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“Let’s say that neither of my girls will be seen in anything scandalous. They are good girls and their clothing will reflect that even if I have to thread my needle and stitch up their gowns myself.”
Lucy suddenly feared she’d do exactly that. Looking toward her sister for support, she was surprised when Louisa shared the pattern she’d chosen.
“Louisa, your Papa said you could pick whatever you wanted. Why do you want such a simple, dress?” Lucy asked, after seeing the final sketch Louisa handed to the seamstress. The dress seemed rather plain and unadorned, unlike the ball gowns that were the current fashion.
Louisa gave her sister a smile. “This is what I want, Lucy. I would feel silly and uncomfortable in a fussy dress. I want to make Papa proud of me,” Louisa said, and then showed the first sign of hesitancy, looking at the pattern again. “Why do… do you think it will be ugly?”
Lucy smiled and gave Louisa a hug. “Of course not. It will be a lovely dress, Louisa,” she assured her. “You make anything you wear beautiful. I know he will be happy with your choice.” Sighing, she looked down at the papers in her hand wondering which would Lucas prefer. When she realized whose name had instantly popped into her head, she shook her own. She must have thought of Lord Huntington because Louisa had just mentioned Edward. Nevertheless, she still had absolutely no clue as to which pattern to choose.
“Louisa, will you help me with mine? Which of these do you think would suit me?”
Louisa smiled and after asking for the loan of Mrs. Palmer’s pencil and a piece of paper, Lucy watched as her sister sketched a design that took the best features from three separate patterns and combined them into a new design.
“Louisa, that’s perfect!” Lucy enthused. “Maybe just add a few more things,” she continued, taking the pencil and making a few final notations before passing the sketch to Mrs. Palmer. Lucy was thrilled as the dress was far more fashionable than the drop-waist dresses she wore every day. It had sleeves but they would fall off her shoulders and while the neckline was scooped, it wasn’t as daring as some of the other designs had been. She could practically see the dress in her mind and couldn’t wait to try it on and feel like a grown woman once again.
Lucy was very pleased when Anna nodded her approval for the new pattern. The seamstress took her final measurements, amazed that the girls were not only identical in appearance, but were also the exact same size.
“Though it is a very limited timeframe, Lord Wintercrest’s generosity has allowed me to hire an additional helper. I’ll return with the gowns for the first fitting in two days’ time. Even if alterations are necessary afterwards, we will have plenty of time before the ball. As her assistant gathered the supplies she’d brought, the seamstress hugged the twins.
“You will be the belles of the ball, girls,” Mrs. Palmer said. The twins smiled and thanked her, as Mrs. Bremmer led her from the house before sending her charges to the table for their luncheon.
“Don’t make a fuss,” she warned both as the three made their way upstairs after the last bite of the pudding Cook had prepared for dessert had been eaten. “You will both take a nap and be grateful for the rest. I swear if I didn’t have a million things to do, I’d be crawling into my own.”
Lucy laughed and realized that for the first time, any trepidation she’d felt when with the housekeeper had disappeared. She wasn’t foolish enough to think that the woman had miraculously changed her ways and would never again pull her tawse out of her pocket to lay it across Lucy’s bare bottom, but Lucy now saw her as a woman who truly cared for them and not just as a servant doing Edward’s bidding.
Chapter 13
Lucy stood at the top of the stairs. Her hair was piled on top of her head and secured with jewel headed pins. Molly had spent an inordinate amount of time choosing just the right tresses of hair to pull free to curl down her neck to frame her face.
“Go ahead, Miss Lucy,” Molly whispered from a few feet behind her. “You look so beautiful. Have a wonderful time at the ball.”
“Thank you, Molly,” Lucy said. She felt incredibly nervous as she placed one hand on the banister and lifted the heavy length of her gown with the other. Taking a deep breath, she took the first step and then another, carefully descending the long staircase. Seeing the people waiting at the bottom, she hesitated. As if sensing her presence, Lucas was the first to lift his eyes.
Lucy froze, one foot planted on a stair, the other hovering above the next tread. Suddenly she couldn’t breathe, much less move. Hair the color of winter wheat gleamed as if touched by the light of a full-moon and his blue eyes darkened to that of a cloudless midnight sky. But it was the slow curling of his lips that had her heart beating so hard in her chest she wondered how it didn’t break through her skin. She felt her cheeks heating as if he were touching her though he remained several feet away.
“I didn’t think it possible you could be more beautiful, but tonight you are absolutely stunning, Miss Furniss,” he said softly, bowing slightly.
At his voice, the other three people turned as one. Lucy’s eyes immediately found her sister. Louisa wore a gown of sapphire blue that enhanced her eyes which shone with happiness. Her blonde hair had been curled and flowed around her delicate shoulders like a curtain of gold. For a moment, the sisters had only eyes for each other.
“You look just like Mother,” they said in unison. Their smiles and giggles broke Lucy’s paralysis, though Lucy felt tears prick her eyes with the memory. Blinking rapidly to keep them at bay, she felt something pressed into her hand. Lucas had climbed the stairs to offer her his handkerchief.
“Don’t cry, little one. Your parents would be so very proud of you and your sister.”
“Thank you,” Lucy said softly, dabbing at the corners of her eyes before she finished descending the staircase, Lucas at her side. Seeing the tilt of her sister’s head and the confused look on her face as her gaze swept from the hem of her gown to the neckline, Lucy looked down to see what could possibly be causing the crinkle of Louisa’s nose. Seeing nothing out of place, she asked, “What’s wrong?”
“What happened to the pearls? And the flounces?” Louisa asked, gesturing to Lucy’s neckline and wrists.
“Oh, I removed them,” Lucy said, running a finger along the unadorned neckline of her dress, before tucking the handkerchief she still clutched into the fitted cuff of her sleeve which was no longer covered in several layers of lace. “You were right. They were just… a bit too fancy.”
“I may not know much about fashion, but I know this,” Lucas said with a smile. “You have no need for another thing. You are the picture of absolute perfection.”
Lucy felt her tummy fluttering and the heat beginning in her breasts moving up to color her face. She found she had no words.
“And, I must say, your sewing skills have improved greatly,” Lucas said.
Lucy rolled her eyes though she was grateful for the teasing as it finally allowed her to relax. “I can’t take all the credit. Mrs. Bremmer was kind enough to help me.”
“All I can say is Lucas is correct. You are truly stunning, Lucille,” he said. “I’m proud to have the most beautiful bride in the world as well as her enchanting sister with me tonight,” Edward said.
