Tabitha blushed a little and Tillie pinched her lightly in the side at the compliments.
“Are you her assistant?” Lorna asked Tillie, who simply shook her head.
“She is a talented dressmaker,” Tabitha blurted out before she could think better of it. She heard Tillie gasp at her secret identity being outed so quickly, but Lorna didn’t look at all disapproving. In fact, she looked interested, so Tabitha pointed to the dress she was currently wearing.
“This is one of hers,” she said, proud of her friend. “It is going to be a sample at Rochester’s but she insisted I wear it to deliver these.”
Lorna gave the gown a steady gaze and smiled at her friend.
“You’re very talented, Miss.”
As Tillie was thanking her for the compliment, the door burst open with a train of three maids carrying two gowns each. Lorna instructed them to hang the dresses on hooks along one side of the wall.
Six exquisite gowns were suddenly on display and she watched as Tillie took them all in, silently regarding every last detail on each one.
Lorna stayed quiet a moment before speaking.
“So,” she prodded. “Professional opinion, ladies?”
With the hats on the table in front of the gowns, Tabitha realized what Lorna was asking. She wanted to know how they thought the gowns and the headwear matched up. As the last maid shut the door and left, Lorna looked to the ladies a second time.
“Well?”
After a moment of hesitation, both Tabitha and Tillie set upon the dresses and accessories, moving the feathers and ribbons around so that they paired up with the best gown. The housekeeper stepped back and watched as the two of them discussed ribbon shades and the texture of lace next to bright, fluffy feather plumes. When they were done, Lorna stepped forward, her eyes fixed on the ensembles they had put together with a smile on her face.
“Exquisite,” she said reverently. “Absolutely exquisite. Do you happen to be free over the next two days?”
She turned toward them as she asked.
Tabitha didn’t answer immediately, but Tillie did.
“I am supposed to leave with my mother in the morning for two weeks in Bath,” she said. “I’m actually running behind schedule as it is. We are dining with my uncle at his club in a few hours.”
Lorna turned to Tabitha.
“I am not sure,” she answered honestly. “I am not certain of what you are asking me right now?”
Lorna cast a glance toward the gowns.
“The next few weeks are important to Her Grace for many, many reasons,” she began. “First, she is venturing out of mourning and the eyes of her peers and contemporaries will be more than critical as she begins to immerse herself in the activities surrounding the season. I want her to shine, to put it bluntly, and none of her maids know a thing about dressing her to her station.”
Tabitha could understand that. A duchess was expected to have an air of regality that none beyond the royal family would possess.
“What’s more,” the woman continued. “Her son is expected to return this season and select a wife, so all eyes will be on His Grace as he moves through these parties and balls with an eye on the crowd for the next Duchess of Stowe.”
Tabitha had heard rumors of Nicholas Fairchild, the latest Duke of Stowe. He was rumored to be a good-looking man who’d run wild in his younger days as the privileged sons of the elite were wont to do. He had managed to leave for France last year without a scandal chasing him out of town and as far as she understood, there wasn’t one from the Continent chasing him back into town.
Either he was a well-behaved son of a duke or a very crafty duke who knew how to hide his indiscretions.
Whatever the case may be, as the daughter of a merchant baronet, the duke was so very far out of her realm that he might as well have existed in an alternate universe. Tabitha was a realist if nothing else, and spent very little time as a girl reading about white knights and rescues. She was a woman making plans to rescue herself.
“What I’m offering,” Lorna continued, pulling Tabitha back from her thoughts. “Is to pay for your services if you would agree to stay until tomorrow and make sure that the maids have Her Grace looking ravishing and heads above the rest. We need personal touches that it seems only the two of you can give. We shall pay you for your troubles. Handsomely.”
Well, that did it. Handsomely, from the family of a duke, usually did mean handsomely, and that was money she needed to fund her schooling in Paris.
“I can do it,” Tabitha said quickly, before she could change her mind. “I just need to send a message, letting my stepmother know I will no longer return until tomorrow evening.”
Crafting an expeditious white lie, Tabitha sent word to her stepmother that she was visiting with Tillie’s family for the evening and would be back for supper the following day.
The games were surely afoot now, Tabitha thought to herself as she allowed Lorna to show Tillie out and to lead her to her temporary rooms.
The Duke She Wished For is now available for purchase on Amazon, and is free to read through Kindle Unlimited.
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ALSO BY ELLIE ST. CLAIR
Unmasking a Duke
Happily Ever After
The Duke She Wished For
Someday Her Duke Will Come
Once Upon a Duke’s Dream
He’s a Duke, But I Love Him
Searching Hearts
Quest of Honor
Clue of Affection
Hearts of Trust
Hope of Romance
About the Author
Ellie has always loved reading, writing, and history. For many years she has written short stories, non-fiction, and has worked on her true love and passion -- romance novels.
In every era there is the chance for romance, and Ellie enjoys exploring many different time periods, cultures, and geographic locations. No matter when or where, love can always prevail. She has a particular soft spot for the bad boys of history, and loves a strong heroine in her stories.
She enjoys walks under the stars with her own prince charming, as well as spending time at the lake with her children, and running with her Husky/Border Collie cross.
www.prairielilypress.com/ellie-st-clair
[email protected]
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