January 27

8:30 p.m.

Rosemary stared at the mug of hot chocolate before her. Even in the safe comfort of Elizabeth's home, she couldn't bring herself to swallow one single sip of it. This was definitely not how she'd imagined spending her evening. What she wouldn't give to be sharing this hot drink with her darling Lee over their promised game of cards. But instead, he was somewhere out there in the ferociously intensifying cold wet snow. She shuddered and pulled the cream knitted shawl tighter around her shoulders. But even its warmth would not keep out the shudder that had settled on her soul since Lee's departure hours ago.

"You know, considering the circumstances, this is quite enjoyable. Heaven knows I could use the company with Jack up North." Elizabeth surveyed her hand of cards before selecting one and laying it down on her mahogany kitchen table. She took a sip from her mug.

Rosemary strained her eyes, willing them to focus on the cards in her hand, but as much as she tried, she was just not able to distract herself with the game. She set the cards down with a sigh.

"I'm sorry, Elizabeth. I don't feel much like playing."

Elizabeth gave her a sympathetic look. "I know this isn't easy on you. But it will all work out. Lee will be back in no time." Elizabeth set her cards down on the table and then her face lit up. "Do you remember the last time you stayed with me?"

She looked up from her mug of hot chocolate. "Umm… oh, yes. After that nasty fight with Lee."

Elizabeth nodded. "Yes, and at the time you didn't think you would get through it. You were fearful it was the end of you two, but look how far you both have come now. Both of you are getting along swimmingly and communicating ever so well."

She swallowed the lump in her throat and then placed her mug on the table. Communicating well? Elizabeth didn't know the half of it. She cleared her throat. "Well, it's a work in progress anyway."

Elizabeth smiled. "We all are. But from what I observe—you and Lee couldn't be getting along any better. You've got your new house—"

"Which won't be finished anytime soon." She knew she sounded downright grumpy, but she couldn't keep the discouragement from her voice no matter how she tried.

"Oh, but it will be. Maybe it won't be completed as soon as you hoped, but it will be okay. You'll soon forget about this whole waiting period. You'll be hosting marvelous teas on the veranda and will be the talk of the town."

Rosemary smiled a bit at that. Her new home would be the perfect setting for a wondrous tea party. "I sure hope so."

"It's true. And well, with the arrival of your little one— near June isn't it?" Elizabeth glanced over at her and she nodded. "You both will have a whole bunch of new experiences as parents. You'll do just fine."

Rosemary held in her harrumph. Elizabeth had no idea of her upbringing and how truly under qualified she was for this whole "mothering" thing. All this talk was hitting a bit too close to home. She pulled the edges of the shawl over her belly and shifted in the chair.

"Well, that's enough about me. How about you— the wedding? Are the invites posted yet?"

Now it was Elizabeth's turn to look distraught. A deep pink stained her cheeks as she looked anywhere but at Rosemary.

"We're planning to— it's just that… well…" She let the words fall as she twisted her hands in her lap.

"It's a mere four months until the wedding. I do think proper etiquette requires you to have them in the mail at the latest mid-February, especially for your out of town guests."

Elizabeth sat still and posed in her chair. "I wish I could skip the whole lot of them." Her voice was so slight Rosemary barely heard it.

"What? Why? Surely you don't mean that."

"You're right. I don't. I just wish there were a select few I could skip over."

Rosemary let the silence hang, hoping it would inspire Elizabeth to continue.

"Father has this idea that I must invite Charles and his family because of our family connections for so long. I think he is hoping to give Charles one last opportunity before the knot is tied. I just wish he would acknowledge that I know what is best for me. I wish he'd acknowledge that Jack is truly an upstanding man, a man I would be more than pleased to have as my husband."

"So will you?"

Elizabeth gave her a confused look.

"Invite Charles I mean." She lifted the mug, surprised the faint scent of chocolate was beckoning her for a sip. Perhaps this change in conversation was precisely what she needed.

"I don't know how I can avoid the situation. Even if I fail to post an invite to them, I am sure Father will extend an invite by word of mouth to them. It's truly exasperating!" A crease formed at Elizabeth's brow.

"Oh dear. That is quite infuriating." She opened her hand, palm up. "Let me see what you have so far."

Elizabeth softened and gave her a sad smile. "I shouldn't burden you with all this, especially when you are already… to capacity with your own worries. It's just such a nuisance to me. I wish Jack was here to help with these things. He's always so sure and so confident in his choices." She paused. "Much like you, Rosemary."

Rosemary stiffened. Usually she was so sure and confident, but even that was a facade, because here she couldn't even open her heart fully to her husband. Her face fell and she looked at her hands in her lap.

She could tell that Elizabeth, who was often perceptive to other's sensitivities, faltered at her sudden change in mood. "Oh, it's okay. You don't have to look them over. I'm sure I'll figure it out just fine."

Rosemary pushed away her negative thoughts and lifted her eyes to meet Elizabeth's. "What else have we got to do?" She motioned to the window where the fluffy, white snowflakes continued to fall.

"True. But are you sure?"

"I'm sure. I hope that by now you would know I am always willing to assist a dear friend. And you, Elizabeth are exactly that. A dear friend."

Elizabeth reached over and gave her hand a squeeze. "You are a dear friend to me as well, Rosemary. And that is why we will just help each other get through these obstacles. One step at a time."

"Staring with the invites." Rosemary returned her smile and extended her hand.

Elizabeth pushed back the chair, stood up and walked over to the small desk by the front window where she took out a stack of invitations, each written with such eloquent handwriting. She placed them in Rosemary's awaiting hand.

"My, that is a good bundle of cards." Rosemary said, shuffling through the stack of cards. There must have been at least fifty!

"And that isn't the half of it." Elizabeth grimaced and then fell back into her chair. "I just wish it could be a small, informal wedding. Just my family and the friends I have made here in Hope Valley."

"Well, why can't it be?" Rosemary put the cards on the table before her.

Elizabeth rubbed her temples. "You of all people know how frustrating an aristocratic family can be with all the expectations. They are stifling, are they not?"

Rosemary sat back in her chair. "Yes, you are right. I guess with both my father and mother passing before my wedding, I did not have to deal with family, or even any friends from the past. It did make it rather simple. But I still believe, regardless, that you should have a wedding you are proud to call your own. A wedding that is completely one hundred percent yours and Jack's. Have you decided your venue?"

Elizabeth smiled. "The church of course."

"Okay, and what is the capacity of the school house? 25?"

"30 actually."

"Okay, and if you do scoot in a few more chairs, and allow the children to sit on the floor, we could even it out at about fifty people. I believe you should just send out a good twenty-five invitations. Start with those you truly want there. Of course they will bring their family in most cases, so it will still be a full house. I know it is a day everyone is expected to be invited for, but if you remember my wedding, even we didn't invite the whole town, and eventually everyone came around to understand our choice."

Elizabeth's eyes started to glitter. "Yes, twenty-five invitations does sound desirable, with perhaps a few more guests invited for the reception at Abigail's," she said as much to herself as to Rosemary. "I wonder if it is even possible."

"Believe me, dear, anything is possible." She placed her hand on Elizabeth's and then proceeded to pick up her hand of cards. "I'm suddenly feeling much more optimistic. Let's get back to our card game, shall we?"