Page 16 of Snowbound with the Scoundrel
She started as she caught sight of herself in the mirror.The wrapper was a soft pink, the same shade as peonies.After two years of wearing nothing but brown, taupe, and walnut, she was unaccustomed to seeing herself in such a bright color.
Clarissa had started wearing her signature dirt-colored dresses, as her sisters called them, in the aftermath of her jilting.She’d been receiving quite enough attention, thank you very much, and anything that made her stand out was something she desired to avoid.
But now, her brown wardrobe was a key to her success as a spy.She literally blended into the castle’s wood-paneled walls!It was amazing how little attention people paid to a woman thought of as dowdy, and Clarissa had overheard all variety of secrets over the years.
She was counting on doing it again this week.
There was a soft knock at the door.“Come in,” Clarissa called, assuming it might be a maid.
It proved to be three maids, along with a smiling young lady with dark hair and dimples.“You must be Miss Weatherby!Did I awaken you?I hope I didn’t awaken you.But it will be time to dress for dinner soon, so I thought I ought to bring over a few gowns.I’m Emily, by the by.”
Clarissa curtseyed.“Lady Emily, it is a pleasure.I cannot thank you enough for lending me a few gowns until my wardrobe catches up with me.”
Lady Emily seized her hand.“It is the least I could do!I cannot imagine your distress, for your wardrobe to be goodness knows where.It is a tragedy of the first order!”
Clarissa hadn’t given the matter much thought.To be sure, now that she was sister-in-law to a duke, she had a wardrobe of new dresses cut in the most fashionable styles, if not the most fashionable colors.
But Clarissa had never been one to pay much mind to her wardrobe.Still, she didn’t want to be disagreeable, so she replied, “Oh, er… Yes.Yes, indeed.”
Lady Emily gestured for the maids, who each bore a heavy armful of dresses, to lay their burdens out on the bed.
That was when Clarissa noticed the problem.
There were gowns of pink and yellow and blue.Celadon green and orange sorbet.Vivid reds and brilliant purples.
But there wasn’t a trace of brown to be seen.
“What do you think about this one?”Lady Emily asked, pulling out a gown of bright fuchsia silk adorned withcrystals.It was all Clarissa could do not to gasp in horror.
“Oh!It’s lovely,” Clarissa said.And it was.Her youngest sister, Pippa, would have looked wonderful in it.“But I don’t usually wear such bright colors.”
Lady Emily took this in stride.“Oh.All right, then.”She sifted through one of the piles.“I have just the thing—this one is a bit more demure.”
The gown she held out was of emerald-green velvet with a daring neckline.While the color was an improvement over the pink, Clarissa had a feeling it would draw even more stares.
Peering at the stack of dresses, Clarissa asked, “You wouldn’t have anything in a nice shade of brown?”
“Brown?Gracious, no!”Lady Emily shook her head so hard, you would have thought Clarissa had asked if she had a burlap sack she could borrow.“I don’t have anything likethat!Brown is for spinsters and dowagers.”
Clarissa chuckled awkwardly.“Which is why I wear it.I am five and twenty.Very firmly on the shelf.”
Lady Emily gifted her with a glowing smile.“Not after I’m through with you!We’re going to make you the belle of the ball.Just you wait, Miss Clarissa!”
The belle of the ball?Clarissa felt slightly ill.She had to blend into the wallpaper!“Oh, that’s all right.I honestly don’t want to be the belle of the ball.”
“Don’t be so modest.”Putting her hands on Clarissa’s shoulders, Lady Emily propelled her with surprising force to the cheval mirror.“Leave everything to me!”
Clarissa’s sputtering protests were bowled over by a tidal wave of benevolence.Lady Emily was determined to show her that she could be beautiful, but how to explain that she did notwantto be beautiful?
As bright dress after bright dress was held up to her in the mirror, Clarissa began to panic.“If not brown, do you have something in black or grey?Perhaps a nice olive—”
“I have it!”Lady Emily cried, digging through one of the piles of gowns on the bed.When she spun around, she clutched a gown of bright, cherry-red silk.
Clarissa took an involuntary step back—the way most people did when confronted by a large, hairy spider.
“I daresay that this one will flatter youto perfection,” Lady Emily said, bearing down on her with a look of absolute assurance.
“I don’t… I couldn’t possibly…” Clarissa spluttered.
