Page 75 of The Duke's Cursed Bride
“Come upstairs,” Rachel said. “We must find something for you to wear.”
“Rachel, she’s not finished eating,” Thomas objected.
“No, I’m all right,” Madeleine said, getting up from the table. “If I’m hungry later, I’ll send for something from the kitchen.”
“Oh, good,” Rachel said happily, jumping to her feet. “Let’s go! We have so much to do to get you ready!”
Madeleine was pleased to realize that Rachel’s energy was infectious. By the time they made it upstairs, she found she was actually beginning to feel some eagerness about the whole thing. She allowed Rachel to steer her into her room and pull the door shut behind them.
Rachel marched over to the wardrobe and threw it open. “I haven’t had the chance to look at any of your things,” she said. “But you must wear one of your finest gowns. It’s your first appearance as a married lady, after all.”
“You’re right,” Madeleine agreed. “But what do you think it should be? The finest thing I have is the gown I wore for the wedding. I know Thomas probably intended for me to save that for our first big outing, but I didn’t do that, obviously. I can’t wear it again this soon.”
“No, I agree, you can’t,” Rachel said. “That gown impressed everyone on your wedding day, but if they see it again this soon, they will think you have no sense of how to style yourself—or worse, nothing else to wear. Everyone knows that the Dukedom’s finances have recovered, so there would probably be those who would say Thomas didn’t care for you enough to buy you fine things.”
Madeleine groaned. “Is there nothing in the world a lady can do without it being commented upon by everyone she meets?”
“I don’t think there is,” Rachel said solemnly as if Madeleine had been asking a genuine question. She pulled out a pale blue gown that had always been one of Madeleine’s favorites. “What about this?”
“It isn’t new,” Madeleine said.
“Does that matter? Your season was cut short by yourscandalous marriage.” She spoke the words with added emphasis as if mocking something someone else had said, and Madeleine laughed. “My point is that no one has seen you in any of your best things yet. I’m sure you meant to wear this to a ball during your first season, didn’t you?”
“Yes,” Madeleine said. “I’m afraid it might be a bit out of fashion, though. I didn’t know what to buy. And Uncle Joseph was no help, of course. I mean, he tries to help, but he knows nothing about the needs of a young lady.” She laughed. “You should have seen some of the things he wanted to buy before I enlisted the help of a shopkeeper!”
“I’ll bet they were dreadful. Were they?”
“The worst you’ve ever seen.”
“You can borrow my hair comb,” Madeleine decided. “That will look perfect with this.”
“Are you sure?” Madeleine asked, blown away by Rachel’s generosity.
“Of course I’m sure! It’s not as if I’ll be able to wear it,” Rachel pointed out. “This way, I’ll almost feel like I’m there with you.”
Madeleine knew the gift of something lovely to wear for the evening would be far more wonderful than the beauty of the comb itself. What would make her night special would be knowing that Rachel had wanted to do all she could to make it special for her.
“I’m so fortunate you’re my sister,” she said with a smile.
Rachel beamed. “I’m the one who’s fortunate,” she said. “All my life, I’ve wished for someone to share these kinds of moments with. I’m so glad Thomas married you, Madeleine. I’m so glad you’re a part of our family now.”
CHAPTERTHIRTY
“She’s taking her time,” Thomas’s mother said.
“Mother, there’s nothing wrong with how long Madeleine takes to get ready.”
“We’re going to be late. And I thought she didn’t care about her appearance.”
“She’s never said that,” Thomas said. “What she said was that she didn’t feel the need to hide her scar. Nor should she, in my opinion. That doesn’t mean she doesn’t take pride in her appearance or that she doesn’t derive pleasure from feeling as if she looks good. Especially on an occasion such as this. I don’t blame her at all for taking a little extra time to prepare for the party at Growerton.”
“Well, we’re going to be late,” his mother sniffed.
Thomas laughed. “You like being late. You always say that to arrive early shows that one is too desperate to impress. You make us arrive everywhere late.”
“That’s different,” his mother sniffed. “She shouldn’t be keepinguswaiting.”
“Oh, Mother,” Thomas said. “You said you respected how strong-willed she is, so go on respecting it. I’m sure she’ll be down in just a moment, and then we can be on our way.”
