Jared was grinning. “What can I say? It’s Nantucket.”
It took both her bridesmaids to get Alix into Aunt Addy’s dress, which made her wonder how she’d put it on the first time by herself. She paused with her hand on her cuff and wondered if Captain Caleb had somehow helped. That thought made her suppress a giggle. “Has anyone seen Jared today?” she asked.
They were in the house Lexie and Toby shared and the young women were wearing the dresses they’d bought in New York: a simple style but in glorious colors of sapphire and ruby. The hairdresser and makeup man had been and gone and it was less than two hours until Alix was to walk down the aisle.
Lexie stood up, scrutinizing the crisp, clean skirt. “He went with Tim
and Ken to Downy this morning. I don’t know what they’ve done the rest of the day, but I think they’re planning to give Ken the job of telling the guests that Izzy and Glenn aren’t here.”
“You know,” Alix said, “I feel bad that Izzy’s mom won’t see her get married.”
“So they’ll have a second ceremony later,” Lexie said. She was always sensible.
Toby picked up the veil. “Alix, you only feel bad about Izzy’s parents missing out because you have a great mother. Those of us who don’t would look forward to a peaceful wedding, however we could get it.”
“I do have a great mother, don’t I?” Alix said softly.
“Do not cry!” Lexie ordered. “You’ll have mascara all down your face.”
“Okay,” Alix said and sniffed as Toby handed her a tissue. “Tell me again what the plan is.”
“We go to the chapel and you’re to wait in the small tent with Jilly until your dad has dropped the news bomb,” Lexie said. “After the blood from the ensuing battle is cleared out, Toby and I will walk down the aisle first, then Ken comes with you. After that we eat and dance. Simple.”
“Mom’s going to be really hurt,” Alix whispered.
For a moment the two women just looked at her, unable to reply, but then Lexie said, “Let’s leave. We need to get this show going.” She glanced at Toby. At first it had seemed like a great idea to not let Victoria boss everyone around, but when you got down to it, Victoria was Alix’s mother.
Lexie had borrowed her boss’s driver and Bentley for the day and they helped Alix get inside. She was so quiet that no one else spoke on the short drive to the North Shore.
There were a lot of cars there but only a few guests were outside, all of whom Lexie shooed away so they wouldn’t see the bride. They quickly ushered her into one of the two tents that were set up with tables and chairs. It was a beautiful sight, with white tablecloths and bouquets of blue hyacinths, cream-colored roses, and sprigs of grasses, all tied with pale blue ribbons. Big ribbons of a darker blue were on the backs of each chair and draped around the top of the tent.
“Toby,” Alix said, “it’s all incredibly beautiful. Thank you.”
“No tears!” Lexie ordered again. “Now come through here and wait until we return to get you. Jilly should be here by now.”
A little tent had been set up beside the large one. The only thing in it were two chairs and Alix carefully sat down, spreading her skirt out so she wouldn’t crease it. She could hear people outside, but so far there’d been no shouting. Obviously, they hadn’t been told yet. The truth was that she dreaded being married in the midst of anger. There would be the guests’ disappointment and her mother’s hurt. Not a good way to begin a marriage! She truly hoped the guests would be understanding.
When the tent flap moved, Alix expected to see Jilly, but there her mother stood in an emerald green silk suit and a little pillbox hat with a short veil. Alix didn’t think she’d ever looked more beautiful. A light about her face made her glow.
“Mom,” Alix said, sounding like a lost five-year-old. She stood up and flung her arms around her mother’s neck—and the tears came from both of them. “How did you know? I thought I wouldn’t see you. I waited—”
“Ssssh,” Victoria said, pulling out of her daughter’s embrace. “Now look what we’ve done to our faces. It’s a good thing I brought a repair kit. Now sit down and let me fix you.”
Obediently—and very, very happily—Alix sat back down. Her mother took the other chair, pulled a full makeup kit out of her bag, and began to work on her daughter’s face.
“How?” Alix whispered.
“Oh, my goodness, Alix! You and your father are so much alike. Did you really think you could pull off something like this and I wouldn’t know about it? All that whispering, all that sneaking around. So where’s the ring?”
Alix proudly held up her left hand.
“Not bad.” She paused with the makeup sponge in her hand. “Who do you think told Jared your ring size?”
“You?”
“Of course it was me.” She smiled at her daughter. “When I got here and saw that you and Jared had already settled into what, by all accounts, was a married life, I knew I had to break up that overly comfortable arrangement.”
“Why on earth would you do that?”