The modiste was not interesting. He was bored. He had made a circuit around the shop several times. Held the door open for a multitude of women who came and went but not even a glimpse of his family or Miss Sterling in two hours. So much for his so-called opinion.
When his sister came out, she looked like she had been crying.
“What’s wrong?”
She simply smiled and said, “Nothing is wrong. You just wait and see.”
Then his mother emerged from behind the curtain, a smile on her face that he hadn’t seen since Marianne’s presentation tothe queen. Now he was nervous, though he told himself he was merely curious to see what had brought on these emotions in his mother and sister.
Madame Millicent came out and waved towards the curtain. “May I present, Miss Lucinda Sterling.” She pulled the curtain apart and there she stood. On a small pedestal wearing a lovely dress of the palest green. A dark emerald-green ribbon sat just under her bosom in the popular Empire style. A matching ribbon in her hair and along the hem of the gown completed the look.
“Close your mouth dear,” his mother whispered in his ear. If clothes made the man, then it was the same for a woman. She had been pretty before, but now…?
She was staring at him, her large green eyes wide with uncertainty. He should do something, say something.
“Miss Sterling, you are… stunning.” And he meant it. The fit, the style, it all made sense to be on her body. The slight puffed sleeves and the low neckline. As her guardian, he should not be looking at her ample assets, but he could not look away.
“Isn’t she just exquisite?” his sister asked.
Tony nodded and said, “That dress, it accentuates your natural beauty. Please, never wear brown again.”
“Oh, la,” Madame Millicent said in her French accent. “I can promise you, my lord, that while I am her modiste she will never wear that shade again. Just one more thing.” She produced a transparent piece of material and tucked it in to her bodice. “Much more the thing for daytime.”
“I am most reassured, Madame,” he said. “Miss Sterling.” He held out his hand to her, and she put hers tentatively in his. “Are you happy?”
“Yes, thank you. I am so grateful. I mean I have never been so well looked after. Thank you, Madame.”
“It was my pleasure,ma chère. I will have your other dresses made up and sent over as soon as we can.” Madame Millicent then clapped her hands, and her assistants came out with bags and boxes, their arms full.
How were they all going to fit into the carriage?“What are all these?”
“A young lady, forced to flee in the night, cannot be without the essentials, my dear boy.”
“Mother,” he warned. He did not need a repeat of what had happened at dinner. Only, his mother was right; she had been forced to leave with nothing.
Marianne lifted both brows before she said, “Oh? How would you describe the debacle, dear brother?”
“A rushed exit without warning?” Miss Sterling offered with a smirk.
“Touché, Miss Sterling,” he replied. She was making light of it, and he found himself laughing, but when she smiled, his heart leaped in his chest. That smile was dangerous to a man’s equilibrium and the first one he had encountered since meeting her. He wanted her to smile more. It suited her. He decided to make it his mission to get her to smile at least twice more today.
“You look far too pretty to just ride home in the carriage, and I doubt there is room for us anyway. Let us send the carriage home and walk around the corner to the confectioners.”
“Oh yes,” Marianne gushed. “Can we, Mother?”
“Tony is right. We cannot waste a good dress sitting at home. Lead on.”
They made their farewell to Madame Millicent, sending home the carriage to return in an hour. His mother and Marianne walked arm in arm and that left Tony to offer his arm to Lucinda.
“Am I forgiven for my part in last night’s dinner? I really am sorry for my part in it and mentioning… well, your lack of dresses. It was unnecessary.”
She looked up at him as if gauging his sincerity. “I am the one that needs forgiveness. I was oversensitive.”
“Nonsense. We handled last night with no finesse or thought to your circumstances. For my part I am terribly sorry.”
She sighed. “Then you are forgiven.”
He smiled at her. Gone was the drab little orphan replaced by the beauty on his arm. “You really do look lovely, you know.”
