever known of such a thing?” Hunter laughed.
“People only do not offer such a thing because they do not have their own lake, my dear fellow. Really, having a lake of your own presents one with so much possibility when planning such a celebration.” Algernon persisted much to the delight of Emmeline’s mother and sister.
Emmeline, her mother, and sister had been invited once again to spend the day at Addison Hall. When she had first realized that Algernon Rochester was present, Emmeline found herself inordinately pleased. He always seemed to provide a light and cheery atmosphere which put all present in a good mood. Furthermore, he seemed to fortuitously provide entertainment for her mother and sister, affording opportunities for Emmeline and Hunter to be alone here and there throughout the day.
Now that they were engaged, Emmeline found that she was not any less doubtful about the choice that she and Hunter had made. She still wondered if he harboured feelings for his old love. It was a notion which had been even more deeply entrenched from the moment she had spied the Duchess of Galcross at the back of the ballroom on the night of their engagement.
Felicity had looked truly breathtaking and, when Emmeline first saw her, she thought she might actually faint. She had been in that deep and final discussion with Clara Lennox and had thought that there could be nothing that would take her attention away from so curious a conversation. But the Duchess of Galcross had caught her attention immediately and held it completely the entire time, so much so that she had dismissed Clara Lennox much sooner than she would ever have imagined.
When Felicity had disappeared as suddenly as she had arrived, Emmeline began to wonder whether she had seen her at all. For one thing, the woman had not been dressed in the traditional black of a widow in mourning, something she could hardly imagine a Duchess to do. But her heart told her most distinctly that she had seen Felicity clearly, and she had seen Hunter talking to her most determinedly.
The moment the Duchess disappeared, Hunter strode towards the other end of the ballroom, his face set in a determined frown. She knew, of course, that he was about to make his announcement; their announcement. But quite what that announcement was to be, Emmeline could not say. For an awful moment, she thought she was about to hear the worst. She thought she was soon to hear yet another man she assumed she would one day marry announce his intention to marry another. By the time he had gained the attention of the entire room, Emmeline was fighting an overwhelming urge to run.
When he had cheerfully announced that he was soon to be marrying Miss Emmeline Fitzgerald, the woman in question almost fainted away with relief. In fact, she had been so relieved that she had almost immediately dispelled thoughts of Felicity from her mind. The moment she realized she was not to be publicly humiliated once again, nothing else seemed to matter.
However, by the time the next day had dawned, her old fears returned, and she began, once again, to wonder if she could manage a life married to a man she loved but who could not love her in return.
“But what about doves?” Algernon Rochester’s cheerful and booming tones snapped Emmeline back into the present.
“What about doves, my dear fellow?” Hunter said with mock trepidation that made all present laugh.
“If you will not have little boats, will you not have little doves?” Algernon said and held his arms out to the side as he grinned broadly. “You could have them set about in woven baskets here and there, and when you come to toast your union, have your footmen open the baskets and the doves will flap their way out and fly away at once. It would be quite magnificent.”
“Oh, I say, how lovely.” Constance Fitzgerald had been immediately transported, almost as if she were seeing the thing in life instead of just in her mind’s eye.
Emmeline immediately looked across to Hunter and, seeing his amused look at her mother’s sudden excitement, she smiled at him mischievously. He looked back at her with equal amusement, reminding her of the wonderful day they had spent talking of books and finding common amusement at her mother’s extreme reaction to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Something about it made her feel suddenly close to him as if everything would be alright in the end.
“Mrs Fitzgerald, I trust you are taking my cousin’s interference with a pinch of salt. You will not find many of his suggestions anywhere approaching sensible.” Hunter smiled at Emmeline’s mother so warmly that she felt her love for him grow even more.
“And I suppose it will be almost winter at the time.” Constance seemed suddenly a little deflated. “I do not even know if we could get doves at that time of year.” She smiled sadly, and Emmeline thought she would burst with amusement.
She looked over at Hunter once again and could see that he was suffering, his eyes wide and his lips grimly set as he tried to clearly hold on to what was likely to be a truly sensational bout of laughter.
“Mama, they are not seasonal like vegetables,” Rose said quite innocently, and finally, Emmeline gave in and laughed. “Whatever is so funny about that?” Rose went on but smiled.
“I think it would probably be too cold for us all to be outside celebrating in winter.” Emmeline finally gathered herself and tried to speak sensibly.
“Oh dear, what a dreadful shame,” Constance said, none the wiser of the amusement she had inadvertently caused.
“What say we take a look down by the lake, my dear woman,” Algernon said and proffered his arm to Emmeline’s mother. “After all, there is no harm in making little plans, just in case we have a mild winter, is there?”
“No indeed, MrRochester,” Constance said and took his arm.
Constance, Rose, and Algernon Rochester all made their way down towards the lake, and Emmeline could hear them chattering happily all the way. Whatever became of her and Hunter, at least she knew that her mother and sister were most comfortable with the arrangement with Hunter and his family. It was one worry off her mind, and for that she was grateful.
“I take it you do not wish to follow them and join in the planning?” Hunter said with a laugh as he settled back down onto the chair on the little terrace.