I love weddings; they make me jittery and excited for the new couple. It reminds me of my own joyous and genial wedding. Mr. Bates, on the other hand, does not like weddings because it reminds him of our wedding. I know I make it sound as though Mr. Bates regrets marrying me, but that is the most untrue statement ever considered. The reason he doesn't like to think about our wedding is because he feels bad about it. He wanted to see me float down the aisle in a white flowy dress. He wanted to have all his friends and family there to witness our love and show me off, but he never got to. I'm just thankful we were wed.

Daisy's hair was done up in a beautiful updo. I spent an hour styling it. Her dress was simplistic, yet extravagant. It fitted close to her body. In contradiction, the veil flowed far from her body. She looked like the princess she is. Andrew looked spiffy and sleak. They looked like a fairytale prince and princess.

Once the service was over, the congregation exited the church. Gathering, the single women clustered around Daisy as she threw the bouquet into the crowd; it landed right into Mrs. Patmore's arms.

We were celebrating at the schoolhouse, when Mr. Mason strolled over to Mrs. Patmore. Mr. Bates and I peered at each other. He winked at me. We turned back to look at them. We saw Mr. Mason blush and Mrs. Patmore raise her hands to her face. With a joyful tear, Mrs. Patmore nodded.

"I guess that bouquet really was meant for her , ay?" Mr. Bates laughed.

"Haha! For sure." I agreed.

We all congratulated Mr. Mason and Mrs. Patmore on their wedding.

The reception did not last much longer after and we headed home. Plus I missed JJ quite a bit.
Once we had fetched JJ and were home at last, Mr. Bates and I talked for a while. We chatted about silly little things and slowly had deeper conversation. We had danced around this subject a little bit, but not much.

"Anna, we need to talk about something very important. I know you love your Lady Mary and I am noble to His Lordship, but is working for them really worth the time lost we could be spending on JJ. We've talked about owning a hotel for a long time and I've been saving money for it."

"I would love to buy a hotel, Mr. Bates, but I don't think I can leave. Just not yet anyway. I love JJ and being with him, but I think Lady Mary needs me right now. I don't believe her and Mr. Talbot or exactly happy at the moment."

"Just say the word, Anna, and we can turn in our notices. Promise me you will tell me if you want to go."

"Of course."

"Hey Anna…" Mr. Bates spoke with a sly smirk on his face

"What is it?" I asked giggling.

"When can we put JJ to bed and have some fun? Just the two of us."

"My word, Mr. Bates some of the things you say!"

And on that note, I put JJ in his cot and we headed to our room.