A Spinster's Guide to Happily Ever After (The Spinster Sisterhood Series Book 3) by Beatrix St. John

Author:Beatrix St. John [St. John, Beatrix]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-10-22T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 10

“Are we certain it is not altogether too much?”

“Not at all, my lady.”

“You look exquisite, Josephine!”

“Even I must admit it is a lovely gown.”

“Can Cerberus wear the ruby bracelet as a collar?”

Josephine frowned at Mercy’s reflection in the full-length mirror she was standing before. “Absolutely not.”

Mercy sighed and closed the jewelry box she had been looking inside. The girls had gathered in Josephine’s dressing room when Mullens had begun to dress her for tonight’s ball, and Mercy had been eager to peruse the family jewels that had been brought out.

Josephine felt quite ostentatious to be dressed in the Marston family diamonds. Her father had sold any real jewels the family possessed years ago, so she had only ever worn paste jewels. Now that she was the Countess of Marston, things were quite different.

The gorgeous string of small diamonds with a large, emerald-cut diamond set in gold filigree in the centre, rested cool against the flesh of her decolletage, and the teardrop diamond earbobs were heavy on her lobes, but the tiara perched on her head was delicate and did not weigh her down.

She was not used to such excess, and it made her nervous for tonight. She did not want to appear as if she were flaunting her newfound position in a vulgar manner.

“I only worry that the diamonds are too pretentious. For a royal ball, they would be perfect, but—”

“No, they are perfect for tonight,” Grace interrupted. “As Patience said, the gown is lovely, and the diamonds suit it.”

The gown was lovely indeed. Grace and Eleanor had commiserated over it at length when they had gone to the modiste, and Josephine had surrendered herself to their capable hands. It was a beautiful gown of spring green silk, the bodice embroidered with delicate vines of ivy. The white gauze overdress was hemmed with a green ribbon dotted with silver spangles that shimmered along with her diamonds. Mullens had been a dream with tongs and pins, curling and plaiting with the best of them, arranging Josephine’s hair to flatter her so her face did not appear so long.

There was something to be said for affording to go to the best dressmaker in Town and having a talented maid to do her hair.

And, of course, all the diamonds.

For the first time, Josephine felt beautiful.

“Madame Gilbert has done an exquisite job on the gown,” Josephine said as she smoothed down the skirt. “I only hope I will do it justice.”

“You do,” Mercy said. “You look like a princess from a fairy tale.”

“It is true,” Patience said. “I wish I could be there when Lady Seaton sees you.”

“She will be green with envy,” Grace said gleefully.

Josephine knew she should chastise them for such talk, but she appreciated the girls’ loyalty too much to scold them.

Besides, she had similar thoughts about Lady Seaton herself, so she was not about to be a hypocrite.

As she turned herself back and forth before the mirror to try and catch the gown from all angles, she wondered what Spencer would think of her.

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