It was a bit unconventional, but she didn’t own a white dress and purple suited her personality, in her opinion. And besides, the fact that it had been her last dress chosen with her mother made it special—almost as if her mother would be there in spirit, if not in person.
Decision made, she carefully returned the dress to her wardrobe, picked up the pen and continued her letter.
I will be wearing purple satin, and I very much look forward to meeting you.
Sincerely,
Helen Bailey
She’d wanted to sign it Mrs. Samuel Allen, but she laughed, knowing she’d have plenty of time for that later. She studied the letter while she blew on the ink to help it dry. Her hand had been steady, and her words were clear. She reached deep down for any thoughts that she was making a mistake, and, finding none, folded the letter and addressed the envelope to Samuel Allen, her future husband.
Chapter 9
“Papa, please, can we go?” Meg heard outside her door on the morning of the wedding—her wedding.
“Girls, it’s a very small affair and I don’t believe they’re expecting everyone.” Her father’s response to her twin sisters, Saffron and Sage, was clear and strong. If it had been her he was speaking to, she’d know that there was no room for argument.
But Saffron and Sage had experience convincing their father with a power born of doubling up on him, as she suspected all twins did.
“Suzanne invited us herself when we were in the mercantile yesterday, and she said she’s expecting all of us. Planning for it,” Saffron told her father.
Meg’s stomach twisted at the thought that her entire family might actually be at her wedding—and for a second, she wasn’t sure if that was a good or a bad thing. She hadn’t had the courage to tell her father yet, and was hoping that he would find out afterward, when it was all said and done. She was of legal age by several years and didn’t need his permission, and she knew she wouldn’t get any other kind of blessing or understanding, as he didn’t want her to have suitors at all, let alone get married to someone he thought she barely knew.
As she slowly packed her belongings in the bags that were hidden on the far side of her bed, she thought again of Samuel and how happy they would be. In her dreams, awake or asleep, she pictured the two of them, a happy family, maybe with a couple of children, in Samuel’s lovely house in town. She’d seen it once when she’d been in town with her brother Hank and he’d needed to drop something off.
There was something then and there about the white, clapboard house that had captured her fancy. It was full of beautiful furniture that she’d assumed had come from New York, where she knew Samuel to have been born and raised. Some of the furnishings were things she’d never seen before, having been born and raised in the West, but she remembered thinking that it was lovely, like something you’d see in a big family house, but also comfortable—because it was Samuel’s home.
She quickly put her hands behind her back to hide the skirt she was folding when she heard the knock on the door.
“Yes?” she said, her heartbeat quickening.
“It’s me, Clara. May I come in?”
Meg quickly stuffed the skirt in her bag and kicked it under the bed before saying, “Of course, Clara. Come in.”
Clara smiled as she entered and Meg’s heart tugged, happy that Clara would be at her wedding.
“I was wondering if you were going to Samuel’s wedding this afternoon. And if you are planning to attend, I’d be happy to fix your hair for you this morning.” She smiled as she sat down on the side of the bed.
Meg’s hands flew to her braids. She hadn’t even thought about what to do with them! If Clara hadn’t offered, she’d have shown up just as she looked now. She sighed with relief and said, “Oh, Clara, that would be wonderful. I do plan to go, and I need practice at fixing my hair on my own.”
Clara stood and laughed. “There’s no rush, Meg. Plenty of time for you to learn, but I’m happy to do it today and give you another lesson. Back in a bit? I’ll gather my hairpins and combs.”
“Yes, that would be wonderful, Clara. I very much appreciate it.” Clara smiled again and shut the door behind her.
Meg went to her jewelry box on the vanity and opened it, rummaging for two tortoise-shell and pearl combs she knew were there somewhere. They had been a gift from her parents after they’d taken a trip to the west coast and seen the ocean. Her hand closed around them and she held them up to her hair, satisfied that they would make a fine addition to the purple satin dress.
She bathed quickly, brushing her hair out beforehand and making sure she used the scented soap she’d borrowed from Clara a few days before. She dressed slowly, stopping occasionally to look in the mirror and make sure that things were in order. As she put on her crisp, white shirt over the beautiful satin skirt, she smiled, knowing she’d made the right choice.