Page 42 of Unmasking the Silver Heiress
It might mean nothing to him, a mere symbol to keep up appearances. She would have been utterly convinced that's all it was, if not for that inscription, tucked into a place no one else could see.
She clasped her hand against her heart and gave a shaky sigh of wonder.
She could not bear to take it off for her bath, though she knew it was silly to wear jewels into the water. Truly, she thought she may never take it off again.
* * *
Beingthat her husband was a man, Nell should have been unsurprised that he required barely any time at all to prepare for a dinner party. It was only that Nathaniel was not a man ever unconcerned with his presentation, and when one appeared in such exacting perfection on such a regular basis, it was easy to assume such beauty was the result of hours of work.
However, by the time he arrived in their rooms to change, Nell was already strapped into an assortment of overly luxurious underthings and had been victim to many serums and creams and powders upon her face, alongside a tiny smudge brush, dipped in what appeared to be soot, dabbed along her eyes.
She imagined she looked something like a grotesque porcelain doll and did not have the courage to confirm as such.
When her husband walked in, he was struck dumb for the slightest moment, hesitating at the doorway with his eyes locked on her, lips parted in surprise.
Sarah was completing the last of her hairstyle, which had required close to an hour of painstaking coiling with a heated wand. If not for the nearness of the heat, she might have fled her maid's attention straightaway, upon seeing his reaction.
Sarah was unperturbed, mumbling something of a good evening to her master between the hairpins in her teeth, her hands continuing to twist and fluff without interruption. Somehow her maid found such a task engaging, for Nell was entirely certain that she was utterly weary of it far faster than Sarah was, if indeed the girl tired at all of such things.
Nathaniel cleared his throat, giving one of his unreadable pleasant smiles and a slight bow as Nell felt her cheeks heating. He was polite to the end, wasn't he? She couldn't even think of a thing to say in greeting, instead just letting her eyes flicker shut as the last of her hair was wrested into its style.
The gown she would be wearing was spread out over their bed, though it had required neither the smoothing nor the mending Nell was accustomed to attending before a Society event. It was a creamy ivory with thin, bright red embroidery tracing images of large, abstract flowers throughout. It had a matching sash to be worn below the bust of that same vibrant crimson, and a second, smaller ribbon to be worn about the throat.
It was finer than things she'd seen worn by brides at the pulpit, and yet, compared to many of the other items now in her collection, she could not, with confidence, proclaim it the most beautiful thing she owned.
Nathaniel seemed well accustomed to dressing without the aid of a valet, and seemed unperturbed by Sarah's presence as he shrugged out of his jacket and tugged his cravat loose while a servant brought in a washbasin and necessities.
Surely he must know the way both women were watching him as he unbuttoned his waistcoat, the way their breath caught in tandem when he whipped his shirt up over his head. Still, he paid them no mind at all, instead intently focused on his task.
Sarah gave a firm tap to Nell's shoulder, indicating that she should stand, and motioned to the privacy screen that still sat in the corner of the room.
Well, it was a little silly to aim for modesty at this late juncture, but if it would prevent another woman from seeing her husband's full and considerable charms on display, she would not argue. Besides, it was an opportunity to check her appearance in the small hanging mirror in the corner, lest she realize she must scrub off the cosmetics immediately.
To her astonishment (and considerable relief), she did not immediately notice much of a difference in her appearance as she approached the aforementioned mirror. As she drew closer, she could see that her skin appeared more radiant than it usually looked, the color in her cheeks higher, and her lashes seemingly darker and more lustrous.
The fact that it was so very subtle was almost a disappointment, after all the layers of nonsense that it had taken to achieve. Still, it was not displeasing, and she found herself occupied with her reflection, listening to the splashing of Nathaniel’s hands in the washbasin, until Sarah reappeared with her gown and selected jewelry, eager to complete her work.
The gown was laced tighter than she was accustomed to, melding closely to her figure, following every nuance of the enhanced hourglass provided by her stays. The red sash was long enough to fashion into a generous bow at the midpoint of her back, and when she looked down to admire the effect, she was alarmed at how conspicuous her bosom suddenly looked, pushed up and out of the gown's square neckline.
She instinctively moved to tug it up, hooking her thumbs under the seam.
"Oh, no you don't," Sarah hissed, slapping her hands away with such speed and commitment that Nell was too stunned to argue. "It fits as it's meant to."
"Does it?" Nell replied weakly, a nervous flutter skipping through her as the pearls were pinned to her ears and the red ribbon secured around her throat. "Are you certain?"
"Absolutely certain," Sarah huffed. "Now, let me see. Yes, ma'am, you look striking. Let's show your husband."
"Nathaniel!" Nell called out in a sudden flash of panic. "Are you ... quite decent?"
There was a pause as they awaited answer, and the voice that replied was clearly amused. "Most decent, dear wife."
Sarah smiled and stepped aside to allow for Nell to exit first, though she almost wished for the blockade of another human body.
She stepped out uncertainly, her eyes lowered and her bottom lip caught between her teeth. She held the heavy fabric of the skirt in her hands, stepping into the white slippers that were awaiting her next to the fireplace, and then turned to present herself to Nathaniel.
He was silent.
He was silent for so long that she had no choice but to raise her eyes to look at him. When she did, she found her gaze caught firmly within the intensity of those chameleon's eyes, sparkling like sunlight on the ocean, reflecting the firelight from the hearth so clearly that she felt warmth encasing her from all sides.
