I stood up, learning the balance of the new heels. “Cynthia,” I admonished her.
“Do not put your back up. You’re a proud woman, and so am I. Shouldn’t a friend purchase a friend a gift?”
“A book or a small trinket. Not a pair of shoes.”
“Books are devilish expensive, even secondhand ones. Besides, good thing I did, eh? Now you have something to wear for your adventure.”
I shook my head but decided to say no more. Cynthia was kindhearted, and I would not scold her for her generosity.
We returned to the outer room. Miss Townsend helped me into a crinoline with a bustle that would smooth the skirt, then a creamy and rustling petticoat. She proved she could indeed sew as she altered the waistband to fit.
Finally, the skirt went on with a few more tucks to settle it around me. The slick purple fabric caught on my work-worn hands as I stroked it in wonder. The skirt gathered over the bustle in back—a small one, not the enormous things I’d noted ladies wearing lately—decorated with lace tied into bows.
The bodice came last, fitting me closely and buttoning up the front. The side seams had to be let out a bit so I could breathe, but with a snip here and there and a tightening of my laces, the whole thing became neat and even.
Black buttons made a nice contrast to the light and dark purples, and the lace and braid finished the look. The gown’s color brought a pinkness to my face, and my eyes were starry as I beheld myself in a tall looking glass.
“Oh my,” I said.
Even Bobby became interested as Miss Townsend fussed about, taking in a seam or sewing down an errant bit of braid. Cynthia stood back, arms akimbo, and surveyed me.
“Excellent. McAdam’s eyes will pop out.”
“I certainly hope not. He will need them.”
The jest was made absently, because what I saw in the mirror stunned me. My hair was mussed, half out of its braid, but otherwise, I could not believe that the beautiful creature I beheld was me.
The gown fitted me well after Miss Townsend’s alterations, hugging my figure, which I had always thought a bit too plump. The shimmering fabric flattered me, as did the new corset, trimming my body to the correct proportions. The high heels lifted me and straightened my back, giving a regal tilt to my head.
I still thought a cook’s face gazed back at me. Before I could voice my opinion, Miss Townsend was pulling pins from my hair and wielding a hairbrush through my long, dark tresses.
She called in her lady’s maid, who thought nothing of sitting me down and pulling my hair this way and that, braiding some parts, curling others. She complimented me on having such thick and abundant hair that she didn’t have to add switches, then went to work pinning it all in place.
The result was a style that swept my hair from my face to the back of my neck, where it wound in braids and curls up to the crown of my head. The final touch was a hat, a small one the same color as the gown, with a purple dotted lace veil that hung from the hat brim to my upper lip. Kid gloves softer than my own skin went onto my hands.
“Perfect,” Cynthia declared.
Miss Townsend clasped her hands, admiring her work. Bobby, who’d retreated while the maid worked on my hair, gave me a jaunty bow. “I’d be proud to have you on my arm, Mrs. Holloway.”
“As will McAdam.” Cynthia danced a little jig, kicking her heels up at the end. “I’d love to be there to see his face.”
“You must tell us absolutely everything,” Miss Townsend said.
“Yes, about how far his mouth falls open,” Bobby said. “We have so little entertainment.”
“Shush, Bobby,” Miss Townsend said, but Bobby only guffawed.
I wondered how much Miss Townsend actually knew about what Daniel was doing and why. Daniel trusted her, but his situation was delicate. I would ask him, but for now I concluded he’d told her just enough to recruit her help, which she was eagerly giving.
Because of Daniel’s mission? Or did these ladies have another intent in mind? They were very keen to know what Daniel would think of me.
“You are all very romantic,” I told them severely. “I am assisting Daniel to save him from embarrassment. That is all.”
“Of course,” Cynthia said quickly. She winked at the other two.
I gave up. “I must hasten, or I will be late.”
Daniel had arranged that I would be driven to Waterloo Station, where he would meet me and escort me to Surrey. A hansom pulled to the door, driven by Daniel’s cabbie friend, Lewis. James, dressed in a trim dark suit, waited inside to assist me.
He opened his brown eyes wide as Bobby handed me in. “Love a duck. Is it you, Mrs. H.?”
“It is indeed. No need for such language.” I settled the skirts, pulling a dust blanket over them. I didn’t always bother with the blanket, but I wanted no soot, mud, or horse dung on this beautiful skirt.
The ladies had come outside with me and now waved me good-bye, like three aunties sending me off to my debut. I nodded graciously at their beaming faces as the hansom jerked away.
I busied myself trying to keep the gown clean and holding on to the small beaded reticule Miss Townsend had thrust at me as Lewis drove us out of Mayfair and across the river to the edifice of Waterloo Station. A train there would take us directly to Esher, where Daniel had arranged a coach for the remainder of the journey.
Daniel, in the persona of his upper-class man-about-town, waited languidly in the middle of the entrance hall of the station, turning his hat in his hands. He was the very portrait of a bored young man tired of waiting for his lady.
“At last,” he said as James led me forward. James was to play Daniel’s servant, as a man of Daniel’s status would not roam about without someone to fetch and carry for him. “How are you, my dear?” Daniel kissed my cheek, his lips barely brushing my skin. “Well, hurry up, lad, take that to the compartment.” He gestured to a small portmanteau resting next to him. “We must get a move on.”
James, as good an actor as his father, moved blank faced toward the waiting train on the nearest platform, as though used to being ordered about by impatient gentlemen.
Daniel took my arm and led me onward. “Very fetching,” he said as he eyed my gown. “Astonishing hat. I thought you’d miss the train, darling. You’d have watched me disappearing down the track, the train huffing and puffing, if you had left it any later.”
I definitely preferred the affable man-of-all-work to this jackanapes. I could not say so in the crowd—Daniel’s speeches were for the benefit of anyone listening. No one seemed to pay much attention to us, all hurrying toward their own destinations, but Daniel was cautious.
I was nowhere near late, as the train was not due to leave for another twenty minutes. I clutched Daniel’s arm and tried to look contrite.