Waltzed by Anthea Lawson

Author:Anthea Lawson
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781680131307
Publisher: Fiddlehead Press

8

As expected, the week passed and no gown arrived for Ellie. She chastised herself for hoping and redoubled her efforts to cobble together a suitable costume. The days were slipping by at an alarming pace, and the Queen’s Ball was imminent.

The closer it came, the more Ellie’s stepfamily found every excuse to heap work upon her. From dawn till dusk, it seemed she was needed—to run to the milliner’s, to consult with her stepsisters on their gloves, to rearrange the gowns in Lady Tremont’s closet, as she refused to let the maids do it, claiming they wouldn’t take proper care.

All of it was designed to keep Ellie far too busy to create her own costume. They didn’t say as much, of course, but it was quite clear.

Despite the fact, they pretended to “help” with her ball gown, bestowing upon her various odds and ends, as if they would make any difference.

“Here,” Delia said, handing Ellie a length of unused gold ribbon, frayed on the end. “I won’t be needing this. Perhaps you could use it on your gown.” Beneath her syrupy-sweet tones, there was an undercurrent of laughter in her voice.

“You may take this shawl.” Abby tossed a length of scarlet fabric at her. “There’s a tear on one edge, but if you wear it folded, no one will notice.”

Even Lady Tremont participated, giving Ellie a pair of embroidered dancing slippers. “These are too small for me, but I’m certain they’ll fit you. You have my permission to wear them to the ball.”

As it turned out, the slippers were tight on Ellie’s feet as well, pinching her toes quite painfully. But her other shoes had been dyed black or given to her stepsisters when she’d gone into mourning, so the too-small slippers were all she had. Every night, she attempted to stretch them out, but they remained stubbornly petite.

The ribbon and scarf, however, she was able to put to good use. Heartened by Lady Merriweather’s remembrances of her mother, Ellie switched her focus from sewing a new gown to transforming one of her mourning gowns into something worthy of the ball. She snatched bits of time to work on her costume, staying up late into the night and working by the light of a single candle.

At least the frenetic pace kept her from thinking too much about Kit. Her childish dreams had been well and truly trampled, and there was no point on dwelling on them—no matter how much her heart ached to think on what might have been. Life had turned out differently, for both of them, and she’d do well to accept that fact and move on.

They were friends. Nothing more. And perhaps even less. Ellie had worn her heart on her sleeve at their last meeting, and he hadn’t even noticed the depth of her feelings.

Enough, she told herself and concentrated on tacking the gold ribbon around the neckline of her made-over gown.

As the days passed, the severe black dress transformed. She consulted the engravings in the

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