The Last Eligible Bachelor - Ashtyn Newbold Page 0,27
ones she wanted to test on me. After attempting two different coiffures, she seemed to finally be content with this one, aside from one pesky curl.
She straightened the pearl pins around the crown of my head, twisting the curls on each side of my face around her finger to shape them correctly.
“Need I remind you that Mrs. Ollerton has planned several activities out of doors today?” I said with a teasing smile. “I don’t think that curl will stay exactly as you have arranged it.”
Jessie huffed a breath, casting me a teasing frown in the mirror. “Yes, but what matters most is your first impression on the ladies. If you walk down to the breakfast room with limp curls, they’ll not be envious of you, will they?”
“The point is not to make the other ladies envious,” I said with a sigh. “It is to become like the other ladies. I must fit in, so Mr. Hill finds nothing unique about me to entertain himself with.”
“Yes, I suppose you be right, but I still want him to find you pretty.”
I jerked my head away from her twisting fingers. “No. We must ensure he finds me quite the opposite. This hair arrangement is meant to be extreme, not attractive.” I looked in the mirror again, smiling at the way my curls piled several inches off my head. “I look very much like Miss Benham. You have done well, Jessie.”
She gave a modest smile, stepping away and studying her work. “I do think I’ve improved. Now, your gown.” She walked to the wardrobe and removed the most detailed of the dresses Sophia had sent, which was still not nearly as intricate as Miss Benham’s wardrobe. It was a pale pink with a second layer of sheer chiffon over the skirts. It looked more like a ball gown than a morning dress, but it was something Miss Benham would wear simply because she wished to. Her confidence was fashionable in itself, and that was exactly what I needed to emulate. Miss Downsfield’s confidence was unmatched as well.
Until today.
I planned to exceed it if I could. If I added a few ridiculous comments to my conversation, I could demonstrate a similarity to Miss Coppins, and if I held myself with elegant posture at all times, Miss Taplow would find her equal in me as well. Mr. Hill would not recognize me at all.
Squaring my shoulders, I studied the glint of determination in my eyes in the mirror. This would undo the damage I had done. It had to. My heart threw itself against my ribs, pounding so hard I could hear my own pulse. I was not even a real lady! I was a lady’s maid. It had been difficult enough to act the part of a timid, submissive lady. How could I be a flirtatious, competitive, fashionable one?
Jessie must have sensed my worry, for she stepped forward, threading her arm around my shoulders. “You’ll behave perfectly.”
I smiled. “If you can call Miss Downfield’s behavior perfect, then yes, I will.”
Jessie laughed, covering her lips with her fingers.
After dressing in the pink gown, I made my way downstairs, focusing on each step. Keeping my shoulders back, I practiced my smug, disdainful expression. Miss Downsfield wore such an expression at least half the time. The other half, she wore one of infatuation as she stared at Mr. Hill. That was the part that scared me the most. Would flirting with him have the opposite effect of what I intended? I had even practiced my shrill laughter, and Jessie had said it was astonishingly similar to Sophia’s laugh.
When I reached the door to the breakfast room, I gathered my wits about me. Mrs. Ollerton’s voice carried into the hallway, followed by a much deeper tone that could only have been Mr. Hill. His voice was too quiet from my place in the hall to decipher his words, but Mrs. Ollerton said something about delicious eggs.
With a deep breath, I walked inside, putting on my practiced expression. It faltered when I saw that it was just Mr. Hill and Mrs. Ollerton in the room so far. I had expected to see all the women surrounding him already, but I had come too early. If I was the only young lady in the room, I was still bound to stand out. Drat it all. How late was fashionable? I would have expected Miss Downsfield to be here early to ensure she had the chair next to him at the table.