“Very well,” I say with a resigned sigh as I take his arm. Once again, my palm tingles at the contact, but I shove the awareness to the back of my mind.
We leave the bustle of the main floor behind and head upstairs. Elliot turns to me with a haughty, mocking expression. “What lovely weather we had today, wouldn’t you agree Miss Bellefleur?”
I roll my eyes and answer him with an equally cajoling tone. “Oh, so lovely, Mr. Rochester. The afternoon snow was quite a spectacle. How uncannily similar it seemed to yesterday’s snow.”
His lips flicker with a shadow of a frown, making me recall our last conversation about the weather, one that ended with his unsettling question.Do you think you could ever be happy here in Winter?
My voice takes on a more serious tone as I say, “The snow truly was lovely today, the few times I looked from the windows. Each snowflake seemed to sparkle as it fell, like a dusting of diamonds.”
His expression softens, his smile shifting from mockery to genuine pleasure. “That’s how I see it every day.”
We stop outside my bedroom door, and I turn to face him. “Thank you for walking me to my door, Mr. Rochester. Now, run along, and don’t you dare be late to your own ball.”
He lets out a grumbling sigh. “I promise I’ll arrive in a timely fashion.”
Promise. That’s a weighty word coming from a fae, although I see he’s given himself room withtimely fashion. Clever bastard.
“Now promise me you’ll wear the dress that’s laid out on your bed.”
Taken aback, I blink a few times as I try to make sense of his odd request. “What dress?”
His eyes narrow as his lips pull into a devious grin.
Without a second thought, I push open my door and rush inside. An elegant swath of red lace overlaying crimson silk has me halting in place. I look back at Elliot, my eyes wide with equal parts shock, terror, pleasure, and confusion. “What is that?”
He leans against my doorframe, and a hint of trepidation flickers in his eyes. “I had Amelie make it for you. That’s the real reason she came so early today. To drop it off.”
I look from him to the gown and back again, tears pricking my eyes for a reason I can hardly comprehend. “Why?”
“You didn’t have a dress to wear.”
“I have plenty of gowns in the wardrobe to suffice.”
“Not for a ball.”
I open and close my mouth a few times before I can find my words. “Elliot, I don’t need a proper ballgown. I’ll be managing the floor, not participating in the festivities.”
He shrugs. “As my employee, I think I should get a say in what you wear to my events. Think of it as a required uniform.”
I cross my arms over my chest. “So, you’re saying I’m being forced to wear this?”
“No, of course not,” he says with a furrowed brow. “It’s just…it’s a gift. I wanted you to have it. Wear it or throw it away if you don’t like it. I’ll take no offense. However, I can’t say I won’t be disappointed if I am never to see you in it.”
My breath hitches, my stomach swarming with a strange warmth at his words, at the look in his eyes. The timbre of his tone seems to reverberate through my bones, relaying far more than his words can. I know it’s all in my imagination, but it makes me eager to change into the gown just the same. “I’ll wear it,” I say, my voice barely above a breathless whisper.
“Wonderful.” He pushes off from my doorframe. “I’ll see you in the ballroom soon then.”
“Wait,” I call before he can step away. He meets my eyes, and I find myself reeling to remember what I had meant to say. A flush warms my cheeks and I clasp my hands tight at my waist to keep them from fidgeting. “Thank you, Elliot. For the dress. It’s…beautiful.”
His face lights up for the briefest moment before he trains his lips into a modest smile. “You’re welcome.”
Then he’s gone, and I’m left with a gift—one more beautiful than all the jewels, roses, and luxuries I’ve ever been gifted before. Not even Oswald had lavished me with anything like this. And it isn’t just what the gift looks like. It isn’t about what itisat all.
It’s about what it does to my heart.
30
Once dressed, I stand before the mirror with my jaw hanging on its hinge. To say the dress is beautiful is an understatement. To say it is proper for a ball amidst the stuffy townsfolk of Vernon would be a lie. And yet, there’s no way I can take it off now that I’ve put it on, for never have I had the pleasure of wearing something so completely and utterly perfect.
