Page 132 of A Curse of Hope and Shadows: Part I
Dimitri buckled. “If I’ve done something wrong—”
“No, no, not at all. This is… this iswonderful.Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me,” he whispered. “Just… be happy.”
“It is, admittedly, much easier to be happy in a stunning gown…” She flitted about the room, examining every garment, marvelling at the quality, the folds in the skirts, the delicate embroidery. Finally, she stopped at a green-blue dress, frothy layers of silk and lace, with a bodice like crushed gemstones. It made her think of paintings of the sea, the jewels the rocks on the shore.
“This one,” she said.
“You can try them all on, if you like. We’re not pushed for time.”
She shook her head. She enjoyed the finery, but she already knew that none of the others would come close to the majesty of this dress. She lifted it into her arms and disappeared behind a screen.
“Does it fit?” asked Dimitri.
“Give me a minute!”
She wrestled into the skirt, pulling the bodice up to her waist and struggling with the laces. It was not a dress designed for a person to get into alone.
Adeline stuck her head around the side of the screen. “Can you er, lace me up?”
“What?”
“I can call another maid, but they might think—”
“Right. Of course.” He crept behind the screen, Adeline turning her bare back to meet his fingers. They trembled against her as he tugged on the laces, his breath gracing the back of her neck.
“This is... slightly awkward,” she breathed.
He chuckled. “Now you know why I ask Thomas to dress me now.”
She squirmed uncomfortably in the dress as he tugged on the laces.
“Too tight?”
“No, that’s fine. Step away while I finish?”
“But you’re already dressed.”
“There are a few things needed to complete the look… I was hoping to borrow some jewellery if I’m allowed?”
“Of course.”
He shuffled away, turning his back as she stepped out and moved across to the jewellery rack. Slowly, carefully, she removed the key that she had been wearing since he gave it to her, glad the chain was long enough for her to tuck it into her undergarments. She pushed it further down, hiding it completely, and found a heavy necklace of emeralds and sapphires. Her chest heaved beneath the weight.
She took off her cap, unpinned half of her hair, and let it fall about her back and shoulders. She studded the remaining braids with pins in the shape of shells and starfish, before finally moving towards the mirror.
The girl in the glass was beautiful, like a princess from a tale. More than a princess, a fairy, an enchantress—something powerful and mesmerising. She could understand, for a moment, how wealthy women could spend hours admiring themselves and trying on dresses, searching for a look that spiked this feeling in them—
But there was another reaction she wanted, more than a mirror could give her.
She tapped Dimitri on the shoulder.
“Well?” she prompted. “Do I look the part?”
The look in Dimitri’s eyes was worth more than every jewel in the room put together. “You look—you’re—beauterising.”
Adeline blinked. “What was that?”
