How to Claim a Governess’s Heart - Bridget Barton Page 0,84

her brow in deep thought for a second. “If Miss Thatcher becomes your wife, then I won’t have a teacher. That means I will never have to practice my lessons again,” she finished, her blue eyes wide with energy.

They both laughed at Betsy’s line of thought.

“Unfortunately, my little love,” Lord John explained, “you will still have lessons. But I hope you are still amiable to the situation all the same.”

“I suppose so,” Betsy said with a sigh.

Chapter 27

“Mrs. Smith, I look like an imposter,” Bridget commented as she studied herself in the full-length mirror.

Until today, the precious item was kept in one of the unused rooms covered in a sheet. The dowager duchess liked to examine her whole figure and trappings with ease and insisted she had a full-length mirror at all of her houses.

Mrs. Smith had made the decision to have it moved into Bridget’s room after their long day of shopping the day before. She wanted Bridget to have a princess moment tonight. So far, it had been that and so much more for Bridget.

After their kiss two nights before, Lord John announced that he would be taking Bridget out for an evening amongst the Ton. He had no desire to hide his feelings for her from the world ever again. He wouldn’t tell her where they were going, except that she was to go straight to Covent Garden and outfit herself from head to toe in the best finery she could find.

Bridget had been hesitant to do so, but with Mrs. Smith as a companion, they had quickly forgotten worldly concerns as they absorbed themselves in the latest fashions. She came away from her day of shopping with a new leaf-green silk dress, silk stockings, pink satin slippers, long cream gloves with button accents at the top, and – what Bridget considered an overly excessive splurge of money but Mrs. Smith insisted she needed – a forest-green velvet mantlet with a short but stiff upstanding collar.

“I have no need for the excess.”

“It will keep you warm as you go to and from wherever it is Lord John plans to take you. That dress you have chosen has short sleeves. You will catch a cold in the night air without an outer covering.”

“I am sure we will take a carriage,” Bridget protested, though she fingered the soft velvet with her fingers. “And the mantlet itself wouldn’t go much past the dress’s sleeve line.”

Mrs. Smith waved the fact off and continued to insist that it would complete her look. They also acquired a new simple cream-coloured hair comb and some pink ribbon and green feathers to embellish it with.

Bridget had once wondered what caused ladies to feel so exhausted by days out, but now having spent a whole afternoon looking at shop after shop for various items for just one night, she too felt the fatigue others had often commented on.

Now having spent the afternoon in her room, while Mrs. Smith helped to dress her and fix her curls so that they perfectly framed her face, Bridget was beginning to feel slightly ridiculous.

“I don’t think you look an imposter at all, dear,” Mrs. Smith replied as she clipped a thread from the front hem of her dress.

The dress itself was a simple silk garment with short sleeves and an empire waist. The front of the dress split in two, starting at the waist to reveal a cream skirt underneath it. To match the pink slippers, both ladies decided to get a pink satin ribbon. It was a much thinner ribbon than was the custom to wrap around one's waist, so instead, they lined each side of the opening front hem as well as made several loops to accentuate the feathers on her hair ornament.

“I don’t even recognise the woman before me,” Bridget retorted as she nervously tugged at the top of her long cream gloves.

She wondered if she should have chosen the ribbon gloves instead of buttons. Those she could have tied tight enough to leave a mark on her upper arms. These buttons were sure to cause her to worry over them slipping the whole night long.

Mrs. Smith reached for her new mantlet, carefully removing it from its packaging, and helping to wrap it around Bridget’s shoulders. It lay loosely on her with a clasp at the neck.

“Such an expense,” Bridget mumbled under her breath as she studied the added garment.

“I am sure Lord John will appreciate how it accentuates your form,” Mrs. Smith spoke with a stifled