Page 45 of Once Bitten, Twice Mine

“I’m glad to hear it, but it would have been nice to hear from you and not idle gossip around the village.”

Caroline dropped her eyes to the floor so she didn’t have to see the hurt in Diya’s eyes. “I know, but it’s been stressful.”

“And you don’t think I could have helped,” she snorted. “We’ve been best friends since before we were born. Our fathers were friends before that, and I’m sure another Blythe and Evans were friends before them. It isn’t like you to disappear like this.”

“I’m not doing it on purpose; I’ve just been busy. I swear, once everything calms down, I’ll visit you for the weekend and tell you everything.” Lie. “I just need some time to work through some things, and then I promise it will all go back to normal.”

“Are you trying to kick me out of your house?”

“I’m not kicking you out,” she winced, “I’m politely and gently asking you to leave.”

“No,” Diya said, putting her hands on her hips. “Any other day I would go, but not today.”

“Why not?”

“It’s your wedding dress fitting!” She threw up her hands, looking at Caroline as if she had lost her mind. “We’ve been planning this for ages; how could you honestly believe I would miss this, no matter how strange you’ve been acting?”

“Oh.” Everyone had remembered her wedding dress fitting except for her. “I suppose you can stay for that.”

She was already going to do everything in her power to get Madame Gavreau out of her house before sunset, so it wouldn’t matter much if Diya was added to that journey. Hopefully she could annoy them both enough that they wanted to leave as quickly as possible.

CHAPTER 13

“Lift your left arm, s’il vous plaît,” Madame Gavreau instructed.

Caroline dutifully raised her arm so another pin could be placed. The fitting was being done in her sitting room. She stood on an old step stool she found folded away in an unused room, and before her was an old, heavy mirror Lucy had dragged in from God only knew where. She had spent so many hours staring at her bored reflection that she was sick of her face. Diya made a pleased sound at the new shape of the sleeve; Caroline wished she could just be done with this entire experience. She knew she should be loving every moment of having one of the most talented dressmakers in the country making the dress she had dreamed of almost all her life, but all she could do was watch the clock as the hands slowly ticked towards sunset.

“You’re stunning,” Diya said to her before turning to the dressmaker. “The silk you chose is absolutely gorgeous. Is it imported?”

“Yes, but I won’t tell you from where. It’s one of my trade secrets.”

It was possibly the most Madame Gavreau had said at once the entire time she had been there. The woman was annoyed when she learned Diya would be there for the appointment, but Caroline felt she would have been annoyed no matter the situation.

She let out a deep breath before wincing and returning to her exact position before she got yelled at again. Every time Caroline sighed, she was chastised for changing her position, which in turn would change the fit of her gown. As was explained to her after her first sigh and reemphasized with every subsequent sigh.

Her eyes flicked to the window. She wasn’t sure if twilight was approaching or if it was only cloud coverage. Based on the time, they were getting close, but she wasn’t sure just how much time they had left. She needed to buy an almanac. At the beginning of the appointment, she mentioned to both Madam Gavreau and Diya that she wished to be finished well before sunset, but it didn’t seem as if either had listened to her.

“Are we almost finished?”

“Do you have a more important engagement, Miss Blythe?” she asked in her lilting French accent.

“No, I’m just growing tired. We’ve been at this for most of today, and I need to rest.”

“You’ll stand there until I’m done.”

“I can call Mrs. Thomas back to tell her you need a snack.”

Madame Gavreau shot Diya a look. “No eating in the dress.”

“I know you must be tired too, Diya; don’t think you have to stay on my behalf.”

“Don’t worry about me, I’m more than happy to stay. It’s such a pleasure to see you all bridal. Your mother must be devastated to be missing this.”

Madame Gavreau looked between Caroline and Diya carefully before she started pinning the dress again. “My next alterations are more sensitive in nature, so perhaps it is for the best if you leave.”

“Oh, all right. My mother would likely throw a fit if I missed dinner anyway. I’ll call on you later this week.”

“No,” Caroline said quickly. “I’ll go to your house next time. If you leave now, you should be able to get home before dark.”