“He said yes.” Louis beamed at her. “Now what do you say, my darling?”
“I say yes too,” she whispered back, and he kissed her, and slipped a small old black leather box out of his pocket. It had been his grandmother’s, and his parents had given it to him when he went to Dordogne. They were anxious to meet Bettina, and they had given him his grandmother’s ring to take to California when he got engaged. He gently put it on her finger, and put the little black box back in the pocket of his tails. The stone was quite large and Bettina was amazed. It fit perfectly, and they walked into the dining room together with it sparkling on her finger. It looked huge on her slender hand. She had never expected her life to turn out so well.
It took exactly two minutes for her grandmother to pick up her lorgnette and stare at her granddaughter’s left hand.
“What is that?” she asked, and looked from Bettina to Louis.
“We have something to tell you,” Bettina said softly, and her father interrupted her immediately.
He stood at the head of the table and smiled at all of them. “I would like to welcome our guest, Monsieur Louis de Lambertin,” Bert said in perfectly accented French, although it had been a long while since he’d spoken it. “And I have an announcement. Monsieur de Lambertin and Bettina are engaged,” he said proudly with a warm glance at his future son-in-law, who was only eight years younger than he was.
“As of when?” Augusta demanded to know, furious not to have been told before.
“As of twenty minutes ago, Mother Campbell,” her son-in-law informed her with a bow. “We wish them well. They will live in Paris, unfortunately for us, and Monsieur de Lambertin will adopt Lili and be her new father. This is a very happy day.” He beamed at his daughter, as tears rolled down Gwyneth’s cheeks. It was all so bittersweet.
“I can’t believe you and Lili are going to be French,” Augusta sniffed at Bettina. “I find that quite shocking.” But she had to admit, he seemed like a very well brought up person, and a nice man. “And when is the wedding?”
“I don’t know. We haven’t set a date yet,” Bettina said shyly.
“You’ll have to do it here. I’m too old to go traveling on trains and boats to France,” not to mention the fact that she had returned to the house from the spirit world six months before and Bettina had no idea if she could travel, nor Josiah or Magnus, or her great-uncle. It was a complication she hadn’t thought of, but she did now. She, Louis, and Lili were leaving in three weeks, and they couldn’t easily return to get married. She looked at Louis and whispered something to him during dinner, and he nodded. She spoke to her parents after dinner. They were delighted at the idea, and gave their permission instantly. It was the perfect solution for a number of reasons she didn’t want to mention to Louis. Bettina wanted to get married at the house, before they went back to France. They could have a reception for their friends in Paris. The Margaux had already offered to give them one. And she just wanted her family at the actual wedding. She wanted the Gregorys there too, but they were in Maine and not returning in time. Louis was very pleased at the idea. That way, they would already be married when they went back to France, and could live together immediately, and travel as man and wife on the ship.
“I’ll arrange everything,” Gwyneth promised. And she was going to see if the Gregorys could be home in time.
The next day, she and Bettina got busy with all the arrangements. They needed a minister, a caterer, and flowers. Bettina needed a dress, but there was no time to have one made. They had decided to have the wedding the following weekend, which was barely more than a week away, two weeks before they went back to France. The next afternoon, Bettina and her mother went up to the attic and began opening boxes, where the family wedding dresses were stored. Gwyneth had broader shoulders and was taller, and her wedding gown looked too old-fashioned and would have taken time to alter. Augusta had always been a much bigger woman. Bettina would have drowned in her wedding gown. But Augusta’s mother had been very much the same size and build as Bettina, and they carefully took out her white satin dress that was entirely encrusted with tiny pearls. It had a beautiful headdress, which looked like a pearl tiara, and Bettina very gently tried it on, mindful of how delicate and old it was. And when she put the dress on, it looked as though it had been made for her.
Louis was visiting Bert at the bank, so Bettina tiptoed down the stairs to her grandmother’s room to show her, and Augusta just stood there and smiled with tears in her eyes.
“May I wear it, Grandma?” she asked, and Augusta nodded.
“Of course…although it’s a shame to waste it on a Frenchman,” she said, but she was smiling, and Bettina knew she liked him and was happy for her.
They put the dress away again carefully, and Bettina had white satin shoes that were perfect for it. It needed no adjustment or alteration, and she was going to wear her hair swept up, with the little pearl tiara and the long veil, with pearls on it too. And the dress had a very long train.
“You’re going to look exquisite in it,” Gwyneth said when they got back to Bettina’s room. A few minutes later, Gwyneth went to Sybil’s office and sent her an email. It was the only way she could think of to contact her with the obstacle of their being a century apart. She told her about the wedding and the date and that Bettina and the entire family hoped they could be there. She went to the office an hour later to see if Sybil had responded, and she had. She explained that there was no way they could come out in time. They had to get Andy off to Edinburgh and Caroline to Los Angeles, Blake had business in New York after that, and then they’d return to the house in Maine and a sailboat they’d chartered, although she hated to miss the wedding. Gwyneth emailed back that she understood.
Gwyneth told Bettina later that the Gregorys had sent a message that they couldn’t get back to San Francisco in time for the wedding. They had too many plans they couldn’t change. They hated to miss it, but it was going to be strictly a family affair. But all Bettina wanted was Louis there, and all he needed was his bride.