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“Oh!” She jumped back, one hand on her chest. “Forgive me, I thought you were awake.”
“Whatever gave you that impression?” Ellie grumbled. She shifted up her pillows. “Don’t do that again. It’s scary to wake up and find someone looming over you.”
“My apologies.” Hannah giggled. “At least it wasn’t at night in the pitch black. Now that is scary.”
Ellie scowled. “Why are you waking me up?”
“Lady Burton wanted me to wake you up. Lady Mansford has breakfast in bed, so Lady Burton says this will be a good opportunity to have a moment alone with her. Lady Regina and Lady Dorothea are already up and having breakfast. You were going to go out this morning, weren’t you?”
Were they? Ellie’s head was feeling foggy; she could hardly remember anything. She tried to fight back a yawn, but it escaped.
“I didn’t get much sleep last night, Hannah. Can’t I beg out of this and go back to sleep?”
“I’m afraid that wasn’t an option. Besides, you might need me to clean the sheets.”
“Hmm?”
Hannah indicated the pillow, and Ellie saw that it was covered in black dust. It took a moment for her to realise that it was the charcoal from the night before.
“Oh. I thought I’d washed it all off. Didn’t I?”
“Either you didn’t, or you missed some. Either way, I need to get your bedding washed before Mrs Michaelson finds out.” Hannah ushered Ellie out of bed. “I’ll do that once I’ve gotten you dressed. You have to go downstairs as soon as you can.”
Ellie wanted to protest, but she knew she couldn’t languish in bed all day. Questions would get raised, and Ellie wasn’t that good of a liar. She could be vague, but her aunt knew her too well.
So, she went over to the washbasin, where Hannah had poured out fresh water. On the way past the dresser, Ellie caught sight of herself in the mirror. She must have just moved the charcoal around instead of wiping it off. She looked like she had been in a fight in a back alley.
At least the icy-cold water woke her up. Ellie was left gasping as she splashed it on her face and scrubbed until her skin was throbbing. It was the middle of May, so how was it possible for the water to be this cold? It made her shiver as she hobbled away from the washbasin.
Hannah was laying out her gown for the day, along with her undergarments. Ellie sat on the stool, flinching as a stray droplet trickled down the front of her nightgown.
“Couldn’t you have warmed up the water?”
“I’m afraid that’s not possible. It’s not that bad, is it?”
“I’m going to turn into an ice sculpture, at this rate.”
Hannah smiled. “It certainly helps with waking you up. Would you like me to help you dress?”
“Please. I’m still trying to wake up.”
As her maid helped her to put her garments on, stopping her from putting her limbs in the wrong places so the outfit looked odd, Ellie thought about the night before. It had gone well enough, considering the circumstances. Regina and Dorothea had certainly enjoyed themselves. They had been introduced to so many people, and the way they fell into the ease of talking to strangers was remarkable.
Regina had spent most of the evening dancing, and Dorothea had seemed to sparkle when she was part of a group. They fit right in with the rest of theton, and they were happy about it. Ellie was glad; she didn’t want them to struggle when it came to finding a husband. From what she saw, neither of her sisters should have a problem.
Ellie, on the other hand, would struggle, but she wasn’t too concerned right now. She was just relieved that Regina and Dorothea had had a good time, and they hadn’t been caught. She had spent a lot of the evening looking over her shoulder, wondering if someone was going to come over and call her out for the way she was made up. But nobody had appeared to notice. The disguise Hannah had helped her with seemed to have worked.
Well, mostly. There was that dark-haired gentleman who had bumped into her and stepped on her foot. Her toes were still sore from the accidental stomp. From the way he had looked at her, he’d seemed to look past her disguise. Yet he hadn’t said anything. Ellie wasn’t sure if she should be relieved about this or not. He could be holding onto this for later to his own advantage.
If she was lucky, he would keep quiet about it.
He was quite handsome. And perhaps he considered me attractive, from the way he was looking at me.She shook her head.I doubt it. But having someone as handsome as him paying me attention would be nice.
Ellie sighed. Hannah paused.
“Are you alright, my lady? That was a big sigh.”
“I’m just thinking, Hannah. Lost in my own thoughts.”
