“You are not at all like your father or uncle, are you?” Petrucio laughed.
“We did not know our uncle, the former duke, but we try not to carry the same prejudices as our father,” Judith answered.
“May I ask, how do you even know?” Penelope questioned. “I was certain that your father would have never mentioned your relatives, especially since he would not even allow you to associate with the Grell brothers?”
Judith’s cheeks began to turn pink. “The name was unfamiliar to us until after father died. We found letters and other documents, and in truth, became very intrigued by the family.”
Ah, so her assumption had been correct in that their father had shielded them from the Valentines, and likely because he believed himself to be on moral high ground.
“So, cousin, why have you called on us today?” Chloe asked after Petrucio had told them about his siblings, their professions, who was married, and the most important details. Penelope simply sipped tea, observed and enjoyed. Had the sisters reacted in a manner that would have been expected of them by their father, this would not have gone nearly as well.
“Are we going to get acting lessons?” Jael asked with excitement.
“Did Penelope not tell you?” he laughed. “I am here to cut your hair.”
“He is what?” Damaris cried.
“Do you object to him doing so?” Penelope asked slowly.
“No, we do not,” Judith was quick to assure her. “But nobody has ever done so.”
Though the girls managed to style their hair in a somewhat attractive manner, in a neat chignon behind their head, she simply assumed that it had been some time since it had been trimmed. She had no idea that it had never been cut.
“Father would not allow even the slightest trim,” Bernice explained.
Penelope nearly groaned. “Is it a sin to cut hair?”
“But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering.” Jael recited. “First Corinthians eleven fifteen.”
“The Bible does not specify any length of hair,” Petrucio stated. “I promise that my sisters, who were also raised by a vicar, regularly trimmed their hair.”
Excitement lit in their eyes as they began unpinning their hair and it was only then that Penelope realized that it fell beyond their backside and was also in poor condition. No wonder they never styled their hair in a fashionable manner. They simply had too much.
“If you are an actor, Petrucio, how are you qualified to cut hair?” Judith asked.
Petrucio quickly explained his plans and began arranging items so that he could begin.
“My hope is to have a shop but I will also visit ladies and gentlemen in their home if they do not want to come to me.”
“That sounds very exciting,” Damaris offered. “I wish women had as many options to do something interesting as men.”
“A complaint I heard often from my sisters.” He laughed as he set a chair in front of a mirror. “Shall we begin?”
Chapter 9
Henry stepped out of the library for an appointment to giggles, squeals of laughter and exclamations coming from the parlor.
Though he should let his cousins be because they were happy enough apparently, he was curious as to the cause and stepped into the parlor and was brought up short by his five cousins taking turns at the large mirror on the wall. Beyond stood a smiling Lady Penelope and Petrucio Valentine.
Before the mirror was a straight-back chair and the floor beneath was covered with various shades of hair. At the side of the chair were various irons, scissors and whatnot placed on a table moved from somewhere else in the room. He truly hoped that the maids were not put out when they were required to put the parlor back to rights.
“Lady Penelope, Petrucio,” he nodded in greeting.
“Petrucio has worked wonders, Cousin,” Judith exclaimed as she came forward. “We have longed to style our hair, but it was forbidden, and then we simply did not know where to begin. Now, we are in fashion.”
Henry had thought they wore their hair twisted at the back of their head out of preference, but now that he saw them with delicate curls about the face, braids pulling the hair away, and intricate knots and curls at the back of their head, he realized how truly out of fashion they had appeared.
Once again, Lady Penelope was correct, even if it was about things he may not notice where females are concerned. To think that a simple hairstyle could alter the attractiveness of a woman.
