Emily threw herself into rehearsing. She was focused on the music for the Great Britain tour, as the European tour was not to be until next year. She had never worked so hard before, and she maintained her lessons with Giles, while making sure to avoid crossing paths with Linton. Although, Giles told her that Linton was similarly making an effort to avoid her.

She received a note from the Duchess in the early post one morning. She was requesting a meeting with her and Alice at Linfield Hall to continue planning the wedding. And in the same post was a letter from Alice, confirming the Duchess’s request and offering to take her to Linfield in her carriage. Emily replied in the affirmative to both letters.

Emily was not certain if this was to be a day trip or an overnight stay, so she packed a few night things in case she needed to remain.

When Alice called for her on the morning of the trip, she seemed most excited as they settled into her carriage.

“Guess what I have?” Alice said, enthusiastically, as she placed her hand on a large box in the seat beside her.

“Oh, Alice…” Emily said, bringing her hand to her mouth as she suspected the box might contain her wedding gown. “Is it…?”

“It is,” Alice confirmed. “I thought at the last fitting that it might be ready soon. And Monsieur Delavan exceeded my expectations by having it ready in time to show Grandmamma.”

“Might I peek?” Emily asked reaching over and trying to lift the top of the box.”

Alice playfully swatted at her hand and said, “Not yet. You already know what it looks like, and I want you to be as surprised as we all shall be when you try it on and we see how lovely you are.”

“Have you heard anything from Mark?” Alice asked.

“Not a word since just before he left for Heidelberg.”

“Nor I.”

Emily fell into a reverie as they left the outskirts of London and began traveling through the Essex countryside. The fullness of summer was upon the land and the trees fluttered gently in a light breeze. So, she found herself thinking about her new life to come and all the impending changes that would soon be upon her.

She would be traveling the country and later all over Europe. She would be married to the most delightful man she could ever have imagined. And she would be leaving her family, as would Ruth and someday Teresa, too, no doubt. She felt badly for her mother and father, but she knew they would always be welcome at Linfield Hall for extended visits if they chose.

When the carriage finally arrived, she and Alice were welcomed by the now familiar Wesley.

“Good day, Mrs. Savoy, Miss Emily. The Duchess is expecting you in her quarters.”

“Thank you, Wesley, no need to show us up,” Alice said, as she carried the box with the gown.

“Very good, Ma’am.”

As they were heading across the entrance hall, the door to the library suddenly opened and Mark appeared.

“Two of my most favorite of three ladies in the whole world,” he bellowed in an exaggerated greeting.

Emily rushed toward Mark and fell into his arms.

“And I hope that third favorite lady is Grandmamma,” Alice said with a smile.”

“None other.”

“I did not know you would be back from Germany by now,” Emily said, overly delighted.

“I wanted it to be a surprise. Grandmamma said she wanted to meet with the two of you for wedding planning and I insisted she not mention I was back.”

“Oh, now all I want to do is stay here with you.”

“We shall lunch together after your meeting. And if you are very, very good perhaps we can ride or walk or fish,” Mark teased.

Emily withdrew and made a face of disgust. “Absolutely no fishing. It is cruel and repulsive.”

“But you eat fish, do you not?”

“Well… yes, I do. But I do not need to see them being caught.”

“Then off you go and I shall see you later. I want to go over the results of my meeting with Herr Darmstadt with you after lunch. There are a number of items I should like to discuss with you about the contracts and the tour.”

Alice came over, gave her brother a kiss on the cheek, and pulled Emily away from Mark.

“Come, dear Sister, Grandmamma awaits and does not like to be kept waiting.”

They ascended the stairway and headed to her suite.

“Ah, there you are,” the Duchess greeted. “I saw the carriage arrive and wondered what was keeping you.”

“The engaged couple were reuniting,” Alice said with a grin.

“Yes, of course.” And then she saw the box Alice was carrying. “And is that what I think it is? I recognize the name on the box.”

“Yes, it is,” Alice said and turned to Emily. “Would you like to try it on?”

“Oh, yes, please.”

Emily retired to the Duchess’s bedroom and changed. When she returned both Alice and the Duchess were in awe and could not immediately speak.

“Oh, my dear child. How absolutely lovely you look, I think you are the most beautiful bride I have ever seen.” Then she turned to Alice. “You were lovely, too, of course.”

“But not as lovely as she is,” Alice said, beaming, and then she went to her bag which she had put on a nearby table. She rummaged inside and came out with a wide flat box. She placed in on the table and opened it up, taking out a beautiful but simple sapphire and emerald necklace.

Emily gasped as Alice leaned in to fasten it around her neck.

“Oh, Alice…” Emily barely spoke.

“This is your wedding present from Chester and me.” Then whispered, “But this is not to wear for the wedding.”

Then the Duchess stood and tsked. “No, no.” And she went to her bedroom and returned with a large inlaid box, set it down and began to sort through its contents.

“Here, my dear, this is a more appropriate necklace for the new Duchess,” and she produced a multi-tiered diamond and ruby necklace with a large central diamond pendant.

As the Duchess approached to hang it around Emily’s neck, Alice whispered again, “I knew she would produce the Cavanaugh necklace if properly goaded.”

“My dear, I am loaning this to you for now. But upon my death, it shall be yours.”

“I trust that will be a very long time from now,” Emily said as the Duchess hung the necklace around her neck and Emily turned toward the mirror to gaze at herself in her finished wedding gown and the beautiful necklace.

The Duchess stood next to her gazing into the mirror. Then patted Emily on the shoulder and said, “Now then, why do you not change and then we shall get down to the business of planning an autumn wedding.”

* * *

As promised, Mark took Emily aside after lunch and they retired to his study. Emily was surprised to find she was a little nervous being alone with Mark, even though they were engaged. She realized it would take some time to become used to being intimate with a man. But Mark soon put her at ease by taking her hands and staring into her eyes with the most dedicated love. She caught her breath and smiled.

“Mark, I have missed you so much while you were in Germany.”

“And I you. What kept me going was knowing that my errand was to serve you, and I believe you will be pleased with the results.”

He leaned in and gave her a sweet delicate kiss that conveyed at the same time both his desire and his respect for her. Then he stepped back while still holding one hand. They continued to gaze at each other until he let go of her hand and turned to his desk.

“As lovely as it is to drink in your beauty, we must address your future. And that includes not only your performing future but also your future as my wife and the Duchess of Edgerton.”

Emily settled into a chair facing his desk as he sat down and pulled some papers out of a leather case.

“First let us address my meeting with Herr Darmstadt.” He handed Emily a paper. “This is the proposed European tour. As you can see there are three and twenty performances scheduled in eighteen different cities. And the pieces you are to perform are listed under the name of each performance.”

“Oh, Mark, this is most impressive and I can see I have a lot of work ahead of me.”

He smiled. “You do. And oh, that reminds me… Was Alice able to help you with Mr. Butler?”

“Most certainly.” She explained their meeting and pulled out several papers from her bag and handed them to him. “This is the agency contract which I would like you to review before I sign it. And this is my final UK performance list. And as you can see, I have arranged it so there are no performances until well after the wedding. However, I shall need to practice diligently from now until I start the tour, even before and after the wedding.”

“Of course, I expected that.” He studied the papers. “Excellent. I will review the contract. And I am happy to see there is a generous amount of free time scheduled after the wedding. But I will get to that in a moment.”

Mark put her papers down and picked up several pages tied together. “And this is your contract with Kroner-DuPont. I have studied it in minute detail and you should be very pleased.” He offered it to her.

She waved her hand, refusing it. “I trust your examination of it, Mark. I am afraid, I am not very good at studying contracts. And seeing you are my soon-to-be-husband, I should like to leave those details to you.”

Mark laughed. “As you wish. I assure you, you are well cared for in this contract.”

Then Mark threw up his hands. “And that is enough of the business side of things.” He stood and came around his desk, taking her hands and lifting her from the chair. “And now I should like to discuss a few details about our future together.”

He led her over to the window with the best view of the park and they stood looking out—he standing behind her with his arms wrapped around her waist. They stood for a moment in silence, studying the beautiful summer landscape. He leaned down and nuzzled her ear with his nose.

She laughed. “That tickles,” she said, shaking her head.

Mark squeezed her tighter giving her a kiss on the cheek. “Is that better?”

She nodded.

Mark leaned in and whispered. “I hope you approve, but I have booked us a small but comfortable chateau in the south of France for our honeymoon. And I made certain there would be a top-quality piano for your use, as I am certain you will need to keep practicing.”

Emily turned to him and gave him a kiss. “That sounds delightful. For how long shall we be there?”

“A month, but we can extend the lease if we like it.”

“As long as possible, as far as I am concerned—at least until just before my UK tour.”

After a moment Mark said, “And now we need to talk about when you want to move to Linfield. You may have the room you stayed in before, up until the wedding. And I have dedicated the music room completely for your use.”

“Oh, that is lovely,” she said, turning to look at him.

“And how is the piano there? Do we need to get a new one for your rehearsals? You must have the very best.”

“Oh, Mark, the one there is just perfect. But I am not sure when to move here. My sister, Ruth’s, wedding is coming up, and I should like to be there to help however I can.” Then she thought, “But I must say they have been doing quite well without me. I have been so busy with my career and my wedding plans, they have given up on me.” Then she had a further thought. “Might you and Grandmamma like to attend Ruth’s wedding? After all, they will soon be your family, too.”

Mark thought about that. “I am afraid Grandmamma would not be up to it—the travel—the unfamiliar people, and she is still in mourning.”

“Of course. I understand.”

Mark laughed, “Well, then, perhaps you should move here soon after your sister’s wedding. Grandmamma will fuss over you, and I can gaze into your eyes, and you can practice on your own very fine piano. What do you say?”

Emily’s heart leapt at the thought, but her mind bid her to be cautious. “I am a little concerned about my family. There is a lot of change going on all of a sudden—the loss of the trio—Ruth’s wedding and move to Bristol, and, of course, me—my career—the wedding—becoming a Duchess. It is a lot of change for them to absorb all at once.” Then she laughed. “And poor Papa… he has been complaining about the fact that he has promised Ruth and Spencer they may use the family carriage to move to Bristol. But he does nothing but complain about how old the horses and coachman are, and how dilapidated the coach itself is. And I seem to be the only one who can console him and talk him down from his rants. But perhaps you are right. I think it will be possible to move here right after Ruth’s wedding.”

“And when is that?”

“The last week of August.”

“And then you would consider moving to Linfield?”

“Not consider, I would. I should like to become settled in and become used to my new environment before my touring starts.”

“And it would be nice to be close to me as well?” Mark teased.

“That goes without saying,” Emily said, turning to him, as they kissed.