Murder at the Mayfair Hotel (Cleopatra Fox Mysteries #1)- C.J. Archer Page 0,90

so pleased.”

I stared at her. “What are you talking about, Harmony?” I shook my head. “Never mind. Just tell me, have you seen Edith this afternoon?”

She frowned. “She seems to have disappeared after she cleaned her rooms. She’s supposed to be helping one of the ladies get ready. I hope she has a good excuse because Mrs. Kettering’ll dismiss her if she can’t give a reason for being absent.”

I swore under my breath, earning a blink of surprise from Harmony. “Sorry,” I muttered. “Now what is all this talk about a dress?”

“Harmony, who is it?” came Flossy’s voice from beyond.

“It’s Miss Fox,” Harmony said over her shoulder.

Flossy emitted a squeal of delight. “Oh, Cleo, do come in! I’m so thrilled you’ve changed your mind.”

Harmony took my hand and pulled me into the bedroom where Flossy sat at the dressing table, a maid behind her, arranging Flossy’s hair.

My cousin put out her hand to me. “We are going to have such fun tonight.”

“I can’t go,” I told them. “I have nothing to wear.”

For the first time since hearing about the ball, I actually wished to attend. Not for the festivities. I wouldn’t enjoy dancing so soon after my grandmother’s death; I couldn’t enjoy it. But Mr. Hookly was going to be there to speak to the banker friend of Lord Addlington’s, and I wanted to observe him. I also wanted to see the police pull him aside to speak to him about his involvement in Mrs. Warrick’s murder after I informed the inspector how he’d manipulated Edith into giving him the key.

Flossy and Harmony exchanged glances in the mirror’s reflection. They smiled.

“You do have something to wear,” Flossy said. “Harmony and I have been conspiring to make sure you had a suitable gown.”

I stared at her. “When? How?”

“These last few days. I gave her one of mine and she’s been altering it to fit you.”

“We can make some last-minute adjustments if we need to,” Harmony said as she headed for Flossy’s wardrobe. “But I think it should be about right.”

“And don’t worry about the style or color,” Flossy went on. “It’s gray, which I think is entirely appropriate for a young lady in mourning. The hairpiece is jet, as you know.”

I gasped. “You bought that hairpiece from Harrods’? Flossy, that must have cost a fortune!”

“Shhh. Don’t tell Father.”

“I’m not wearing it. You will return it tomorrow.”

“The shops aren’t open tomorrow.” She sniffed. “Besides, I’m Florence Bainbridge. I don’t return things. If I change my mind, I simply give it away.” She suddenly smiled. “Now go and get ready. I’ll see you in the ballroom in an hour and a half. Don’t forget the matching gloves, Harmony!”

Harmony insisted that I eat something while she did my hair so I ordered a salad down the speaking tube. While we waited, she played with different arrangements, but couldn’t settle on one thing. I was acutely aware of the clock ticking.

“We need to do something with your face,” she said, frowning at my reflection in the dressing table mirror.

“What’s wrong with it?”

“Nothing, really, but you could be prettier with a little color on your cheeks and lips, and perhaps a dash of powder on your nose and brow for the shine.”

“My face will have to stay as it is. I don’t have any powders of rouges.”

Grandmama wouldn’t have approved of me wearing makeup. According to her, only a certain type of woman used it. Times had changed, however, and this was London. I’d noticed some of the younger ladies with a little color on their cheeks and lips, and Flossy had some pots on her dressing table.

“I don’t have anything for your coloring,” Harmony said. “I’m sure Miss Bainbridge will let you use hers.”

The knock on the door signaled the arrival of my salad, carried in by Danny. He deposited the tray on the dressing table as directed and regarded me with a critical eye.

“She needs something to bring out her eyes,” he told Harmony.

She agreed. “Can you fetch some makeup from Miss Bainbridge’s room?”

He returned a few minutes later with seven small pots which he laid on the table in front of me, and some blotting papers. “Miss Bainbridge didn’t know which would suit Miss Fox’s complexion best so she gave me all the ones she had.” He left us to return to his duties, although he seemed disappointed to be going.

Harmony insisted I try on the dress before we finished hair and makeup. She assisted me into the gown then stepped back to