Emm leaned back against the leather upholstery and prayed that the House of Chance wasn’t one of those places that specialized in naughty nightwear.
In a few short minutes the carriage pulled up in front of an elegant shop with a large picture window. It looked very discreet, with green velvet curtains draped behind the window, a simple white-and-gold painted daisy on the glass andChancelettered in elegant gold script.
Taking a deep breath, Emm pushed open the door. Inside it was light and airy, with creamy walls and a soft green carpet. There were several large gold-edged looking glasses, and though it wasn’t dissimilar to Salon Hortense, it felt much less oppressive.
A young woman came out to greet them. Emm explained that she’d come on the recommendation of the Countess of Maldon, and wondered whether the House of Chance made evening gowns.
The woman assured her they made day dresses, ball gowns, nightgowns and everything in between, except for gowns for a young lady’s Royal Presentation. “You’ll want to talk to Miss Chance. She does all the designing. I’ll fetch her. Would you like some tea?”
Relieved, Emm agreed that tea would be most welcome, and she and the girls sat down to wait.
In two minutes a small, smartly dressed young woman limped out. “Lady Maldon sent you, did she? That’s good of her. How do you do? I’m Daisy Chance, the proprietor—welcome to my shop. Polly will be back in a minute with some tea. So, ladies, how can I help you?”
To Emm’s surprise the woman had a more than a hint of a Cockney accent. Emm decided she liked it. It was a refreshing change from all those false French ones.
She explained what they wanted. Miss Chance looked at each of the girls in turn. She gave Rose a long thoughtful look. “You’re a few years older than the usual young miss—I reckon something a little different, for you. What’s your style, Lady Rose? Sweetly pretty or bold?”
“Bold,” all four of them answered at once, and Miss Chance laughed. The young woman had returned with a tea tray and Miss Chance said, “Polly, love, fetch out the night sky fabric and the ice blue. And the lavender. This young lady wants to stand out from the crowd a little.” Polly hurried off and Miss Chance pulled out a pad and made a few sketches.
Emm, a little surprised but rather charmed by the odd little woman’s warmth and brisk informality, poured the tea.
Polly came back with an armful of fabrics and a couple of half-finished dresses.
The girls gathered around and examined the fabrics and dresses excitedly. Rose was unable to hide her pleasure.
“That one she calls night sky is gorgeous, Emm,” she whispered. It was a soft, dark azure blue gauze, with tiny sprinkles of glitter dotted through it. Rose draped it against herself. “What do you think?”
It was perfect.
The same thing happened with George. Miss Chance seemed to know instinctively the kind of thing that George would like and seemed quite understanding of George’s awkwardness—it was the first time she’d ever shopped for dresses. But at least she wasn’t sullen and uncooperative about it. The presence and excitement of her youthful aunts had made a difference to her attitude.
Like Hortense, Miss Chance thought George and Rose would contrast and complement each other beautifully, but Emm was most impressed that she didn’t turn a hair when George announced she preferred breeches. She told George not to worry, she’d make her some nice long drawers that would feel just as comfortable as breeches but wouldn’t spoil the line of her dresses.
Now came the real test—Lily.
Emm could feel them all tense up as the woman turned to Lily and examined her the way she had done Rose and George. “Oh, I’m going to have fun with you, Lady Lily,” she said with a grin. “You’re just luscious, you are. Like a ripe peach. Oh, the men are going to be panting after you when I’ve finished with you. I hope that’s what you want.”
Lily blushed rosily and nodded. “Yes, please.”
“What sort of thing do you plan for her?” Emm asked, pleased with the woman’s kind words but not yet convinced it wasn’t empty flattery.
“As I said, Lady Lily has the sort of luscious figure that a lot of men go wild for,” Miss Chance said. “All those curves, I’m going to frame them, not show ’em off vulgarly, but hint at what’s there. Polly,” she called, “bring out the dress we’re making for Mrs. Huntley-Briggs.” She made a quick sketch on her pad. “Yours wouldn’t be exactly like this one, but it’ll give you an idea.” In a few lines, she sketched a lavishly curved woman.
Polly brought out the dress, and Emm could immediately see that it was the sort of thing that would suit Lily perfectly. She looked at Lily. Her eyes were shining.
“Well, girls?” Emm said. “What do you think? Shall we order some dresses from Miss Chance?”
They nodded eagerly, and Miss Chance sent them behind the green curtains with Polly to have their measurements taken. “Now you, Lady Ashendon, would you be wanting anything?”
They discussed Emm’s needs, and Miss Chance said it would be tight, but she could get an evening dress to Emm in the next two days, and another two days later. “But there won’t be time for fittings, mind, with such a rush job.”
“Aren’t you all booked up for the season?” Emm asked, suddenly worried that Miss Chance’s easy acceptance of new customers might indicate a lack of business.
“Lord, yes, the orders are pilin’ up, but we can cope. I got a waitin’ list of skilled seamstresses wantin’ to work for me. When fresh orders come in, and my regular girls can’t manage, I hire more.” She grinned wryly. “I’m the slow cog in this machine, keepin’ up with the designing. But I love it, and I’m goin’ to enjoy dressin’ your girls. Somethin’ special they are, all three of them. Now”—she became businesslike again—“let’s talk about these two dresses for you, Lady Ashendon. I’m thinking green gauze over silver tissue—does that sound like something you’d like?”
It was, and when they finally left the House of Chance their order had grown enormously. The girls were thrilledwith everything they’d seen—even George. They all liked Daisy Chance, who, they’d discovered, was actually married with the sweetest little girl who was in the back room with her nursemaid.
And when Miss Chance was measuring Emm up, she’d told her how much she loved the wedding nightgown that Lady Maldon had sent her.
