I shrugged. “My mother. I enjoyed helping her get ready for parties and dinners. When I took an interest, she let me do her makeup and hair, and then corrected me until I got things right. Before I knew it, I had an instinct for what to do.” I gestured to Blanche. “But it’s easy when the subject is already so beautiful. If you have a necklace with a blue sapphire, it will really complete the look, but earrings will do too.”
“I have just the thing,” Blanche told me, grinning as she opened a vanity drawer, searching. “I’m not completely clueless, I’ll have you know.”
I returned her smile and then noticed the time. “Is your brother going to the ball as well?”
Annette smiled knowingly. “Fournier was looking for you when I went to fetch that extra cloth. The count was going to take his bath ahead of the ball. I’m afraid they got on without you.”
“They …” I felt the stress in my chest unfurl like a flower greeting the sun. “Perfect.”
“Your mother wasn’t a servant then?” Blanche asked all of a sudden.
I blinked. “I’m sorry, my lady?”
“You said that she attended parties and dinners.”
“Oh, yes,” I licked my lips. That had been a stupid thing to say in an unguarded moment. I scrambled for an excuse. “She was … she worked at a restaurant in Paris. She always had to dress up for the occasion, you know. Loads of dinner parties.”
Blanche nodded slowly, but I noted the small pinch between her eyebrows that led me to believe she didn’t buy it. I was a servant, though, so she wouldn’t puzzle over it for long. I enjoyed the attention, however. It made me feel like myself.
“Well, you came to my rescue tonight,” she told me, producing an expensive-looking necklace with a large blue sapphire at the center. As I’d expected, it set off the entire outfit. “I owe you, Dupont.”
“It was my pleasure.”
There was a soft knock at the door and then Henri was standing there, gazing in at us with surprise. “Are you getting started without me? I was hoping Annette would give me the first dance.”
“Oh, you.” Annette blushed and ducked her head.
“And this is where you’ve been hiding,” the count chastised me. “You managed to avoid me again, it would seem.”
“But look at his handiwork.” Blanche twirled for her brother. “Don’t I look marvelous?”
“You are a vision, dear sister. All of the eligible men will fall madly in love with you tonight if they aren’t blind.”
“Naturally.”
“And you did this?” he turned to look me over.
“Well, just the hair,” I murmured.
“And the makeup,” Blanche added. “Annette’s arm is … oh, do make sure you see Monsieur Valancourt, Annette.”
“I will first thing in the morning, my lady,” Annette assured her. “Don’t worry about me. Have fun tonight.”
“Speaking of which, we should be going.” Henri held out an arm for his sister and together they strode from the room, but not without one more hasty thank-you from Blanche and a lingering backward glance from her brother.
As soon as they were out of sight, Annette grabbed my arm and sighed. “Come along, Dupont. I am in desperate need of a drink.”
I had the following day off, and the first thing I did was visit a public bathhouse to wash away the grime of the past week. Soap and water could do wonders with a washcloth, but I never felt completely clean until I was wholly submerged and covered in bubbles.
That done, I decided to pop in on Bram. If he hadn’t only been being polite, I would very much like to take him up on dinner.
After some inquiries, I found his house. As I approached, I noticed him walking up the street toward me from the opposite direction, as if returning from an errand. He smiled when he spotted me, his dimples making my knees turn to jelly. “Emile! I was just talking about you, isn’t that funny?”
“Good things, I hope.” I scratched the back of my neck shyly as he reached me.
“Always. I hear you were the hero last night, saving Lady Morano from a fashion disaster.”
“It was nothing.”
