Page 63 of The Autumn Wife
“Oh.” Cecile drew in her shoulders as a wave ofwantingrushed over her, tingling everything between her scalp and toes. “I thought all I had to do was take off my clothes.”
Marie laughed. “Genny will help you with that.”
“I can’t do that.” Genny waved up and down the satin brocade dress Cecile wore. “It’s been ages sinceI’ve dressed in anything but deerskin. I’ll be useless with all those hooks and eyes and ties and grommets and ribbons—”
“Brush her hair out, then.” Marie seized a horsehair brush from the bedside table and held it out to the redhead. “I’ll get these clothes off her.”
“Honestly.” Cecile raised her arms, giving in to her friends with a smile. “I’m quite sure Theo knows how to undress me.”
“He’ll tear this pretty dress.” Genny came up behind her and tugged out the pins in the roll Marie had so carefully set. “Marie and I have seen how that man looks at you. That satin wouldn’t make it out of the barn intact.”
Cecile’s imagination bounded ahead of her. She had to bite her lower lip not to make a squealing noise.
“Better to wear that instead.” Marie jerked her head toward the bed where a cloudy swath of translucent fabric pooled on the furs “Theo is welcome to tear that to his heart’s content.”
The women laughed, and Cecile couldn’t help but laugh along with them.
“I apologize for not arranging better wedding-night accommodations,” Marie said while making quick work of Cecile’s bodice laces. “The barn is the best I could do on such short—”
“The barn,” Cecile said, unable to hold back a smile, “is perfect.”
“I thought it might be, you naughty girl. I’ve decorated it a bit, though it wasn’t easy to make it look romantic.”
“Marie, look,” Genny said, poking her head around to pinch Cecile’s cheek. “She’s blushing.”
Marie grinned. “Excellent.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever blushed in front of André.” Genny returned to tugging the brush through Cecile’s unbound hair. “If I was pink-cheeked, it was always because we’d just had a good romp.”
Cecile blurted, “Genny!”
“Come now, you’re a bride, not an innocent.” Marie tossed Cecile’s bodice toward a chair, leaving her in her shift and skirts. “None of us is a young girl anymore. My first night as a wife was certainlynotmy first night with Lucas. Oh, how I remember that first night—”
“For me, it was daytime.” Genny waggled her brows. “In the middle of the woods.”
Hilarity gripped Cecile. Her friends laughed along, and for one, shimmering moment, Cecile felt like a girl again, back at the Salpêtrière Orphanage, bouncing on a hay mattress, bare-legged and giddy, sharing secrets with Marie in the dim light of their dormitory, conspiring mischief in whispers with Genny.
To think the three of them hadn’t known how strange—and how beautiful—their futures would be.
Cecile grasped Marie’s forearm for balance as she stepped out of the skirts. “I’m so grateful foreverything you both did today. I don’t know how to thank you.”
“You’ve already thanked me.” Marie’s eyes danced. “For agreeing to take up Lucas’s offer and stay for the winter.”
“That’s your gift tome,”Cecile said. “How could we say no?”
“Good.” Marie’s gaze flashed toward Genny. “Genny is staying, too, at least until spring.”
“What?” Cecile gaped at the redhead. “But shouldn’t you and André go back west?”
“Once the ice closes in, we’ll be safe here. Plus, there’s a complication.” Genny wrinkled her nose. “I’ve been having a powerful yearning for gooseberry jam, and, well…” Genny slid her hand over her belly “I’ve already eaten through two jars of Marie’s best. This baby will be born in early spring.”
Squeals, and jumping, and then Marie scolding Genny for jumping, and then Genny laughing with her mouth open and swinging Marie around. They paused only to yank off Cecile’s old shift and wrestle the gossamer one over her head, giggling all the while.
Cecile wondered how she’d come to deserve all this happiness.
“A winter together.” Cecile clasped both women’s hands. “All three of us. That’s the best wedding gift ever.”
Footsteps came from the parlor, and after a light knock, the door swung open. Marietta poked herhead around the edge, eyes widening at Cecile. “Oh, my. You look breathtaking.”
