I set down the feather duster and contemplated Annette. “Alright. You did come to my aid. I suppose I can return the favor.”
“Thank you,” Annette said, although her expression was less than amused. “You’re too kind.”
“I do pride myself on my kindness,” I agreed with a sigh, following her out of the hall and enjoying the annoyed silence emanating from her.
We climbed the staircase to the second floor and through halls I recognized as leading to Henri’s bedroom. I hesitated as Annette approached Henri’s door, but then she swept past it, relieving any accumulating dread.
At the end of the hallway, Annette knocked sharply on a door and entered a room decked out with butter-yellow silk curtains and periwinkle bed sheets, a contrast to the rest of the drab château. It was like walking into a corner of sunshine in the darkness. And sitting at a vanity was Lady Morano in a voluminous blue gown, a deep ultramarine that looked stunning against her blonde curls, although her hair looked bereft of life at the moment.
Blanche met my eyes in the mirror before her and smiled. Without turning, she chuckled. “Really, Annette? You brought a boy to my room? My uncle would have you hanged.”
“My apologies, mademoiselle,” Annette bowed as she closed the door. “The maids seem to have been given the evening off. It was him or Mrs. Blake, and she’s a clumsy old bat with the fattest fingers you’ve ever seen.”
“He’ll do, I’m sure. He can follow instructions, surely.”
I frowned, stiff and uncomfortable to find myself in Lady Morano’s room. “I’m sorry, but I have no idea what I’m doing here.”
Annette patted my shoulder. “Well, I can’t make the lady up with a useless arm. You’re here to help.”
“Unless this is too shocking for you,” Blanche added.
“Because you’re too sensitive,” Annette whispered at my back, causing me to bristle.
“Fine, fine.” I stomped over to where Blanche sat. “What’s the occasion? You look ready to welcome royalty.”
“Lady de Gondelaurier is throwing a ball,” Blanche informed me as I stepped up behind her and felt the weight of her hair. “It’s only the second of the season. I simply have to be the most desirable woman there.”
“I’m sure there’s little doubt of that.”
“Why, Mr. Dupont, you shameless flirt. I should have you thrown out this instant.” But she said it with a gleeful smile, drinking in the attention.
“Here,” Annette pushed her way in beside me. “What you need to do is—”
“I’ve got this,” I insisted, hip-checking her before snatching up a brush and running it through Blanche’s already silky hair. I gazed at Blanche’s face in the mirror, but I wasn’t really seeing the girl. I was gauging the overall look of her face and how her hair complemented it. After a moment’s consideration, I glanced at Annette. “Do you have any extra fabric from this dress? I just need a strip, maybe a foot long.”
Annette blinked. “I … I think so.”
“Get it.”
The girl was so startled by the command that she didn’t even argue as she raced from the room.
“Now,” I said, stroking Blanche’s hair. “What we need to do here is get the hair off your shoulders.”
“Off my shoulders?” Blanche echoed, eyes wide as she watched me comb my fingers through her tresses.
I nodded, pulling her hair back from her shoulders. My fingertips grazed her skin and she blushed, but I paid her no mind. “We need to show off that beautiful neck of yours. Meanwhile, we’re going to pull your hair up in an elegant chignon. If Annette does her part, we’ll have that fabric threaded through your hair, and you’ll be the height of fashion.”
I dropped her hair, and she turned in her chair to face me. “Who are you?”
I grinned. “Someone who knows what he’s doing. Now, where’s your rouge?”
Forty minutes later and I’d accomplished what I’d set out to. I doubted Lady Morano had ever looked better. She was a vision in her dress, with her hair swept up. She didn’t need much makeup, but I knew how to use it sparingly in her favor. The result left her looking fresh-faced and youthful.
“I’m speechless,” Annette admitted, staring at Blanche in the mirror as we all admired her.
“That must be saying something,” I teased, and the lady’s maid laughed.
Blanche touched her hair as if she couldn’t believe it was real. “How did you learn to do this?”
