She mumbled a halfhearted response, but then her body was being shaken.
“Felicity! Get up!”
“It’s your wedding day!” a third voice announced, sending the room into a fit of giggles.
Her eyes opened then, and she found Ruth and her three sisters peering over her.
“Good morning,” she told them all, sheepishly, stretching as she blinked the sleep from her eyes.
“All right girls,” her mother called as she too entered Felicity’s bedroom. “We need to give Felicity space so she can get ready. We all need to get ready. Ruth will have enough to do without us crowding the room. Go on,” she said, shooing Felicity’s sisters away, “go, get ready. You may come back when you are all dressed.”
After a moment of half-hearted groans, the room emptied.
“Ruth, is the bath for the bride prepared?” her mother asked.
“I will go check on it,” Ruth told them before scurrying away.
Her mother had been right. Without a lady’s maid for any of them, Ruth would be helping all of the ladies in the house dress, and then she would have to dress herself. Felicity wondered if Ruth had gotten any sleep last night with as much as she needed to do.
“Ruth is lucky to have the next week or two off after all of this effort she has put into today,” her mother said as if she had read Felicity’s mind.
“That is very kind of you to give her some time to rest,” Felicity agreed as she pushed the covers back and rose.
“I am not the one responsible for it,” her mother replied. “You are. Or rather, the Duke is.”
Felicity furrowed her brows trying to make sense of her mother’s cryptic response.
“What are you talking about?” she finally asked.
“His Grace decided to add to our household staff after seeing how much Ruth did during that dinner a few weeks ago. He gave me a generous allowance and instructed me to replace Ruth as well as a few other positions.”
Felicity was ready to fight for her friend’s position, but her mother continued speaking, not giving her the chance to cut in.
“I must admit, I did not like the idea of replacing Ruth. She has been with the family for so long, and I know how fond you girls are of her. But then His Grace kindly explained that every duchess needs a lady’s maid, and he would not dream of separating the two of you. Her replacement is set to start tomorrow although I thought you could do the honors of telling Ruth. And with your honeymoon travels beginning tomorrow, I assumed that Ruth would be staying here to rest and then familiarize herself with her new position.”
Felicity’s jaw hung open as she didn’t know what to say other than, “Thank you, Mother. Thank you; thank you; thank you.”
She squeezed her mother in a tight hug, tears of relief welling in her eyes. While she had not admitted it to anyone else, Felicity was more than a little worried about how she would adjust to being the Duchess of Ferndown. Having a friend by her side would make it all a bit easier.
Just then, Ruth walked back into the room to announce everything was ready.
“I will be off getting myself dressed. Call if you need anything,” her mother told her before breezing out of the room.
Felicity shot her friend a huge smile, eliciting one in return, and the two set about getting her ready for her wedding. From the moment she had awoken that morning, butterflies had taken root in her stomach and refused to budge. Even the relaxing bath salts Ruth had sprinkled into the warm water did little to ease her nerves.
“What is the matter?” Ruth asked as she toweled off Felicity’s hair once they returned back to her room. “You are almost shaking. I thought you loved the Duke? I thought he was a good man?”
Felicity blinked back her surprise at Ruth’s questions.
“I do love him, and he is a good man. He is a great man,” Felicity countered. “I-I am nervous at the idea of everyone’s eyes on me. You know, I do not do well with so many people watching my every move.”
“That is nonsense,” Ruth told her, dismissing Felicity’s worries. “If you did not do well under pressure, the Queen would not have named you as the Diamond of the Season. If you did not do well under pressure, we would not be here. Besides, all those people do not matter. There is only one person who matters, and he loves you. You have nothing to worry about.”
Felicity reached up and squeezed the hand Ruth had placed on her shoulder.
“Thank you, Ruth. I do not know what I would do without you.”
Ruth laughed sadly and said, “I guess we will find out soon enough. I have no doubts that your lady’s maid is more than capable.”