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By this time tomorrow, I’d be a wife.
    Regina was affixing the floor-length veil with an orange blossom headpiece when a light rap sounded on the adjoining door. I’d been ignoring the presence of this discreet entry. I was aware Mr. Call’s sleeping chamber probably connected to my own.
    The thought flicked through my mind that if Mr. Call were knocking, him seeing me in this dress was bad luck. I threw off the superstition. What did one more risk matter?
    “Come,” I called.
    Mr. Call entered.
    He’d already dressed, and my breath caught slightly in my throat. His swallowtail coat displayed the breadth of his chest and shoulders, his white waistcoat hugging his trim waist. His dark gray trousers flowed down his powerful legs. My heart thumped faster. I didn’t think I’d ever seen a man this godlike.
    When he caught sight of me, his stride faltered. He seemed taken aback for some reason. I hoped he was not displeased. His eyes traveled up and down me from head to hem.
    “You are a vision,” he said, taking a moment to find his tongue.
    “The dress you sent up is beautiful.”
    “ You’re beautiful.”
    I wanted to say he was too but couldn’t get the compliment past my constricted vocal chords.
    He shook himself and then held out a brown leather case. It was the size of a large novel. “I brought you a bride gift. I hope you’ll please me by wearing it.”
    I immediately felt uneasy. “You’ve given me so much already.”
    “Please,” he insisted, pushing it toward me.
    I opened the hinged box. I expected pearls. They were traditional. Instead, diamonds lay within the blue velvet interior—quite a lot of them, actually.
    “Good Lord,” was all I could say.
    My hands had lost their power to act. Mr. Call lifted out the prodigious necklace, draping the long bright strands over my stunned head. He re-fluffed my veil but did not retreat. “This necklace is designed to look like a rope. You can wear the tassels in front or back, but I think they’re best in front with this gown.”
    As he stroked the sparkling dangle, his fingers whispered along my garment and caused my nerves to spark. I tried not to shiver, but he knew I’d reacted. His fist closed lightly around the diamond knot, the gesture stirring odd but not unpleasant feelings inside of me.
    A rope was an implement for leading chattel. Was that what I wished to be?
    I felt as if I swam in a dream. His gemlike eyes met mine. “You are so magnificent my soul hurts.”
    I twitched. No one had ever called me magnificent. I doubted very much I was.
    “Mr. Call,” I said, feeling that I must speak. “I fear you put me on too high a pedestal.”
    “Damien,” he returned throatily.
    “What?”
    “My name is Damien. We are to be married. You may use my Christian name.”
    “Damien,” I said tentatively.
    He flushed slightly when I obeyed. The wash of color along his chiseled cheekbones brought an answering heat to mine. Though it made me uncomfortable, I discovered I could not look away from his magnetic gaze.
    “Mia,” he said. “You need not fear how beautiful I find you. My intent is not to harm you but only to bring you happiness.”
    “Only me?” I dared to ask.
    His eyes darkened, his attention dropping to my lips, which Regina had dabbed with tinted salve. His large body seemed to coil, his fingers tightening on the necklace. I tensed as the pressure of the strands on my nape increased. For a moment, I thought he would try to have me—as the French maid foresaw.
    “Us,” Damien said, obliging me to recall what we’d been speaking of. He released the necklace and hesitated, an unexpected shyness entering his expression. “I want us to be happy. I confess I . . . feel encouraged about our prospects. Though the business I do surrounds me with people, much of my life has been solitary—even lonely, some would say. Finding a partner is difficult when one is different. At last, I dare to hope my long-held aspirations have found a