Merry Misrule - St. Clair, Ellie Page 0,73

voice, her voluminous blue eyes pleading with Emily.

Emily sighed inwardly. She seemed to spend more time searching for Henrietta’s well-loved wooden doll than she did looking after the children.

“And where is it, darling?” Emily asked with as much patience as she could muster as she crouched down in front of the girl. Henrietta bit her lip and hung her head so that she didn’t have to meet Emily’s eyes.

“Henrietta?”

“Just tell her, Hen,” Michael offered from across the room, looking up from his book. They were sitting in the nursery, though the room was no longer fitting for young children. Emily had reformatted it into a library of sorts, and a secondary place where they could work on their lessons when the actual library was unavailable.

“I can only find it if you tell me where it is,” Emily said after taking a deep breath. “You know how important it is to be honest with one another.”

“The ballroom,” Henrietta whispered, looking up at Emily with regret in her eyes. “Behind the last row of chairs in the corner beside the angel with the long pink wings.”

“The ballroom? Good heavens, Henrietta, what is it doing in there?”

“I wanted to see the ballroom beautifully decorated before the party began, and I must have left my doll in the corner when the housekeeper caught me sneaking through.”

“Henrietta, we shall have to get it tomorrow. You know the ballroom is currently filled with all of your parents’ friends.”

“Oh, please, Mrs. Nicholls, we must find it tonight! I cannot sleep without Holly, you know I simply cannot! And what if someone takes her? She could be gone by morning!”

Emily pushed a few stray strands of hair back from her forehead. She certainly had no wish to enter the ballroom, full of the viscount and viscountess’ noble friends, but Henrietta had a point. If that doll was lost, there would be tears for many nights to come. Better to suffer through a moment of embarrassment to save both Henrietta and herself some pain later on.

“Very well,” she said with a sigh. “Sit down, now. I’ll be right back. Then it is straight to bed — no stalling, all right?”

“Oh, thank you, Mrs. Nicholls,” Henrietta said, all smiles now. “I do love you, you know.”

“And I, you. Now, I’ll be right back.”

Emily hurried down the long corridor, her hand on the balcony, before reaching the staircase to the ground floor. The symphony of music grew ever louder as she took one stair after another before she finally reached the landing. Here, maids and footmen scurried back and forth, refilling drinks, adding food to the sideboard, and fetching cloaks and hats.

Hopefully, she could find her way through the throng without being noticed. She supposed she looked enough like any other servant who was moving amongst the guests, though she was dressed slightly better than the maids who served food and drink.

She tiptoed to the door of the ballroom, although it was not as though she had to be quiet — somehow it made her feel less likely to be noticed. The pink angel was painted upon the wall in the farthest corner, of course. Emily decided she would keep to the outskirts of the ballroom so as not to be observed, particularly by Lord and Lady Coningsby.

Emily had to admit that she could see what had drawn Henrietta to the room. It was stunning as it was, but even more so with white lilies from the conservatory placed in lavish vases ornamenting the room, along with laurel, holly, ivy, and pine, already draped around the columns in preparation for the coming Christmas season.

If that wasn’t enough, the people who filled it nearly overwhelmed her senses. Her ears rang and she was nearly dizzy from the scents and sights. Women were draped in extravagant gowns of every color, jewels dripping from their ears and down their necks. Their hair was curled and twisted into knots more elaborate than anything Emily had ever seen. Her entire family could probably live off the cost of one of those dresses for an entire year, she thought ruefully, but then shook her head.

Enough of that. She was lucky to be here and to work for such people.

Emily pushed her spectacles back up her nose as she returned her focus to finding Emily’s doll instead of ogling the guests of her employer’s ball.

The wooden doll. She would find it quickly, and then back upstairs she would go — to her rightful place.

“Hello, Edward,” Charles greeted his