Cassandra, who’d been careful to drink only a few sips of wine at dinner, indulged in a cup of the hot punch during the dance, and felt it go straight to her knees. All he knew was that the careful distance he’d put between himself and other people had finally been crossed by someone … and nothing would ever be the same.ĪFTER A LENGTHY Christmas feast, the family went downstairs for the annual dance in the servants’ hall, a tradition by which everyone in the household mingled freely, danced together, and drank wine and hot rum punch. What was the name of this feeling? It was as if he’d fallen through the surface of his life into some strange new territory, a place that had always existed even though he hadn’t been aware of it. She looked like a snow queen walking through a winter forest, too beautiful to be entirely human.Īnd there he stood, with his heart in his fist. The wealth of rose-cut gems glittered madly in the candlelight, but they couldn’t eclipse her sparkling eyes and radiant face.
Her only ornamentation was a tiara of graduated diamond stars, which Tom had sent upstairs that morning as a Christmas present. Instead of wearing the traditional veil, she had drawn the sides of her hair up to the crown of her head and let the rest cascade down her back in long golden coils.
She wore a dress of white satin, elegant and unusual in its simplicity, with no fussy ruffles and frills to distract from the lovely shape of her figure. Then Cassandra came into view, walking toward him on Devon’s arm. Pandora, as the matron of honor, proceeded demurely up the aisle, and sent Tom a quick grin before taking her place. Having only heard Wagner’s Bridal Chorus on the organ, Tom had always thought it a heavy-handed piece, but the bells gave it a delicate, almost playful lilt that was perfect for the occasion.
A quartet of local musicians had been recruited to play the wedding march using small gold handbells, with exquisite results. Within two minutes, Winterborne came to the front of the chapel to stand next to Tom, and the music began.
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