She laced me into the contraption.
And it was (almost) worth it after she put a silk scarf overmy head to protect my hair and be certain that my makeup didn’t get on mydress, before she dropped a very heavy, but outrageously beautiful gown onto mybody.
It was pale pink with an embarrassment of rosy-pink beadingand sparkling crystals, mostly around the bodice and the empire waist, but alsodripping in swoops down the skirt from the center between my breasts at thefront and along my spine at the back.These were thick along the hem.And therewas a rather long train.
It had cap sleeves made entirely of strings of the crystals.
It also had a set of rosy-pink gloves that fitted all theway up to my biceps.
Completing this ensemble, pink satin slippers that hadpointed toes and the beading of the gown.
I stared at myself in the mirror.
I looked amazing.
It was exquisite.
I abhorred it.
“The finishing touches,” Idina said quietly, and we movedback to the vanity.
While I sat before her, she slid a diamond-headed comb inthe side of my hair.She then draped a necklace around my neck that sat at thebase of my throat and was a simple row of diamonds, but there was nothingsimple about the stones, their size (each had to be at least three carats), ortheir perfection.And finally, Idina fixed a matching bracelet over my glove atmy left wrist.
She looked at me in the mirror.“You’re ready.”
“I’m perfect, and it’s all because of you,” I replied, thewords feeling funny in my mouth, because they were true, but I was partiallysaying them to make her like me so I could ask her to do things that might gether into trouble.
She ducked her head shyly then murmured, “Which scent wouldyou—?”
The door opened, and startled, we both looked that way tosee Dad-not-Dad storming in.
“Ah, the lost art of the knock,” I bemoaned wryly.
“Leave us,” he ordered Idina.
She instantly made to exit.
I got up from the velvet seat, waited for the door to closeon my maid, looked to Dad-not-Dad, and snapped, “You shouldn’t speak—”
I didn’t finish that because his arm went down and acrosshis body, then flashed out, and he caught me on the cheekbone with a viciousbackhand.
I reeled to the side, catching myself on the dressing table,the tubs and vials and bottles clattering dangerously, pain exploding throughone side of my face into the other.
I started to turn back to him in shock, only to receiveanother, more brutal blow, one which took me down to sitting sideways on onethigh on the seat.
Stars filled my eyes, I blinked at them as my brain wasforced to do nothing but experience the blinding pain, my hand drifting up totouch my burning skin.
“You audacioustrollop,” he clipped into my ear.“Behind closed doors in the stables, of all places,without a chaperone.”
I was still blinking.
He caught my chin and wrenched my head around, somethingthat also wrenched my neck, and I couldn’t control my whimper.
“We will not do thisyour way, you cheap,inveteratewhore.To continue your education, my fair daughter, a manof noble blood does not marrya whore.Lord Remington has had his fairshare of whores, and likely will have more, but he won’t take oneto wife.”
He let my chin go in order to wrap his meaty fingers aroundthe lower part of my face, the pads digging into my wounded cheek, spiking paininto my eye.
And then he got in my face.
