Page 41 of Unmasking the Silver Heiress
She knew Nate had taken note of her unchanged, boxy gowns, but he had not commented upon it. She hoped it was obvious that she did not wish to risk their perfection on mundane days of labor.
Perhaps when the house was finished and they settled into a normal state of affairs, she might wear some of her new things.
The idea of putting on those beautiful gowns for nothing more than a day about the manor gave her a queasy sort of nervousness, as though she were misbehaving by even considering such a thing. It seemed like such beautiful items should be reserved for special occasions, but there was so very much that Nathaniel had purchased, and she couldn't imagine that many special occasions arising for years.
She hadn't investigated the jewelry yet. It was in a wooden box on the vanity table in their bedroom, still secured with a ribbon and a tag bearing the jeweler's mark. She was saving the reveal for a moment when she could truly indulge in the joy of it, and examine every piece with as much indulgence as she wished. She did not wish to waste such a magical moment.
Of course, some things had to be opened right away, due to no one knowing exactly what was inside. For example, a curious little box had arrived alongside an order of toiletries, addressed to Mrs. Atlas. It was lined with stuffed satin and filled to the brim with creams and powders and pigments and pomades.
Sarah had been beside herself with excitement at this bizarre little box, fantasizing about how well she'd use the items to turn Nell into a ravishing beauty for the dinner party with the Dempierres.
It was a sweet sentiment, but Nell rather thought a few layers of rice powder would make precious little difference to any woman's appearance, lest it was caked on to the point of looking ghastly. Still, she didn't wish to dampen Sarah's fun, and perhaps, in practice, she might have some fun as well.
Running a household had always been an abstract concept for her, a thing studied in a classroom that she never thought she would need to employ. Of course, the restoration of a neglected manor is quite a bit different than day-to-day doings in a lady's townhouse, but Nell had taken to the task with true enthusiasm and enjoyment.
Watching the beauty of Meridian reveal itself, bit by bit, as the staff worked their magic on room after room was most gratifying. She thought it was rather like solving a puzzle, putting something that had gone into disarray back to rights.
She had designated the ballroom into three areas for all items on the ground floor that had been uncovered room to room. There was a corner for items to be restored, one for the things that might make for salvageable parts, and of course a pile of things that would eventually be disposed of. Mercifully, this final pile was the smallest of the three, though none of them were particularly large.
What was odd to her was thelackof general clutter that one ought to find in a home. It wasn't just knickknacks missing, but furniture, the occasional painting, and in several cases, the lighting fixtures. What sort of thief takes the time to remove a chandelier or roll up a rug? It was mysterious, to say the least.
Whatever had happened here was still a mystery to Nell, and one she felt she shouldn't question directly. She was reasonably certain that Nathaniel would answer her and be truthful if asked, but something terrible had obviously happened in this house, and her curiosity could not override her sense of compassion. It was terrible form to poke at another's pain without a bloody good reason, after all.
With the snowfall making access to the smuggler's cove less than convenient, Nathaniel decided to halt their investigation for the time being. This meant Kit was free to pursue his previous business without feeling obligated for daily stop-ins. Nell liked Kit, of course, but she had desperately wanted her husband all to herself during the last week, which was difficult to manage with Kit’s cheerful, helpful presence always at hand.
Of course, on the very day that the prospect of a private evening as a pair finally became tenable, they were expected at La Falaise for a dinner party, which could not be missed, weather and willingness notwithstanding.
Nell had never much liked these types of soirees, where she was certain to either be bored senseless or deliberately seated next to an elderly person in the hopes that she could entertain them with intelligent conversation. She knew this socialization was an important step in their mission, but she dearly wished they could simply hole up inside throughout the winter and be bothered no more.
"Will you have to speak French all night, ma'am?" Sarah wondered as the two of them selected a gown from the array of new things made by Madame Bisset.
"I'm not certain," Nell replied thoughtfully. "It is possible. Nathaniel did say that the Dempierre family primarily keeps the company of their fellow exiled countrymen. It is no matter. There were entire days at Mrs. Arlington's where we were only permitted to speak French or Greek or Latin. It was an effective exercise to accomplish fluency, even if it was deeply irritating."
"I think the white and red suits you nicely," Sarah commented, holding up one gown and then another in Nell's direction. "Though it might not be as warm as the green. It shouldn't matter much if you go directly from house to carriage to house, though."
"Whatever you prefer," Nell said with a wave of her hand. "I am hopeless at such things. Simply instruct me in your grooming rituals and I will comply."
"Well, in that case, let's get your bath drawn. Readying a lady can be a time-consuming thing, ma'am."
Nell waited until she was alone in the bedroom, with fragrant floral steam curling out of the tub, and crossed the room to retrieve the jewelry box, still bound in its ribbon. If given the choice, she would have waited to indulge in this moment, but she knew Nathaniel would consider it very odd if she went to tonight's dinner without adornment.
She sat on the bed with her dressing gown pooled out around her bare legs and tugged the knot free from the ribbon, carefully curling it around her hand and setting it aside in a neat coil. She couldn't help but hold her breath as she unhooked the latch on the little wooden box and opened it for the first time.
She wasn't sure exactly what she had been expecting. Perhaps the dizzying wealth of what they'd been cataloging in the cellar had filled her mind with a gauche pirate's chest, filled to brimming with gold and gems.
Instead, the box was neatly arranged with elegant, understated pieces that very well suited her tastes. Pearl earrings, a strand of thin, braided gold to be worn about the wrist, an assortment of inlaid brooches, and so on.
In the center of the box was a delicate golden band, inlaid with smoky blue gemstones cut into faceted circles. This was the item she could not tear her eyes from. Something about it was special, amongst the other treasures before her, and she found herself taking great care in wedging it loose from its velvet crevice and holding it up to the light.
It sparkled, casting the tiniest of aquamarine prisms onto her fingers. If she hadn't held it up to inspect it so closely, she would have missed the engraving on the inner cusp, a simple calligraphy depicting two interlocking versions of the letter N.
Nathaniel and Nell.
This was her wedding ring.
She drew it onto her finger with only a slight trembling of her grasp, certain that before it could be arranged into place, this dream would be torn from her and cast into the harsh light of reality. Surely this wasn't truly happening, not to dowdy and invisible Eleanor Applegate!
And yet, there the ring sat, refusing to vanish in a puff of smoke or dissolve into the intangibility of dreams; proof of not only her marriage to a man she had admired from afar, but of his devotion to that marriage.
