Chapter 36

CHAPTER 36

Hours seeped away, but with Miles, it felt like minutes. Jemma had never been happier. Miles had spread his jacket on the ground for them to sit on, both of them leaning back against the bench, with their hands tangled together. She told him about finding his poems and the dozens of letters with money for the hurting Greeks. She had kissed him again at those pronouncements. No other thank-you seemed more appropriate.

Miles Jackson was an incredible kisser. If she had not already been seated, she might have fallen over. His touch had the power to melt every part of her. If she had known, she might not have resisted him for so long. When their lips inevitably parted, she settled against him, and they traded stories about their childhood, revealing times when they had felt drawn to each other and the difficulties of hiding it.

"I always came to you for advice as an excuse to be near you," she whispered, leaning her head against his chest.

"And I always gave you advice as an excuse to impress you."

She giggled. "I thought you were trying to be a wise older brother."

He rubbed his thumb over her hand, making her skin tremble. "Trust me when I say no brother could love his sister like I love you."

She would never tire of his way with words. "What will the others think when we tell them?"

"I cannot say what our families will think, but a few of our friends were witness to some of our progression, if you recall —along with a few select gentlemen at Gammon's. I told Paul, Tom, and Ian how I felt about you after they discovered I kissed you on the cricket field. Today, I told them I would support you and Mr. Bentley just before you showed up with your sensational kiss. I was planning on leaving Brookeside until I could handle the idea of you and Mr. Bentley together. If you had arrived even ten minutes later, I would have been gone."

She drew back, meeting his warm, brown eyes. "What would I have done? I am sick just thinking about it."

He tugged her close again. "It all worked out, didn't it? And to know Lisette and Mr. Bentley are engaged makes it all the more satisfying. There's a chance Mr. Bentley and I might even be friends."

She laughed. "It would be good of you."

"Yes, well, I did have my reasons for not being thrilled with his presence here."

"Valid reasons," she said. "What about the Matchmaking Mamas? How will they react? For the first time, their plans were foiled. They put in such a good effort. I hate to disappoint them."

"Don't be too sorry. There is no changing your mind now. After kissing me in public, I am duty bound to marry you."

"Duty bound." She smirked. "You will be chasing me to the altar."

"Shall I chase you there now?"

She giggled again. "Absolutely not. We haven't even told our families."

"I agree, but first, I shall meet with your uncle. Despite your negligence of Society's rules, I intend to do this properly. In fact, there is no time like the present."

"Five more minutes?" She set her hand on his waistcoat and curled all the closer to him.

"Five minutes will turn into five hours with your claim upon my senses, but why not turn it into a lifetime?" He helped her stand and shook off his jacket. With her hand in his, they made their way to the Manning carriage. On the way, they both agreed that Lisette should be the first to hear their news once Uncle granted his permission.

An hour later, Miles came out of Mr. Manning's study, both men grinning. Jemma had been waiting in the corridor for him. She wasn't nervous about Uncle's response, just eager to be near Miles again.

Her uncle put his arms around her and hugged her tightly. "It is not often a man agrees to a marriage for his daughter and his niece in the same day."

"Mr. Bentley has come by?" Jemma asked.

"Yes, and if I am right, while we were buried in the study, my wife has gathered the neighborhood in the drawing room to tell them. I believe she sent the footmen with written invitations not long before you arrived."

"How perfectly convenient for us," Miles said.

"We'll do our best to keep the celebrations short because while I'm sure Jemma's headache is suppressed with all the excitement, she still needs her rest."

"I will make certain she gets it," Miles said, setting his hand on the small of her back.

The three of them made their way to the drawing room. The door was open wide, and sure enough, all their friends had arrived, including all the Matchmaking Mamas. Jemma's eyes naturally went to Mrs. Jackson, her future mother-in-law. To think, she would have a mother again!

She followed Miles into the back of the room, wishing he had taken her hand. Her fingers felt oddly wrong lying against her side by themselves. Her uncle joined his wife in front of the fireplace. A few of their friends raised curious brows at the sight of Jemma and Miles arriving together—particularly the men who had witnessed her brazen kiss. She did not want to think about how Society would frown on her shocking behavior.

Mr. Manning began clapping to get their attention.

"Thank you for joining us on such short notice. It has been a whirlwind few days, and you have all stood tirelessly by our sides while we've nursed our Jemma back to health. It is because of your dear friendship that we have called you to be with us again." His voice choked up, and he coughed into his hand. "I have never been prouder than I am this day," he said. "We have brought you all here to announce the wedding of my daughter, Lisette, to Mr. Bentley."

Gasps followed by cheers filled the room. Mr. Bentley pulled Lisette to her feet and kissed her soundly on the mouth.

"I think I am going to cry," Jemma whispered to Miles. "I'm so happy."

Miles reached over and caught her hand, just as she'd hoped he would, and gave it a tender squeeze.

Everyone was talking at once, demanding to know when it had happened and how. Mr. Manning got everyone's attention again. "We have all evening to discuss the news, but there is one other announcement. As proud as I am to have such an honorable man for a son-in-law, I am equally proud to marry my niece, Jemma, to Mr. Miles Jackson."

The noise level grew, and everyone was on their feet, hugging and congratulating the couples. Lisette found Jemma and hugged her tightly.

"I wanted to tell you first, before the others," Jemma said.

"I get to hug you first, does that not count for something?" Lisette pulled back, tears glistening in her eyes. "It was just as it was meant to be! The missing piece to my own happiness."

"Two weddings! I am beside myself!" Mrs. Manning interrupted, embracing both Jemma and Lisette at the same time.

When Mrs. Manning pulled back, Mrs. Jackson took Jemma's hands and squeezed them tight. "Welcome to the family! I could not be prouder of my son's choice. You two are perfect for each other." Then she pulled Miles into her arms too. "Oh, Miles, I thought you would never find the courage to marry her."

"Courage?"

When Mrs. Jackson drew back, Miles looked with surprise at his mother and then at Jemma. "You knew how I felt about her?"

Lady Kellen stepped up beside them, and Mrs. Sheldon came up beside Mrs. Manning, all grinning from ear to ear.

"What kind of mother would I be if I did not know who would suit you best?" Mrs. Jackson winked at her son.

Jemma looked from one Matchmaking Mama to the next. "You should have told the other Matchmaking Mamas and saved us a lot of runaround. By the way, I must apologize, for I truly was grateful for all your assistance. We hope you will understand."

"Understand? Why, we are exultant!" Lady Kellen put her arm around Mrs. Jackson. The two of them stood like proud peacocks.

Miles shuffled forward. "Pardon?"

Mrs. Sheldon nodded. "We were all worried you two would never come together."

"I don't believe what I am hearing." Jemma squeezed her eyes shut and opened them again. "You planned all of this?"

Lady Kellen nodded her regal head. "To the letter."

Mrs. Jackson sighed. "It was exhausting to watch. I am going to need a whole year to recover from the stress. Why, I even had to fuel a rumor about my son kissing you. I find matchmaking far more exciting when it isn't my child."

"Mother!" Miles scolded. "That was you?"

"I overhead you confessing to your friends in the library." She shrugged, clearly without bearing an ounce of guilt. "I tried to keep the story just between our families and a few trusted servants."

Jemma laughed. "This is unbelievable."

Miles set his hand on his forehead and pinched his temples. "No wonder the town was so forgiving at the auction."

"Of course, we couldn't say anything directly about our scheme," Mrs. Manning said. "We believe the matches should occur as naturally as possible."

"With encouragement," Lady Kellen added. "Which came in the form of Mr. Bentley. He did a wonderful job, for not knowing a thing. In fact, he exceeded our expectations."

"Indeed," Mrs. Jackson said. "We got two matches in one this time. I cannot wait to see what we come up with next."

"But you have yet to hear the best part," Lady Felcroft said, coming up beside Jemma and joining their circle. "Lady Kellen, tell her about Mrs. Fielding's contribution."

Jemma gripped Miles's arm. "Grandmother?"

Lady Kellen's smile grew. "Thank you for reminding me. We would be remiss not to mention it, wouldn't we? This whole arrangement started before Mrs. Fielding even passed."

Jemma shook her head. "It cannot be possible."

"Mrs. Fielding knew both of her granddaughters well," Lady Kellen continued. "She knew Lisette would not be happy with Mr. Jackson. But you would."

Tears pricked Jemma's eyes. "My grandmother said that?"

All the mothers nodded.

Jemma turned to her aunt. "And you agreed to it?"

"Wholeheartedly." Mrs. Manning's eyes filled with tears as well. "I knew if Mr. Jackson truly loved my daughter, they would have been married long ago. He is a passionate young man, but he always treated Lisette as his friend. It wasn't until your grandmother pointed out that Mr. Jackson might make a good match for you, Jemma, that I began to see how different he was in your company."

"You saw what I could not." Jemma leaned into Miles's arm, grinning up at him. The smile he returned warmed her to her very toes.

"I will be the first to admit, we are not all-knowing," Lady Kellen declared succinctly. "But no one knows their child like a good mother."

Lady Felcroft put her hand on Jemma's shoulder. "Your grandmother was one of those good mothers. She told us we could rely on your sharp intellect and determination to do right by your cousin and to see this match through. I bet she has her dancing slippers on in heaven and is celebrating how very right she was."

"The Matchmaking Mamas succeeded again." Miles's tone was one of disbelief.

Mrs. Manning batted the compliment away with the toss of her hand. "If you young people think you're romantic, remember we discovered love long before you did." She tapped the side of her nose.

They all laughed, and some of them, including Jemma, shed a tear or two.

"Our turn," Ian said, putting his hands on his mother's shoulders and gently pulling her back. "We might be the dunderheads left in the dark, but we want to properly congratulate our best friends."

The mothers filed out of the way, and the Rebels, including Mr. Bentley, who had his arm around Lisette, surrounded Jemma and Miles.

"How are we here?" Miles asked.

"We figured there would be an announcement after Jemma caused a scene at Gibbons'," Tom said. "It was Lisette's news that shocked us."

"Jemma was at Gibbons'?" Mrs. Manning's voice pitched from behind them.

"It was all in the name of romance," Tom yelled over his shoulder, as if his shocking words would placate her.

Surprisingly, they did.

"I mean," Miles clarified, "it was just yesterday that we declared war against the Matchmaking Mamas, and now look at us. Our lives are changed for the better."

"We've been through a lot together," Lisette added. "And now we're all grown up, starting families of our own."

"Except Ian," Tom said rather bluntly. "Shall we remind Lady Kellen?"

Ian groaned. "No, please, no. I have family enough in this room, do I not?"

"But what is one more?" Paul teased, elbowing Ian.

"Did you just poke me again?" Ian shook his head. She wasn't the only one who was a little shocked that the Rebel who didn't like to be touched thought it necessary to do so.

"For good reason," Paul said. "I had to get my point across somehow. There is still one Rebel against marriage who needs a change of heart."

They all laughed as Ian groaned. "I am not as easily swayed as the lot of you."

Miles cleared his throat loud enough to get their friends' attention. "Ian, please tell me, how you could resist this?" He pulled Jemma to him. She raised her brows, wondering what he was up to. She didn't have long to guess. He bent down and kissed her. She sighed inwardly with all the pleasure in the world. She didn't hear Ian's response or anyone else's, for that matter, even after Miles drew back. As she stared into Miles's brown eyes, she knew Grandmother had been right.

Love made everything more worthwhile.