My mind, exhausted after the night of fitful sleep, was playing tricks on me.
The young woman finally met my gaze, her lips twisted in a smirk. “You’ll be the most modestly dressed one there.”
My eyebrows rose with surprise.
“I suppose I can help you,” she said.
“Oh, thank you,” I said, ignoring the peculiarity of her phrasing as I stepped into the center of the sitting room, away from the furniture. I’d already pinned my hair up in a crown of braids and flowers and wore my garters and stockings beneath my robe. “I don’t think we’ve ever been introduced,” I said, feeling self-conscious as she stripped the robe away, leaving me completely exposed.
With an expert flick of her fingers, the maid unfastened the row of buttons and eased the dress up and over the mannequin’s frame. Wordlessly, she hoisted it over my head, helping me through the long sleeves and making sure everything settled where it should. I felt her begin to work on the buttons and then she stepped to the front of me, studying everything with a critical gaze.
“I’m Verity,” I added.
“I know.” She blinked at me, her dark brown eyes flat. “Will you need help with your shoes?”
I glanced toward my bedroom where a new pair of slippers waited, butter-soft leather, flecked with champagne and gold shimmers. I’d seen them in a store window, and though Dauphine claimed a young lady ought to live in heels, I’d been inexplicably drawn to them.
Wordlessly, I shook my head.
“Are you sure…” Her voice trailed off and I sensed she was questioning something greater than the shoes. “Are you sure you want all this?”
I shifted from foot to foot in the gown, acutely aware of the enormous footprint it took up. “Honestly…no. Dauphine picked out this style. It’s a bit too much for my taste.”
She narrowed her eyes, looking at me as if I were incredibly stupid. “Not the dress. This. All this.” She waved her hand about the room. “All them.”
“The Laurents?”
She nodded.
“You ought to be careful,” she said, swiftly cutting me off before I could respond. “You…you seem like a good person. You shouldn’t let them hurt you.”
“Hurt me?” My mouth dropped open. “Alex would never—”
“Not him,” she hissed. Her head darted toward the door as the sound of approaching footsteps rang out. “I think we’re all done here. Enjoy your party.”
Before I could protest, she bustled out of the room and disappeared down the hall.
“Oh my dear, you look like a dream but it’s far too early to be dressed,” Dauphine said, looking up from her desk as I walked into her private parlor.
“Alex wanted to show me something before the party tonight…. He asked if I’d wear this.”
Her eyes flashed with understanding. “Oh, how wonderful! Then I won’t keep you long…. I only wanted to give you an itinerary for the day…but it seems you’ve already checked off most of your list. Turn for me?”
I spun around slowly for her inspection, the layers of tulle fluttering.
“That shade of purple is perfect with your coloring,” she murmured. “You look positively ethereal. If the Sisters of the Ardor saw you, they’d snatch you up to serve Arina for the rest of your days.” She let out a soft sigh. “Alexander will be utterly smitten.”
I glanced down at the skirts, feeling a coil of nerves unspool in my belly. His affection was not whose I worried for most. “You think so?”
“I know it.” She stood up and took my hands, beaming at me. “I hope you know how happy you make him. Before you came to us…he was always so shrouded away in his own thoughts, his own world. I knew he was lonely but I wasn’t sure how to help him, what to do…. You’ve brought him out, made him shine. I can’t thank you enough for what you’ve done for him.”
“I care for him immensely,” I promised, telling myself that as much as her.
Dauphine nodded. “Anyone with eyes can see it. You both flow so well together. It’s lovely to watch. When Gerard and I were courting…it was a different time, I suppose.” She offered out a small smile, and deep in my sparkling slippers, my toes curled. “There are a thousand different ways for a couple to love one another, and here in Bloem, each of them is as important and valid as the other.”
My mouth ran dry as she danced around the subject. “Do youthink…Is he planning…” I faltered, the thought too giant to wield. “Do you know where Alex is taking me today?”
She shrugged, though it seemed clear she had an idea of it. “Wherever it is, don’t be gone too long. We’ll have much to celebrate tonight.”
