Their engagement was announced in the New York Herald the day before Annabelle’s birthday and the following day Josiah presented her with her engagement ring. It was a ten-carat diamond that had been his mother’s. And it looked spectacular on Annabelle’s hand. He had decided that his mother’s ring was more meaningful than a new one, and Annabelle loved it. She and her mother were already looking for wedding gowns by then. And by sheer luck, they found the perfect one at B. Altman’s on the first of June. It was a slim gown of exquisite French lace, modeled after a Patou design, and just simple enough not to look out of place at a garden wedding in Newport. It had a long graceful train, and an enormous cloud of veil. Annabelle looked magnificent in it. And when she talked to Hortie about being her matron of honor, her old friend screamed.

“Are you insane? You can’t get married until after I have the baby. If your mother is ordering a tent, she’d better order a second one for me. It’s the only thing I can wear.”

“I don’t care how you look or what anyone says,” Annabelle insisted. “I just want you to be there for me.” It was still a sore subject for her and her mother, but she had decided to walk down the aisle alone.

“I’m not even supposed to go out in public once I’m that pregnant. All the old biddies in Newport will talk about me for years.” Annabelle was well aware of that too, and Hortie was nearly in tears.

“Who cares? I love you, however you look. And we don’t want to wait. August is perfect for us,” Annabelle pleaded with her.

“I hate you. Maybe I can swim a lot and have the baby before. But I’ll still be fat.” When she realized that Annabelle couldn’t be convinced to postpone her wedding for her, Hortie finally gave up, and promised that come hell or high water, she’d be there. It was the week before her due date, and she almost hit Annabelle when she suggested that maybe the baby would be late. She wanted it to come early. She was tired of feeling ugly and fat.

Annabelle and Hortie went shopping together, to look for items for her trousseau. And Annabelle and Josiah still had to figure out where to live. Josiah had a very respectable small summer house in Newport that he’d inherited from his mother, but his apartment in New York would be too small for them once they had children. They agreed to look for a bigger one after they got back from Wyoming, which they had chosen for their honeymoon. It was just too frantic trying to find a new place to live now. For the time being, his apartment was big enough for the two of them. And it was close to where her mother lived, which Annabelle liked. She hated to move out and leave her alone. She knew only too well how lonely she would be.

But for the moment, Consuelo was too busy to be lonely. She took two trips up to Newport to start planning the wedding and tell the gardener what she wanted planted. And they had managed to find a tent the perfect size, left over from a wedding the year before.

And much to Annabelle and Josiah’s amazement, by the end of June, all the details were attended to and in place. Consuelo was a model of efficiency, and she wanted Annabelle to have the perfect wedding. Josiah was adorable throughout. He showed no sign of jitters or nerves, despite his long wait to get married at thirty-nine. Once he made up his mind, he was ready and completely calm about it. Even more so than his bride.

As soon as the announcement came out in the Herald, they were invited everywhere, and were out almost every night. They made a striking couple, and only two of Consuelo’s friends made unpleasant comments that they thought Josiah was too old for Annabelle. Consuelo assured them that he was just right. Her own cousin, John Jacob Astor, in his forties, had married Madeleine at eighteen. Josiah was proving daily that he was the perfect husband for her. And Annabelle even managed to continue her volunteer work, with his blessing, until the end of June. She took a leave from it then until the fall.

The only thing Consuelo wanted from them, and she said it regularly, was grandchildren as soon as possible. Annabelle thought that if she heard her say it once more she would scream.

And Hortie couldn’t stop talking about the surprises Annabelle had in store for her, and how great the sex would be. It unnerved her to hear all the unwanted advice her old friend gave her, as she got bigger every day. Hortie was huge, and Annabelle hoped that when she got pregnant, she wouldn’t look like her. She said as much to Josiah one day, and he laughed.

“You’ll be beautiful when that happens, Annabelle, and our babies will be too.” He kissed her gently. They had so much to look forward to, and for the next two months so much to do.

It seemed as though everyone Josiah had ever known wanted to give them a celebration. At the age of thirty-nine, he was finally getting married. Henry Orson gave a bachelor party for him. The entire group had hangovers afterward for three days. Josiah admitted they’d had a hell of a lot of fun, although he didn’t go into detail. None of the men who’d been present did.

Consuelo had already left for Newport in June, and Annabelle joined her there in mid-July. Josiah came up, to stay in his own house, at the end of the month. Henry Orson came with him, to lend moral support to the groom, who seemed to be doing fine. And he was going to stay in Josiah’s house when they were on their honeymoon. Josiah had taken an additional three weeks of holiday this year, for their honeymoon. The bank was understanding about it, particularly since Annabelle was the bride.

Annabelle had come to love Josiah’s friend Henry. He was smart, witty, kind, and a little shy. She was constantly trying to decide which of her young female friends to introduce him to. She had already introduced him to several and he admitted to liking two of them, though nothing serious had come of it yet, but Annabelle was hopeful. And when he and Josiah got together, they were funny and quick, and the sparks of their repartee flew. Henry had always been extremely nice to her. He was to Josiah what Hortie was to her, his oldest friend from school. And Annabelle admired him immensely.

Hortie had settled in Newport for the summer by then, in her parents’ house, and James was there with her. They were almost sure they would have the baby there, and she came over to visit Annabelle every day. And Annabelle helped her mother whenever she could. But Consuelo insisted she had everything in control. Annabelle had brought her wedding dress up with her. There were more parties for them in Newport. And the Astors gave an enormous dance for them. Consuelo complained that she had never had so many late nights in her life, but she enjoyed them all.

The number of guests for the wedding had already slipped over the hundred mark, and was hovering at one twenty. Every time someone gave a party for them, they had to be added to the list. But the young couple was visibly having a ball. Josiah commented to her dryly at lunch one day, when he had come over with Henry for a picnic, that if he’d known getting married was so much fun, he’d have done it years before.

“It’s a good thing you didn’t,” Annabelle reminded him, “because then you wouldn’t be marrying me.”

“You have a point,” he chuckled, as Hortie arrived. She was waddling now, and every time Annabelle saw her, she couldn’t help laughing at her. It was hard to believe that in the next month she’d get any bigger than she was. She looked like she was about to explode. It took both Josiah and Henry to help her sit on the lawn, and even more effort and nearly a crane to get her back up.

“This isn’t funny,” she said, as all three of them laughed at her. “I haven’t seen my feet in months.” She looked and insisted that she felt like an elephant.

“What are you wearing to the wedding?” Annabelle asked her with a look of concern. She couldn’t imagine a dress big enough for her by then.

“My bedspread, I think. Or the tent.”

“Seriously, do you have anything you can fit in? You’re not getting off the hook.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be there,” she reassured her. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” She had actually had her mother’s dressmaker make something for her. It was a giant, pale blue tent, and she’d had shoes made to match. It wasn’t exactly a matron of honor’s dress, but it was all she’d be able to wear. She hated it, but it was all she had.

Consuelo had had a dress made in emerald green with a matching hat, and she was planning to wear the emeralds Arthur had given her. It was a beautiful color on her, and Annabelle knew she would look lovely as the mother of the bride.

Finally the big day arrived. Josiah’s father and stepmother had driven down from Boston, with Josiah’s half-sister and her husband and their baby. Annabelle liked them all. And the rehearsal dinner was fine. Consuelo got along with Josiah’s family, and she had them to lunch the day before the wedding. Both families were thrilled with the match. It was the union of two highly respected families, and two people whom everyone loved. And as Josiah had predicted, his oddball brother, George, who lived in Chicago had decided not to come. He was playing in a golf tournament instead. It was just the way he was, and Josiah’s feelings weren’t hurt. He would have been too much trouble if he had come, so his absence was a relief. His family had never been as normal, well balanced, and cohesive as Annabelle’s had been. And his stepmother got on his nerves. She had a high squeaky voice, and complained every chance she got.

Consuelo had brunch with Josiah’s relatives the morning of the wedding, without either the bride or groom. Out of superstition, Annabelle didn’t want to see Josiah before the wedding, and he and Henry were relaxing at his house, and trying to keep cool. It was a blistering hot day, and Consuelo was worried that the flowers would wilt and the wedding cake would melt before the ceremony even began. The service in the garden was planned for seven o’clock that night, and they were sitting down to dinner at nine. There was no doubt in everyone’s mind that the party would go late.