Beside her, Eleanor released a snort of disgust, but didn’t make any further comment. She was busy looking over Mellie’s shoulder at the designs.
Lady Redhill raised her brows but agreed. “No more Russian influence.”
“Good,” inserted the duchess. “We don’t have time to outfit her properly, and all that fanciness would take too much.”
Then again, everyone was looking at Melinda. It was ridiculous. She knew nothing about clothing or fashion, and here they were all waiting for her opinion. So she spoke without even thinking about her words first. “Crickets aren’t fancy. Their wings are simple and clean.”
Eleanor leaned back. “But they do have wings, don’t they?”
“Well, yes, of course. Two pairs actually. A forewing and a hind wing.”
Once again her words were greeted with silence, and Mellie squirmed in discomfort. Good Lord, she already knew she was odd. Did they need to stare at her like that? But a moment later, Lady Redhill was reaching for her sketches again.
“Two wings,” she murmured.
“Two skirts,” the duchess echoed.
“Both green, but one lighter, the other—”
“Darker. Trimmed in veins of gold perhaps?”
“Just a hint,” Lady Redhill said, her fingers flying as she rapidly drew more designs. “Do you know the fabric I mean?”
“I don’t know that we’ve more than the one green silk,” the duchess returned. “Can’t fashion a dozen gowns out of one bolt of green.”
“Irene will manage. And there is more than one. We’ve got a green velvet for a cloak.”
The duchess clapped her hands. “That will be her signature! That dark green cloak with threads of gold shot through it like veins. Everyone will know it’s her. At least until the others start copying her.”
Melinda blinked. People would start copying her? What a silly thought. Except beside her, Lady Eleanor was nodding as she thought. “Excellent,” she murmured. “Do you think we can fashion a tiara that looks like antennae?”
This time everyone stared at Eleanor, and to her shock they burst out laughing—Eleanor included.
“Yes,” the woman said ruefully. “A tiara might be a bit much. But perhaps some stitching on the cloak’s hood?”
To which Lady Redhill once again looked at Melinda. “Miss Smithson, you must direct me. Just how much do you intend to embrace this identity? You are a lovely woman. I cannot think that this elaborate game is necessary.”
“But that is just the point, isn’t it?” she said, her voice starting out weak but growing stronger with each word. “My Season, the fashion, the way we preen about ourselves, it is all a game. Even in animals and insects, there are elaborate rituals in the hopes of mating, though it is usually the male who does most of the preening.”
“Oh, never fear about that,” drawled Lady Eleanor. “You will witness a great deal of male preening soon enough.”
“But you must decide,” pushed Lady Redhill. “Just how much are you willing toplay?”
That was the question, wasn’t it? And while she was still thinking about the question, Lady Eleanor spoke up.
“It is all about confidence, Melinda. If you are not completely at one with the role, we shall never bring it about.”
Confident? In being a prancing cricket princess?
Then the duchess spoke, her voice kind but no less assured. “They’re right, Miss Smithson. You cannot sit like a bump on a log in these dresses. You must play with the role—”
“Play withus,” stressed Lady Redhill.
“Play withthem,” corrected Lady Eleanor. “The men, the society women, the whole of theton. Play, Melinda, and be pleased that you are smarter than all of them combined.”
And that’s when she finally understood. Each of these women, in her own way, was asking her to join in a game. This was how they had fun. Just as when her father asked her to help with his experiments, he truly believed he was offering her an enjoyable experience. He was playing with science and inviting her to join. These ladies were inviting her to join them in a game of society and wondered if she would participate like a child joining a game of marbles.
She stared at them, thrown as the meaning dropped like water between cracks into her consciousness. “London is a most peculiar place,” she finally said.