“Come in,” I greeted her, rising from the chair. “I was just writing to my sister to let her know I’ve arrived safely.” I stuffed the letter into the envelope lest Dauphine spot any of my musings toward her son.
“I can take that for you,” she offered, sliding the envelope across the desk toward her.
“Oh, I haven’t sealed it yet,” I began, but she spoke over me with an easy smile.
“It’s no trouble. I’ll have Bastian do that before he takes the rest of the correspondence into town.”
Before I could protest, my letter was tucked away into the depths of her skirts.
“We missed you last night. And this morning,” she added, her brow twisting with concern. “Alexander told me about the peacocks scaring you. I’m so terribly sorry I forgot to mention them. I hope your night wasn’t too awful?”
I knew she expected me to assuage her guilt. “No harm done.”
“And…I thought it might be fun for us to go into town tomorrow? You’ve been working so hard, with the portrait and all of Gerard’s silly flowers, surely a break is in order. I thought we might have lunch, visit some of the shops? We could leave after breakfast.”
“That sounds…” I paused, searching for the right word. It was certainly unexpected. I’d only just arrived and had assumed Dauphine would want me to complete my commission as soon as possible.
“Oh, please say yes,” she continued on as if she’d not heard my hesitation. “I’m cooped up here with all of these men and…Marguerite.” She gave me a knowing, wicked smile. “It would be wonderful to spend some time with you.”
After a moment, I nodded. “I would enjoy that, Dauphine. Thank you.”
She smiled, brightening the air around her. “Oh, thrilling! I’ll let the coachmen know. How is the portrait coming along?”
“Very well, I think. I started a first attempt this morning, just to get a feel for the pose. We still need to find the right location.”
Dauphine nodded. “Alexander told me how much he’s enjoyed being in your company.”
I thought of his fingers closed around my wrist and my cheeks heated. “He makes for a wonderful subject.”
She twisted the set of rings on her left hand, their jewels sparkling even in the late afternoon light. “He’s such a dear boy. I’m glad he has someone new to talk with. I’m afraid he doesn’t get much company here. Especially from young ladies, such as yourself.”
“No?” I mused. “I would have thought—”
Dauphine shook her head and her earrings—giant emerald orbs—bobbed back and forth. “Alexander is quite particular about who he allows into his life. He had a very solitary childhood. After the accident, I was so scared of what else might happen to him, I did everything I could to keep him safe. Perhaps I was a bit overzealous.”
“I understand how that feels, being so isolated while growing up.”
“Of course you do,” she exclaimed. “Highmoor is the only estate on your island, isn’t it?”
“Our closest neighbors are a three-hour boat ride away. In good weather,” I added.
Her forehead creased with concern. “I’m sure both of you have much in common, then. You’re sure to be close companions in no time.”
“I…I hope so.”
Dauphine smiled. “I do too.”
* * *
“That shade of blue is all wrong for you,” the shop assistant said, removing a swatch of fabric from under my face.
“But I’ve always liked—”
“No, no. It’s too at odds with your skin tone. See?”
She held up the satin again, pointing toward a mirror edged in golden swans and showers of gilt petals. Her expression curdled with horror.
“I think it looks nice.”
The young woman shook her head and whisked the fabric away as though she thought I might try to wrestle it from her.
Dauphine offered me a smile of commiseration. Dress sketches littered the tufted chaise around her.
“Is it always so stressful here?” I whispered, lest the shop assistant overhear me.
“Only when you dare to have the wrong opinion,” she murmured, tittering with amusement. “That blue did wash you out.”
“This isn’t necessary,” I said, stepping down from the dais. “I don’t need a new dress. Certainly nothing as fancy as all these.” I took a seat at the other end of the chaise, flipping through the cast-off designs.
They were all ridiculously over the top—skirts poofed and bolstered by dozens of yards of trim, shoulders so accentuated by sharp angles that the wearer would look more reptilian than woman, bodices drowning in paillettes and paste jewels.
“Every woman is always in need of a new dress,” Dauphine insisted. “This is my favorite salon in Bloem and I want you to have a little piece of it when you go home.” She sighed as if the thought pained her. “Where will you go to next, after the portrait is done?”
I hadn’t fully contemplated life past the Laurents’ commission. I wasn’t sure Camille would welcome me back to Highmoor with open arms and even less sure I wanted to return there myself.
But there was nowhere else to go. Mercy lived in a sprawling set of rooms at the palace but her residence was only by the favor of the king. It wasn’t as if the apartment was hers to lend out to wayward family members in their time of need. Honor was in the same situation as a live-in governess, and there had hardly been enough room for Annaleigh and Cassius in their cottage on Hesperus even before their colicky baby arrived.
Mentally, I counted up the scant number of my remaining florettes tucked into one of my valises back at Chauntilalie.
“We’ll certainly miss you,” she added when it became clear that I had no answer for her.
“I will miss you as well.”
“I wonder if…” She paused thoughtfully, then shook her head as if chastising herself.
“What?”
“A mother’s silly daydream, nothing more.”
I recalled Camille’s initial response to Dauphine’s letter, assuming she wanted Mercy to come stay with them, to arrange a match between Alex and my sister.
I would have thought a young man as attractive and as charming as Alex would have had a list of eligible girls lined up for the chance to hang off his arm but Dauphine had said how particular he was, how isolated he kept himself.
Perhaps Camille had been right.
Perhaps the Laurents were in search of a wife for their son.
I wasn’t opposed to an arranged match. Marriages—especially between noble families—were almost always the result of the parents’ careful planning. Just because I no longer had mine didn’t mean my future couldn’t be just as deliberately arranged…
“You look very deep in thought, my dear,” Dauphine said, interrupting the battle raging in my mind and heart. “Is everything all right?”
I pushed my tongue against the sharp point of my incisor, feeling the importance of the moment before me. I could say nothing, let her dress me up in an ostentatious gown that would only ever be sent back to Highmoor to sit in an armoire and undoubtedly never see the light of day. Camille certainly wouldn’t let me out of her sight again upon my return.