Page 29 of The Duke's Last Dance
They walked in, and the modiste greeted them at the door today.
“Ah, Miss Juliet! What a pleasure to see you again, and of course, you and your mother, Lady Catherine,” the modiste said. “Are you ready to try the dresses on, Lady Catherine? I thought we could finish the session with seeing Miss Juliet in her wedding dress.”
“I am all right with that if Miss Juliet is okay with that. Her dress is the reason we came out here,” Catherine said, looking towards Juliet.
“Yes, of course. I only have one dress, but that dress has a lot more material than any of your dresses will. Best save the largest dress for last,” Juliet replied.
Catherine nodded to the modiste.
The modiste helped her try on the dresses that had been finished. She specifically looked at one dress, as that would be her dress for her debut at Almack House in a few days. It was a deep sapphire blue, since it was still wintertime. For now. There was lace on the hem of the skirt, and the hems of the sleeves had multiple layers of the same lace. The bodice was not entirely plan; instead, it had wide ribbon bows, three of them, down the middle with a soft pearl-white button in the middle of each bow. The top of the bodice had a small lace trim, meant to keep her cleavage from being too much for Almack House, but enough to attract some interest.
That was the entire point of a dress at Almack House; it was to draw attention to yourself. It did not matter what you were wearing underneath it if no one noticed the dress.
It was a little more old-fashioned, but the modiste assured her that it was of the best fashion right now. That reassurance helped Catherine feel better about letting the modiste take the stylistic lead on all the dresses.
The rest of the dresses fit as expected, since they had all been made using the same measurements. They were all different patterns, though, which was why the modiste had her try on the three finished dresses.
The other dresses were both lighter in color, meant for the spring Season. One was a beautiful light blue while the other was a light lavender color. Both had plenty of lace, buttons, and other trimmings meant to make the dresses beautiful and draw attention to themselves. The lavender one had matching gloves, as it was meant to be a promenade dress, and the lighter blue one was a ballgown. It had a full skirt, and Catherine thought that one looked most daring on her.
When she was done, all attention turned to Juliet. The modiste had her step into the fitting room, and then helped her get into the wedding dress. Catherine and her mother excitedly spoke of what the dress might look like.
When Miss Juliet walked out to show everyone, there was a collective gasp from her and her mother.
Miss Juliet looked beautiful. The white fabric shone around her, as if she were an angel on earth. Lord Radcliff would have certainly agreed with that assessment if he were there to see how she looked. Catherine could not believe that that was the effect the dress alone could have. Once Juliet had her hair and makeup and jewelry added to the outfit, she would look more like a goddess than anything else.
“How do you like it, Miss Juliet?” The modiste started to see what she could do better, if there was anything Miss Juliet did not like about the dress.
Catherine began to wonder what it was like to be truly in love. Her brother and Miss Juliet seemed to be fully, truly in love, and she wanted to know what that felt like. True love could be found during a Season, and Miss Juliet and Edward were proof of that.
She wondered if perhaps she would find her true love this Season. It was her debut, so her hopes were not high, but she had heard of it happening. Her mother was proof that it could happen; she had met her father during her first Season, though it had taken longer for them to marry than anyone had thought it would.
Nicolas had been about to kiss her at Vauxhall Gardens, she now remembered. A kiss in the gardens, she had heard, was one of the best ways to know for certain that someone was meant for her. If it felt magical and right, then that was the person she ought to marry, if it was possible. If not, then she was better off ending a courtship before she could embarrass herself by not going through with a wedding.
She wondered what it meant that Nicolas was about to kiss her in the gardens. She had not felt anything when he pulled her closer, other than a slight discomfort at having her arm gripped tightly enough to bring her in. He had not left bruises, thankfully, but she worried that others would think her mad for not wanting to kiss him in the gardens.
Her stomach hadn’t been full of butterflies. That was the feeling she was used to having around someone she liked in that manner.
“What are you daydreaming about, Catherine?” Her mother’s voice interrupted her thoughts.
Catherine felt her cheeks coloring, and she attempted to say something. Instead, she only stuttered. It was not something she would easily recover from if Miss Juliet and the modiste had been paying attention. Luckily for her, they had not been.
The modiste had taken Juliet back into the fitting room, and it seemed that the fitting would be over soon.
“I see, well, I shall allow you to have a secret daydream for now.” Her mother smiled softly.
If her mother had known that she was daydreaming about the almost kiss that she had shared with Nicolas in the gardens, she did not even want to think about what her mother would say.
“Well, with the dress as it is and Miss Juliet as happy with it as she is, I believe one more fitting in two months will be sufficient before the wedding. If there are other alterations to be made, we can schedule more fittings then.” The modiste smiled.
“’Tis wonderful to hear that her dress is to her liking,” the countess said. “I believe that is all we need today.”
“Yes, ‘tis all.” Miss Juliet smiled widely. “Thank you for such a beautiful dress.”
“No, no, thank you for the opportunity to make the dress, Miss Juliet,” the modiste crowed.
They left the shop, and for a few seconds, Catherine was still thinking about the way Nicolas had pulled her closer to his body. Then, she stopped when she saw another man walking towards her. It took her a moment to realize who, exactly, was walking by, but it was indeed the Duke of Hestina.
“Oh, Lady Catherine, what a pleasure to see you here. I did not expect to see you while I was out today,” he said, bowing to her softly.
