Secondhand Charm by Julie Berry

Author:Julie Berry
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Published: 2010-08-25T20:00:00+00:00

Chapter 27

I accompanied Princess Annalise arm-in-arm, at her insistence, down the long corridors of the castle from lamp to lamp. This didn’t endear me to the other ladies following behind us, all of whom seemed so much more accustomed to their gowns and jewels than I felt.

I had endured an agonizing hour of having my hair set in place by Dorothy, who took out her frustrations with life upon my scalp. Then she buried my tall hair arrangement under a canister of talcum powder. This, Annalise assured me, was a necessary part of my disguise. Dorothy informed me coldly that it was the height of fashion, and didn’t they powder their hair in Merlia? There was pink powder for my cheeks and red tint for my lips, all of which made me long for a good scrub. If I couldn’t bear the beauty treatments, how would I mimic the manners to pass myself off as a young Merlian lady at a duchess’s soiree?

My corsets clamped me like a vise. I carried a velvet purse just like Annalise’s, with my leviathan snoozing inside, and tried to step gracefully down the winding stairs in my satin slippers, though the steps were uneven and I couldn’t see my feet. The women generated a roving cloud of powder and perfume, which made it hard to fill my corseted lungs with air.

Dorothy had looked askance upon my gypsy luck charm, but I refused to part with it. It would take all the luck I could muster to make it through this night without exposing myself as an impostor, a girl from Maundley playing dress up.

I kept my wrap close around me, and my face pointed down, as we exited the castle. The heavy door guard with the thick mustache and the belt full of keys was there, but he took no notice of me. Would to goodness the king might be as unobservant as he.

It was a cold, crisp night with a sky full of stars. We proceeded down the steps to the courtyard where the ceremonial guards still marched, their breath forming frosty puffs. Just beyond them, a pair of carriages stood waiting, their horses stamping their feet. At the sight of Princess Annalise, the guards ceased marching and stood at attention, bayonets up. Annalise pulled me closer to her, and we hurried on through that tunnel of men and weapons.

“Evie?”

I nearly tripped and fell. Annalise paused to locate the voice. But I had already found it. Not that I needed to look.

Aidan stood near the gate, close to where the carriages awaited us.

“Evie!”

My heart leaped into my throat. I tried to stuff it back down behind my ribs where it belonged. Him, here, now? Seeing me in these ridiculous clothes?

Or would he perhaps not find them ridiculous?

You don’t care, Evelyn Pomeroy, I told myself. You don’t care a whit, and stop thinking you do. Don’t look at his lips.

Aidan waved his hat in the air and ran toward us. A chorus of shocked noises emerged from the ladies who were gathered behind us.

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