Page 18 of Claiming His Lost Duchess
And so, against her better judgment, she nodded slowly.
“Fine. I will do as you asked.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
“Mama, you look pretty!”
Joan twirled slightly in front of the mirror, smiling at the way her dress shimmered softly beneath the light. The pale blue fabric suited her greatly, and it made her eyes shine, and perhaps that was why she was looking forward to attending the ball tonight.
Although she has resigned herself to doing whatever Georgina asked her — within reason — she was not keen on making such a public appearance at a large event such as a ball. And as the night drew closer, her anxiety threatened to consume her.
Then she remembered that her uncle had passed.
Somehow, it was still gradually dawning on her that the figure that had haunted most of her childhood and even her nightmares for weeks after she had run away was gone and would never return to harm her.
And for the first time in years, Joan put extra care into getting herself ready for an occasion. She used to give only the barest of efforts to her appearance, focusing on tidiness and not beauty, in a bid to thwart her uncle’s looks and attention.
Now, she did not have to. She had nothing to fear anymore.
And gradually, the anxiousness that had been filling her lungs began to fade, replaced by excitement.
“Do you really think so?” she asked her daughter, beaming fondly at the girl as she ran her little fingers over Joan’s dress.
Sophia nodded seriously, as though she had been asked a very important question, her reaction making her mother giggle.
“Thank you, darling. I feel quite lovely too.”
She had worn her favorite dress, put her hair up using jeweled pins that belonged to her mother, and applied some rouge to her cheeks. She felt… truly alive. Buzzing with energy that she hadn't felt since she was a little girl.
“Can I come with you, Mama?”
At Sophia’s request, Joan’s heart was pricked by a twinge of sadness.
“Oh my love, not tonight. But one day, you and I shall go to a ball together and I’ll dance with you as many times as you want.”
“Promise?” Sophia asked, holding her hand up to her mother, her eyes bearing a brighter sparkle than Joan’s dress and jewels.
The child could never really seem to recall which fingers were used to make promises, so she often held out a hand, leaving it up to her mother to link their pinkie fingers together. Once their fingers were locked together, Joan bent over and placed a kiss on Sophia’s head.
“Listen to what the maid says, all right? Be a good girl for me.”
Sophia nodded, tightening her grip around her mother's for a moment as she declared, “I promise!”
They left the room together like that, fingers intertwined as they made their way down to the foyer.
Georgina was already standing there, muttering impatiently as some servants fussed around her. When she caught sight of Joan, a look crossed her face, and she exhaled,
“Good, you’re ready. We should leave now or we’ll be late. Come along, cousin.”
“Just a moment!” Joan called after her cousin, who was ready to leave, given how she already had one foot out of the door.
She gently cupped Sophia’s cheeks with her hands and told her daughter softly,
“I’ll be back before you know it. All right, poppet?”
Sophia nodded and hugged Joan’s legs.
“I'll wait for you, Mama.”
