“That one, I think.” Melinda held up a dress.
“That won’t fit me. And where did it come from, anyway?” Ivy said, torn between horror and delight at the beauty of the dress. The skirts and bodice were the softest lavender. Over the entire dress was matching lace. The small sleeves were capped, and the lace was gathered and fuller at the back, almost like a train. It was simply exquisite.
“Lady Osborne brought it with her,” Melinda said. “I believe it was for emergencies,” she added.
“What kind of emergency would require a dress like that?” Ivy asked suspiciously. “And how did she know what size to make it in? Surely there are many ladies here in differing sizes?”
Melinda lifted a shoulder in a delicate shrug. “I know not, only that you may wear it this night. I believe she also has a seamstress in case alterations are required.”
“It all sounds a bit smoky,” Ivy whispered to Thea. “What if someone else is wearing it tomorrow night?”
“Do you have to explain everything away, Ivy? Can you not just this once enjoy the moment?”
“Thea, I am not Cinderella,” Ivy snapped.
Change was not something Ivy felt comfortable with. Control was important to her. Twice in her life monumental things had happened that she’d had no control over. Her parents had died, and it had cast her adrift and into a new life that was foreign to her. Then Jackson Haldane had forced his attentions on her. She tried never to put herself in situations anymore that she was not in total control of.
“You wish to wear this?” Melinda wrinkled her nose as she poked at the dress Ivy had been wearing.
“It’s not that bad,” Ivy muttered, feeling color creep into her cheeks.
“I would not put my mortal enemy into such a creation.” Melinda shuddered, her accent thick. “I will not call it a dress.”
Thea giggled. Ivy glared at her.
“Sit.” Melinda waved her into a chair. “Nothing too fussy, I think. Many here have fussy hair.”
“All right, but I don’t want to look very different,” Ivy said, as she couldn’t see what Melinda was doing. But she could see Thea’s face. Her cousin was smiling.
“Anything is an improvement,” Thea said.
“What’s happening?”
Thea waved Ivy’s words aside, her attention on Melinda’s hands.
She was nervous. What would people say if she appeared looking different after all these years? Did she want to look different?Would they even notice?
Would Bramstone Nightingale notice?
Her head was starting to ache from all the unanswered questions churning around inside it.
“Oh my,” Thea said when Melinda stepped back. “Your Mr. Nightingale will be quite overcome.”
“What?” Ivy rose to move to the mirror. What she saw made her mouth fall open.
“I’ve seen the way you look at him, Ivy. Just as I’ve seen the way he looks at you. He is always seeking you out.”
“Don’t be silly.” Her heart thudded hard in her chest. “There is no truth to those words.”
“At breakfast he wanted to talk to only you, twice. Then he could not keep his eyes off you when you were in the archery competition. As you couldn’t keep your eyes off him when he was competing. He has spent the last two days appearing wherever you are. I know you have noticed, as have many.”
“They have not. You are being foolish now.” Ivy refused to acknowledge how good her cousin’s words made her feel.
Thea didn’t respond, as Melinda was taking her in hand now.
Did Bram look at her a certain way?
Stop it, Ivy.She was retiring to the country after the season. There would be no happily-ever-after for her, no matter how much she wished it now.
