Miss Winthorpe's Elopement (2010) by Merrill Christine

Author:Merrill, Christine [Christine, Merrill,]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin Mills & Boon Ltd.
Published: 2011-01-14T19:11:22.437000+00:00

Chapter Eleven

Penny watched the carriage roll away from her. Damn the man. He knew nothing about anything if he meant to pull a ball together with the help of a woman who, she suspected, had been dead far longer than her own father. Clarissa was right: it was a disaster in the making.

And what was she to do for the rest of the afternoon, trapped here? If she had known his intent was to abandon her, she’d have brought something to read. She stepped off the street and into the shop.

A girl dropped the copy of Le Beau Monde that she had been paging through and sprang to her feet behind a small gold desk. She said, with a thick French accent, ‘May I be of assistance, your ladyship?’

The girl sounded so hopeful, that Penny found it almost pleasurable to introduce herself with her new title. It made the girl’s eyes go round for a moment, and then her face fell.

‘Your Grace? I believe there has been a misunderstanding. You husband the duke must have been seeking my predecessor in this shop.’

‘There is no Madame Giselle, as it says on the door?’

The woman laughed. ‘Unfortunately, no. Until her death, she was my employer. She had been in this location for many years.’

‘And before she died, you were…’

‘A seamstress, your Grace. Madame died suddenly. There was no family to take the shop, and many orders still to fill. It made sense to step out from the back room and become Madame Giselle, in her absence.’ The French accent had disappeared to reveal the Londoner underneath. Apparently, she’d taken more than the shop when she’d come out from the back room.

The girl took her silence as hesitation. ‘We are not as fashionable as we once were, I’m afraid. I will understand, of course, that you prefer to go elsewhere. I can recommend several excellent modistes who are frequented by the ladies of your class.’

If she was not careful, she’d get her chance to shop with Clarissa. Penny’s eyebrows arched in surprise. ‘No wonder you are not as busy as you should be. For when one is in trade, one should never turn down commerce, especially an order as large as the one I am likely to make.’ When she had come into the shop, she had had no intention of spending money. But suddenly, it seemed the most natural thing in the world.

‘A large order?’ the dressmaker repeated, dumbly.

‘Yes. Day dresses, travelling clothes, outerwear and ball gowns. I need everything.’

‘Do you wish to look at swatches?’

She gritted her teeth. ‘It does not matter. Choose whatever you wish. And styles as well. I do not have any idea how to proceed.’ And then she prepared for the worst.

The girl ran her through her paces, draping her in fabrics, and experimenting with laces and trims. And Penny had to admit that it was not as bad as it could have been, for the girl made no attempt to force her into gowns that did

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