Were they, indeed? Adelaide took a better look at the dark beauty that was Mrs. Granger, taking in the noticeably rounded stomach. Clearly happily married, or at least dutifully so, and elegant as well. Could such a fine lady really endure the harshness one heard about Cornwall?

“Lord Basset,” Mrs. Granger greeted, curtseying and offering a warm smile to them both. “My very best wishes. What a beautiful wedding!”

Basset bowed in return. “Thank you, Mrs. Granger. May I present my wife?”

Mrs. Granger beamed. “He said it so easily, and it’s barely been an hour. How do you do?”

Adelaide curtseyed in what she hoped was as graceful a manner. “Mrs. Granger. I am well, thank you.”

She smiled in response. “Lady Basset, we are to be neighbors and friends. I believe you may tell me the truth. I believe that you are well, by all means, and you are the loveliest bride I have ever seen. But in being well, you are also…?”

“Tired,” Adelaide admitted, her smile turning far more natural. “And hungry.”

“Basset!” Mrs. Granger playfully glared at him. “Why have you not fetched your bride something to eat?”

“I offered,” Basset replied lamely. “But she said—”

“Oh, never mind. Come, Lady Basset, we’ll do it ourselves.” Mrs. Granger took her arm and steered her away without another word to the men, a smile on her lips.

Adelaide looked at the woman in surprised delight. “I have never liked someone so instantly in my entire life, Mrs. Granger.”

Mrs. Granger tossed her head back in a laugh. “Why, thank you, Lady Basset. I hope you do not mind being extricated from your new husband, but I wanted to take a moment with you. I remember my own wedding day, and all I wanted to do was sit in the quiet and eat something. I do not flatter myself that we share a similar nature, but you seemed ready for a reprieve.”

There was something in the sweet explanation that made Adelaide feel like weeping, which she absolutely would not do in her parents’ home or among such company. Not when she had done so spectacularly at the church and throughout the service. But she felt so fatigued now that all was said and done, and keeping up her composed, satisfied facade was wearing on her.