In love…The words made Emily blush and look down. She longed to make some jest to lighten the moment, but she felt she could not. She was so happy, with her heart soaring too high to make light of the matter. She adored Aaron, which was plain for her to see, and it seemed he was so besotted with her that his own mother was practically in tears at the idea.
Emily turned her eyes on her gown and her figure, finding she was looking at herself in a new light. She was wearing an ivory white gown, one she had once feared showed off her plump figure, but the last time Aaron had seen her in that dress, his expression had suggested she looked different to how she thought she appeared. His eyes had wandered over her figure before returning to her face. He had promptly moved toward her, whispering in her ear that she should avoid wearing the gown again whilst they were courting. It made his imagination run wild.
“Now, I long to hear more of how your courtship with my son is going,” the Duchess said, bringing Emily’s thoughts back to the moment. She blushed all the more, realizing just where her thoughts had wandered to whilst talking with his mother. “Yet first, I must deliver my invitation.”
“What invitation?” Charity said as the Duchess fished in her reticule and pulled out a sealed strip of thick paper, sealed with red wax and emblazoned with the Duke of Parson’s emblem.
“It is to a ball, to be held at our home,” she said, looking between the two of them with hope. “My husband so rarely holds such events. He is always so busy with his tenants and the land, but he is quite determined to hold one this year, to celebrate our sons. It will be quite a spectacle. He has even arranged fireworks for the evening.”
“Fireworks?” Charity murmured in wonder. “How marvelous!”
“Indeed.” The Duchess turned in her seat as she spoke, fixing Emily with her gaze alone. “It is imperative to us both that our sons have the guests they truly desire there. I know Aaron would not be happy unless you, Lady Emily, and your family were there for the event.”
“When is the date?” Charity asked as she broke the seal on the paper and opened it up, only to frown a little. “There is no date on the invite.”
“Oh no, we couldn’t pick a date, not yet, not until we can be sure the date will work for you all. So, what do you say, Lady Emily?” the Duchess asked, addressing Emily alone again. “Pick any date you like, and we will arrange the ball for then. Say you will all come?”
Chapter Fifteen
“New gowns for everyone,” Charity declared as the carriage door was swung open, and the footman helped her down. Emily waited for her sister to descend before she turned her eyes on Julia at her side.
“I do not think I have ever seen my mother so happy,” she whispered to her sister-in-law. “Do you think it has something to do with the promise of fireworks at this ball we are to attend?”
“Ha! Do not tease her today,” Julia said, trying to hold in her laughter as she too clambered down from the carriage, with Emily close behind her. “She is thrilled for you, that is the truth of the matter.”
Emily laughed too as Julia took her arm. They followed Charity and Grace toward the modiste’s shop on Bond Street, peering in the window for a minute at the fabrics that were stretched out on bolts before them.
“Is it really necessary to have new gowns, mother?” Emily murmured as she stared at the material. There were such patterned and elegant materials this season, replacing much of the plain and pastel materials of previous seasons. Each one stretched out before their eyes was expensive and illustrious. “These fabrics… they will make any wearer stand out in a crowd.”
“Exactly,” Charity said with glee. “Come, girls, hurry.” She led them inside, even as Emily tried to dig her feet into the ground. She usually avoided buying such dresses as her mother was describing. It was an action clearly noticed by Julia who was jolted back beside her with their arms connected.
“Is there something wrong, Emily?” Julia said quietly, trying to urge her to move into the shop.
“Perhaps they have something a little plainer,” Emily whispered as she chewed her lip, at last letting Julia lead her into the shop.
“Why are you so fond of a plain dress? If you do not mind me asking.”
“It is not that I am fonder of them. It is simply that I think they suit me well.” Emily’s hands began to fidget around the reticule in her grasp as they walked further into the shop.
“Oh, Grace, this one would look beautiful on you.” Charity held up a silken blue material, one that went perfectly with Grace’s beauty.
“Do you think?” Grace asked excitedly, holding the sample over her current gown. “It is extravagant indeed. Look at this lace detailing across the front. I think it quite perfect.”
“Emily? Which material do you like?” Julia led Emily away from the others. Together, they walked around the shop, where Emily made a beeline for a small corner that was filled with the plainest of materials. She released Julia’s arm and reached for some of the duller fabrics. “These?” Julia asked in surprise.
“Yes,” Emily said quietly, glancing back to her mother and Grace together. “Those extravagant materials suit Grace, they do not suit me so well.”
“What on earth makes you say such things?” Julia asked, her manner surprisingly firm as she placed her hands on her hips.
“Julia, you’d think I had threatened to kick a puppy the way you are glaring at me.” Emily’s jest made Julia briefly smile, but it did not last long.
“I think you would suit the bold materials as well as the plain.”
“I am not so sure.” Emily shook her head. It was always the way. Ever since she could remember she had opted for the more muted colors, leaving Grace to have the gowns that were more eye-catching. The boldest gown Emily owned was her Pomona green dress, the one she had been wearing the first night she had met Aaron.
“What would Lord Tattershall say, I wonder?” Julia said, walking a little away as she perused the materials. “What material would he put you in, do you think?”
Emily paused with the plain white material she had in her hands and looked up at the other materials.