Chapter 15
Adelaide
SOS, I don’t know what to wear for the Thorne Ball. Who schedules a garden party in the dead of winter?!
Mel
You know how much Sabine loves her garden
Adelaide
Dead. Of. Winter.
LOL I’m cold just thinking about it. Do you want to go shopping this Saturday? I could ask Vince to help us arrange something?
Adelaide
YES! M, should we take her to The Snowdrop, too?
Mel
I’ll literally never say no to one of Cora’s cranberry scones
It’s a date!
Growing up in Michigan and then living in New York for the last six years, I had seen my fair share of snow. Yet somehow Wexstone eclipsed what I was used to. In just over two weeks here, I was sure I had seen more snow than I had in an entire winter back home.
I awoke Saturday morning to find that it had snowed nearly two feet overnight. The storm did little to deter the Wexstonians, though; Council staff had made quick work of clearing the roads as the citizens of Altborn started their day.
Thankfully, unlike at home where I would have been left to navigate public transportation or pay through the nose for a cab, Vince had arranged a car to take me into the city for my day with Adelaide and Mel.
He had also organized for a bodyguard to shadow us for the day, given the media attention around the competition.
Adelaide and Mel, accompanied by a tall man dressed in black and sporting an earpiece, were just about to open the door to the small dress shop as I stepped out of the car.
“Good morning, ladies,” I said, waving as I bounced toward them.
“Good morning!” they greeted in unison.
“This is Jacob,” Mel added, indicating the bodyguard. “He said he will stay out of our way, but close enough to step in should we need him.” He nodded at me as he spoke quietly into his earpiece.
“I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to how beautiful this place is,” I mused as we entered the shop, the golden antique bell above the door jingling.
The street outside was lined with tall Tudor buildings covered in snow-frosted garland and evergreen wreaths.
Shutters of every color of the rainbow stood out against the black and brown buildings.
Glistening icicles hung from the eaves above the cobblestone sidewalks, as carolers sang of decking the halls.
“I’ve lived here all of my life and every time I drive around the turn of the mountain going to the palace, it takes my breath away,” Mel said.
“I feel the same way every year when the first snow hits in September,” Adelaide added.
“I’m sorry, first snow in September?” I squealed, earning a quiet chuckle from Jacob. “I hate it if it snows before Thanksgiving at home!”
“Better start loving the snow, sweetness, it snows from September to April,” Mellie informed me as my body did a full shiver.
A petite woman clad in a white sheath dress and nude heels appeared from the back of the store and rounded a large alabaster counter to greet us.
“Bonjour! Welcome to Fleur de Laroche,” the woman spoke a heavy French accent.
“My name is Ambre. What brings you beauties into the store today?” A quick flash of realization washed across her face.
“Ah, you must be my eleven o’clock appointment, here to find dresses for an elegant garden party, no?
” She brought her clasped hands to her chest.
“We are indeed,” I confirmed.
“S’il vous pla?t, right this way.”
Jacob posted up by the entrance as we followed her down a narrow, whitewashed brick hallway to the back of the store.
She led us through a door into a large room lined with dresses, pantsuits, and clothing racks full of undergarments.
In the corner was a built-in shelf that housed shoes of every color.
It was like Barbie's dream closet come to life.
“Okay, who wants to try on first?” Adelaide asked, taking in the dozens of options before us.
“Not it,” I said, touching my finger to my nose.
“Not me!” Mellie said at the same time.
“Wow. Thanks, guys.” Adelaide rolled her eyes. “I don’t even know where to start,” she complained as I sifted through a rack of couture gowns.
“Ooo,” I said. “I have an idea!”
They both looked at me with raised brows.
“When Sam and I go shopping for special occasions, we each pick out outfits we think the other should try on, on top of whatever we find for ourselves. Nine times out of ten, we end up picking what the other person chose. Let’s pull some options for each other.”
“I love that idea,” Adelaide said.
“Honestly, that sounds great because I hate choosing for myself,” Mel sighed, clearly relieved.
Perusing the racks of formal dresses and pantsuits, my eyes landed on a beautiful black fur-lined blazer with a full train that flowed down to the ground.
I knew that it fit Mellie’s style to a tee.
I pulled it and handed it to Ambre, who set it to the side for Mel.
As I continued to search, a stunning high-neck, long-sleeved dress in sparkling forest green jumped out at me.
I couldn’t decide if I liked it for myself or Adelaide.
I picked it off the rack and held it up.
“Mel!” She looked over to where I stood. “Adelaide or me?”
“I’m only saying Adelaide because she already found the perfect dress for you.” She winked.
I was having so much fun, I knew the only thing that could have made the day better would be to have Sam there, too.
My fashion-forward friend would love this.
I briefly wondered whether I could convince Sam to move to Wexstone if I married Oliver, before reminding myself that I still wasn’t sure I could imagine marrying Oliver.
I walked the dress to the changing room and tapped on the door.
“Adelaide, try this dress on, too.” She opened the door, and I handed her the dress.
“Speaking of your Thanksgiving,” Mel said, continuing our earlier conversation while we waited for Adelaide to change, “isn’t that this Thursday? Are you missing a big family celebration?”
I nodded as I perched on a pink settee. “It is. I probably would have flown out West to visit my brother and his family, but it would have just been the four of us. We’re going to celebrate over a video call, though.”
“For some reason, my mom always uses American Thanksgiving as her marker for when she can start playing Christmas music,” Mel said, laughing.
I chuckled wryly. “She’s not alone, that’s pretty common back home.”
I had a love-hate relationship with Christmas music.
Every year on November 1, my mom would bust out her old vinyl records, and each evening while she cooked dinner, Bing Crosby would serenade us with songs about winter wonderlands and chestnuts roasting over an open fire.
The more I thought about it, the more I knew that Mom would have loved it here.
It was probably what her version of heaven looked like: Carolers on the street corners, wreaths on every door, snow-capped mountains, and delicious peppermint tea.
That all-too-familiar knot of grief formed in my stomach at the thought that my mom would never see this place.
After a few minutes, Adelaide stepped out to the small dais in front of three floor-to-ceiling mirrors. She looked devastatingly beautiful in the green gown. It made her blonde hair shine and her emerald eyes pop.
“Holy shit!” I yelled.
“Girl! You look stunning!”
“Oh my gosh, stop.” Adelaide blushed.
“No seriously, this is the dress,” I urged.
“I don’t know.” Her hips swayed left to right, and the dress followed. Ambre appeared again through the doorway and let out audible gasp.
“Mademoiselle. You look absolutely beautiful.” She set her hands on her chest like she was catching her breath.
“For a moment, I thought I was looking at the picture of Queen Evelyn from the state dinner in 1959. Quelle chance! I have the perfect gloves and hat for this outfit in the front; I must go fetch them for you.”
Mel snapped her fingers. “I was trying to figure out what you reminded me of! That’s it.”
“Pull it up on your phone, I want to see!” I said, hurrying to peek over Mel’s shoulder as she brought up the search engine on her phone.
I looked to Adelaide as she stood on the dais, looking herself over. I could tell she liked the dress, but something was bothering her. Adelaide wore her heart on her sleeve; her emotions were easy to guess.
“Found it.” Mellie passed me her phone. “This was the 1959 state dinner. It was the year that she and King Leroy’s father, King Francis, got engaged. Their marriage was also arranged because of the marriage decree.”
Adelaide’s head snapped up, and her eyes met ours in the mirror. “I had forgotten about that...” She slid her hands down the front of the dress, the fur-lined cuffs framing her wrists. “I really like this one,” she whispered.
“You look amazing in it,” I agreed.
“And it is Oliver’s favorite color,” she said quietly. She cleared her throat. “Which means I should definitely choose another dress,” she announced more loudly as she moved to step off the dais.
“Hold on.” I held my hands up to halt her. “If it’s his favorite color, shouldn’t that be a plus?”
“Yeah, I’m confused,” Mel agreed.
“I just…it’s just that…he…ugh!” Adelaide couldn't get her words straight. She let out a huff of frustration. “Oliver and I slept together,” she blurted out. She immediately turned red from her chest up.
“What!” I exclaimed as Mellie gasped, “When?!”
Adelaide bit her lip. “The last time was right before they announced that Prince Xavier was abdicating.”
“The last time? Meaning there have been multiple times?” Mellie’s tone was excited, like she was interviewing someone for a juicy story.
“Well…yeah,” Adelaide said, looking between both of us as though trying to get a read on how we were handling this news.
I had been so eager to hear the rest of my friend’s story that I had briefly forgotten that I should have felt instantly jealous.
“Oh, do go on!” Mellie, completely unfazed, egged Adelaide on.