Page 117 of Threads that Remain

“And there is more,” Sarah continued, scarcely able to speak for excitement. “Henry has already spoken to Papa and received his blessing. And he has proposed that we have a double wedding!”

Anne drew back and stared at her.

“A double wedding?”

“Yes! He overheard us speaking earlier, and he went straight to Papa. He told him how sad we were at the thought of being separated before our weddings and suggested that we might marry on the same day, before you and Matthew leave for Canada.”

For a moment Anne said nothing. Then her eyes filled, and she caught Sarah’s hands in hers.

“Oh, Sarah! Could we truly do that?”

“Henry believes we can. You will need to ask Matthew at the first opportunity, and we should have to make the arrangements quickly, but Papa has agreed, and I cannot imagine anything more perfect.”

Anne turned to her brother, her expression full of gratitude.

“Henry, I cannot tell you how much this means to me.”

He smiled and drew her into an embrace.

“I know, my little sister. I heard what you were saying, and I thought there must be some way to arrange it. I would have asked Sarah to marry me soon in any case. This has merely brought things forward a little.”

Anne laughed through her tears.

“A little! You have given us the very thing we thought we must lose.”

“I am glad of it.”

Sarah slipped her arm through Anne’s.

“We shall be married together, Anne. You will be beside me, and I shall be beside you. We can help one another with everything, and neither of us will have to say good-bye before the day has even come.”

Anne embraced her again, holding her tightly.

“I had thought I must leave you behind before I could begin my new life. Now I shall have this day with you to remember, wherever I go.”

“And I shall have it to remember, too,” Sarah replied.

Henry watched them with quiet satisfaction. He had known how much the two girls loved one another, but seeing their happiness now, he was certain that he had done the right thing.

“There is still a great deal to arrange,” he reminded them, smiling. “And we have very little time.”

Anne released Sarah and wiped her eyes.

“Then we must begin at once!”

“Indeed,” Sarah agreed. “Where are our mothers?”

For all the work that lay before them, neither could imagine a happier prospect. Anne would still leave England, and the distance between them would still be great. But she would have a beautiful gift in parting. They would stand together, as they had always imagined, and begin their new lives on the very same day.

And for Anne, who had so lately feared how much happiness she must leave behind, it was a gift beyond anything she had dared hope for.

Chapter LI.

Lucy had watched the growing intimacy between Henry and her youngest daughter, Annabelle, throughout the Season with an attention that had, by July, become nearly a conviction. Two dances at every ball, such laughter, and such evident pleasure in one another’s company! She had remarked upon it repeatedly to Fanny and had, in the privacy of her own mind, begun to imagine the settlement.

The news that Henry’s wedding was fixed for within the month, and that it was to take place alongside Colonel Brandon’s daughter’s wedding, therefore struck Lucy as more than a disappointment. It was the destruction of a very agreeable future she had already begun to consider her own.

She maintained a silence of nearly thirty seconds, which, for Lucy Ferrars, was an extraordinary achievement.