Chapter 40
Chapter Forty
On the night of the ball, Genevieve woke up calm and quiet, knowing that she had done all she could to ready the house and the servers for the event. She went downstairs to make sure the last preparations had been taken care of and greeted Sally and the children in the kitchen.
“But everyone will look so beautiful,” Hannah said wistfully over her supper. “Can’t we stay up to see the dresses, Mrs. Stewart?”
“I’m afraid not, Hannah,” Genevieve said kindly but firmly.
“This is a new venture, you know, and I think it will be best if all the human occupants of the house are well away from the ballroom by the time guests start arriving. Not that you will be unsafe, dear,” she said, her eyes darting up to meet Sally’s.
“But to make sure everyone behaves. Perhaps, if you get ready for bed promptly, Elspeth and I will come and show you our finery before we go down to play hostess.”
Hannah’s eyes lit up. “Oh! Really?”
“Yes, really.” Genevieve laughed.
“What d’you say, love?” Sally prompted.
“Thank you,” Hannah said, smiling.
“Perhaps Ophelia too, if she is ready in time. I will ask her when I fetch her tray.”
“You don’t have to fetch it, ma’am,” Sally protested. “Me or one of the girls can do it.”
“Nonsense. It will be on my way, and you have been on your feet all day. Thank you for all the work you have put in,” she added, raising her voice to address the table. “We appreciate it very much.”
“Wish you were having a fencing match instead of a ball,” Fletcher mumbled. “That would be more fun by half.”
Genevieve smiled. “What a good idea, Fletcher! An exhibition of all manner of skills! How interesting and educational. I shall mention it to Kendrick.”
“Educational,” Fletcher muttered, dragging his hands down his face. He was quick and sharp with his letters and numbers, but the chore of sitting still at a table in front of a book wore on him.
“Wouldn’t you like to learn smithing or navigation in addition to fighting techniques? I think there might be a wealth of hidden talents among our people.”
Fletcher squinted up at her. “Smithing? Like a blacksmith?”
“Yes, like a blacksmith, but smith-craft is also used to make coins and rings and jewelry.”
“Like how the guv made your ring.”
“Exactly so.”
Fletcher considered. “I might like that,” he conceded before chewing his bread roll with an open mouth.
Genevieve made a mental note for a lesson in table manners at another time.
Later, surveying her fancy gown, Genevieve realized she had a problem.
The sumptuous dress, made of amethyst watered silk, required several petticoats over the bustle, and then an underskirt, an overskirt, and the bodice.
She had gotten her corset and bustle on over her chemise without issue, having become used to the updated underpinnings of this decade.
But now she surveyed the petticoats and skirt with trepidation.
“This is why ladies engage lady’s maids,” she said aloud. The human staff would be finishing preparations for the ball or taking their rest. And everyone else would be busy dressing themselves.
There was no help for it. Genevieve struggled into the two petticoats and tied them on, fluffing and jumping up and down a little to get them to lay correctly.
Then on went the underskirt, with the same problem.
The overskirt was a bit easier, attaching with tapes and hooks and settling over her hips easily. But then came the bodice.
Genevieve muttered under her breath, attempting to fix the tiny hooks up and down her spine when she couldn’t see them. The bodice, off the shoulder and very tight fitting, was not accommodating.
“Do you need help?” Kendrick rumbled from the other side of the screen.
She peered over the top. He was inserting the cufflinks into his cuffs and buttoning his waistcoat. “Are you volunteering?”
“What do you need?”
“I can’t fasten this,” she said, frustrated. “Please don’t let me walk out of here with my hooks done up wrong.”
“Of course, my love.” Kendrick walked around the screen. His eyes widened as he spied her. “You look beautiful.”
Genevieve pivoted to face the full-length mirror. “I’ll have to take your word for it,” she joked, as neither of them appeared in the reflection. “Why do we have this, anyway?”
Kendrick stepped behind her—or as close as he could get with her skirts in the way—and carefully did up the tiny hooks along her spine one by one. “Trust me,” he said. “You are one of the fairest women I have ever beheld, Genevieve.”
It was a beautiful dress—beyond the silk, it was more decadent than any she had ever worn, and it had a good deal of beadwork that caught the light, as well as an elegant drape that gave the impression of a train without actually dragging on the floor.
But the rest… “Not the fairest?” she said with a smile, thinking of the fairytale rhyme.
“If I said, ‘the fairest,’ you wouldn’t believe me.” He turned her around gently and cupped her face, smiling. “Your beauty is from within. You glow, the brightest star in the dark, my heart’s gleam. It doesn’t matter what you wear. Though this dress suits you,” he added.
“My fingers can’t seem to stop twitching,” she admitted, lacing the offending digits together.
Kendrick wrapped his hands around hers. “Everything will be fine.”
“But what if—”
“Our friends are here to help us handle it. But it may surprise you. I think you have put together something to be proud of.”
“And what’s that?” she said with a little laugh.
“A real community. Belonging. Hope.”
She smiled. “A kind thing to say.”
“A true thing. You gave me hope when I was lacking it.”
“Kendrick, no, that’s—”
“Oh, yes, you did.”
“If we’ve made any kind of change, we did it together.”
“See, that’s why I love you. You argue with me, and you challenge me, and you’ve found a way to see through the dark. You’re a wonder, Genevieve. I hope you saved the first dance for me, even if it isn’t done.”
“We’re creating new traditions, aren’t me? You may have the first, the last. All the ones in between.” She set her hand on his jaw and kissed him with all the love that was in her heart.
His arms came around her and held her tightly. “Much as I’d like to continue with this,” he said against her lips, “if we don’t stop now, we’ll never go downstairs.”
“If we don’t stop now, you’ll crush my dress,” Genevieve said, laughing.
Kendrick let her go. “It’s going to be a new year and a new era for all of us.”
“That, it will,” Genevieve said, checking that the headband to which she had affixed her hair ornaments was still in place. She picked up the gloves dyed the same color as her gown and slid them on past her elbows.
“What do you think of the Ossuary being located somewhere other than London?” Kendrick asked suddenly as he pulled on his evening coat. “Or at least us having another place that isn’t this house?”
“I hadn’t thought of it. Why?”
“I wondered if hunting for a location with a bit more healthful air would be worth it, if we keep acquiring humans this way. London is not the most wholesome place. And beyond it being one of the largest cities and ample hunting grounds, I don’t see another reason to demand vampires stay within its city limits.
Once we have instilled better habits and ensure that the laws are being followed, I see no reason why we couldn’t live elsewhere.
Or have a second residence, the way the wealthy class do. ”
“I wouldn’t mind a place with fewer ghosts,” Genevieve admitted. They shared a smile.
Then Ophelia knocked on the door, and it was time to visit the children before guests began to arrive.
Peter was unimpressed. Fletcher wanted to know how women sat with “that big ol’ tail.” Hannah was in raptures.
Ophelia smiled and happily turned in a slow circle so Hannah could have the full effect. She wore a green-and-gold gown that set off her auburn hair to a dramatic effect.
“Am I too late?” Elspeth asked, poking her head in the door. Her blonde hair had been curled and piled artfully around her head, and she wore a pale-rose gown with lace and ruffles.
“Pink is my favorite color,” Hannah declared upon seeing the full effect.
“You look beautiful,” Genevieve assured her friend.
“So do you! Purple—so inspired!” When Genevieve just blinked at her, Elspeth laughed. “Is there finally something I know that you don’t? Purple—the color of royalty.”
“I hadn’t even thought about that,” Genevieve admitted. “I just loved the color.”
“Well, clearly, it’s perfect.” Elspeth clasped her hand.
“I heard there was a fashion parade happening,” Evangeline said shyly from the hallway.
“Oh, yes, come in, come in!” Ophelia exclaimed.
Evangeline’s gown of burgundy made her look striking, and Hannah said, “No, red is my favorite color!”
The women laughed. With four ladies and their bustles, the small nursery had become a bit crowded. Ophelia and Elspeth filed out as Genevieve bid Hannah and Peter good night.
“Augie didn’t come?” Hannah said a bit sadly.
“No, he wanted to stay with June,” Evangeline explained. “There would have been no playing, you know. You’re to go right to sleep.” She smoothed Hannah’s hair back over her forehead with a hand that trembled imperceptivity.
“Good night, Fletcher,” Genevieve said. “You’ll stay in bed, won’t you?”
“Yes, mum,” he said, rolling his eyes.
“We’ll have another chapter of Sigestan tomorrow,” she promised.
“You look fine as a fivepence,” Fletcher admitted.
“Thank you,” Genevieve said, her heart warming. She risked mussing her dress to bend down and peck a kiss on his head.
“Steady,” Kendrick said, holding Genevieve’s hand tucked in his.
Her eyes rolled around to fix on him. “I’m not a horse.”
“I know that.”
“Next you’ll be telling me, ‘Whoa, girl.’”
“I would never,” he said around a laugh.
“Only because you don’t remember what it’s like to handle horses,” she murmured, and then the first guests were upon them in the receiving line.