“It’s just for a little while,” she replied, forcing a brave smile. “I’ll be kept busy with the seamstresses Emma insists must begin the dressmaking process immediately.”
“You speak of something most women love as if it’s torture.”
“For me it is,” she confessed. “You must know by now I’m not very feminine.”
“I beg to differ,” he countered. “I find your womanly attributes intoxicating.”
“Be gone, before I drag you upstairs.”
Chuckling, he bowed to Rebecca before boarding his carriage.
He returned Susan’s wave until Frederick had driven them out of sight. Settling back to enjoy the journey, he cupped the pleasant arousal Susan’s threat had given rise to. “Three weeks of waiting and I might go mad.”
As the miles sped by, he reminisced about his disdain of Edwina Waxenby when she’d waved goodbye outside Tattersalls. Life had changed dramatically in the short time since then. He had changed. Susan had resurrected the Griff who’d buried himself in dissolute pursuits for too long. “You’re a lovesick fool,” he chided, though he had no regrets about his besottedness. So, why hadn’t he confessed his love? In the throes of sexual madness with women whose names he couldn’t even recall, he’d cooed insincere words ofamour éternel.
He was in love with Susan, but hadn’t summoned the backbone to tell her. He supposed he was a typical male in that regard and resolved to remedy the situation as soon as they reunited.
*
After luncheon onthe day of Griff’s departure, Susan embarked on a trip to Byrom’s, Manchester’s premier mercers. Emma and Rebecca accompanied her. Purchasing fabric for a wedding dress was a bridal rite of passage, one Susan had never thought to experience, and she was excited, as were her friends.
Lively conversation about recent royal weddings seemed to shorten the journey. Emma was particularly enamored of the gown worn by Princess Charlotte when she married Leopold of Belgium the previous year. However, Rebecca reminded them only royal brides were allowed to wear silver.
Susan’s preference was for a simple gown of muslin, or perhaps cotton, fancied up with embroidery. As for color, she’d thought a lighter shade of gray than what she normally wore.
Emma and Rebecca wouldn’t hear of it, especially after the shop assistant at Byrom’s showed them a print in the latest edition ofAckermann’s Repository. The petite woman insisted a white satin dress with an overdress of striped gauze wasde rigueurfor any aristocratic bride.
They spent a pleasant afternoon drinking copious cups of tea and sampling delicious petits fours while perusing several books of fashion plates. It was eventually agreedAckermann’swhite satin and gauze overdress trimmed with Brussels lace would be the perfect thing.
Susan had never worn such a beautiful creation. She’d normally have been the first to criticize extravagance, but her perceptions had changed. She wanted to look beautiful for the man she loved. The occasion warranted frivolity. She chuckled inwardly, marveling at the frivolous side of her character Griff had resurrected. Life had been too serious for too long.
“Pearls, I think,” Emma suggested.
“My mother left me hers,” Susan replied.
“White satin slippers and white kid gloves,” the sales clerk said. “I recommend Archer’s for those. They’re not far from here.”
“What about a veil?” Rebecca asked.
“Old fashioned,” was the terse reply, accompanied by a sour look from the shop assistant.
Emma charged the purchases to the Farnworth account. Byrom’s man of work loaded the packages wrapped in brown paper into their carriage.
Susan instructed Conrad to head for home instead of following the directions to Archer’s. “I’m sure Timpson’s in Preston can procure the satin slippers,” she told her friends as she boarded. “And I have Mama’s white gloves.”
“It’s good luck to have something of your mother’s,” Rebecca said with a yawn.
Given the loveless marriage her mother had endured, Susan doubted the veracity of that thought. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes, soon lulled to sleep by the movement of the carriage. She dreamed of Griff’s wide-eyed delight when he saw her walking down the aisle.
Jolted awake when a wheel lurched into a pothole, she realized things had gone strangely quiet. Opening one eye, she discovered Emma and Rebecca had also dozed off.
Their spending spree had worn everybody out!
*
After an uneventfuljourney that seemed all the longer as the distance between him and Susan increased, Griff was delighted by Potts’ announcement that Tom Glazebrook had already taken up residence in the servants’ wing of Clifton Heights.
He hurried to the stables where he found the man he was confident could help him establish a successful stud farm. “You’re a sight for sore eyes,” he exclaimed, pumping Tom’s hand. “Thank you for coming.”