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“She deserves the kindness,” Benjamin stressed as he topped up Leo’s glass too. “She helped Maeve realize her dream. It is time we help Miss Chloe with her own. And yours, come to think of it.” Benjamin raised his glass. “To you, Leo, and to your task ahead, winning Miss Green’s heart.”
“You make me sound like one of those knights from the old Arthurian legends with a noble quest to win a fair maiden.” Leo laughed at the idea and raised his glass as well. “With my luck, I’ll fall off the white steed.”
Chapter 6
Chloe
“Can you believe it is tonight?” Rosaline’s excited voice filled the air as Chloe lifted her gaze from the hem of the final gown. “Oh! I do not think I have ever known such excitement.” Rosaline hurried around the space, with Marianne hurrying on behind her, tightening her corset.
“Calm yourself,” Chloe said good-naturedly. “Or you will have exhausted your body with all this running before the ball begins, and there will be no energy left for dancing.” Her joke prompted the girls to laugh as she held up the final gown for Elizabeth to wear. “There, it is finished.”
“Thank you, Chloe.” Elizabeth held the gown up to her body and turned to the nearest mirror, staring into it with wide eyes. “I did not think I would ever have the chance to wear such a gown as this. Imagine that. A miner’s daughter, wearing this!”
Chloe thought it an odd objection. All she saw was a beautiful girl with a beautiful dress.
“It will suit you perfectly.” Chloe assured her friend and hurried past her, reaching for the other dresses. Chloe did not miss the great smile on Elizabeth’s face, nor the matching ones on Rosaline’s and Marianne’s faces.
It was not just the excitement of the ball that had them so elated, but the gowns themselves, and the chance to wear things of such beauty.
I wonder . . . could there be a way to make such gowns more affordable in the future?
Chloe’s thought was quickly drowned by the seamstresses beginning to dress, still talking excitedly of the ball. Rosaline and Chloe helped Marianne into her gown first, then Elizabeth, after which, their attention went to Rosaline.
“Here, I have saved this one for you, Rosaline.” Chloe pulled out a gown she had been working on for a while. She had first put together this design with Maeve in mind, before realizing that the gown would suit someone with hair as red as Rosaline’s much better.
The moment she revealed the dress, Rosaline looked ready to faint. She waved her hands in front of her cheeks, as if to cool herself down, and her eyes darted up and down the silk.
“Chloe . . . are you certain of this?” Rosaline asked with a tremble in her voice. “It is so beautiful. I could not do a gown such as that justice.”
“What nonsense!” Chloe declared and hurried to her, pressing the sleeves of the gown to her shoulders, so that she could see how well it would suit her. “Rosaline, your modesty does you a great credit, but you must forgive me for saying you are being foolish.”
“Oi!” Rosaline pretended to be offended, prompting the girls to all laugh together once again.
“You are a beauty, even if you choose not to believe it, and the gown will suit you well.” Chloe stepped back and held open the gown, urging Rosaline to step into the unfolded silks.
“But I . . .” Rosaline paused a little longer. She looked down from the gown at her own body and flattened out the skirt of the chemise she was wearing beneath. “Perhaps a gown so grand would be better suited to you? I am a tailor’s daughter, Chloe.”
“And I am the daughter of a Baron who has no more pennies to his name than your father. Therefore, why should I wear a finer gown than you? It hardly makes sense, does it?” Chloe could see her words made Rosaline smile a little and look to the gown she was about to put on. “Even if my father did have more money to his name, I have no more right to wear this gown than you. We are both ladies, are we not? Therefore, we are equal.”
Chloe put an end to the matter by waving the gown toward Rosaline another time. When Rosaline still didn’t step inside. Chloe sighed and decided a jest would be the best way to move things along.
“If I have to stand here for much longer, you will make my arms ache. Now, would you do that to a friend? For I refuse to lower my arms holding this gown until you step inside it.” Chloe lifted her chin with the words, showing she was defiant.
“That means you could be standing there all night!” Marianne gushed from her place by the mirror.
“Exactly,” Chloe turned her focus back on Rosaline. “I am quite determined, Rosaline.”
“Well, I cannot make you miss this ball, can I?” Rosaline gave way and stepped into the silk.
Together, they fastened the loops at the back of the gown, ensuring Rosaline was tucked safely within the silks, then Chloe urged Rosaline forward to look in the mirror.
“Oh my,” she said breathily as she caught her reflection.
Chloe stood back, perfectly still, as she watched her friend. The sudden quickness to Rosaline’s blinking and the wetness in her eyes showed there was a temptation to cry.
Bless her, it is a temptation she is fighting with strength.
Chloe moved to her side and brushed a hand across her friend’s arm in comfort.
