Ellen stared doubtfully at the display. It looked terribly expensive. But Tewkbury had told her to come here, so here she was.
"Let's go in, then," Ellen said to her maid as she pushed the door open. A small bell rang.
Mme Minion was a small, energetic woman with dark hair and bright eyes. "I am happy to make you any number of dresses you wish," Madame told her. "I can make you a complete wardrobe according to the latest fashion, at a very good price. But not with this material, milady.S'il vous plaît!It is hideous!" She lifted the grey fabric between two fingers and wrinkled her nose. "You can store potatoes or coal in it, but it cannot encase the delicate figure of a woman. It is sacrilege!"
"But, Madame, it is a very proper fabric, strong and practical, and eminently suitable for me."
But Madame shook her head. "No, no, no, and no! You see, the colour does not suit your complexion at all. You have a beautiful complexion, and your hair, mon dieu, take off your awful bonnet, please."
"But ... "
Without much ado, Mme Minion took off her bonnet and cast it aside. "Ah. I knew it. Look at your hair. Your glorious hair! Aphrodite would be jealous. You must wear pomona green and china blue to set off the glory of your hair. The ladies of thetonwill rage with jealousy."
"Really?" Ellen looked astonished. "I thought red hair was horribly out of fashion."
Madame Minion tutted. "The trick, milady, is to follow fashion and then break it. You want to be an arbiter, not a slave to fashion." She turned and her face broke into a smile. "Just like milord!"
Ellen whirled around.
Tewkbury stood in the middle of the shop and smirked. Where had he sprung from? He threw her into confusion. For the last time they'd seen each other was in church, and he'd vowed to cherish and love her till death do them part. And now he was beaming at her as if she were the most precious thing in the world.
It almost made her believe she was.
Heat flooded through her body.
He bowed to Madame, who held out her hands, and he kissed the tips. "Truer words were never spoken." Then he took Ellen by the hand and drew her to him.
"Sir!" Ellen's cheeks flushed scarlet. Then she remembered herself. "I mean, Tewkbury. What a j-joy to see you. So unanticipated."
Her husband gave her a smile so brilliant and warm it took her breath away. "My love," he said huskily, planting a kiss on her hand. "It has been so long. Time passes slowly when not in your presence." He pulled her close so she could smell his cologne. "Dobberham's looking through the window," he murmured as he planted a kiss on her temple. "Spying on us. Play the part."
Oh. So he was merely playacting. Ellen glanced furtively at the window. A stout gentleman with a receding hairline was indeed peering through the glass into the shop.
"Ignore him and act naturally." He put his arm around her. "We just got married, you know," he told Madame Minion.
She clasped her hands in delight. "Oh! Congratulations! What joy! I understand now. Of course, you are looking for a new wardrobe for your lovely wife." She beamed at them.
"I say. Wanted to enquire if the new fabrics have arrived?" he asked.
"They have indeed! Everything for my favourite customer. I shall fetch them immediately. The finest silks, royal embossed satins, and a very fine bombazeen in a beautiful, rich orange. You will love it, my lord! But first, let me attend to your wife."
Edmund nodded. "It must be said that it is most urgent. We need a complete wardrobe in three days."
Madame clasped her hands over her head and proclaimed it was impossible.
After much back and forth, she conceded that there might be one or two dresses that would fit milady.
"I trust your good judgement. What would you recommend?"
"We've had a bit of a disagreement, Lady Tewkbury and I. Your wife wants that awful grey, but I won't have it." Mme Minion set her mouth in a mulish line. "It's a crime."
"The grey won't suit her," Tewkbury agreed. "Some warmer colours, though. A warmer shade of blue and green."
Madame Minion's face broke into a smile. "Just as I said." She whisked away and returned with a dress in forest green. "This one. It was ordered but never collected. It needs to be taken in at the hem, just a little, I think, and a little at the back ... "
It was a silk sarsnet dress with puffed sleeves and a delicate net of embroidered flowers. The hem was trimmed with flounces.
Ellen pulled a face. She could never teach Noni in that. "It's far too green, and the material isn't right at all! I just need a plain, practical day dress."
