Laura Childs - Shades of Earl Grey

Tonight’s soiree was an engagement party for Delaine’s niece, Camille Cantroux. Camille was engaged to marry a young Marine captain, Corey Buchanan from Savannah, Georgia. In fact, the wedding was just a few weeks away, set to take place the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

“Here’s Haley,” said Drayton as a young woman in a swirl of black crepe hurried to join them.

“Hey, you guys,” said Haley in a breathless rush, “tell me if this dress looks okay.” As she executed a self-conscious little twirl, her long straight hair swirled out in a wedge around her. “I borrowed it from my cousin, Rowena.”

“Terrific,” piped up Drayton immediately, without so much as a look in her direction.

Haley rolled her eyes.

Theodosia, however, took Haley very seriously and studied her little black cocktail dress with an appraising eye. In her short, fun dress she looked like an updated Audrey Hepburn. Coltish, very much the gamin. Except, of course, for her long, straight hair and slightly impudent nature. That was pure Haley.

“You look adorable,” Theodosia reassured her. “Youthful, very fresh. I’m confident every young man here tonight will have his eye on you.”

“Do you really think so?” asked Haley. She glanced around quickly at the crowd of young people. “There are lots of good-looking guys here, aren’t there? Do you think they’re all Marines?”

“I’d say there are more than a few good men,” said Drayton, who never failed to delight in teasing Haley.

Haley, on the other hand, simply ignored his jibes. “How come Delaine is throwing an engagement party here in Charleston when her niece and her fiancé are getting married in Savannah?” she asked.

“Besides the fact that Delaine lives here, Camille also attended school here at Charleston College,” explained Theodosia. “So Camille has loads of friends in the area. You know, she graduated this past summer with a B.A. in English literature.”

“Cool,” nodded Haley. “I was an English lit major once.”

“Haley,” said Drayton, “you were also a studio arts major, women’s studies major, and... let’s see... what was your most recent foray? Business?”

“Hey, smarty,” Haley shot back, “I’m still taking classes in business administration. This time I will get my degree.”

“Of course you will,” Theodosia assured her.

“Thanks, Theo,” said Haley. “Hey, your hair looks great tonight,” she exclaimed as an afterthought.

“No, not really,” said Theodosia, nervously patting her hair again.

“Batten down the hatches,” said Drayton under his breath. “Here comes Delaine.”

Delaine Dish, proud aunt and planner extraordinaire of tonight’s engagement party, came plowing through the throng of guests like an ocean liner entering New York Harbor. Delaine’s long, dark hair was swept into an up-do and she wore a midnight blue chiffon dress with a beaded camisole bodice and frothy skirt. With her slightly upturned eyes, Delaine looked tall, dark, and elegant.

“Delaine, darling,” said Drayton, greeting her. “You’re looking lovely.”

Delaine rubbed a bare shoulder against Drayton. “Such a way with women you have, Mr. Conneley.”

Theodosia sighed. Delaine was a sweet soul. No one could touch her fiery zeal when it came to raising money for the Heritage Society, campaigning for the Charleston Humane Society, or selling tickets for the Lamplighter Tour. But Delaine did have a certain fondness for men.

Delaine finally turned her gaze toward Theodosia and Haley. “Having a good time, you two?”

“Everything is lovely,” replied Theodosia. “The Lady Goodwood Inn was a perfect choice.”

“So was the string quartet,” added Drayton, nodding toward the group of musicians tucked off in the corner.

Theodosia let her gaze wander, taking in the small, elegant ballroom with its color palette of cream and pale blue, the multitude of vases overflowing with fresh flowers, the tuxedo-clad waiters who bore silver trays with crystal flutes of champagne. “It’s nice to be a guest for once and not the caterer,” she told Delaine.

In the past year, the Indigo Tea Shop had catered a multitude of engagement teas, garden teas, and wedding receptions. So being a guest here tonight really was a luxury for Theodosia.

“Tell us about Captain Corey Buchanan,” Haley urged Delaine. “I love the idea that he’s a captain in the Marines. Just the thought of it is so dashing and romantic.”

“Well, I don’t know him all that well,” replied Delaine. “In fact I’ve really only met the dear fellow twice. But I can tell you he’s a graduate of Annapolis and the Basic School in Quantico, and that Captain Corey Buchanan is one of the Buchanans from Savannah.” Delaine’s eyes sparkled with excitement. “They’re a very old family. Terribly well-to-do.”

“I’m sure he’s a fine young man,” said Theodosia, choosing to ignore Delaine’s somewhat tactless implication of wealth and riches. “And that he and Camille are very much in love.”

Haley nodded in agreement. “In the scheme of things, that’s what really counts.”

“Have you seen Camille’s ring?” asked Delaine, still in a twitter.

“Gorgeous,” replied Drayton.

“Oh, no,” Delaine was quick to protest. “Not the engagement ring. Of course, that’s beautiful. Stunning, really. But wait until you-all get a gander at Camille’s wedding ring. I just put it on display in the Garden Room a few minutes ago. It’s what you’d call a killer ring. Estate jewelry, don’t you know?”

“Estate jewelry,” repeated Haley. “What exactly does that mean?”

Delaine looked pleased at Haley’s question. “Honey,” she said in a hushed tone, “it means the ring has been in Captain Buchanan’s family for decades! ” She took a quick sip of champagne to fortify herself, then continued. “The ring is an emerald-cut diamond flanked by six smaller round diamonds. The center stone came from a distant relative, Angelique Delacroix, who was a French noblewoman married to a minor Austrian archduke back in the mid-eighteen-hundreds. The archduke reputedly purchased the diamond when one of Marie Antoinette’s crowns was sold off!”

“Wow!” said Haley, impressed now. “Sounds like the kind of ring a girl could lose her head over.”

“Oh yes,” Delaine bubbled on. “Wait until you see it.” She glanced around. “Captain Buchanan and the rest of the boys should be here any moment. A couple of the groomsmen had tuxedo fittings this afternoon.” She rolled her eyes. “You know how young men are. They probably stopped at Slidell’s Oyster Bar for a celebratory drink. I certainly hope they won’t be indiscreet.”

“Or delayed,” added Theodosia. All the guests had been sipping cocktails for the better part of an hour now and there seemed to be a restless hum in the tightly packed room. Probably, Theodosia decided, most of the guests were as ready as she was for dinner in the more spacious Garden Room, which had once been the inn’s greenhouse. Delaine had been huddling with the Lady Goodwood’s head chef for weeks and had finally decided upon an appetizer of she-crab soup, a salad of baby field greens, and an entrée of smoked duck breast, cranberry relish, and fried squash blossoms.

“So when do we get a peek at this show-stopper of a ring?” asked Haley, looking around in great anticipation.

Delaine glanced nervously at her watch again, a jewel-encrusted Chopard. “Hopefully we’ll be going in for dinner any minute now. We’re really just waiting for Captain Buchanan.” Delaine drained the last of her champagne. “Until this afternoon,” she explained, “Brooke had been storing the ring in her vault at Heart’s Desire. For safekeeping, of course.”