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“Miss Kady?” said a soft-spoken woman as she felt a gentle push on her shoulder. Kady drowsily opened her eyes as she had to drag herself awake, trying to focus on the kind looking woman standing next to the bed in her black and grey uniform “I’m the maid, Dee. Dinner is ready. If you’ll follow me, I can show you where Mr. Archer is dining tonight.”
“Mmm, yes, please do,” said Kady sleepily. “I can imagine it wouldn’t be much fun getting lost in this place.”
“Would you like to put on something pretty for dinner, miss?” asked Dee shyly. “I believe Archer’s mother is still fairly slim, though not quite as slim as you. Still, that only means the dress would be sure not to be too small, right?”
“Do I have time for that?”
“Sure, your bedroom is right beside the one she uses when she visits—not that she’s done so for a while,” she commented. “Not since—well, since they had a slight difference of opinion concerning his social activities, I guess you’d say.”
“I wouldn’t say it, but you go right ahead,” said Kady dryly, suddenly starving for more information about the mysterious man with whom she was supposed to dine. Besides the fact that he turned her entire body to jelly with just a look. “I’d love to hear more.”
“Maybe some other time, when we wouldn’t be interrupted. Come on, we’ll pick out something perfect and get you dressed,” she grinned. “I swear, helping you dress will almost be like having a real live fashion doll.”
“I know the feeling,” Kady smirked.
The two women spent about fifteen minutes picking out a lovely teal and cream knee-length dress with liberal accents of shiny black sequins. The overall effect of the sequin design reminded Kady of windswept water. It was simply dazzling, and she suspected that it was also one of a kind.
“I’m not sure that Archer’s mother would want me to wear this,” said Kady as she hesitated, though the sound of her voice gave away just how much she wanted to.
“Don’t worry about it," the maid responded. “She never keeps anything important in here. You’re pretty safe to use these clothes. Besides, since you’re a model I already know you’d be careful with them.”
“That is true,” she agreed. “And it seems a shame to let something like this go to waste in some closet without ever allowing it to come out and play.”
“Listen to you,” she chuckled. “You sound as if you think the thing has feelings or something.”
“Oh, yeah, it really does,” said Kady with a nod. “Every fashion ever created does, you know. Every piece of clothing lives to be worn, dreams of being seen and loved. It’s almost sinful, locking this dress up in here.”
“Well, it sure would be a lot more interesting around here if you would decide to stay, Miss Kady,” Dee said with a smile. “Don’t forget the shoes. They look to be the right size too.”
Giggling, Kady stated, “It almost seems like this whole set was made just for me, doesn’t it? I love everything about it!”
“Well, I guess we’d better hurry now,” said the maid briskly when the miniature grandfather clock on the wall began to chime. “Mr. Archer doesn’t like to be kept waiting too long.”
“Yeah, of course,” Kady agreed, as she quickly changed clothes, not the least bit shy in front of the other woman, since she was used to rapid-fire fashion exchanges back stage anyway. “I’ll just be a second in the bathroom, then we can go.”
“Try not to disturb anything in there,” said Dee with a warning frown. “She could care less about this closet, but she’d have a cow about her bathroom. Go figure.”
Kady was already coming back out again as the maid finished speaking, the sound of the flushing water adding background noise as she said, “Weird. Okay, I’m ready. Let’s go.”
They hurried down the hall to the stairs and took them at a slight clip. The shoes Kady had put on were somewhat flat, making it easier to keep up with the hurrying employee as she tried to make up for some of the time they’d lost by practically running up the flight of twenty steps and the hallway they found beyond. Then she opened one of the doors and Kady discovered they’d reached a veranda where Archer was waiting.
“Have a good evening, you two,” Dee wished the pair. “I’ll let Maggie know that she’s arrived.”
Dee left almost as quickly as she’d come in, leaving Kady and Archer alone.
“Well, there you are at last,” said Archer, his slightly annoyed expression melting into admiration as he drank her in. Kady blushed under the scrutiny, but felt unaccountably proud as she noticed the pleased look in his eye. “I was beginning to wonder if you had lost your way.” The
tone of his voice softened as he stood, walking around the small table to pull out her chair. “It seems that Dee has been showing off my mother’s closet again. The dress looks rather nice on you, I must say.”
“Oh, thanks,” said Kady with another blush. “I hope this was okay, though. Your maid thought that it would be.”
“Yes, it’s perfectly fine,” he replied, his expression suddenly serious. “However, after this I will expect you to ask me that beforehand rather than after the deed’s already been done.”
“I understand,” Kady said, feeling the displeased tone all the way down to her toes. “It won’t happen again.”
Chapter 9
They sat quietly together, enjoying the splendid meal which Maggie had soon brought in and sharing light, casual conversation as the stars began to appear in the night sky. A slight breeze began to come in as they were finishing up, and Archer got to his feet, removing his suit coat and wrapping it over Kady’s arms before she even had a chance to shiver. The gallant action had warmth radiating through her, and not just the heat that his body had left behind.
