Lavinia had hoped that preparations for Marco and Arabella’s ceremony would feel like a point of normalcy. She thought that surely the process could not be that different from events she had been to in the past. Mr. Brogan seemed to be treating the whole affair like a wedding. But nothing could have been farther from the truth.

Sonia’s event planning was unlike anything Lavinia had ever seen. Instead of choosing decorations and matching centerpieces, she bound herbs and ...