Nia stiffens. “Shit.”
I throw my hand over my mouth to muffle my laughter, but it’s too late.
Ivee’s narrowed gaze slithers over to me. “Who is that with you? I haven’t seen her face before.”
“Nosey bitch,” Nia mutters under her breath as she tugs me back into the warm sunlight. Her tight smile reminds me of those creepy porcelain dolls I’ve seen in shop windows. “Ivee,sogood to see you. This is my cousin Kerris Dawn. She’s turning twenty-five on the fourteenth of May and has come down from Gravale for a husband.”
The women in green trade wide-eyed glances while Ivee tugs the lace on her white kid gloves, her painted lips curling back in a sneer. “Welcome to Rosehill, Kerris. A word of advice: If you wish to find a husband inthiscity, you should purchase a gown from this century.”
With a flick of her skirts, Ivee and her friends continue sauntering down the lane.
My cheeks feel like they’ve been set ablaze, and it has nothing to do with the sunlight dancing through the maple leaves.
Ruffles tickle my palms when I smooth a hand down my skirts. “What’s wrong with my dress?” This is the nicest one I packed. The nicest one Iown.
Nia pulls me back toward the house. “Don’t listen to that jealous cow. She’s just angry because she doesn’t turn twenty-five until the end of June and all the men will be chasing after you instead.”
Rosehill is the largest city in the kingdom; surely there are more than enough eligible partners to go around without having to fight over them.
Men are hardly worth such fuss.
Nia and I hurry up the stairs, through a cramped foyer, and into the heart of my aunt and uncle’s home. To the right sits the living area with a floral sofa and a patterned rug. Bookshelves extend toward the plaster ceiling on either side of a barren stone fireplace.
If I follow the delicious scent of apples and cinnamon through the low door to my left, I bet I’ll find the kitchen.
Nia pauses at the base of a whitewashed staircase, assessing me once more while her fingers tap against her lips. “Although, we should probably find you something else to wear. Do you have anything without ruffles?”
“I’m not sure I do.” Apparently, ruffles were in fashion before my mother left Rosehill.
“Never mind. I have plenty of dresses you can borrow.”
Is she mad? “I would never fit into one of your dresses.” Not only is my chest three times the size of hers, but she’s also a head taller than me.
“Of course you will. We just have to find one that covers those.” She nods at my chest, then waggles her eyebrows. “I’m telling you, Kerris, by the time I’m finished with you, the whole city will know your name.”
2
“You’d be surprised by the number of life’s problems that can be solved with dessert and a new frock.”
A Seelie Guide to Happiness
Nia’s silk skirt clings to my hips and catches beneath my feet every time I try to step forward. Although, it’s not nearly as unappealing as her corset mashing my breasts together. “I cannot go out in public like this.” If the entire city is to know my name, I’d rather it be for my ruffles than for having my nipples on display.
Nia purses her lips, stacks of gowns and skirts and corsets piled on either side of where she sits on the bed. “If we hemmed it?—”
“The length is the least of my worries. My nipples are about to pop out.”
“I’ve been told men are quite fond of nipples.”
“Nia!”
She flops back onto her mattress, her cackle echoing around the room. The dresses tumble on top of her, burying my cousin beneath a mound of silk and lace.
I try to stomp over to the bed, but on my way, I trip on the skirt and collapse right on top of her with an unceremoniousoof.I pluck a pinstriped corset from atop her face, finding her grinning beneath. “May I please have my own dress back?”
“Fine. But we are going straight to Market Street to buy you something without ruffles.”
She says it as if I’m bound to protest when I’m as anxious to go shopping as she is.
