Page 39 of Romancing Daphne

“Daphne.” It was a gentle scold. “I didn’t ask about other ladies. I asked aboutyou.”

Persephone always had been persistent.

“I am trying to be brave,” Daphne admitted. “The way I look now makes me blend in. I think I am ready to be noticed, at least a little.”

Persephone took her hands and squeezed them eagerly. “I am so pleased to hear this. You are so worthy of being noticed. I have waited so long for you to realize that about yourself.”

It wasn’t quite the realization she’d had.

Within an hour, Daphne was seated in a straight-backed chair, biddingfarewell to the coiffure she had worn for four years. Persephone had noteaten lunch. She nibbled at nothing more substantial than a piece of toastwhile watching her maid very carefully snip and pull at Daphne’s hair.

“Taking off a little length will make a world of difference.” Artemis had been giddy to the point of giggles throughout the process, insisting she not be left out of the fun.

Daphne cringed as the sound of snipping shears echoed loudly behind her. She hoped“a little length” did not translate into something drastic.

In the corner, her maid and Artemis’s were busy altering two gowns of Artemis’s she had somehow been convinced to accept as her own, both a touch more fashionable than anything she’d worn before. A paisley shawlof Persephone’s lay waiting and ready on the dressing table.

“I cannot seem to convince her of the perfection of my yellow dress,” Artemis bemoaned.

“The one with the square neckline? It is a little brighter than Daphne is accustomed to.”

Daphne silently offered thanks for Persephone’s logic and rationalinfluence. She wanted to garner some notice from James, not make a fool of herself.

“How does that look, Your Grace?” the abigail asked, stepping backfrom Daphne, allowing her mistress to inspect the results of her handiwork.

Persephonestudied Daphne without rising from her seat or moving closer. She had seemed far more inclined to remain stationary of late. The energetic, ever-busy Persephone had given way to a seemingly worn and tired lady.

Daphne worried about the change. How she hoped it was a temporary and inconsequential one.

“I like it very much,” Persephone said.“It seems with some of the weight gone, her hair has a hint of a wave to it.”

Truly? Daphne reached up, running her fingers along her hair. The abigail held up a hand mirror, allowing Daphne to see the results of their efforts. Her hair did have the slightest bit of a wave—not truly curly but not so painfully straight either.

“More important than my opinion, what doyouthink?” Persephone asked.

Daphne wasn’t entirely certain. She’d never worn it any shorter than several inches down her back. The new length only came halfway between her chin and shoulders.“Are you certain it isn’t too short?”

“Not at all.” Persephone addressed her lady’s maid.“If you will pile it higher on her head, as opposed to low where she has been wearing it, and with a few wisps left free to frame her face, I believe she will look vastly pretty.”

Daphne wanted to believe her, but “vastly pretty” was not a phrase that had ever been used to describe her.

“Do not look so worried,” Persephone said.“Not only will the coiffure be flattering, but I also firmly believe Adam would vehemently object to it. And that is a very good sign. You may recall that he was quite upset whenyou first eschewed your braids and began wearing your hair up.”

Adam had stormed from the room in a rare taking the day she had debuted her new, more mature look. Persephone had explained his reaction as the result of his being unprepared for Daphne to grow up. So long as she still looked like a little girl, he could continue telling himself she was one.

Perhaps that was the true culprit behind Adam’s disapproval of James—he saw a serious suitor as inarguable evidence of her inevitable maturation. In time, Adam would learn to accept the change and would see how perfectly everything had worked out. Of course, first she had to discover why James had stopped coming to visit her.

Daphne watched in the mirror as her new coiffure took shape. It was more bold than she was accustomed to, yet she could not deny it was more flattering.

“Do you think . . . do you think a gentleman would find my hair pretty worn this way?”

Persephone took her hand and squeezed it gently.“I do think so. But remember, dearest, if that particular gentleman notices you only for your coiffure, he is hardly worthyournotice.”

Daphne nodded. She understood Persephone’s warning but recognized her sister didn’t see the full extent of the difficulty.There is a reason gentlemen do not fall in love with the furniture.Though spoken with all the tact of a dreamy-eyed fifteen-year-old, the words had rung true in Daphne’s mind ever since they were uttered.

A wish to recapture James’s notice had first propelled her forward with this plan, but she found herself hoping even more that her new appearance would give her the measure of courage she’d been lacking of late.

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