For All Time (Nantucket Brides 2)

way their mother talked to Rory, he was much more understanding.

“Yes,” Graydon said. “I want to ask more of you. I want a document drawn up and signed by our father.”

“You’re not asking much, are you?”

“I am asking a great deal of you,” Graydon said, his mind on Danna. The night before he’d seen a YouTube video of Rory and Danna leaving a dinner party and they’d looked like two sublimely happy people. Graydon was beginning to question how he was going to be able to reconcile taking that away from his brother. “I think the American in me is coming to the surface,” he said.

“What does that mean?” Rory asked.

“I don’t know yet. I’ll write to you about what I need and you can have it drawn up and get Father to sign it.”

“Mother will give me hell.”

“No, she won’t!” Graydon said sternly. “If she says anything at all, don’t back down. Stand up to her. Don’t even blink. Father will back you.”

Rory took a breath. “All right. Send me what you need and I’ll try to—no! I’ll do it.”

“Good,” Graydon said and they hung up.

In the remaining days before the dinner party Lorcan and Toby spent a lot of time planning the garden for Jared’s cousin’s house. They went on one of the many house and garden tours held in Nantucket and returned with photos and sketches.

“I’ve never seen Lorcan so easy with another woman,” Daire said as he watched the two women bent over books and papers. “She’s spent her life with men and the women were always jealous of her.”

Toby had taken Lorcan shopping and outfitted her in Nantucket white linen. Gone were Lorcan’s black leathers and wool, and her heavy boots. It greatly amused both Graydon and Daire that while Lorcan had learned a lot of English, Toby had learned just as much Lanconian. They talked to each other in a mix of the two languages. When Toby said, “By Jura, but I think this garden is going to be beautiful!” both Daire and Graydon had hidden their laughter.

What Graydon regretted about the friendship was that Lorcan had taken over training Toby. Compared to Lorcan, Toby was awkward in her martial arts skills, but then Toby introduced Lorcan to yoga. Both men glued themselves to the sunroom windows when the two women were outside doing their exercises.

One time Rory called in the middle of a session. His voice was frantic as yet another crisis had arisen.

“Rory,” Graydon said calmly, “do you know what a ‘downward facing dog’ is?”

“One of the natural wonders of the earth. But that’s just my opinion,” he said.

“That’s what Toby and Lorcan are doing right now.”

“My problems can wait,” Rory said and hung up.

But this was the day of the dinner party and Graydon hoped that tonight he could make up with Toby.

When Toby threw open her bedroom door, she had on a bathrobe, her hair was streaming down her back, and her pretty face was devoid of makeup. “I need help!” she said to Jilly. “I can’t figure out any of this dress, and the corset is a monster—even though there’s not much of it. And my hair! I didn’t even think about it! I should have had it done and—”

“You’ll be fine,” Jilly said. “I’m rather good with my daughter’s long hair so I can help with yours. In fact, I brought a few things with me.” She had a duffel bag that looked to be packed full.

At Jilly’s soothing words, Toby began to relax. This was how she’d always wanted her mother to be, how she’d imagined the two of them sharing events. She was almost twenty before she realized that it was never going to happen.

Early that morning, when Jilly had stopped by to ask if they needed any help with the party, Toby had revealed that they were presenting a wedding theme in costume. She’d even shown Jilly the dress she was to wear. Toby had carefully opened the flaps of the box to expose pale green tissue paper. Inside was a dress of sheer white silk, the bodice covered with what looked to be hand embroidery of intertwining flowers and vines, all of it white. The necessary undergarments for the gown were in a separate box.

When Jilly picked the dress up, the first thing she noticed was that it was nearly transparent. “Oh, my goodness,” Jilly said. “Graydon got this for you?”

“He did,” Toby said curtly, then looked away.

She certainly wasn’t rhapsodizing over Graydon today! Jilly thought. “What are you planning to wear under this?”

“Red flannel underwear?” Toby said and the women laughed.

“The house smells great,” Jilly said. “Who’s doing the cooking?”

“Mostly the men,” Toby answered. “Lorcan and I just cut up things. I’ve been trying to get her and Daire to stay for the dinner, but they won’t do it.”