Page 28 of Enticed By an Earl
Luck was in their favor. The plain but pretty blue gown in question fit almost perfectly as soon as Kit slipped into it. Miss Jones worked quickly to mark certain areas where it needed to be taken in and a few where the seams needed to be let out to ensure its perfect fit. She also fitted him with a corset, chemise, drawers, stockings, and other necessities, promising that she would obtain more for him so that he did not have to run the risk of exposure when purchasing them from a specialist.
It was all something of a whirlwind, but four hours after Lord Castleton entered Mr. Wilkes’s tailor’s shop, Miss Kitty Dryden left in her new finery out the front door of Miss Jones’s modiste’s shop.
“I cannot thank you enough for this,” Kitty said, finding it easy to speak as softly as the persona of Kitty required as she said goodbye to her new friends. She touched the bonnet that hid the shortness of her hair, then reached for Miss Jones’s hand. “You may have quite literally saved my life.”
“It is a life worth saving,” Wilkes said, nodding to Kitty the way any reasonable gentleman would nod to a lady. “And you know that you can rely on us for absolutely anything.”
“I do,” Kitty said, smiling.
“Would you like me to send the rest of your gowns to your address or do you wish to retrieve them yourself once they are finished?” Miss Jones asked with a proud smile.
“I should like to call on you again,” Kitty said. “Perhaps as a friend as well as a customer?”
“I would not have it any other way,” Miss Jones said, and with her country manners, she stepped forward and hugged Kitty tightly.
It was the most encouraging thing she could have done and it left Kitty feeling as though she truly could make the transformation that she longed to make. So much so that when she allowed the driver of the same carriage that had dropped her at Wilkes’s shop to hand her into the carriage, she gave the man Lady Everly’s address instead of bidding him take her back to the mistress apartment.
Lady Everly lived deeper in the heart of Mayfair than Gilbert Street, and as Kitty watched streets that she knew well pass, her anxiety about being caught in her new life grew. She was trembling with worry by the time the driver helped her alight from the carriage in front of Lady Everly’s house and as she walked up to the front door.
Kitty had a moment of panic when Horner opened the door and stared at her “May I help you?” the man asked.
Before Kitty could answer, Horner recognized her and his eyes went wide.
“Is Lady Everly at home?” Kitty asked, her voice thin and wispy.
“I—” Horner closed his mouth and cleared his throat. “She is, my lo—er, she is. Do come in.”
Kitty was beyond relieved when Horner ushered her into the house and closed the door behind her. She knew the way to Lady Everly’s private study as well as she knew anything, but she followed as if it were the first time she had ever visited her friend. To her, as Kitty, it felt like it was.
When she reached the parlor, she was both relieved and anxious to find Georgiana and Alice already there, as if it were any other day of calling. All three of her friends glanced to the doorway as Horner stepped inside and cleared his throat, saying, “You have a visitor, my lady.”
“Oh!” Alice nearly jumped out of her seat, clapping a hand to her chest and almost spilling the tea she held as she did. “Kit—Miss Kitty Dryden!”
Kitty knew at once that she had done the right thing by coming to her friends. As soon as Horner bowed and left, Georgiana and Alice jumped up and rushed to greet her.
“We have been worried sick about you,” Georgiana said, grasping her hand and staring at her for a moment before deciding to pull her close for a hug.
“Rumors are beginning to spread that you are missing and perhaps dead,” Alice said, drawing Kitty into a hug when Georgiana was finished.
It was blissful and encouraging. Her friends did not meet her with questions or censure, they embraced her as though nothing at all had changed.
“As you can see, I am not dead nor am I missing,” she told them, “but it was a close thing.”
“Oh, but youaremissing,” Lady Everly said with a broad smile, standing more sedately and coming over to greet Kitty with a kiss to her cheek, the way she’d seen her greet Georgiana and Alice many times before. “Or rather, Lord Castleton is missing.”
“What has happened? Where have you been these last few days?” Alice asked, leading Kit to the sofa and sitting with her. “This is a pretty gown,” she observed before Kitty could answer.
“So many things have happened,” Kitty said, removing her bonnet. She patted her hair nervously, knowing full well it was too short to suit her new life.
Lady Everly seemed to sense her anxiety. “I have hair pieces and perhaps even an old wig that you may borrow until your own hair grows, my dear,” she said before Kitty could even begin her explanation. “And I know of an incredibly discreet gentleman who would be willing to make more for you.”
“Thank you from the bottom of my heart,” Kitty said.
“Am I to understand that you will be Kitty all of the time now?” Georgiana asked.
“He will. Or rather, she will.”
The response came from none other than Dev, who Horner was just showing into the room.
