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Emily shook her head. “Even if my abigail washes this right away, it’ll never be the same. It certainly won’t be clean and dry before the first dance begins.” She closed her eyes, her brow creasing. “I can’t face my parents. I can’t do it.”
Dinah dropped to her knees and wrapped an arm around Emily’s shoulders. “Of course you can. They want to see you, not some dress.”
Emily only shook her head.
Dinah gave her a tight squeeze and then stood. “Let me get Baby John to the nursery and then I’ll be right back. Together, we will fix this.”
Emily didn’t even acknowledge the statement before Dinah hurried from the room.
“Well, little man,” she said as she hurried up the stairs, “that was poorly done.”
Baby John only giggled at their quick ascension.
With only a bit of explanation, Dinah handed him off to the nursemaid, who, while young, was quite good with the boys. Having safely seen to that bit of work, Dinah hurried back down the stairs. The din of voices coming from the direction of the ballroom was steadily growing. Emily was correct in one regard. There was simply not enough time to wash her dress. Dinah slowed as she reached the family wing, her lips pulling to one side.
Emily wasn’t upset over a soiled dress, Dinah knew that. The problem was that Emily was already so nervous about seeing her parents again. For weeks now, Emily had told herself that if she dressed well enough, put on an elegant ball, showed herself and David to be all that was enviable, then perhaps her parents would see she was happy and, in turn, be happy for her. It wasn’t truly about the dress; it was about putting her best foot forward to her parents.
Dinah turned and hurried into her own room. It only took her a minute to step out of the dress she’d spent hours designing and then hours more making with the help of her abigail. She and Emily were the same height, and they were of a similar enough complexion that the royal blue dress would look stunning on her. Dinah pulled on the most elegant dress she owned that she could still fasten up herself. As it turned out, it wasn’t a very elegant dress at all. Truly, it was little more than an overly embellished dinner dress. Still, speed was more important than style just now. Picking up the dress she’d designed herself, Dinah hurried down the corridor and back into Emily’s room.
Emily sat in exactly the same position as when Dinah had left. She hadn’t even stepped out of the soiled gown.
Dinah quickly draped her dress across the bed and hurried over to Emily.
“Up you go, now,” she said. “Out of that dress.”
Emily stood, but hesitantly so. “I never should have dreamed up this night to begin with.”
Dinah took hold of her sister-in-law’s shoulders and looked her square in the face. “Your parents are here to see you, not your dress. You are doing something brave and scary. I know that. But now is not the time to back down. Now is the time to charge ahead.” It was like when she and Rachel had gone swimming at Curio Manor. The water had been frigid, but they’d dunked themselves and gone for it regardless.
That’s what Emily needed to do now. She needed to figuratively dunk herself and get the initial shock of seeing her parents again over with—and the sooner the better.
Preferably before she fainted dead away.
Dinah spun Emily about and began undoing the ties at her back. Soon, she had the dress down around Emily’s feet.
“Step out,” she said.
Emily wordlessly obeyed.
Dinah tossed aside the dress Emily had been planning to wear for over a month now. Hopefully, Emily’s abigail could get the stain out and manage to save the dress. But for now, that was neither here nor there. Dinah grabbed her own dress off the bed and held it open.
“Step in,” she said.
Emily, once again, obeyed.
Dinah pulled the dress up over Emily’s waist and then threaded her hands through the sleeves. It wasn’t until Dinah had the dress halfway fastened up the back that Emily stopped her with a hand on Dinah’s arm.
“But...this is your dress.”
“And I flatter myself that it is quite glorious.” Dinah returned to seeing everything secured.
“I can’t wear this,” Emily protested, twisting away completely. “You’ve worked for weeks on this. I can’t take it away from you.”
“You’ve worked for even longer on tonight.”
Emily hesitated. “Perhaps I ought to ring for my abigail and have her find something else for me to wear.”
“She is no doubt off seeing to other things by now.”
