CHAPTER SIXTEEN
“There.” Verity finished tying the sating ribbons at Alice’s waist and stepped back to cast an assessing glance over her great-niece. “What do you think, Alice?”
From the other side of her bedroom, Helena smiled as the little girl twirled around in her pink flower girl dress, the dark pink ribbons at her waist floating at her sides.
Her braid was frayed after a rainy day spent playing in the nursery instead of being able to race around outside to burn off all that childhood energy, and her shoes had been discarded hours ago somewhere in the house, leaving her little feet in stockings.
But her cheeks were as bright pink with happiness as her dress, and every step she took was a bounce of beaming joy.
Alice laughed at her reflection in the tall mirror and threw her arms around Verity’s legs in a great hug of unabashed glee.
“I think she likes it,” Helena murmured to Mrs. Swenson, who watched the scene next to her.
And if she liked her dress this much, Helena couldn’t wait for the second surprise she had for her—a special matching dress for her doll, which would be Helena’s wedding gift to the little girl.
She only hoped she could convince Alice to leave the doll with Verity for the actual ceremony instead of carrying it down the aisle with her.
The seamstress placed a garment box on the bed in front of Helena and returned in the same low voice, “Ah, but do you like this?”
“What is that?”
With a smile like a cat who’d gotten into the cream, she gestured for Helena to open it. “Something special.”
Helena reached to remove the lid. White tissue paper crinkled as she parted it and revealed—
She gasped. “Oh my.”
“I hope that’s a happy oh my.”
Helena nodded, her eyes glued to the night rail folded carefully in the box. “It is.” She reached hesitantly to touch it, as if it were so delicate she might tear it. “Oh, it definitely is!”
She brushed her fingertips across the white silk, lace, and ribbon creation—hardly any silk, ribbon, and lace, to be truthful—that was clearly meant to be worn on her wedding night.
So beautiful, so delicate, so…barely there.
Thin lace comprised the low-cut, fitted bodice, which was tied by a single satin ribbon laced loosely up the front, and folds of soft silk and see-through gauze formed a skirt that would have just reached down to her knees.
Nestled in the box lay a matching wrapper, stockings, and garters.
“It’s so lovely,” Helena whispered. She had asked for new night rails when she ordered her wardrobe, but she had no idea Mrs. Swenson would create something this beautiful. And this daring.
But then, everything about her new wardrobe had stunned her, including how much both Mrs. Swenson and Verity thought she needed to launch her new life as a duchess.
Surrounded by all of it for today’s final fitting before her wedding, her bedroom looked as if a dressmaker’s shop had exploded inside it.
Morning dresses, day dresses, garden dresses…
driving outfits, riding outfits, walking outfits…
and dozens of shoes, pelisses, coats, wraps, hats—good lord, there was even a fur muff for winter!
Gloves in a rainbow of colors lay across her dressing table as if displayed in a shop, along with more pairs of stockings than she could count.
Parasols of paper and fabric were propped against the wall, while shawls in the finest Indian muslins competed for space on the bed with dresses for every imaginable occasion.
Slippers and half boots were lined up by the armoire, whose doors had been thrown open wide to showcase the dozens of shifts and corsets of all lengths.
Despite all the beautiful things already here, even more dresses needed to be made, as evidenced by the bolts of fine silks and satins leaning against the side of the bed.
Mrs. Swenson had brought them for Helena to decide from which fabric to make the ball gowns and evening finery she would need for their trip to London, which Gabe wanted to take as soon as they were married.
In truth, so did Helena. She wanted to see her father and sisters, and with Gabe at her side, she could finally put to rest all those horrible sinful Sinfell rumors about her.
“Would you like me to make a second special night rail?” Mrs. Swenson asked secretively. “Perhaps in a royal blue?”
She took a deep breath and a moment to make up her mind. A second night gown like this one was surely an extravagance…but one Gabe might very much like. “I think—”
“Helena.”
She jumped at the deep voice coming from the doorway and spun around, stashing the risqué gown behind her back.
“Gabe.” She smiled with embarrassment as Mrs. Swenson deftly took the night rail from her hands and put it back into the box before Gabe could see it.
Across the room, the assistant shoved her wedding gown into the armoire and closed the doors.
Thank God. Their impending wedding already had enough obstacles; it didn’t need any more bad luck.
“I thought you’d be in the village this afternoon. ”
“It rained.” He nodded toward Verity and Mrs. Swenson. “Ladies.” Alice stopped her twirling and stepped behind Verity, as if she, too, could sense the tension he brought into the room with him, as cold as the gray day outside. “May I have a moment alone with you, Miss Sinfell?”
Dread bubbled in her belly. Oh, this could not be good. What had Adam done now?
Helena nodded and smiled at the two women and Alice. “Would you mind stepping out into the hall for a moment?”
“Not at all.” Mrs. Swenson put the lid securely on the box, then curtsied to Gabe. “Your Grace.” She smiled at Helena. “Miss Sinfell.”
She and her assistant scurried from the room, which suddenly seemed even more dominated by the wreckage of the fitting session by their absence.
“Lady Alice also needs to return to the nursery,” Verity said as she took Alice by the shoulders and steered the little girl past Gabe and into the hall. “I’ll take her back to Nanny Potts and return with the dress in a little while.”
“Thank you,” Helena acknowledged.
A tense stillness fell over the room, one that made Helena acutely aware of the mess of dresses around her. Of all the times for Gabe to visit her room, this was not opportune.
Gabe left the door open and came forward. “I didn’t mean to interrupt your fitting.” He cast a frowning gaze around the room, and Helena had the uncomfortable feeling that he was somehow calculating in his head the cost of having a new wife. “I didn’t realize Mrs. Swenson was coming today.”
“Yes, for a final fitting and to deliver the finished dresses.” She waved a hand at the disheveled room around her, then shook her head.
“I don’t think Verity is going to be able to convince Alice to take off her dress.
” She gave a smile to inject levity into the suddenly charged atmosphere.
“She wants to show it to her pony. I had to tell her she couldn’t ride the beast down the aisle for our wedding, and I don’t think she’ll ever forgive me for it. ”
He crossed his arms, unwittingly adding to the tension, despite his words. “Perhaps she’ll be satisfied with pink ribbons for its mane and tail.”
“What a wonderful idea. She’ll love that.” But he didn’t come here to discuss Alice, she knew. So she pulled in a deep breath and steeled herself. “What did you need to speak with me about?”
“I’ve promised to provide all that you and your family need.”
“Yes, and how generous of you.” Confusion only heightened the dread inside her. “But that doesn’t—”
“If you wanted money, you could have simply asked for it,” he said bluntly. He gestured at the room and all the clothes and accessories piled everywhere. “You didn’t have to go to all this trouble.”
Her stomach tightened. “I don’t know what you mean.”
He held out a small sheet of paper. “This was mixed in with the building bills and receipts on my desk. I found it when I was going through the accounts. At first, I thought it was for your school. Then I saw it was from Mrs. Swenson.” He paused. “The amount doesn’t match what we agreed upon.”
Biting her bottom lip, she took it and scanned over the amount. “I know it seems like a lot.” She grimaced. “A very lot. But we negotiated new limits, remember? You agreed I could increase the amount.”
She looked up at him, and the hard expression on his face pierced her, silencing her instantly. Her heart thumped, and she instinctively knew… His visit wasn’t about her clothing allowance.
“Going over the limit wouldn’t have been a problem.
I will gladly give you all the clothing you want.
” His gaze flicked to the towering pile of stockings and corsets on the reading chair and amended, “Within reason.” He nodded at the bill.
“But that invoice is significantly less than what we agreed upon.”
“Isn’t that a good thing?” She quirked an amused half-grin at him, yet the tension didn’t ease from her belly.
“Not when my accountant has already transferred funds to you to pay the higher amount. Nearly twice as much, in fact.” His gaze fixed on her. “Where is the difference, Helena?”
Her smile vanished. “I don’t—I don’t know.
” She scanned the bill again, desperate in her confusion to find the answer he expected from her, but the bill wasn’t itemized.
She’d never purchased so many clothes and accessories all at once before and hadn’t thought to ask Mrs. Swenson to be that detailed. “There shouldn’t be any difference.”
His grim silence only served to increase her confusion.
When the realization of why he was there seeped through her, a chilling shiver came in its wake.
“You think I’m manipulating the accounts somehow, don’t you?” she asked, her voice low to prevent anyone from overhearing. “Keeping the extra money for myself?” When he stiffened, she knew she was correct, and the dread transformed into soft anger. “Did Adam put you up to this?”
“I want trust in my marriage,” he answered coolly.
She held up the bill. “And this is how you think to establish it—by accusing me of stealing?”
His jaw tightened. “I think society women do things like this all the time, and I want better from my own wife.”
“You mean Clarissa,” she corrected, her voice suddenly hoarse. “You mean Clarissa did things like this all the time.”
At least he had the decency to hold her gaze as he answered, “Yes, she did.”
“I am not Clarissa.” She handed the bill back toward him, resisting the urge to wad it in her fist and toss it into the fireplace. “I would never do something like that.”
Guilt showed on his face, but not belief. Her chest squeezed so painfully that she winced. He still didn’t think her any better than his late wife. Dear God, how could she ever make him see that she wasn’t Clarissa?
A knock rapped on the open door. Helena turned away to swipe at her eyes as Mrs. Swenson appeared in the doorway.
“I’m so terribly sorry to interrupt,” she apologized and gestured toward the vanity. “I forgot my notebook.”
“Of course,” Gabe murmured and nodded permission for the seamstress to enter.
Mrs. Swenson scurried across the room to collect her notebook, only to halt in her tracks when she saw the bill in Gabe’s hand. Her shop’s emblem was clearly visible at the top of the paper slip.
“Is there a problem with the tally, Your Grace? I gave it to the butler to give to Miss Sinfell.” Mrs. Swenson straightened her spine warily as she cast her gaze between the two of them.
“I hope I wasn’t the cause of any disagreement between you.
I would be happy to provide an itemized list of goods and costs, if you’d prefer,” Mrs. Swenson continued.
“But you should know that the bill is only for what was delivered today. More will be coming in the next few weeks as I finish the gowns and things that were ordered for London.”
Gabe stilled, except his gaze which darted to the seamstress. “Pardon?”
“You have a partial bill, Your Grace.” She raised her chin proudly. “I never bill for orders before the work is complete because I find that business practice to be unscrupulous.”
“I’m certain you do,” Gabe said quietly.
“I’ll bring the next bill when I deliver the rest in a fortnight, all fully itemized.
I should warn you, however, that gowns for London are quite expensive.
The finished bill will likely be half again as much as that.
But I assure you my billing is accurate.
” A touch of pique colored her voice. “I would hate for you to think I commit improper business practices.”
“His Grace doesn’t think that of you at all, do you, Thurston?” Helena laid her hand on Gabe’s arm and smiled reassuringly at the seamstress. “Actually, he was concerned that you were undercharging us.”
“Indeed.” His posture softened at the lie, yet his expression remained as inscrutable as ever. “My apologies, madam, for any misunderstanding. I’m certain all your work will be beautiful and of the highest quality.”
With a beaming smile, Mrs. Swenson gave a deep curtsey. “Thank you, Your Grace.”
Helena didn’t see remorse in Gabe’s eyes but consternation. It struck her like a slap. Good God…had he wanted her to be as untrustworthy as Clarissa, after all, to prove himself right that no woman could be trusted?
“Please stop by my study before you leave,” he said to Mrs. Swenson. “I’ll personally make certain your bill is paid in full.” He gave a shallow nod in parting and didn’t meet Helena’s gaze. “If you’ll both excuse me, I have work to finish.”
Helena stared after him, her vision blurring from stinging tears. He’d apologized to Mrs. Swenson, but would he ever forgive her for all of Clarissa’s wrongs? For heaven’s sake, she wasn’t Clarissa! When would he ever start seeing her for herself?
“Miss Sinfell?” Mrs. Swenson asked with a frown of concern. “Are you unwell?”
She pulled in a deep breath and forced a smile. “I won’t need a second night rail. One will be more than enough.”
With a sigh of disappointment at losing a commission, Mrs. Swenson crossed it out of her notebook.