Chapter 5
“Cousin Thea, a delivery arrived for you.”
Thea set her quill back in the inkpot and rose from the desk. “A letter?”
She had just been writing to Great-Aunt Albina. Perhaps the older woman had read her mind.
Footsteps thundered into the room, which sounded more like a herd of elephants than young ladies.
“No, a package.”
“Girls, must I remind you, we do not run in the house? We do not run at all. We are ladies, not galloping horses.”
“You didn’t see the carriage that just left. You’d gallop like a horse too,” Louisa said.
“What carriage?”
“It was stunning. All black with gold trim,” she replied.
“Unmarked,” added Sophia. “No crest.”
“And a very handsome footman left this for you.” Louisa held out a velvet-wrapped package.
“What in heaven?” Thea stared at the blue velvet as though it were a foreign substance.
“Open it!” Sophia urged.
As much as she wanted to open the package in private, Thea knew there was no chance of that with the twins.
“Shut the door then. Walk softly, with dignity, like the lady that you are.”
Sophia spun and rushed to shut the door.
“That’s not what I meant, and you know it.” Thea heard the exasperation in her own tone.
“Lady lessons can wait. This is ever so much more important. Open it.”
“It has to be from him,” Louisa whispered.
“Him who?” Thea asked as she unwrapped the package.
“You know who. The prince!” Sophia said.
Thea’s hands froze on the velvet. “That would be both supremely inappropriate and highly unlikely.”
“He has asked you to dance twice,” Louisa said.
“Just open it,” Sophia said. “Then we will all know.”
Thea unwrapped the velvet, holding her breath. Inside was a silk bag, tied with a blue bow.
“I can hardly handle the suspense,” Louisa breathed.
Thea untied the bow and opened it to find … dancing slippers. Exquisite, cream-colored dancing slippers, embroidered with gold and silver and encrusted with jewels that looked strikingly authentic.
“Oh my goodness,” Thea breathed.
“They’re fit for a princess,” Sophia whispered.
“But do they fit, Thea? You must try them on.”
“I could not. I cannot accept these. Girls, you know the rules. One does not accept gifts of this nature from anyone but family or one’s husband or betrothed as a wedding gift.”
“Maybe that’s what he is trying to be,” Sophia said.
“Is there a card? A note? How romantic.” Louisa completely ignored Thea’s words, and yet Thea found herself looking for a note.
There was nothing of the sort. But it didn’t matter. Thea knew exactly who they were from. There was no question.
“If they fit, you have to wear them tomorrow night to the ball at the Graftons’. Ohhh, Christianna is going to be so envious. Finally, something that outshines everything she owns.”
“I will not, and that remark was completely unnecessary and beneath you, Sophia. One does not gossip or speak ill of others. If one has nothing kind to say, one says nothing at all.”
“She told me last night I’d eaten too many cakes for my gown to look becoming,” Sophia replied.
“And for her, we feel compassion—as, clearly, no one has ever cared enough to teach her better. We do not sink to the level of those who are unkind to others.”
“But are you going to wear them? To the ball? Please, say you will, Thea? Dance with him. He’s a prince,” Louisa said with hands clasped before her.
“A title—”
“Does not guarantee a suitable husband,” the twins finished together.
“But it’s just a dance. In beautiful slippers,” Sophia finished.
But to be eighteen again and swept up in the glamour of romance, Thea thought.
“Girls, I attend balls only to serve as your chaperone. My duty is to make certain nothing happens to you and no man is too forward with you.”
“We will both sit out whichever dance he asks. The dowager will wait with us. We won’t leave her side. We promise,” Louisa replied.
Both twins stared at her, and Thea read wistfulness and anticipation on their features.
“Your future matches are of much greater importance than one—”
Sophia cut Thea off, “Says who?”
“I agree,” added Louisa. “We’ll sit out the dance. We will chaperone you.”
“And you have the perfect dress,” Sophia told her. “The emerald-green one.”
“Oh, yes. She looks like a princess in that one,” Louisa agreed with a bobbing head.
She looked from one girl to the other, and a pang of longing for a past that no longer existed shot through Thea.
“Out of the question,” she replied rather more harshly than she’d intended, and it showed on the twins’ faces. “Your father would be appalled.”
“We would tell him it was our idea if he found out,” Sophia said. “He couldn’t be mad then.”
Thea laughed at her naivete. “Telling him I took your idea to dance with a prince would be even worse.”
“I dare you,” Sophia said. “If you wear the slippers and accept his invitation—”
Thea held up a hand to silence her and replied, “If he were to make another such invitation, which is by no means a certainty—”
“He sent you slippers. The man will surely wish to see if you are bold and courageous enough to wear them,” Sophia said.
“I agree. He’ll be there. He can’t not be,” Louisa added. “I’ll make you a deal, Thea.” Louisa stood taller and crossed her arms over her chest. “If he does and you dance with him, I will seriously consider finding a husband. Otherwise, I plan to be an artist and never marry.”
Sophia and Thea both stared at Louisa.
“You’re serious, aren’t you?” her twin said.
“Never marry? Where did that come from?” Thea asked the girl.
Louisa had sounded much too resolute for her liking.
“She’s never wanted to marry,” Sophia said. “How have you missed that for ten years?”
“Those were childish fancies,” Thea replied.
“Not anymore,” Louisa countered.
“Good Lord, help me.” Thea dropped into the chair.
“Be brave, Thea. And if you do”—Louisa smiled—“I will seriously look for a husband. Otherwise, I’m just here for the parties and to enjoy the new dresses.”
Thea stared up at the ceiling. “Where did I go wrong?”
“Wear the emerald-green silk. It’s the most fashionable dress you have,” Louisa said with a smile.
“You’re supposed to be the sensible one,” Thea said with a shake of her head.
“Then what does that make me?” Sophia asked with a giggle.
Somehow, someway, Thea found herself backed into a corner by an eighteen-year-old girl while holding bejeweled slippers from a prince.
Could life get any more unexpected?