“Teal,” Elara dared to answer.
“Thank you, darling,” Nora answered, briefly patting Elara’s shoulder without breaking eye contact with Bridget.
“Diamonds, then. Though not many. Pins, no tiara. Thoughts?”
“Perfect,” Bridget replied. “I shall go tell Mona to fetch the jewels.”
“And I shall go tell Eva to fetch their dresses,” Nora answered. Without looking at the girls seated before them, the two older women took off, leaving Elara and Caroline, in their robes and corsets, seated before the vanities, their hair wild and not yet done.
“Are they always going to be this excited about hosting a ball?” Caroline asked, turning toward Elara.
“Good heavens, I hope not,” Elara muttered, slumping over the arm of her chair nearest to Caroline. “Keeping up with their excitement is most tedious. The ball has not even started, and I am already exhausted! Is this how the whole Season is going to go?”
Caroline joined Elara in laughter, but her expression quickly turned to worry.
“Caroline, what is wrong?” Elara asked. “Are you upset that your stepmother and stepsister declined to come? I assure you, neither my mama nor Bridget takes offense.”
“No,” Caroline answered quickly, her eyes flicking toward the door the two duchesses had gone through. “It is not that. It is just… they seem so excited for the ball. What if something goes wrong with your plan tonight with the Duke of Ashworth? Do you not think it will hurt them to know you disobeyed them?”
Elara took Caroline’s hand and gave it a comforting pat. She had told Caroline that she had snuck one additional invitation into the pile, addressed to Constantine Harcourt, Duke of Ashworth.
“They will only be hurt if this goes poorly, and I have decided that I shall not allow it to happen this time,” Elara stated with confidence.
Caroline gave her a dubious look.
“From what you told me, your last interaction with the Duke did not go well,” she replied. “What if he chooses not to attend?”
“True to your first point,” Elara admitted. “But I was flummoxed before. I had not meant to be caught. Tonight is entirely different. He will be the one caught in my trap. As for whether he will attend, I believe he will. Though our interaction was brief, I believe that he has a curious nature. Even if he despises me now, I wager he still wants to know why I would send him an invitation despite what happened at his masquerade.”
Caroline still looked doubtful, but she smirked as she turned to her mirror and lightly rouged her cheeks. Before they could speak further, Bridget and Nora, along with the two maids, rushed back into the room, and the primping continued.
“What are you two whispering about?” Nora asked as the maids began attending to Elara and Caroline’s hair.
“Oh, nothing, dear aunt. We were merely discussing tonight’s ball,” Caroline replied, a little too anxiously.
“Yes,” Elara agreed quickly. “Caroline is most nervous about tonight’s dancing portion. She is worried no gentleman will ask her to dance.”
Caroline blushed deeper than her rouge and shot a glare at Elara as she threw out an elbow. Elara laughed as it bumped into hers, then gave her cousin a sweet, quick smile before her head was turned almost violently toward the mirror again so her hair could be tidied.
“Oh, I would not worry if I were you, Caroline,” Nora answered, patting Caroline’s other arm. “All the gentlemen will be queuing to dance with the both of you. But even if they do not, I would wageryoualready have at least one gentleman most willing to sign your dance card.”
“Who?” Caroline asked.
“The Duke of Ravenshaw,” Nora, Bridget, and Elara replied in unison.
The three of them burst into laughter as poor Caroline’s cheeks turned an additional three shades of red.
“Oh, darling, do not be embarrassed!” Bridget insisted, squeezing Caroline’s shoulders. “It is good for a young lady to have a suitor. Even if he is not the one you prefer, it shows the other gentlemen that you are worthy of their interest!”
Elara noticed her friend shift uncomfortably in her chair.
“I... I am not sure I want him to,” Caroline said in embarrassment.
“What do you mean? I like Damien well enough; he is a good friend to Evander and Adrian,” Elara said, shrugging. Even though she saw Damien as a brother, she knew that women considered him quite handsome.
“Well... It is not exactly that I donotfind him handsome,” Caroline answered, her tone careful. “It is just… sometimes Icatch him staring at me so intensely, as if he believes I am about to sprout wings and that he must catch me before I fly away.”
“Such a vivid imagination!” Nora exclaimed.
