Joan Smith: Gather Ye Rosebuds

"Andrew explained that to me. Barry had a copy made when Margaret decided to sell the original. She planned to wear the paste necklace, to conceal having sold the original. She was not happy with the copy, and said the necklace was stolen instead. Barry just tossed the copy in a drawer and forgot about it. And I, for one, am very happy he did, or I would never have got to know your delightfully warped character."

"I am happy, too, for us and Andrew. It has taken a quarter of a century for the tale to reach this satisfactory conclusion. Three lives have been impoverished by Margaret's betrayal."

"Let it be a lesson for us. I don't know how they could have hidden their joy from the world when they fell in love and married. Folks say love and a cough cannot be hidden. I can only conclude they did not love as we love, Zoie. I feel like hiring a platform and announcing our wedding to the whole parish."

"An advertisement in the journals will serve the purpose,” I said, but truly I felt the same as Weylin. “You need not hire a platform, but when I give you our first son, I want fireworks at Parham."

His fingers tilted my face to his. “There will be fireworks at Parham long before that, my dear, if I have anything to say about it."

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