The Campbell Trilogy by Monica McCarty

Author:Monica McCarty [McCarty, Monica]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780345544735
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Published: 2013-10-14T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

Alys removed a dark sapphire gown from the ambry and held it up to Lizzie, who was standing barefoot in her sark in the middle of her bedchamber, feeling quite superfluous. Making a face, the older woman tossed it atop the growing pile of discarded velvet and satin on Lizzie’s bed—not that you could tell there was a bed under there right now.

Lizzie groaned, rolling her eyes with nonexaggerated hardship. “What was wrong with that one?”

“Too dark,” Alys murmured, her head already burrowed deep in the ambry as she rifled through Lizzie’s quickly depleting wardrobe. “All these deep jewel tones are harsh with your pale coloring.”

“Perhaps you mean insipid?”

Alys’s eyes sparked. “I mean pale. It is not the same, but you do need to be careful when choosing colors.”

Apparently. Lizzie watched with bemusement as gown after gown was tossed out behind Alys, until she finally emerged holding a shiny satin gown of such pale blue, it looked almost like quicksilver. “Ah, let’s try this one. It will be perfect with your luminous pale skin and eyes.”

Lizzie shook her head and folded her arms defiantly—already anticipating the argument that was sure to follow. “I can’t wear that. It was made for a masque at court a few years ago. I was supposed to be Demeter.” The gown was cut in a simple Grecian style, with little embellishment and no ruff or lace to speak of. “It doesn’t even have a farthingale.”

“Bah. What care do Highlanders have for courtly fashion?”

Lizzie smothered a grin, observing the look of disgust on Alys’s face. “In case you’ve forgotten … we aren’t in the Highlands. And it’s barely decent.”

Alys stared at Lizzie with a devious smile on her face. “Not decent? Wonderful. Your braw laddies won’t be able to take their eyes off of you.”

Off quite a bit of her, if Lizzie recalled the tight, low-cut bodice correctly. She arched her brow. “Is that what this is all about?”

The older woman looked at her as if she were addled. “Of course that is what this is about. Time is a-wasting, my wee lassie. You’ll not be able to keep those two dangling after you forever. Like two snarling wolves, they are. I heard what happened earlier on the hunt.”

Lizzie blushed and quickly turned away to avoid the maidservant’s eagle-eyed gaze. Instead she made a great show of yanking a brush through her damp hair. “They aren’t dangling and nothing happened.”

“Don’t you play coy with me, Lizzie lass. Imagine,” she said, sighing dreamily, “two handsome, strapping warriors like that fighting over you. It’s so romantic.”

Lizzie bit back a smile at Alys’s expression. It was a wee bit romantic, but she didn’t want to encourage her.

“Too bad you can’t choose both,” Alys said wickedly. “But I don’t think Patrick Murray is of any mind to share.” She shook her head. “Poor Robert will be disappointed.”

Lizzie shot her a glare. “What makes you think I want Patrick? Robert Campbell is the man my family has chosen for me to marry.

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