The dowager then pointed to a basket perched on the small table where Harriet had eaten her meal last night. “You’ll find needles and all the threads you might need in this basket. Measuring tape, pins, and scissors, too.”
Harriet crossed to the table and opened the lid, eager to inspect its contents. “Goodness, this is perfect.”
“If you do not like these choices in gowns, just let Alice know and she will fetch more. I’ll leave her with you to help you out for the day. However, I must warn you that she is a most pleasant girl but cannot sew to save her life.”
Harriet laughed. “I shall keep that in mind.”
“And now you must allow Millie,” the dowager said, nodding to the woman beside her who appeared to be in her early forties, “to properly style your hair. She is my own maid, but will also attend you for this week. Listen to whatever Millie recommends. She may look old and dour, but her sense of fashion is impeccable.”
“Gladly.” She cast Millie a welcoming smile, and Millie—who did not look to be ancient at all or dour—smiled back. Harriet saw at once that the woman carried herself with the confidence and authority of an experienced lady’s maid.
Harriet knew they would get along well because Millie had kind eyes.
Mrs. Watkins bustled in next, carrying a large tray. “Your breakfast, Miss Harriet.”
Harriet raised the lid on the silver salver to reveal its contents, poached eggs, kippers, and bread to sop up the runny yolks. Also on the tray was a teacup and small teapot. “Thank you. Oh, that smells delicious. I shall be fat as a goose by the time I leave here,” she said with a trill of laughter.
The dowager shook her head. “You are a slender, little thing. You could do with some meat on your bones.”
Alice returned with the basket of laces, and set the basket beside the tray. “There, you’ll find everything you’ll need in here, Miss Harriet.”
Harriet thanked the young maid.
The dowager gave a nod of approval. “Enjoy your day, Harriet. I shall stop by later to see how you are getting on. But do not feel you are a prisoner here. The day looks to be quite pleasant, so wander around, as you like.”
“That is most gracious of you, Your Grace.”
The dowager left to join her grandson and the earlier rising guests in the dining room. Mrs. Watkins also bustled off to attend to her duties, but Alice and Millie remained to assist her. “Have your breakfast first, Miss Harriet,” Millie said. “Wouldn’t want it to get cold.”
“Have you eaten yet?”
“Yes,” Millie assured her. “We get an early start in this household, as you must have noticed. Even Her Grace is an early riser, just like her grandson.”
“Which means we must all be up and about, dressed and having eaten by seven o’clock sharp,” Alice added.
Harriet ate while the maids set the gowns out on her bed.
“Which one will you work on first?” Millie asked.
“The emerald green is quite nice, but which one would you suggest?”
“The ivory muslin with the floral embroidery, without question. I recommend adding a little silk trim here to accentuate the graceful line of your collar, and some lace here and there, but not too much because you do not want to overwhelm the design. As for the emerald gown, it is too bold a color for your complexion and will make your skin look sallow.”
Harriet laughed. “The ivory, it is. Thank you, Millie.”
When she finished her breakfast, Millie styled her hair and then left her and Alice to manage the alterations to this first gown.
Alice helped her to pin it, and then left to attend to her regular chores.
Harriet did not mind being left on her own since she had plenty to do to occupy her time. She settled on the window seat, enjoying the sunlight streaming in through the window to provide ample illumination while she sewed.
She also liked that she had a view of the garden, and it was not long before she noticed the duke strolling along the flower beds with a young lady on his arm.
Harriet felt a slight pang of sadness, for she wished to be the one beside him. Of course, it could never be so. And did she not have the pleasure of a walk with him earlier this morning? So what did she have to complain about?
She paused in her sewing and watched him as he bent down to pick up something amid one of the flower beds. “An orange peel,” she said, chuckling.
Oh, she had to watch this now.
