Afterward they all rode together to the Deckers’ house in the carriage. Malloy held her hand, and he couldn’t seem to take his eyes off her. Sarah knew she looked beautiful. Maeve had told her often enough this morning when they were getting dressed. Her mother’s dressmaker had followed Sarah’s instructions perfectly, designing her an elegant gown of robin’s egg blue silk taffeta trimmed in lace. She’d wanted something much simpler, of course, but Maeve had reminded her that both Sarah and her sister had eloped and Mrs. Decker had only this one chance left to see one of her daughters married in style. At least she’d been able to forgo a long train, since she wouldn’t be walking down any aisles.
“That’s a pretty dress, Mrs. Malloy,” Gino was saying to Malloy’s mother. It was, too. Sarah’s mother’s dressmaker had convinced her that dove gray was the perfect color for a woman emerging from mourning after twenty years. She’d trimmed it with black braid stitched into swirls around the bottom of the skirt and the front of the jacket. Her hat sported an ostrich feather dyed to match the dress.
Mrs. Malloy looked up at Gino in surprise. “Why, thank you, young man.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in anything but black, Ma,” Malloy said.
“Mrs. Brandt thought it would be all right,” she said primly.
Sarah smiled at Malloy’s astonished look. He was still getting used to Sarah and his mother being friends.
“You can’t call her Mrs. Brandt anymore,” Maeve said with a teasing grin. “She’s Mrs. Malloy now, too.”
“Are you going to call each other Mrs. Malloy?” Gino asked with a teasing grin of his own. “That’ll be confusing.”
“I’ve asked her to start calling me Sarah,” Sarah reminded her.
“And she can call me Mother Malloy,” Mrs. Malloy said, successfully shocking her son all over again.
When they arrived at the Deckers’ house, Sarah’s parents met them at the door. Sarah’s mother embraced her, hugging her fiercely, and when she finally released her, Sarah saw her eyes glistening with just a hint of tears. Then she turned to Malloy, and to his surprise, she kissed him on the cheek.
“Welcome to our family, Frank,” she said, then quickly turned to greet his mother so she could pretend not to notice his astonishment.
Sarah’s father took both her hands and kissed her cheek. He successfully maintained his dignity, but Sarah knew how deeply his emotions ran by how tightly he squeezed her fingers.
They all knew Frank Malloy was not the husband her parents would have chosen for her, but they had come to understand he was the right husband for her. Her father shook Malloy’s hand with all the warmth she could have hoped for.
Then they moved on upstairs to the drawing room her parents hardly ever had occasion to use where all the rest of the people who were important to them had gathered. Behind her, Sarah heard her mother complimenting Mrs. Malloy on her new clothes.
“I’m so glad you were happy with Susan’s work,” she said. “She desperately wanted to please you.”
Mrs. Malloy murmured something Sarah didn’t catch.
“I’ll be sure to tell her you said so,” her mother replied. “Brian has been wondering where you are. Mrs. Ellsworth and Mrs. Hicks have been doing a marvelous job of entertaining him and Catherine, though.”
When they reached the landing, for a moment Sarah and Frank were out of sight of the others. Malloy leaned over and kissed her.
“It’s hard to believe that I can do that whenever I like now,” he said with a satisfied grin.
“You can do a lot more than that, too,” she replied with a satisfied grin of her own and watched in delight as the color crawled up his neck.
“Mama!” Catherine cried. She’d obviously escaped from the drawing room one floor above and came racing down the stairs to them, with Brian close on her heels. She threw herself into Sarah’s arms, then pushed away and threw herself into Malloy’s arms. “You’re my papa now, aren’t you?”
“Yes, I am,” he told her happily.
Brian went straight for Sarah, but he skidded to a stop and gazed up at her in wonder. He hadn’t yet seen her in her wedding finery. Then he ran his thumb down his cheek and held his hands out to the left in the sign for Mother.
“Yes, my darling boy,” she said, nodding and making the sign back to him. He threw his arms around her.
By then Gino, Maeve, and the parents had caught up, and Gino and Maeve took charge of the children, ushering them back upstairs where Mrs. Ellsworth was fussing at them for getting away from her.
“Everyone’s here,” Sarah’s mother told them.
“Even Roosevelt?” Malloy asked.
“Oh yes, and Edith is with him. He said he was delighted to be invited and wouldn’t have missed it for anything.”
“He’s running for governor now,” her father said. “He needs all the friends he can get.”
When Frank and Sarah stepped into the room, everyone stopped what they were doing and applauded the newlyweds. Then they came rushing over to greet them.
Mrs. Ellsworth assured them all the omens decreed they would have a long and happy life together. Her son, Nelson, wished them all the best. Roosevelt took the liberty of kissing the bride, since they had been childhood friends. Then he pumped Malloy’s hand and slapped him on the back. His wife, Edith, kissed Malloy, making him blush all over again.
Michael and Lynne Hicks were the closest thing Catherine had to family, except for Sarah and Malloy. Lynne was Catherine’s much older half sister, but Lynne’s own children were much older than Catherine, so Catherine knew her as Aunt Lynne. They declared themselves to be honored to witness the wedding.
Dr. David Newton and his wife, Anne, had been friends of Sarah and her first husband, Tom. David had earned Malloy’s undying gratitude when he operated on Brian’s clubfoot almost two years earlier. David was thrilled to see Brian running around as a boy his age should do. Finally, Mrs. Keller came forward. She was the matron at the Mission where Sarah had first encountered Catherine and Maeve, and she’d brought several of the girls who had known Sarah the longest. They seemed a bit overwhelmed by the magnificence of the Deckers’ home, but thrilled to be there all the same.
When they had greeted all the guests, Sarah glanced around the room. Gino was deep in conversation with Theodore, his former commander, and Mrs. Roosevelt. Mrs. Ellsworth and Lynne Hicks were chatting amiably with Mrs. Malloy and the Newtons while they tried to keep the children under control. Sarah’s mother and Maeve were making Mrs. Keller and the girls welcome. Her father had gone to greet Michael Hicks and Nelson Ellsworth.
Her parents’ minister was coming toward them with an expression of happy anticipation.
“Are you ready to go through it all again?” Sarah asked Malloy.
He took her hand and gave her a look that curled her toes.
“Yes, I am. I would be glad to marry you twice a day, every single day for the rest of my life.”
Author’s Note
We’ve waited a long time for Sarah and Frank to be married. Before you ask, no, this is not the last book in the series! I have many more adventures planned for Frank and Sarah Malloy and their crew. I hope you will share them.
As a reward for your loyalty to the series and your patience in waiting for this wedding, we will be doing a second Gaslight Mystery book this year. Murder on St. Nicholas Avenue will be out in November 2015. While Frank and Sarah are on their honeymoon, Gino and Maeve step in to help a young woman falsely accused of murder. When they find they need a little help, every one of Frank and Sarah’s family and friends step in to assist.
Please let me know how you liked this book by contacting me through my website victoriathompson.com or “like” me on Facebook, facebook.com/Victoria.Thompson.Author, or follow me on Twitter @gaslightvt. I’ll send you a reminder whenever I have a new book out.
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