Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 107756 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 539(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107756 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 539(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
“Very right.”
“Mama”—I laughed, taking her arm as we walked toward the ball—“I was not serious.”
“Well, you ought to be. Tonight is very important.”
“How so?”
“You shall publicly choose whom you wish to dance with.”
I sighed heavily. “Do you not get tired?”
“Of?”
“Everything, especially trying to arrange a wedding based on the slightest of interactions.”
“One day, when you become a mother, you will tell me of all the things you’d rather do, and you will do them. Until such day, I shall plan. Now, whom shall you choose?”
I said nothing as we had reached the hall. I released her arm as the butlers opened the door for us, and upon entering, I found myself wondering exactly how many more people Hathor was waiting for, as the hall was already near full.
“This is more than I expected.” I laughed, looking at the wonder of our transformed hall. It was decorated in the finest vinery, which even hung from above, there were also the richest foods, and even a sculpture made from desserts in the shape of a bird. Farthest from the door was a stage on which singers were preparing to perform.
“Do not stare in wonder, my dear. It is our home,” my mother said. As we walked through, the guests nodded to us, to which my mother offered a polite nod in return.
“It is hard not to, Mama, when you do the wondrous.” I smiled as we reached my father, who was glancing up at the garden above our heads.
“Would it not have been less trouble to have us host this in the garden, my love?” my father asked.
“And risk rain ruining my event? I think not.”
“I see.” He nodded and then paused. “Where is Hathor? Still preparing?”
“At this point, she may as well just stay in her room,” Damon said as he reached us.
Silva was behind him in the most beautiful red silk. Hathor’s color. But then again, Silva was married, so hopefully Hathor wouldn’t be upset.
“But she was ready when I saw her,” Silva added when Damon gave her a drink from one of the servers.
“Hathor is the least of my worries,” my mother said, looking around the ballroom.
“If she is the least, does that make me the greatest?” I asked.
She did not answer, causing my father and Damon to chuckle.
I looked upon the guests who had already arrived. Suddenly the doors opened, allowing entrance to a new guest, and my mother cursed under her breath for the first time that I’d ever heard.
“That whore.”
I was so taken aback that I stared at her in amazement. Only when she took a step forward and my father grabbed her arm, stilling her, did I get over my shock.
“Do not make a scene, my love,” my father whispered.
“How dare she come here?” my mother said with a hiss.
I finally turned to see Verity, but it was not Verity my mother had an issue with.
It was the woman beside her. Dressed in jewels with a grand wig and her dress of heavy silks stood the Dowager Duchess of Everely. I looked to see if Evander was with them, but he was not.
“Remain calm,” my father said to my mother as the dowager and Verity made their way to us.
My mother lifted her head, breathing through her nose. On the other side of her, I watched as Damon took Silva’s hand and stepped farther away from our mother. Should I have moved, too?
“Lady Monthermer, how splendid your home is,” the dowager said.
My mother stared at her for a long moment…too long.
“Thank you, Your Grace,” my father spoke for her. “It was chaos, but my wife has managed to pull it off once again.”
“Yes—”
“Verity,” my mother cut her off, “how beautiful you are. Every time I see you, it is as though I receive a vision of your mother.”
“Thank you, your ladyship,” Verity replied. “Though I do not know if I live up to the grace of my mother.”
“Yes, the duchess was very well received by all. In fact, even the queen considered her to be the crown jewel of the season. She would never have been held as a mockery to the nobility at court.” My mother smiled and looked over to the dowager, who was now glaring at my mother.
My father squeezed her hand.
My mother said to Verity, “You have her grace. Do not worry. Such things are what we are born with.”
“If only those with such high birth lived longer,” the dowager said, and now I truly felt as though I should move back.
I looked at Verity to see if she wished to escape, but instead it seemed she was rather amused, eagerly waiting for my mother’s next jab. And my father could not grip strong enough to stop her.
“Yes, if only. But it is better to have a short and noble life, forever held in high esteem and beloved, than to be shameless, pretending to be something one can never be. And marring such beautiful silks and jewels with a stench that cannot be removed, thus decreasing their value altogether. As I told your mother, Luella, once, if you put a pig in a dress, it is still nothing but a pig in a dress.”