“Would you be a dear and hold on to those, Charles, while I change?” Luella began. “It won’t take me long, and then we’ll get right on the road, which should leave us enough time to do the grafting before we go on our ride today.”
When Charles merely stared back at Luella, evidently struck speechless by the sight of the smile, Camilla cleared her throat.
“Not that I want to be the bearer of disappointing news, Luella, but you still have numerous ensembles to try on.”
Luella gave an airy wave of her hand. “All the garments we’ve selected today are the same size as this riding habit. That means they’ll fit me relatively well, and Bernadette will alter them accordinglyfrom there.” She turned and nodded to Owen, sending him a smile that dripped sweetness. “You’ll settle my account while I change?”
After Owen inclined his head and headed off to speak to the salesgirls who were congregated around the cash register, Luella turned back to Charles. “I won’t be but a few minutes,” she said.
Charles gave himself a bit of a shake, probably because he still seemed to be in a somewhat stupefied state, and was smiling at Luella a blink of an eye later. “Allow me to escort you to the dressing room. I’ll then wait for you in that cozy-looking chair outside the changing area, perhaps using the time it takes you to change to make some notes about grafting, which we can then discuss on the ride home.” With that, he thrust the lilies Camilla’s way, took hold of Luella’s arm, and off they went.
It wasn’t much of a surprise that his attentiveness to Luella had not gone unnoticed by Sally or Curtistine, nor was it a surprise when Sally sidled up beside Camilla.
“Odd as this is for me to admit, but I feel as if a great weight has been lifted from my shoulders since Luella and I have now begun mending some fences, something that was long overdue,” Sally began. “That has, of course, left me wondering whether Stanley, who, as I’m sure you’ve heard, was very close to Luella at one time, may benefit from doing some mending of his own. It seems to me that he might have been overly influenced by my mother and the animosity she holds for Betty Lou. I imagine if he were given the opportunity, he would jump at the chance to make amends for the rather grievous disservice he did to Luella.”
“Why do I get the feeling you already have something in mind that would allow Stanley to rectify this grievous disservice?”
“How astute of you, Miss Pierpont, and to avoid beating around the bush, I think you should invite Stanley to participate in the quadrille.”
Swallowing the urge to ask Sally if her sudden desire to get her brother back into Luella’s good graces had more to do with a personal interest in Charles—a member of the Four Hundred—overany desire to actually see Stanley make amends with a young lady with whom he’d shared a relationship for years, Camilla took a moment to consider her answer.
Frankly, Luella would probably balk if questioned about the matter because she truly seemed to have no interest in pursuing a relationship with a man who’d treated her so shabbily.
However, given the distress Stanley had caused Luella, she was due some resolution regarding her old friend, and if that resolution also came with a side of Stanley receiving a touch of remorse for his abysmal behavior, well, that would definitely be some icing on what could be considered a comeuppance cake.
“I’m relatively certain,” Camilla finally began, “considering Luella is a most gracious young lady, at least at heart, that she’ll be, not exactly thrilled, but at least receptive to the idea of including your brother. However, I will need to discuss the matter thoroughly with her, but know that I’ll send a note around just as soon as a firm decision is made.”
“Then I’ll be waiting for that note with bated breath, as I know my brother will be as well after I tell him I’ve decided he’s been more than an idiot with his behavior of late.” With that, Sally dipped into a curtsy, sent a telling nod to Curtistine, and after Curtistine dipped into a curtsy of her own, the two ladies turned and strolled out of the department.
“Care to share what that was about?” Owen asked as he rejoined her.
“It’s called strategy.”
“What kind of strategy?”
“I haven’t figured out all the particulars just yet, but I’m hoping, at the very least, that Luella will soon be well on her way to becoming accepted into the folds of Wheeling society, just as I’m hoping the Chesterfield family as a whole will finally attain that recognition your mother was so eager to acquire.”
Twenty-Two
ONE WEEK LATER
“I’m still thinking wearing a ball gown to a dance lesson might be a tad bit excessive,” Luella said, strolling into Camilla’s room, where she promptly plopped down on a darling settee upholstered in pale blue, which matched the rest of the décor in a room Luella had finished decorating the day before.
Camilla turned on the vanity stool, earning a grunt from Bernadette, who was trying to arrange her hair. Ignoring the grunt, as Bernadette was always a little testy when she was in the midst of what she now called herart, she settled her gaze on Luella and smiled.
“To begin with, you’re not wearing a ball gown, but an evening gown that’s normally reserved for formal dinners,” she began. “You also look completely stunning, which isn’t a surprise because I knew that shade of green would look marvelous on you, as well as draw attention to the red in your hair, and bring out the color of your eyes.”
Luella rolled the eyes in question. “My hair would draw attention even without the green since Bernadette styled it, which means of course it looks amazing. However, to point out the obvious,we’re not about to sit down to a formal dinner. We’re about to breeze around the ballroom for our first official quadrille lesson.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “It would be much easier for me to do that breezing if you would have let me wear one of those breezy little numbers I’ve been pilfering from Meemaw’s castoffs this week as you, Leopold, and Charles gave me and Owen early instructions pertaining to the Star Quadrille.”
“I didn’t balk over your questionable garment choices for dance practice over this past week because you don’t need to make an impression on your brother, Leopold, or even Charles, who already finds you delightful, ratty old wardrobe and all.”
“That’s just because Charles appreciates my mind and enjoys discussing horticulture with me as we quadrille our way around the ballroom.”
“Your mind isn’t the only thing Charles appreciates,” Bernadette muttered, which left Luella rather pink in the face before she cleared her throat.
“Yes, well, I have no idea what else he could possibly appreciate, but returning to what I was saying—I still think that getting me all gussied up for a dance lesson today is taking the whole turning-me-refined business a touch too far. Everyone who’ll be in attendance already knows who I am, and just because I’m now looking the part of a refined lady doesn’t mean I am one. I also don’t believe anyone, especially Stanley, who you know I only grudgingly agreed to include after you sent me that expectant look of yours that you know how to use so effectively, will decide otherwise. It’s along the same lines as if we stuffed Esmerelda into a dress and proclaimed her to be proper. She’d still just be Esmerelda, a fashionable pig, but a pig nonetheless.”
Camilla got up from the stool, ignored that Bernadette was grunting yet again, even though she’d just finished with Camilla’s hair, and made her way to sit beside Luella on the settee. “I seriously hope you’re not comparing yourself to a pig because you’re a delightful, exuberant young lady who already possesses ladylikequalities. You’ve merely kept them concealed over the years, probably to annoy your mother. However, do I think you’ll ever embrace the role of proper lady all the time? Of course not, because that’s not who you are. You’d rather be outside fishing, riding your horse, or hunting down art and furnishings over perfecting a watercolor or doing needlepoint, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But since you’ve now taken to frowning, which suggests you don’t believe me, why don’t you simply tell me what’s really brought on all these misgivings today?”
