“Why does this bother him?” she thought out loud to herself. Understanding Alexander Walford was a task that she had not yet mastered.
CHAPTER 12
“Ifinished the book you gave me,” Odette announced excitedly.
Penelope had gone into Odette’s chambers just before it was time for her to sleep, and was in the process of brushing her hair to prepare her for bed.
“You are a fast reader,” Penelope complimented. “I only gave you the book a few days ago.”
“Well, it was a good one,” Odette laughed. “I like your recommendations. Will you give me another one?”
“Of course I will,” Penelope nodded. “I’ll have one picked out for you, and ready by the morning.”
Odette clapped her hands together in excitement. It was endearing seeing her like this.
“You have very pretty hair,” Penelope added after a moment.
“It’s always all over the place,” Odette made a noise halfway between a scoff and a huff, though her cheeks turned slightly pink.
“That’s what accessories are for,” Penelope said, “and ribbons. Perhaps you need to start liking them.”
Odette made a gagging noise, “Can we hold off on the ribbons for now? I am still getting used to wearing dresses more often.”
Penelope could not help but laugh. “As you wish, but in time, you’ll find that ribbons and dresses are a part of being a young lady. And you’ll grow to like them.”
Odette huffed again, but Penelope knew that her defenses were slowly breaking down. She was not as resistant as she had been at the start, and that was progress well made.
“Would you like to try this one?” Penelope held up a small silver pin.
“You wore that to the ball,” Odette’s eyes widened.
“I did,” Penelope confirmed. “My sister gave this to me when I was around your age.”
“I liked watching you get ready that day,” Odette admitted suddenly, looking away so she didn’t have to see Penelope’s reaction. “You looked really pretty, like a painting.”
Penelope blinked, touched by the admission.
“You flatter me. But if you’d like,” she said, putting the pin in and smoothing down Odette’s shoulders with a fond smile, “I can teach you.”
“You would?” Odette turned her head a little too quickly.
“Of course,” Penelope said. “We can pick a dress, do your hair.”
Odette’s shoulders tensed immediately, and she shifted in her seat.
“I don’t know,” she muttered, her tone guarded again. “It’s not really my thing.”
Penelope didn’t press. Instead, she ran her fingers gently through Odette’s hair one last time, as if smoothing down the doubt, too.
“That’s perfectly all right,” she said. “But I think you’d enjoy it more than you think. We can make it our own version. No corsets or ribbons you don’t like.”
Odette hesitated. “What would we even do?”
“Well,” Penelope smiled. “We’d start with picking a dress. Then we’ll fix your hair, maybe try a bit of powder. Nothing serious.”
“I don’t want to end up looking like one of those glass dolls.”
Penelope laughed. “We won’t go that far.”
