The blush of the debutante’s cheeks made her radiant, her pale skin practically glowing, while the elegant, cream-colored gown raised her up to angelic levels of beauty. The sisters had designed it together, the skirts and bodice embellished with tiny pearls and light-catching spangles, so that Dorothy would glitter as she turned, as she danced, as she made her impression upon society.
“Do you ever wish youcouldreturn to the time before you were married?” Dorothy asked. “Not just a loss of memory, but actually going back to those days?”
Thalia grinned, shaking her head. “Not even a little bit. I am happier than I ever thought it was possible to be. Truly, I wake up, I kiss my husband, I go about my day, and I cannot believe how lucky I am.”
“Do you thinkIcan be that happy?”
Lowering her voice to a conspiratorial whisper, Thalia replied, “I predict that you will be even happier, for you will have the benefit of loving your husband from the very beginning.”
Dorothy took a deep breath, adjusting the cuffs of her capped sleeves. “Was there no part of you that thought you might love him at your wedding?”
Furrowing her brow, Thalia thought back to that strange day, five years ago. If she was being honest, she did not remember it very well: she had been in some discomfort from her bruises, and did not want to be there, which did not lend itself to fond memories.
“I remember that Henry was… very handsome,” she replied presently. “More handsome that I had anticipated. I thought, because Father had made the match, that I was about to meet an ancient ogre with stringy white hair and wobbling jowls, at least three times my age. So, he was a welcome sight, though I daresay I did not show that on my face at the time.”
“No, I remember a good deal of scowling,” Henry’s voice purred out of nowhere, making Thalia jump.
Dorothy, however, did not seem at all shocked. She held her hand to her mouth, chuckling behind it. Evidently, she had seen Henry appear and had not thought to share that information, playing a little trick.
“I did not scowl!” Thalia protested. “I imagine I had more of a blank stare. Ihadhit my head rather hard just four days before.”
Henry shuddered. “Do not remind me.” His face brightened back into a grin. “I am afraid I have been sent as an envoy by your brother, though I suspect the order actually came from your father. People are beginning to worry that you are not going to make an appearance at all, Dorothy. I tried to explain that the belle of the ball ismeantto make a dramatic entrance, but I was outvoted.”
“He accepted the invitation, then?” Thalia said, her tone cool.
“I knew he would,” Dorothy groaned, anxiously patting her ruby pendant. “He will ruin it. Oh, maybe Ishouldstay up here. It is safer here.”
There had been a notable change in Dorothy over the past two months, where she had been residing at Holdridge instead of Farhampton. Thalia had watched the transformation bit by bit, seeing her sister break out of her shell, becoming more confident, more lively, more liberated with each passing day without her father’s presence.
They had used the excuse of the ball, claiming that Dorothy needed to be at the manor to help with preparations. But that excuse would soon be coming to an end, and Thalia had no doubt that her father would insist on Dorothy returning home.
“Kenneth is looking forward to seeing you,” Henry said, coming to stand beside his wife, his arm sneaking around her waist. “You cannot disappoint your brother. Indeed, how isheto find a wife if the ball does not proceed. Tonight may be the night.”
Dorothy chewed her lip in consternation. “Very well.” She inhaled deeply. “Icando this. I must show my father that I am not afraid of him. I must be brave, or I shall never fall in love, and I shall never be able to leave his household.”
“Well, you are always welcome here,” Henry insisted, as he took Dorothy’s hand and placed a kiss upon it. “You shall astound them all, dear girl. Now, go and enjoy the ball that my wife has lovingly arranged for you.”
“I will.” The younger woman gave a decisive nod, held her head up high, and swept out of the room, glittering as she went.
Laughing softly, Thalia peered up at her husband. “Thank you. I was starting to think she reallywouldhide up here all night, and I would not have blamed her. A debut is a grand thing for a young woman.”
“I wish I had seen yours,” Henry said, as he bent his head and stole a kiss from her lips.
She hugged him closer as she kissed him back, wondering iftheymight hide away up there for a while instead. But soon enough, he pulled back, smiling.
“Come now, let us celebrate this wondrous night,” Henry said, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear. “It is your debut, too: the first Holdridge Ball. Let us not forget that.”
Thalia grimaced. “It has been the most stressful thing I have ever done. Remind me never to agree to host a ball again, or I shall age a decade overnight.”
“I will remind you,” he replied, “and you will do it again anyway. It is your nature to make those around you happy. Whether it be a birthday or a wedding or another request from Dorothy, you will make remarkable things happen.”
She weaved her arm through his, leaning into him. “We shall see. If this is a disaster, no one will ask me to host anything again, which may well be a blessing in disguise.”
Together, they left the room and headed downstairs to where the ball was in full swing, lively music drifting through the hallways, underscored by the babble of excited chatter and the clink of glasses.
At the bottom of the staircase, Kenneth stood talking with his youngest sister, his eyes shining with a pride that warmed Thalia’s heart. A happy sight that was almost enough to temper the less pleasant sight of seeing her father in her house.
Since Henry had sent Gibbs away from Holdridge in a rather unceremonious fashion, there had been a lingering frost between them all. Gibbs had not come to the manor again, not until this moment, nor had he dared to ask for more money.
