“It is cheerful,” Penelope defended.
“It is loud,” Harriet said.
“I enjoy loud,” Penelope grinned.
“We know,” Irene muttered.
Elizabeth beckoned the girls toward her chair as though presiding over court. “No lady should choose a gown merely because it is fashionable,” she instructed wisely. “One must dress according to what flatters one best.”
The sisters listened surprisingly well. Even Penelope.
“Dark colours are handsome on Joan,” Elizabeth continued. “Your figure carries them beautifully.”
Joan beamed instantly.
“And Irene would look lovely in nearly anything,” Harriet sighed. “The unfair child.”
Irene flushed delicately. “Mama.”
Elizabeth pointed toward Penelope. “And you must never wear anything dull because your spirit would overpower it entirely.”
Penelope looked delighted by this pronouncement. Charlotte watched the exchange quietly with warmth blooming in her chest. Her family had immediately embraced Elizabeth with genuine affection, treating her with kindness instead of impatience. Elizabeth, in turn, positively glowed beneath the attention.
For the first time in years, Charlotte felt something close to peace. Her sisters were laughing. Harriet looked relaxed. Elizabeth was happy. And all because of Victor. The thought startled her.
Charlotte glanced absently toward the mirrors while the others argued over sleeves and embroidery. She still felt guilty sometimes when Elizabeth spoke so lovingly of her supposed engagement. The deception sat heavily upon her conscience, no matter how necessary it was.
Yet what choice have I truly?
Victor’s generosity had changed everything for her family.
Her sisters would enter society properly now instead of desperately patching old gowns together and praying nobody noticed. Harriet no longer looked perpetually frightened about unpaid bills and uncertain futures.
Charlotte had spent years sacrificing herself for them. Now, suddenly, someone else was helping shoulder the burden. Her chest tightened unexpectedly.
Blast the duke for being kinder than I wished him to be.
“Charlotte.”
She blinked to find Elizabeth staring at her thoughtfully. “Yes, Your Grace?”
“You require a gown,” she replied.
Charlotte immediately shook her head. “Oh no. Absolutely not.”
Harriet looked horrified. “Charlotte scarcely buys anything for herself.”
“That is because I possess perfectly acceptable dresses already, mama,” she said.
“Country gowns,” Penelope said bluntly.
Charlotte narrowed her eyes. “I shall remember that when you request additional ribbon money.”
Penelope wisely fell silent.
Elizabeth waved dismissively. “You shall have a new dress.”
“There is no need, really, Your Grace,” Charlotte said.
