Chapter 10
Istared at my reflection for a long time that late-February evening as I stood in front of the mirror in my dressing room.
Aunt Maude had ordered a dress shipped to us from the House of Worth.
It was a beguiling gown of silk, tulle, satin, and brocade in shades of cream and gold.
Of all the gowns I’d worn since coming to Aunt Maude’s four months ago, this was the most extravagant and expensive.
It was also the gown I would wear to my debutante ball, which was starting soon.
“Do you like it?” Gallagher asked as she stepped back and let me have a full look at myself. “Do you want anything changed? More tendrils around your face?”
My dark brown hair was styled high with a diamond tiara encircling it. As I moved my head from side to side, it twinkled in the lights.
“I don’t require anything else.” I had heard Aunt Maude say the same to Mrs. Walker many times—yet I couldn’t leave it at that. I turned to my maid and offered her a smile. “Thank you, Gallagher. I don’t know what I would do without you.”
“You’re welcome, miss,” she said with a slight curtsey. She began to clean up the mess we had made with my toilette, but she paused and met my gaze in the mirror. For a moment, her guard came down, and she said, “You’ve come a long way, and you’ve made our kind proud.”
Our kind.
I didn’t know if I should thank her or ignore her, so I simply smiled.
I was no longer the woman who had walked out of Five Points and onto Fifth Avenue four months ago. I was no longer Keira O’Day—yet I didn’t feel like Clara Day Hill, either. I didn’t know who I was anymore.
Gallagher was about to leave the dressing room when I called out to her, “Has Mr. Paxton-Hill arrived?”
She shook her head. “I don’t think so, miss.”
I tried to smile and then nodded for her to leave.
Two months and not a word from Alec. Months of dancing, singing, speaking, reading, and deportment lessons had transformed me into a proper young lady.
I had made calls with Aunt Maude to important homes, met dozens of people, danced at several balls, attended church, and visited the opera on three occasions.
We had hosted two small dinner parties since Christmas, I had received gentleman callers, including George Vanderbilt, and Aunt Maude had taken me to Delmonico’s Restaurant.
We had gone shopping, drove in Central Park on fair days, and spent hours upon hours preparing for my debutante ball.
And all that time, he had not written to me once.
He sent letters to Aunt Maude, and she mentioned him in passing from time to time, but he hadn’t sent me a card or a note.
I wasn’t even certain he would be at my ball tonight.
I lifted my chin, trying not to let my thoughts ruin the evening, and left the dressing room. There was something else I needed to complete my ensemble tonight—something I had stared at for hours but had never worn in my life.
Lifting the top of my jewelry box, I pulled out the gold locket from my mother. Among all the lovely and expensive jewelry I now owned, none compared to this in personal value—though the flower pin Alec had given me at Christmas was a close second.
I slipped the locket around my neck and looked at it for a moment, reminding myself that this was one of the most important reasons I had for following through on my promise to Aunt Maude.
The closer we came to leaving for Europe, the more anxious I became to look for my mother.
Would she want to meet me? And could she tell me who my father was?
The dressing room door opened, and Aunt Maude appeared in her own beautiful ball gown. It was a rich burgundy with a long train. A burgundy feather plumed from her updo, and her neck, wrists, ears, and fingers dripped with jewels.
She took me in from head to toe, nodding her approval, until her gaze landed on my locket. “What is that?”
“It belonged to my mother.”
Stepping closer, she lifted it for a better look. “It’s beautiful, but not appropriate for tonight. Where is the diamond choker I told you to wear?”
“Please,” I said, never having asked for a favor from her before. “Could I wear the locket?”
Our relationship was not warm, but nor was it unpleasant.
I knew my role and she knew hers. Rarely did we cross the lines.
There was no affection between us, almost more like an employer and employee.
I had been hired for a specific job, and I was fulfilling my duties.
She was benevolent and kind, but also firm and demanding.
She called me her daughter, but I knew better.
I was her pawn in a strategic social game and nothing more.
“Not tonight,” she said. “Perhaps at another ball. Tonight, I need everything to be perfect.”
My chest rose and fell, with the weight of the locket reminding me of the past. It wouldn’t pay to fight her, and I didn’t want to make her angry. Not tonight when there were far too many other things to worry about.
I took off the locket and set it back in my jewelry box before retrieving the diamond choker and stepping in front of the mirror. As she helped me put it on, she said, “You’ve done a marvelous job under my tutelage, Clara. There isn’t a trace of your former self present.”
She was right. But there was one thing still out of our grasp. I had not received an invitation to Mrs. Vanderbilt’s fancy dress party. If my debutante ball was a success, there was no reason I wouldn’t have the invitation in hand by tomorrow morning.
“George Vanderbilt is getting serious,” Aunt Maude said as she looked into the mirror with me.
I didn’t respond, since there was no use denying it.
George called regularly, and though I had told Alec I would turn him away, Aunt Maude felt it imprudent.
George and his brother Cornelius II were among the only swells on Mrs. Astor’s Four Hundred list. Somehow, they had earned a place amongst the fashionable elite.
George didn’t seem to care about the list, but it still mattered to Aunt Maude. Being associated with him was crucial.
“What if I married George?” I asked her. “He’s on the list. Wouldn’t that put me on the list and, by association, you?”
“Don’t be na?ve, Clara. You should know better by now.
” She adjusted the diamonds around my neck.
“There are eight Vanderbilt children and only two of them are on the list. If one could earn a place by association, the rest would be there.” She shook her head.
“The only way to get on the list is to find a duke and become royalty. Mrs. Astor cannot turn a duchess’s mother away. ”
George was so kind and good to me. He’d become a dear friend over the past two months, and though I hadn’t encouraged him romantically, I knew he had it in mind. “I don’t want to hurt George.”
She waved aside my comment. “It’s all part of the game.
We know what we’re getting into when we begin to play.
George is no different. He’s not guaranteed that you’ll marry him.
He knows he has competition. Let him fight for you—and, in so doing, it’ll elevate your status.
Then, when we’re in England, you can marry a man of my choosing and George will have to accept that he has lost the game. ”
My conscience pricked and I looked down at my gloved hands, clasped in front of my waist. “I don’t think I can knowingly break his heart.”
Aunt Maude put her hands on my shoulders and turned me to look at her. “You’ve known your duties since you agreed to this job. It’s not personal. Hearts should not get involved. It’s all for the sake of financial security. Do not think of it as anything less.”
I blinked several times and took a deep breath before I nodded my acknowledgment.
This wasn’t personal. This was for security—both hers and mine.
And Alec’s.
“Louise Garfield will be here tonight,” Aunt Maude continued.
“I don’t believe I need to remind you that she is your biggest competition.
Alec has been working day and night trying to update our hotel in Newport to keep our clientele happy.
But it’s not just the amenities of a hotel that attract customers.
It’s the perceived status of the hotel and its inhabitants.
Especially if they think there’s a chance a nobleman might be in attendance, they will flock to that establishment.
Alec tells me there are people waiting to see what happens in Europe this spring, before determining which hotel to patronize. ”
I frowned. Surely that couldn’t be the truth. “Why?”
“Because they are wealthy, but not wealthy enough to take their own daughters to Europe. The closest they can get is meeting a nobleman who visits America. If you attract one, and we invite him to our hotel, the patrons will come. If the Garfield girl attracts one of higher standing, and invites him to their hotel, the patrons will go there. We will not settle for anything less than a duke—though a prince would be best.”
A prince? It was all so ridiculous. Even months into the process, I was still flabbergasted by the way wealthy people lived their lives and what they perceived to be important.
“And don’t forget that Annabelle Wellington will be here,” Aunt Maude continued as she lifted her chin.
“Her mother also has plans to capture the most eligible bachelor in England or France. But I have a better plan in mind. Last summer, Alec proposed marriage to her, and both she and her father were eager to accept. It was her mother who refused the match.”
I lowered my gaze, not wanting Aunt Maude to see how this story affected me. I had thought about Annabelle and Alec countless times since Christmas, and it still pained me to imagine them together.
“If possible, I want you to encourage both Annabelle and Alec to rekindle their romance,” Aunt Maude instructed.
I quickly looked up at her, to see if she was teasing.
She was serious.