time always seems to fly when you are engaged in something interesting?” As opposed to how slowly the seconds ticked by when you were listening to some boring aristocrat prattle on about his horses or his hounds.
“A good question,” answered her maid. “But at the moment, it’s not one that we are at leisure to examine.” Alice helped Kate into her corset and quickly did up the laces. “Lift your arms.”
The dark azure silk was as soft against her skin as the petals of the Javanese orchid she and Charlotte had been admiring. However, the flower’s hue had been a pale, pastel shade of pink with ivory edges…
“Now turn around.”
Still thinking about the rare bloom, Kate obeyed mechanically.
“You haven’t heard a word I’ve said, have you?” asked Alice after another few pokes and prods.
Her head jerked up. “Sorry, my mind was elsewhere.”
“Well, your body had better be in the drawing room in a quarter hour. Let us try not to antagonize your grandfather the first night we are here.”
“Right,” muttered Kate. She took a seat at the dressing table and folded her hands in her lap as her maid took up a brush and began to arrange her hair. “Thank God you are a dab hand when it comes to moving quickly.”
“In my former line of work, speed was of the essence,” said Alice dryly through a mouthful of hairpins. “Do sit still.”
Heaving a sigh, Kate watched as her maid artfully threaded a ribbon through the twist of the topknot and loosened a few curls around her ears and the nape of her neck.
“There,” announced Alice, stepping back to observe her handiwork. “That smoky shade of blue sets off the color of your hair quite nicely. And as a finishing touch, I suggest you wear the pearl earbobs and necklace.”
Kate made a face but did not argue. The jewelry had been a birthday gift—a grudging one in her opinion—from her grandfather. The set had belonged to her late grandmother, and by all rights should have passed to her mother…
“Try not to look as if a sea monster is gnawing on your leg.”
Kate’s scowl quirked into a rueful smile. “I shall try to put my best foot forward tonight.”
Alice chose a paisley shawl, figured in pastel swirls of ivory and cerulean. “Well, try not to trip over your own tongue.”
“Thank you for the vote of confidence,” murmured Kate. “If I fall on my face, it certainly won’t be on account of your efforts.” She took one last peek at the looking glass and then rose. “I swear, you are a magician to have tamed these unruly curls.”
“Unfortunately, my powers do not include the ability to conjure up a magic carpet, so you had better start moving.”
A knock on the door punctuated the warning.
“That will be Charlotte.” Looping the shawl over her shoulders, Kate hurried into the corridor, wishing that Alice could cast a spell to make the hands of the clock spin like a whirling dervish and strike midnight.
“You look lovely, my dear,” said Charlotte as they headed for the stairs.
Kate fingered her heirloom necklace, the smooth lustrous orbs feeling cold and clammy against her flesh. “I seem to remember an old adage about casting pearls before swine.”
Choking back a chuckle, her friend waggled a finger. “I fear I have set a bad example for you. I’m allowed to be a sharp-tongued shrew at my age. But you—you ought not let yourself be so cynical.”
“Don’t blame yourself, Charlotte. I’ve seen enough of the world to make my own judgments.”
“Still, you must guard against being overly harsh on Polite Society. As you well know, both Ciara and Alessandra were a trifle too quick in forming an opinion.”
“In this case, three is not a charm.” On that emphatic note, they entered the drawing room.
“Ah, there you are, Katharine.” The duke stepped away from a group of gentlemen and came over to offer his arm. “Allow me to introduce you to my guests.” A brief, belated nod acknowledged Charlotte. “And Lady Fenimore, of course.”
Charlotte waved him off. “You two go on. I am sure that you would like to present your granddaughter to the others without my company, Your Grace. I shall make their acquaintance during the course of the evening.”
Cluyne murmured a gruff thanks.
Stifling a sigh, Kate placed her gloved hand on her grandfather’s sleeve. Going through the motions of such formalities seemed so stilted, and yet that was the way of the Polite World.
Lud, she might well have been in Kurdistan instead