A Good Woman (5 page)

“Annabelle is a very unusual young woman in many ways, intelligent, intellectual, thirsty for knowledge, and mature beyond her years. I have no idea how you would feel about it, but I would like your permission, when your period of mourning is over, to ask for her hand in marriage, and see how she feels. If you and I remain discreet about it, and keep this to ourselves, it will give her another six months to get accustomed to me. If you agree, I would plan to continue visiting you both often. But I wanted your permission first.” Consuelo sat there staring at him. In her eyes, he was an answer to her prayers and a dream come true. She had been desperately worried about life passing Annabelle by during this year, and afraid she might wind up an old maid. And although he was nineteen years older, Consuelo thought Josiah was perfect for Annabelle.

Josiah was from an excellent family, well educated, exquisitely polite, charming, handsome, and had a very good job at Annabelle’s father’s bank. And from what she had seen, particularly over the summer, the two were becoming good friends, which Consuelo felt was a far more solid base for marriage than some starry-eyed girlish romance, which wouldn’t last anyway. This was the way she and Arthur had started out. He had been a friend of her family’s, had asked her father’s permission to court her, and they had always been friends as much as husband and wife. She couldn’t have thought of a better match for her daughter, and like Josiah, she thought Annabelle would do well with an older, more mature man. “I hope you’re not shocked, or angry,” he added cautiously, as Consuelo leaned over and gave him a motherly hug.

“No, how could I be? I’m delighted. I think you and Annabelle would be wonderful for each other.” And in her eyes, their year of mourning had not been a waste after all. It was the perfect way for the two of them to come to know each other well. And there was no distracting competition at balls and parties from silly young men to turn Annabelle’s head. Josiah was a solid, established man, and would have been a wonderful husband for anyone, particularly her daughter. And Annabelle didn’t seem to mind him, in fact she liked him very much. “Do you think she suspects anything about your intentions?” Consuelo asked candidly. She had no idea if he had wooed her or not, kissed her, courted her, or hinted at what he had in mind. Annabelle had never said anything to her mother, which made her think that she had no idea what was in Josiah’s head.

“I’ve never said anything,” he told Consuelo honestly. “I wouldn’t until I spoke to you, although I’ve been thinking about it all summer, but I thought it was too soon. And unfortunately, for the last few weeks I’ve been away. I don’t think Annabelle suspects anything. I’d like to wait to talk to her about it, until your year of mourning is over in April. Perhaps I could speak to her about it in May.” He knew she would be twenty then, and he would be thirty-nine, something of an old man to her. He was afraid she might have objections to that, but he wasn’t sure. She wasn’t flirtatious with him, but he had the feeling they had truly become good friends. And like her mother, he thought that was an excellent foundation for marriage. This was a first for him. He had never proposed to any woman before, but he hoped it wasn’t too late. And recently, he had been thinking that he would love to have children with her. She seemed like the perfect lifetime companion to him. Consuelo was absolutely thrilled.

“I couldn’t have found a better person for her, if I’d picked you myself,” Consuelo said, looking pleased, and ringing for the butler. When William appeared, she asked for two glasses of champagne. Josiah was a little startled. He hadn’t expected it to be this easy.

“I’m not sure we should celebrate yet. We still have to ask her, in May. She may not think it’s as great an idea as we do. She’s very young, and I’m twice her age.”

“I think she’s more sensible than that,” Consuelo said as the butler returned and handed them each a glass of champagne. Arthur had had remarkable wine cellars, and the vintage was very good. “And she likes you, Josiah. I think the two of you get on very well.”

“I think so too,” he said, looking happy, and wishing he could ask Annabelle that afternoon, but it wouldn’t be proper to propose to her so soon after Arthur and Robert’s deaths. “I hope she agrees,” Josiah said hopefully.

“That’s up to you,” Consuelo reminded him. “You have the next six months to win her heart and seal the deal.”

“Without her knowing what I’m doing,” he said cautiously.

“Maybe you could drop a little hint once in a while,” his future mother-in-law suggested, and he laughed.

“She’s too smart for that. If I start hinting, I might as well ask her. And I don’t want to scare her off by doing it too soon.”

“I don’t think it’s going to be as difficult as you think to convince her,” Consuelo said, beaming at him, in the dappled sunlight of the warm October afternoon. Thanks to him, it had been a perfect day. She was only sorry she didn’t have Arthur to share it with, and she suspected that he would have been pleased as well.

They were still chatting amiably with each other, about Josiah’s plan, when Annabelle strode into the garden with her hospital apron on. There was blood on it, and her mother made a face.

“Take that thing off,” Consuelo scolded her, “and go wash your hands. For heaven’s sake, Annabelle, you’re bringing germs into the house.” She shooed her away, and Annabelle returned five minutes later, without the apron, in her severe black dress. She looked almost like a young nun. It was a sober look, but she was wreathed in smiles when she saw Josiah, and the only thing somber about her was her dress. She seemed to be in a great mood.

“I had a terrific day,” she announced, then noticed the champagne they were drinking. She always observed everything, and never missed a detail. “Why are you two drinking champagne? What are you celebrating?”

“Josiah just came to tell me he got a promotion at the bank,” her mother replied smoothly. “They’ve given him all sorts of new accounts to handle. And I thought we should congratulate him. Would you like a glass too?” Annabelle nodded. She loved champagne, and went to get a glass herself, and then duly congratulated Josiah on his promotion, although she never found banking very exciting. It had bored her when her father and Robert talked about it too. She was far more interested in science.

“What did you do at the hospital today?” he asked her gently. He suddenly felt as though she were already his wife, and he was feeling extremely tender emotions toward her, which he couldn’t allow to show.

“Lots of interesting things,” she said, smiling openly at him, and then taking a sip of the champagne. She had no idea she was toasting her own future engagement, and knowing that made both him and Consuelo smile too. They had become co-conspirators that afternoon. “They let me watch while they sewed up a nasty wound.”

“If you tell me about it, I’ll be sick,” her mother warned, and Annabelle laughed, as they shifted the subject to something else. “You’ll have to stop doing that someday,” Consuelo said cryptically. “One day you’ll be grown up and married, and you can’t hang around hospitals, watching them sew up wounds.”

“You do,” Annabelle reminded her with a smile.

“I do not. I carry trays to patients in a far more civilized hospital, and I didn’t have time to do that when you were small. You can go back to it when you’re older.”

“I don’t see why I’d have to stop if I married,” Annabelle complained. “Lots of women have children and still work at the hospital. Besides, I might never marry. Who knows?”

“I don’t want to hear that!” her mother said, frowning, and then turned to Josiah. She could hardly wait for them to be married, and start having babies. It would be a whole new chapter in their lives, and she knew that Annabelle would be a wonderful mother. She was so patient and loving, and she thought she would make an excellent wife for Josiah.

They talked about Hortie’s wedding then, which was only weeks away. She was so busy that Annabelle hardly saw her now. And Josiah said he was going to the wedding. Annabelle quietly said she couldn’t, and then was surprised by her mother.

“I don’t see why you can’t go to the church service,” Consuelo said benevolently. “There’s nothing that says we can’t go to church. In fact, we should probably go more often. You can come home after that, and avoid the reception. But at least you could see Hortie get married. After all, she is your oldest and dearest friend.” And would probably be Annabelle’s matron of honor, Consuelo knew, when she married Josiah.

“I’d be happy to take both of you,” Josiah was quick to offer, as he turned to his future bride, who had no idea what he was thinking. It would be his first opportunity to escort her in public, and he was excited by the prospect.

“I don’t think I should go,” Consuelo said quietly. She wasn’t ready to be out in public yet. “But it would be lovely if you escort Annabelle to the service.”

“Would you like that?” he asked Annabelle directly. She smiled broadly as she nodded.

“I’d love it.” All her friends would be there. Hortie had wanted her as maid of honor, and now she couldn’t do it. This way, at least, she could be at the wedding. And it would be fun to go with Josiah, a little like going with Robert. Her brother had often escorted her to parties, although they had been small ones before her debut. And Hortie was having a gigantic wedding. Eight hundred people had been invited, and more than likely, most were coming.

“We’ll have to find you something to wear,” her mother said thoughtfully. Annabelle would have to wear a suitable black gown, and she had nothing formal in dark colors.

“It’s going to be so much fun!” Annabelle said, clapping her hands, looking like a child as her mother and Josiah smiled at her.

“It’s all going to be fun from now on,” her mother said to her with a loving look. She was so relieved by Josiah’s intended proposal.

And with that, Annabelle put her arms around Josiah’s neck and hugged him. He looked particularly delighted. “Thank you for taking me,” she said happily.

“It’s one of those sacrifices one has to make in life,” he teased her. “I’ll muddle through it.” He could hardly wait for the next six months to pass, and then, with luck, they’d be going to their own wedding. Her mother had the same thought at the same moment, and she and Josiah exchanged a knowing look over Annabelle’s head, and smiled. Annabelle didn’t know it yet, but her future was secure now. It was all her mother had ever wanted for her since she was born.

Chapter 5

A
nnabelle was almost as excited as Hortie herself, as she dressed for her best friend’s wedding. Her mother had called her dressmaker, and she had whipped up a beautiful black taffeta gown in record time. The bodice and hem were bordered in black velvet. And there was a matching black velvet jacket and hat trimmed in sable, which softened it as the fur lit up her face. Annabelle looked like a Russian princess. And bending the rules about no jewelry during a period of mourning, her mother had loaned her a pair of diamond earrings. She looked exquisite when Josiah came to get her. And so did he, in white tie and tails, and an elegant top hat he’d had made in Paris. They were a spectacular couple, and Consuelo had damp eyes as she watched them. She only wished that Arthur were there to see it. But if he were, perhaps it would never have happened. Josiah had only begun visiting them out of sympathy in their bereavement. So destiny took strange turns and pathways.

Consuelo had urged them to take her car, and Thomas the driver, and they drove to the wedding in the impeccable Hispano-Suiza that had been her father’s prize possession, and was only used for important occasions. As far as Consuelo was concerned, this was an event of significant proportions. It was the first time her future son-in-law would be seen in public with her only daughter. How much more important could it get, except their wedding?

She watched them lovingly as they went out the door, and then went up to her bedroom, lost in her own thoughts. She was remembering the first time she had gone out with Arthur, after he had asked her father for her hand. It had been to a friend’s coming-out ball. And she had been only a year younger than her daughter at the time.

The car drove them to St. Thomas Episcopal Church, on Fifth Avenue, and the chauffeur let Josiah out first. He turned and handed Annabelle out of the car. She was wearing her blond hair pulled back, under the velvet and sable hat, with a small face veil. She looked as stylish as any woman in Paris, and older than her years, because of the opulent black gown. Josiah had never been prouder.

“You know, for a girl who’d rather be scrubbing floors in a hospital and dissecting cadavers, you look very nice when you get dressed up,” he said lightly, and she laughed, which only made her look prettier, as her mother’s diamond earrings sparkled behind the thin veil. She looked elegant, sensual, and romantic, and Josiah was bowled over by the woman he hoped to marry. He hadn’t fully realized how truly beautiful she was, because she made so little fuss about herself, and while in mourning she never wore fancy clothes or makeup. He had been at her coming-out ball the year before, but even then she hadn’t looked this pretty. She had grown into her womanhood in the year since then.

An usher in white tie and tails escorted them to a pew near the front on the bride’s side of the church. They had been expected, and Josiah noticed people looking at them with quiet admiration. They made a very dashing couple. Annabelle was oblivious to it, dazzled by the absolute forest of white orchids that Hortie’s mother had ordered. Annabelle had seen the gown, and knew that Hortie was going to look gorgeous in it. She had a terrific figure. The gown was low-cut white satin, covered with white lace, with a train that would stretch out for miles behind her. There were sixteen bridesmaids in pale gray satin gowns, carrying tiny orchids. It was a very stylish wedding, and Hortie was going to carry a huge ball of lily of the valley.

They took their seats as Annabelle looked around. She knew everyone in the pews ahead of and behind them, and Josiah knew most of them as well. People smiled and made little gestures of greeting. They looked interested to see her with Josiah, and he noticed then that her mother had let her wear lipstick. In his opinion there was no more beautiful woman in the church than Annabelle as she sat beside him, including the bride as she came down the aisle, to Wagner’s Bridal Chorus from
Lohengrin.