My mother agreed. “And I have so much to do at home,” she declared.

My father and Garland met in the morning to finish discussing the wedding details. My parents then left a little after breakfast. Lucas brought the beautiful carriage to the front, and Garland and I said our good-byes.

My mother was glowing when she turned to me. “Never in my wildest dreams, my wildest wishes for you, would I have imagined this, Corrine. I am sorry I didn’t have more faith in you. My darling daughter,” she said, and hugged me.

I felt more deceptive and low and nearly confessed, but my father’s glance awash in warnings kept me silent. This isn’t so terrible, I thought as they started for the carriage. After all, I am in love, and Garland is so in love with me. He held my hand as we watched the carriage turn and start away.

“Dr. Ross will be here in a few hours,” he said. “Dora has been preparing the Swan Room for you. She will show you my mother’s things, and you can choose to keep anything you wish. You know from the way he adjusted your wedding gown that we have the best tailor in Charlottesville here tomorrow to adjust and fit whatever you choose. And yes, as I promised, Lucas will take you to Charlottesville the day after to shop for whatever else you need in your wardrobe. I have an account set up for you at Miller and Rhoads.”

I looked at the carriage disappearing, and despite everything Garland was saying, his love, the servants, Dora, the wealth and size of Foxworth Hall, I suddenly had a sense of deep, dark foreboding. There’s no reason for it, I told myself, but it followed me back into the grand house. Garland kissed me and went into his office, and for a moment, I stood there alone in the large foyer, with every ancestor glaring down at me. All were asking the same question, or at least it was what I heard in my mind.

How dare you?

Dora appeared on the stairway as if she had materialized out of thin air.

“Ma’am,” she said. “Your new room is ready, and I can take you to Mrs. Foxworth’s wardrobe.”

Mrs. Foxworth’s wardrobe. Oh, get this over with, I thought, and walked up after her.

I had no idea how big Garland’s mother’s wardrobe was. In what was her bedroom, the two walk-in closets were filled with her things, including shelves of shoes and hats. Almost all of it was something my mother would love to own. I wondered if he would mind my giving most of it to her. Finally, knowing how important this was to Garland, I culled four skirts and bodices, a coat, and a half dozen petticoats. It was hardly anything compared to what was there, but it was something, hopefully enough to satisfy him.