Page 68 of Married to a Frozen Duke
"How many dinners can one person attend?"
"As many as society requires, Your Grace."
Which sounded ominous.
The fitting took two hours. By the end, Ophelia had been pinned, prodded, and discussed into exhaustion. But they promised at least two morning dresses by the next day, which meant she wouldn't have to wear borrowed clothes much longer.
After the seamstresses left, Mary helped her arrange her hair into something more duchess-appropriate than the simple knot she'd managed at the inn. There wasn't much to work withbecause there were no ornaments, no jewellery, just pins and determination.
"Your Grace looks lovely," Mary said when she'd finished.
Ophelia looked in the mirror. She looked like a servant with pretensions, but she smiled at Mary anyway. "Thank you. You're very skilled."
Mary beamed. "My mum was a lady's maid before she married. She taught me."
"Well, she taught you well."
A knock at the connecting door made them both jump.
"Come in," Ophelia called, and Alexander entered.
He'd transformed back into himself—perfectly dressed, freshly shaved, every inch the duke. The contrast between them was almost painful. He looked like what he was, while she looked like what she'd been mistaken for.
"The seamstresses?" he asked.
"Came and conquered. I'm to have morning dresses tomorrow."
"Good." He paused, clearly having come for a purpose but uncertain how to proceed. "Dinner is at eight. We don't dress for dinner when it's just family."
"We don't have family here."
"No, I mean... never mind. What I'm trying to say is, you don't need to change for dinner."
"How fortunate, since I can't."
He winced slightly. "Right. I didn't think..."
"It's fine. I'm getting used to being under-dressed. It's becoming my signature style."
"Ophelia..."
"Really, it's fine. Where do we dine?"
"The family dining room. It's smaller than the formal one."
"How small?"
"It only seats twelve."
"Only twelve. How cozy."
"Mrs. Morrison will show you down."
"You're not escorting me?"
He looked uncomfortable. "I have correspondence to attend to. About the wedding. The announcements and... other things."
Other things meaning damage control, probably. She wondered what society was saying about their disaster of a wedding. Nothing good, certainly.
