“I sees what I sees.” Clothed in green plaid instead of her usual black, Lucy jabbed a hand to her slender waist.
Morning Fawn stepped away. Curls bounced against the back of her neck. Why she’d consented to the curling tongs, she had no idea. A faint smell of burnt hair wafted to her nose. A lot of trouble to get a man’s attention. Lace trim scratched against her shoulders. And the crinoline hoop? She swayed her hips, and the violet silk taffeta skirt swished side to side.
“Don’t you go stepping close to any fires.” Lucy chuckled, picking up the discarded curling papers which fluttered around their feet like snowflakes. “I might have to help you down the stairs.”
“I know nothing about any of this.” Morning Fawn spread her arms wide. “Where I grew up, a warrior would linger by the creek in the evenings to catch the eye of a maiden who’d gained his interest. Maybe he’d drop a gift of meat at her family’s tipi or seek her out at a dance by the fire. And the way to a man’s heart had more to do with how well she could handle a horse than extra fringe or beads on a doeskin dress.”
“I bet you could ride mighty fine.” Lucy stepped forward, her rough hands clasped in front of her dull white apron. “Speaking of love…I’m wondering if you could see fit not to need me tonight after dinner? I knows it’s a lot to ask, but if you could get out of the fancy things without my help and maybe pretend like I was up here helping, I’d be much obliged.”
“Your Ned is coming to see you?”
Lucy beamed. “Mr. Dooley allows him one night a month.”
“But why all the sneaking if Mr. Dooley allows it? He could come courting.”
“Mr. LeBeau won’t hear of such a thing. Says he’ll marry me off to one of the fellows at Sweet Briar when the time comes. Thank goodness, he’s in no hurry to do that.” She crossed her arms. “He’d whip Ned if he caught him here. And me…”
“What?”
Lucy shivered. “He’s threatened to give in to his son’s pestering and send me to Louisiana with the army. To be Arthur’s cook.”
Morning Fawn swallowed. She didn’t have to grow up on a plantation to understand that her cousin’s desire to see Lucy had little to do with cooking. “Someday, I’ll help you get away from here.”
Lucy frowned. “You go marrying that Mr. Moyer, and you won’t have any say so over anything. Mark my word. Don’t matter what he promises you.”
“You’ve only met the man once. And it was more like waiting on him than meeting.”
“It don’t take meeting. Takes watching. I knows men.” She reached forward and nudged the neckline of the day-dress-converted-to-an-evening-gown another inch from Morning Fawn’s collarbone.
“Then, why help me catch his eye?” Morning Fawn shifted her neckline back into place.
“Mr. Moyer ain’t the one I’m getting you all gussied up for.” Lucy smiled and pushed her toward the door.
Warmth spread upward from Morning Fawn’s chest.
“Ignore the man,” Lucy whispered behind her.
“Which one?”
“The one you want.”
“What if I don’t want either?”
“I don’t believe that.”
“I know which one I’d like to make miserable.” She smoothed her hands against her skirt. It’d suit her just fine toshow Devon Reynolds what he was missing and that she had no interest whatsoever in him.
Sweat dampened Morning Fawn’s palms as she made her way down to the second floor and the landing. She should have accepted Lucy’s offer to help, but she wasn’t going to be guided like a three-year-old. Holding onto the banister, she attempted to tame the hoop with her free hand and maneuvered down the final flight of stairs, chin high.
Two men waited at the bottom.
“We thought we might have to eat without you, cousin.” Thea sidled up to Devon and latched onto his elbow, like the snake in the grass she was.
Hands stuffed into his trouser pockets, his gaze locked onto Morning Fawn.
Her pulse quickened.Ignore him. Easier said than done.
Devon’s lips twitched upward. He’d cleaned himself up. His uniform had been replaced with a dark frock coat and trousers. A charcoal silk waistcoat and a finely tailored shirt finished his ensemble. He’d combed his hair back and trimmed his beard to a thin covering. If only he was the one there to court her. Foolish thought. Scrub it from her mind.
