Page 80 of Not Quite a Lady
‘Ihadnoticed that, but there are none here.’
She had his interest, Lily realised. He was no longer playing games.
‘But there were. Look at this tapestry.’ She moved to one side and indicated a hanging. It was muted, mostly greens and browns, dull yellows and deep reds.
‘Have you never looked at the back?’ She flipped up the corner, revealing the almost un-faded original colours, glowing like jewels.
‘Imagine the walls, hung with these when they were new. The armour gleaming silver, the torches in their sconces, the firelight, the banners fluttering.’
‘Lily, you are a romantic, I had not realised it.’
‘Yes,’ she conceded, knowing he was teasing, but choosing to take it seriously. ‘I am. But I am also a realist. Sometimes those two things clash and, when they do, chasing the romantic dream is usually a foolish thing to do.
‘Sometimes it takes me a little while to realise what is possible and what is not, but I get there in the end.’ She made herself hold his gaze steadily, praying that the message she was trying to send showed, and not the love and the yearning under it.
‘Touché,Lily,’ Jack murmured as Lady Allerton came up to them.
‘We were just talking about romance,’ Lily explained brightly.‘Knights, and battlements and banners waving.’
‘That, or we were duelling,’ Jack added, earning him a puzzled look from his mother and a sharp glance from Lily.
It would never do to underestimate Jack Lovell.
‘What have you all been doing this afternoon?’ he asked as his sisters joined them.
‘Gloating over the lovely dress lengths you brought us, and turning out all the pieces and trimmings we have squirreled away. Lily looked at the latest fashion plates with us – she had some more in her own luggage as well – and has been making suggestions.’ Susan was still overflowing with excitement about the experience.
Lily met Jack’s eye and said earnestly, ‘I have recommended purchasing considerably more trimmings, a number of sprays of artificial flowers and practising appliqué work, ruching and French pleating for hems. I think padded and quilted hems might be a little difficult to attempt at home, but might be tried.’
This provocation appeared to be working, so she added, ‘I think the muslins you brought are a little plain, if you don’t mind me saying so, all those creams and pastels. I recommend having them dyed. Strong yellows, hotter pinks and bright blues would all be excellent. And of course, the use of gold and silver lamé.’
‘Over my dead body are you parading yourselves–’
Penelope burst into giggles, and the other two girls laughed.
‘Jack, Lily is teasing you. She has been making the most lovely sketches for us, showing what the gowns in the fashion plates look like with most of the ornamentation removed,’ Caroline explained.
‘Lily says that noladywould appear hung around and bedizened in that way, they just show them like that for impact.’
Lily, conscious that her evening dress had been pared down to elegant simplicity by Janet’s skilful hands, met Jack’s eyes with an expression of limpid innocence. She should have knownbetter.
‘I really cannot pretend to understand the rules of female fashion,’ Jack confessed, taking his mother’s arm as Grimswade announced dinner.
He waited until the ladies had settled around the table before taking his place at the head and shaking out his napkin. ‘Does this rule about simplicity not apply to riding habits? Because I am sure I recall a most striking garment of yours, Miss France.’
‘Indeed.’ Lily could feel herself colouring up. ‘That was an extreme of fashion, I will admit, and probably an error of judgement in retrospect.’
‘I thought it most attractive,’ Jack observed blandly, gesturing for Grimswade to start serving. ‘But then, what do I know?’
‘Do describe it, Miss France,’ Lady Allerton interjected.
‘It is a sea-green superfine, with a very long skirt,’ Lily said, not meeting Jack’s eyes.
‘Go on,’ urged Susan.
‘Completely plain in the skirt. The bodice fastens with several rows of frogging after the military fashion and there is a little bolero jacket. And the sleeves have epaulettes and more frogging.’
‘Do not, whatever you do, omit the hat,’ Jack urged.
