by Jade Lee
How many days lately had she looked at the girl and shaken her head, wondering how she would survive? A woman alone with a baby? At least she was getting work now with Helaine, but that was precious little income at the moment. Barely enough for food, but not for anything else. Now that could be Helaine. Increasing while she tried to speak with clients. Trying to nurse a child while sketching dress designs. It couldn’t work.
“’Ey, now! Sit down. Sit down.” That was Wendy, her long fingers catching her arm. Penny rushed to her other side, and soon they guided her to a chair. She collapsed into it, her body unable to do more than stare at the floor. What was she going to do?
“Mrs. Mortimer?” Penny crouched down in front of her. “Do you need some water? Are you dizzy? What’s—”
Helaine gripped the girl’s arm. “How do you do it? A babe and no family? How do you face the day?”
Penny blinked, her expression shifting from concern through confusion only to end with a resigned shrug. “I have you,” she answered honestly. “This work and your mother.”
“But we’re not enough.” She looked to her mother. “Not nearly enough.”
Her mother understood. Helaine could see it in her eyes, the fear and the confidence all mixed together. But in the end, she appeared resolved as she lifted Tommy into her arms. “Of course we’re enough,” she said firmly. “Right here, we’re four strong women with a place of business. Of course we’re enough.”
“But—”
“No buts, Helaine. We are enough. You are enough.”
It was then that Wendy caught on. Her eyes widened, and she touched Helaine’s arm. “Coo, you went and did it.”
Helaine nodded.
“And was it everthing you thought?”
Her mouth curved into a smile as she remembered. “More. It was so much more.”
And then Penny figured it out. “With his lordship? Redhill?” She let out a low whistle. “He’s a handsome one. And he’ll take good care of you and a babe.”
“At the time, I wasn’t thinking about a child,” she whispered. Truthfully, she hadn’t been thinking much at all except that it all felt so wonderful.
Meanwhile, her mother patted her hand. “We’re looking too far ahead. There isn’t any baby yet.”
“But what if there is?”
Penny released a light trill of laughter. It was surprising really how carefree the sound was. Given everything she faced in life, she sounded so lighthearted. Enough that it caught Helaine’s attention. But before she could ask what was so funny, Penny answered.
“Never ask that.”
“What?”
“That’s how I get by. I never ask, ‘what if.’ I always ask, ‘what is.’” She smiled. “So are you pregnant now?”
“I don’t know.”
“Then don’t ask. Ask what is the problem today.”
It sounded like ridiculous advice to Helaine, but a moment later it was clear that Penny hadn’t intended it as advice. One look at Wendy’s face and she saw that there was a problem today.
“What happened?”
Wendy snorted. “That baroness and her sister happened, that’s what.”
Helaine frowned. “Lady Gwen’s future in-laws?”
Penny nodded. “They’ve changed their minds on everything. Different colors, different styles, different shoes. Everything.” She pointed to a different side of the workroom where a pile of fabrics and sketches lay scattered about. It was the baroness’s pile and apparently it had all changed.
Helaine pushed up to her feet, her mind wholly distracted. “Why would they do that?”
“We don’t know,” said Penny. “That’s today’s problem—”
“And wot we need you to find out,” said Wendy. Then she corrected herself before anyone else could. “What you need to find out.”
Helaine frowned, mentally working through the different dress designs that had already been selected. “They want more frills, more bows, don’t they? Brighter colors—”
“And gems and lace everywhere.”
Helaine groaned. “That will look awful on them.”
“We know!” said both Wendy and Penny at the exact same time.
“All right,” Helaine said as she pushed to her feet. Her fears had lost their grip. Penny was right. As far as she knew, she wasn’t pregnant now. So she would deal with today’s problem. And that meant heading off certain fashion disasters before they happened. “Do you have any of their gowns ready?”
“One each.”
“And how long for you to make five big bows of loud colors?”
Penny and Wendy glanced at each other. “Fifteen minutes,” they said almost at the same instant.
“Do it. And I’ll wrap up the dresses. I will do what we did with Francine. Dress them up how they want, then do it how I want.”
“Will it work, you think?”
Helaine bit her lip, running over all her experiences with the entire party, including Gwen. “I think so,” she finally said. “I think they are bored and looking for fun wherever they can.”
“So you’ll set them to rights?” asked her mother. “Before they drive all of us to distraction?”
Helaine shrugged. “I can certainly try.”
And then after it was done, she would have a long conversation with Robert. Whether or not she was pregnant, they had to make provisions for the future. Or take measures to prevent it. Either way, it required a quiet tête-à-tête with him. And given the way the last one ended, she was abruptly very interested in getting on with her day. The sooner she finished with Gwen’s relations, the sooner she could find some very private time with Robert.
Chapter 22
By the time Robert made it home, he almost wished he hadn’t. Dribbs met him at the door with a look of long suffering. Robert was about to ask what the problem was when he heard the noise. Women’s chatter. Loud, continuous, and on the edge of contentious. A gaggle of geese made less noise.
“What happened?” he asked. Good Lord, he had to raise his voice just so Dribbs could hear him.
“Wardrobe adjustments were requested. Designs have been altered. Colors discussed. And every maid in the house has been commandeered to assist.”
“Really?”
Dribbs took care as he set Robert’s gloves and hat on the stand. “All the maids from next door have joined as well.” Then there was the sound of running feet down the back staircase. “I believe that is Lady Westland’s dresser.”
Robert frowned. “Lady Westland? From down the street?”
“Indeed.”
“That’s a lot of women.”
Dribbs didn’t need to answer. His expression was more than enough to convey his opinion.
“Never fear,” Robert said as much to reassure himself as Dribbs. “The wedding is two weeks away. They shall all be gone after that.”
“Really?” Dribbs returned. “I thought they intended to stay for the Season.”
Robert thought back. Oh, yes, that was true. “Well, yes, but they won’t be in this house.”
“I believe they mentioned parties with your mother. I believe,” he added, giving Robert a baleful eye, “that you encouraged the idea.”
Oh, right. That was also true. “Er, well, yes. But the Season won’t last forever. It’ll be over in…in…”
“Seven weeks and three days. Unless it rains on the day of their departure. The baroness has declared she despises traveling on rainy days.”
“Ah. Well, then I suppose I will pray for sun.”
“As will we all, my lord.”
Robert hid his grin as he moved down the hallway. Usually he would head straight for the library, but today he paused, then headed up the stairs instead. He couldn’t actually hear Helaine’s voice amid the general noise, but he had to see her. The need was growing stronger every second that he waited.
He never made it to the door. There were too many women peering inside the upstairs parlor. Maids he’d never seen before, all talking. It r
eminded him of a cockfight with everyone shoving and straining to see. Except that it was inside his house and everyone was female. And presumably, at the very center were not two aggressive birds, but his relations and Helaine.
Fortunately, his status as owner of the house bought him some breathing room. The onlookers magically melted away from him, though he did detect a few resentful glares. Eventually he made it through the door, though not much farther before Gwen hissed at him.
“Robert! Mind your step!”
He froze with one foot raised then looked down. There wasn’t a bare space of floor or furniture in sight. He slowly set his foot backward, forcing him to stand with one foot inside the room and the other outside. But it was enough to give him a good look around.
He counted no less than seven women with perhaps a half dozen others who appeared to be women, though it was hard to tell given that they were buried under mounds of fabric. All he could see was a few mobcaps and round eyes. In the middle of it all stood the dowager baroness, Gwen’s future mother-in-law. She wore a gown that might have been dark red, except that it was buried beneath the drape of three huge black bows. They were so huge, they looked like crows. And on top of it all, the woman wore a monstrosity of a hat.
“My lord!” the woman trilled. “I am so glad you are here! What we need is a man’s opinion.”
Gwen groaned, the sound carrying loudly despite the muffling effect of so much fabric. “Pray not Robert. He hasn’t—”
“No, I think a man’s point of view is just what we need,” came a voice. A beautiful voice. Helaine’s voice.
Robert scanned the room, searching desperately for her in this blinding mess of fabrics. He saw the aunt and the younger sister and more maids, but no Helaine. Until finally she appeared, popping out from behind the huge hat. “Over here, my lord.”
He finally saw her, and his heart swelled. Good Lord, she was beautiful. But tired. He could see it in her eyes. She was tired. And no wonder, given what they had been doing at all hours last night and this morning.
“Mrs. Mortimer,” he said, doing his best to keep his voice neutral. But it was so hard when all he wanted to do was sweep her into his arms and carry her back to bed. “I didn’t see you behind that…behind the…I didn’t see you there.”
“Well, yes. Here I am, and I believe we desperately need your opinion.” Then she turned to the dowager baroness, forcing the woman around to face Robert. “There you go. Now, Lord Redhill, what do you think of this gown?”
He arched a brow. He was supposed to give a polite answer to that? “Um, I am not really counted a leader in fashion.”
“Nonsense!” snapped Helaine from where she stood behind the baroness. “You can give your honest opinion of this.”
He looked back at the gown, then up to Helaine. It took him a moment to realize she was grimacing at him. Trying to tell him something. But what? Oh! She was grimacing. He was supposed to say it looked ugly? But how could he say that about a woman’s gown?
“Well,” he began, “I do think…I mean…it is not really to my tastes.”
“It is the bows, isn’t it?” asked the baroness.
He glanced at Helaine, who was nodding. “Oh, yes,” he said. “The bows are—”
“The wrong color, aren’t they? Too dark. What about an orange? Would that be better?”
Behind her, Helaine was shaking her head.
“Er, no,” he said. “I’m afraid I don’t think the color is the problem.”
Helaine smiled.
“Perhaps it’s the size—”
Helaine’s eyes widened in horror.
“No, no!” he gasped before the baroness could say anything. “It’s not the size. It’s that…well…”
Helaine was mimicking something. Her hands were rising up. As if getting taller? Looking to the sky? Oh! Lifting off!
“Do you know, I believe no bows would be perfect. Can I see the gown without the bows?”
Helaine gifted him with a beaming smile. Good Lord, but she struck him dumb when she did that. Meanwhile, another woman began unpinning the bows, only to reveal a wrap of lace underneath.
“What about the lace, my lord?” asked the baroness.
He glanced at Helaine, who again mimicked taking something off.
“Oh, no,” he drawled. “I’m afraid that’s much too…too…”
“Too little?” asked the baroness hopefully.
Helaine was shaking her head.
“Too much,” he said. “Pray remove that as well.”
The baroness actually pouted a bit, but she dutifully lifted her arms while the lace was removed. And then there she stood, an elegant woman in a simple gown of deepest red.
“Absolutely stunning,” he breathed. Only to be stopped short as Helaine furiously shook her head and pointed to the hat. “Oh, wait!” he cried. “Take off that hat. It’s hideous, you know.”
Helaine’s mouth dropped open in shock. Beside him, Gwen gasped in horror. Even the ladies behind him tsked like clucking hens. He looked desperately at Helaine. Did she want him to say the hat was lovely?
“Er, perhaps it’s growing on me.”
If his love looked horrified before, now she was practically apoplectic.
“No, no! Not growing on me. I mean…well, I…I don’t like hats! Not at all!”
Helaine stared at him as if he had lost his mind. As did, coincidentally, everyone else in the room. He didn’t dare look behind him to see what the maids thought.
“That is, er…”
Thankfully, Helaine was able to help. “I believe his lordship is saying that as a rule, gentlemen don’t like hats on ladies. They’re usually taller, you know. And so spend a great deal of time avoiding the feathers and such.”
“Yes,” he said much too enthusiastically. “That’s it exactly.”
Then, lest he feel he had successfully navigated the treacherous waters of female fashion, Gwen was there to puncture his ego. “Oh, leave off, Robert. You have said quite enough, thank you.”
Robert turned at his sister’s sharp tone. It wasn’t unusual for her to poke fun at him, but there was an extra bite to her words. “Gwen,” he began, but she waved him away.
“Go, go. You have no business being here anyway.”
“I…,” he began. He could hardly say that he wanted to talk to Helaine. That he wanted to see her again, then whisk her away to another glorious night of exploration. In the end, he executed a stiff bow. “Ladies, I can see that I am de trop.”
Meanwhile, the baroness turned back to him, her eyes as tragic as her tone. “Do you truly not like any hat, my lord?”
He glanced back to Helaine for guidance, but she was occupied with avoiding the flop of what he believed were ostrich feathers and so could not guide him. In the end, he opted for simple honesty.
“Baroness, your skin is clear, your eyes quite pretty. And even your mouth, if I may be so bold, is very expressive. Without you even saying a word, I can tell when you are happy or sad or disapproving or delighted. Why ever would I want to look at ostrich feathers or lace or bows when I could see your face?”
The baroness gaped at him. Helaine, too, straightened up with a look of shocked gratitude on her face. And even Gwen released a gasp of surprise. He didn’t know if he had stuck his foot in it again or not, but he had done his best. So with another bow he took his leave, only to be called back a moment later by Helaine.
“My lord!”
He stopped and leaned back in the room. Nothing on earth would induce him to walk farther inside. “Mrs. Mortimer?”
“I’m afraid I was occupied last night and so missed our discussion. Would you perhaps be available tonight? I am, of course, at your service whatever time you need.”
He almost grinned. Was there ever a more perfect woman? “Oh, yes. Directly after dinner would be ideal. Thank you for reminding me, Mrs. Mortimer.”
Then he bowed again before escaping with all the other men in the household. Indeed, he found them al
l downstairs with Dribbs, discussing the latest horse races. Thank heaven at last for rational conversation!
Chapter 23
Helaine was dropping with fatigue. After countless hours of discussion and sketches and ridiculous changes, all the women had gone back to the original gown designs with the exception of a half dozen tiny bows. The dowager baroness did love bows, so Helaine had added the decoration to her gown for the wedding. And Penny had to add bows to all of the women’s shoes.
But now it was done, the fabrics were put away, and unlike Wendy who now had to sew all those dresses, Helaine’s work was finished. She could have her discussion with Robert, and was already thinking about other things they might do, when she was stopped cold in the hallway.
She was leaving the upper parlor, passing by what she was sure was Gwen’s room. The sound was muffled because the door was shut, but some noises were hard to miss. The sound of a girl sobbing was quite distinct and all the more alarming because it was probably Gwen in there. Gwen of the sunny disposition. Gwen who was filled with love for her fiancé and excitement about their coming wedding. Gwen who was now sobbing as if her heart would break.
Helaine hesitated, unsure whether or not to intrude. But who else could the girl talk to? Not her mother, who was right now back in her bedroom and, by all accounts, had stopped bathing again. Not any of the future in-laws, who were well-meaning but as dense as rocks. Which left no other female but her or perhaps a maid. So Helaine took a chance and knocked on the door.
The gasping sobs stopped immediately. Then there was a long pause. And just as Helaine was tapping again, she heard Gwen speak.
“I’m fine, Robert, really. Just let me rest.”
Well, if that wasn’t a lie, then Helaine was deaf, blind, and dumb. The girl’s voice was stiff with false cheer and had none of the life Helaine was accustomed to hearing from her. So, taking the risk, Helaine turned the knob and was pleased to find that it wasn’t locked.