The Heiress Gets a Duke by Harper St. George

Author:Harper St. George [St. George, Harper]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2021-01-26T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

I would have girls regard themselves not as adjectives, but as nouns.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton

The velvet slippers that had been made to accompany the scarlet ball gown were the most uncomfortable pair of shoes August had worn in her life. For that matter, the gown itself was torture to wear. It was in the new cuirasse style that created an elongated bodice that fit down over the flare of her hips, somewhat limiting the length of her steps. It was also so low-cut that it had required a specially made chemise and corset to accommodate it, and she had to fight her own instincts to constantly try to pull it up. Mary had laced her into her corset to within an inch of her life to make certain her modest breasts were shown to their best advantage. Eating anything at supper later would be out of the question.

August had ordered the Worth dress on a whim when they had placed the order for all of their gowns. She had fallen in love with the fashion plate and the accompanying sample of scarlet velvet as soon as she had seen it. Unfortunately or fortunately, depending on her mood, which changed from one minute to the next, the gown that had been delivered to their townhome last week had been far more scandalously cut than she had realized. To make it more shocking, the overskirt was tied back at her bottom to drape in graceful waves to the ground. From the back it was beautiful and elegant. From the front, the tie-back effect only further served to outline the curve of her hips and hint at the shocking fact that she was in possession of a pair of thighs.

Countless scathing editorials had been written on the indecent new style when it had first made an appearance last year. August had hardly paid them any attention. It had seemed ridiculous that anyone would care overly much about the draping of a dress as long as the important parts were covered. Wearing this particular gown had changed her opinion on that. All eyes in the room had turned to her as soon as she and her family had walked into the ball. This had been expected because everyone wondered about her involvement with Rothschild and if a betrothal announcement would be forthcoming. The eyes had stayed on her and wandered over her lower extremities, however, because of this gown. The result was that she felt naked.

Hundreds of voices carrying on conversations around them muffled her sigh of protest as her toes screamed in pain with each step. Her current partner delivered her back to her scowling mother after their dance, bowing dutifully. When he offered to bring her punch, her mother refused on her behalf and only managed to wait until the man had turned away before saying, “Rothschild has yet to make an appearance.” Her voice was low, but the tone was such that August wasn’t entirely certain it wouldn’t travel to those around them.

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