‘Perhaps I could help? Another pair of hands?’ Louisa said, holding her knees together, feeling the blood rush to her face. She felt awful, putting the unhappily married Duchess to more work.
Madame Brunet waved a hand. ‘That will not be necessary. But your words do remind me that we have had a court gown returned because it did not meet Lady Rutledge’s exacting approval. She is about the same size as Lady Louisa, and the gown could be altered in time. If my suggestion is not offensive?’
‘We can hardly be particular,’ Mantheria said, with a wink to Louisa. ‘But we will be. Please show it to us, Madame Brunet. I am sure your work was exceptional. Lady Rutledge probably couldn’t afford the bill for the gown—she runs through her quarterly allowance faster than a racehorse at Ascot.’
A few moments later the modiste returned with two seamstresses holding a dark green gown between them. It was the most ornate piece of clothing Louisa had ever seen. The train had to be at least eight feet long, and the skirt was wide, as if it had been made for an old-fashioned hoop. Flounces crisscrossed the skirts and were embellished by point lace.
Giggling, Mantheria gave Louisa a little push on her arm. ‘You look overwhelmed by its sumptuousness, but I must assure you that this gown is quite perfect for a presentation to the Queen. The more ostentatious your dress is the better, and when in doubt you must add another flounce and two tassels.’
Louisa did feel overwhelmed—but by its beauty.
‘It’s magnificent,’ she whispered. ‘It must cost a fortune.’
‘Three hundred pounds, my lady,’ Madame Brunet said with another obsequious curtsy.
Louisa could only blink. She’d had no idea that one gown could cost so much. It was a small fortune!
But the Duchess of Glastonbury did not appear at all surprised by the price. ‘We will take it. Now, Louisa, I’ll wait here while you go with the seamstresses to be measured. And then we will be off to buy hats, gloves, slippers and everything else a debutante needs for the season.’
Louisa was in a daze as she followed the sewing women behind a curtain and they helped her out of her day dress. She felt embarrassed that her chemise did not even reach her knees and was practically threadbare. Madame Brunet did not mention it, but simply took out her tape measure and put it around Louisa’s waist, chest and hips. She called out several numbers to one of her assistants.
Gulping, Louisa watched as the two seamstresses brought the beautiful gown towards her. ‘Perhaps you will be so kind as to add underclothing to the order?’ she said.
‘Of course, my lady,’ she said, squeezing Louisa’s waist with her hands, ‘and a hoop for your presentation gown.’
Glancing over her shoulder, Louisa saw another woman bringing a large hoop contraption to tie around her waist. She held herself still as the woman attached it with ties, letting the hoop fall almost to the floor. Then the two other seamstresses pulled the emerald gown over her head. It felt like a second skin as Madame Brunet did the buttons in the back.
‘What do you think, Lady Louisa?’
The modiste gently turned Louisa’s shoulders until she was looking into a mirror. She almost didn’t recognise her own reflection.
‘It’s perfect,’ she whispered. ‘Perfect...’
If this was a dream, Louisa did not wish to wake up.
Chapter Fifteen
Wick knew better than to visit Mantheria before noon. His sister was not a morning person. She was positively prickly until she’d had her hot chocolate and read the morning news. He was reasonably sure that his three little sisters would be awake. But they couldn’t get into too much mischief at Mantheria’s townhouse, could they?
A cold sweat covered his forehead as he entered White’s club. His younger sisters could and often did get into a great deal of mischief.
He allowed a footman to open the door to an adjacent room and ordered coffee. Sitting down, he was about to lean back in his chair when his best friend Lord Sunderland—‘Sunny’—sat beside him.
‘I didn’t expect to see you in town again so soon. I thought you were rusticating in the country. Determined to avoid the desperate debs.’
Wick didn’t bother covering his yawn. Sunny had been the one sent home to ‘rusticate’. They’d been to Eton and then Oxford together, each staying at the other’s homes during the summer holidays. Such old friends didn’t need to stand on ceremony.
‘My sisters need another governess.’
Sunny chortled. ‘What does this make? Their seventh or eighth since the battle-axe Miss Nix retired? I’ll say this for your old governess...she walloped just as hard as any man.’
Wick smiled wryly. Both he and Sunny had deserved the spanking she’d given them after letting out all the chickens. ‘Only the sixth.’
‘Give it time... I am sure there will be a seventh and eighth.’
He shook his head. ‘Please don’t talk about my sisters. They are Mantheria’s problem for a few hours. I need a break from all the drama—just for a little while.’
Sunny grinned, emphasising his nose, slightly crooked above his straight white teeth. ‘You have brought your little sisters to London? Surely there is more to this story.’