His Spoilt Lady by Vanessa Brooks Page A

The sensible solution, he concluded, was for him
to remove himself far from the line of fire. Sir Thomas Wainwright
was adamant that the wedding would take place, and he was extremely
pleased that his plans had at last come to fruition. He was most
reassuring and jovial whilst seeing John to his coach after
luncheon.
    Linnett was
first dismayed by John’s absence but was now relieved to find him
gone. Embarrassed by the treatment he had meted out to her in the
coach the previous evening, she felt relieved not to have to face
him again so soon. She reasoned that with him out of the way, she
could persuade her father to let her remain in England while John
returned to America.
    Now that she
was feeling calmer, Linnett started to face the fact that in the
society in which they lived, where the slightest hint of scandal
ruined a young girl’s reputation, she had no choice really but to
accept John’s proposal of marriage. Of the marriage bed, well,
whenever her thoughts drifted to that terrifying and most
embarrassing subject, Linnett remembered the kiss on the balcony,
her confusion would grow, and she would begin to feel quite
strange. She decided to dwell no further on the matter.
    The days passed
quickly in a whirl of activity, Linnett settled down, and she began
to enjoy all the fuss and attention. Her mother’s wedding dress was
brought down from the attic; it had been carefully wrapped and
preserved in camphor and linen. The heavy satin garment that had
once been white was now aged to a golden cream. It had a low,
rounded neckline and three ruffles edged with tiny seed pearls. The
sleeves were long, but just below the elbow flowed layer upon layer
of lace, sewn with the same tiny pearls. The skirt of the dress was
flounced around the edges and each flounce decorated with an
embroidered rose, which was embellished again with the pearls. The
style was not of today’s fashion, but for once, Linnett did not
care about that. This was her beloved mother’s wedding gown, and
she was thrilled with it. After all, it was still a strikingly
beautiful dress of quality and richness, and she loved it.
    Linnett had put
forward her post-marriage plan to her father, and rather
surprisingly, he had listened to her. Sir Thomas even seemed to
agree with her plans. He told her that contrary to what she
thought, John was a very reasonable and kindly young man, who would
no doubt consider what she had suggested very seriously. Since this
conversation, Linnett had convinced herself that the problem was as
good as solved, her troublesome husband would be gone and she would
be staying on at Lavenstock Hall after her marriage, free to
continue the life that she loved.
     

Chapter 5
    The day of her wedding dawned cloudy and dull. So much
for good omens, Linnett thought, upon rising and gazing out of her
bedroom window at the depressingly grey weather. She had
breakfasted in bed and then bathed in the copper tub. Lottie had
put her hair up, and it was parted in the middle and back with
ringlets hanging either side of her face, a few wispy tendrils of
hair framed her face. She planned to wear her mother’s pearl
earrings but no other jewellery.
    Linnett turned
away from the window and slipped her feet into her soft satin
slippers. Standing quietly in her shift, she waited for Lottie to
help her into her wedding dress. Amazingly, Linnett felt calm and
quite dreamy. Lottie and Hattie lifted the layers of foamy
petticoats over Linnett’s head and smoothed them down. Then,
carefully and gently, they put the precious wedding gown onto
Linnett while she stood patiently allowing Lottie to fasten all the
tiny satin-covered buttons up at the back of the dress. “There! All
done, miss. Aaah, miss, you look just like a princess from a fairy
tale, you do!” Lottie turned Linnett so that she could see herself
in the looking glass.
    Linnett gazed
at her reflection, pleased that she did actually look quite regal a
princess indeed. She swished to and fro in