“Onric. I don’t have the patience of my dear husband. Tell me plainly.”
Onric stopped pacing and faced his mother directly. “What would you say to opening the ball invitation, as an act of goodwill, to all the citizens of Iseldis? At least in the city here, that is. We will likely have the space for it, and us poor men will surely need all the help we can get to ensure that every lady gets her fair turn on the dance floor.”
“And if we extend the invitation past just those from noble families, perhaps a certain young woman may also come?”
Onric was suddenly very interested in the state of his fingernails. “Well, I hadn’t thought of that directly.”
“Consider it done.”
He looked up. “Really?”
His mother was smiling at him. “Really.”
“Thank you, Mum.” He flopped down into the chair behind him, feeling light and almost giddy. If Ashlin was at the ball, then he could choose her.
Chapter 22
“It’s hideous.” Stasiya’s face clearly displayed her distaste for the blue gown she was wearing. “It’s nothing at all like what the other women will be wearing.”
Ashlin walked around her, biting back the retort she wanted to give. Her stepsister had chosen this fabric herself, after all. The ball was three days away, and Ashlin had spent every waking hour sewing either this dress or the tapestry. Well, not every waking hour. Her stepsister and stepmother had found plenty of household chores to keep her busy. The more time she spent sewing the dress, however, the less often they requested her to do unnecessary tasks. But with the time-consuming tasks of cooking and laundry, and the frequency with which the delicate Stasiya required hot water to be prepared for a soothing bath, Ashlin had trouble even squeezing in a moment to sew.
While she would have preferred more time to create the blue ball gown, she was incredibly proud to have produced something worthy of the royal event at all. Nevertheless, she gazed at the gown she had created with a critical eye. While the color still made her stepsister look pale, the clean silhouette and loose drapes of silk were exactly as Ashlin had envisioned. “I thought you wanted to stand out?” she gently queried.
“Yes, I want to stand out—not get thrown out,” Stasiya snapped back.
“Well, it’s not finished.” Ashlin pinched the open seams at the shoulder and back to emphasize her point. “Tell me what you dislike so I can make changes.”
“All of it. I dislike all of it.”
“Do you still like the color of the fabric?” Ashlin asked.
Stasiya looked at herself in the mirror. “Yes. I still like the color. I think it will grab attention.”
“How about the waistline? I know it’s a little higher than what is currently in fashion, but it flatters you very well.”
Stasiya twisted a bit to get a better view of her profile. “I like the higher waistline. It does make me look quite alluring, doesn’t it?”
That was not the word Ashlin had in mind, but she continued to encourage specific feedback. “How about the neckline? I think the round shape frames your face nicely.” Ashlin kept to herself the fact that adding as much space between Stasiya’s face and the crisp blue color would help her complexion to appear less sallow.
“I like the shape of it...” Stasiya traced the neckline with her pointer finger. “But it is rather plain, don’t you think?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, it’s just a line. No ruffles, no lace, nothing to make it stand out.”
Ashlin preferred it that way, but since this was her sister’s dress, she tried to consider it from her point of view. “You will be wearing a necklace, right? That will help.”
Stasiya pursed her lips. “And the skirt. The skirt is too plain.” She used her hand to indicate the swooping layers of silk. “It’s all just hard edges, nothing that stands out and says I’m a lady of means.”
She wasn’t a lady of means, but Ashlin did not want to get thrown out of her own house by pointing that out. If only she had time to do some elaborate embroidery. She circled her sister again, imagining new options for the gown.
“I want something dazzling, or floral and elegant.”
“Floral?” Ashlin echoed. “That’s it!” She dashed back to the kitchen and returned with a few scraps of the blue silk. Bunching one together in her hand, she twisted and pinched it until the small scrap of fabric resembled a flower. Then she held the flower over the skirt as she explained her idea. “How about a few bouquets of fabric flowers? I could place them around the swoops in the skirt, and even do some smaller ones to surround the neckline.” She glanced at Stasiya in the mirror to gauge her reaction.
A slow smile spread over her sister’s face. “That would do.”
Ashlin beamed. “Wonderful. You are going to be stunning at the ball.”
