“Milady?” Sarah asked. Rose blinked and shook her head, feeling as though she was just emerging from a thick fog.
“Y-yes, Sarah?” Rose asked.
“Is everything alright?” Sarah asked.
Rose looked at her maid and smiled. The look on Sarah’s face told Rose that her expression was more pained than pleasant. She searched for words to say to her maid, but through the cloud in her mind that was slow to clear, she could find none.
“I was asking if you would like your hair higher up, or right where I have it now,” Sarah said.
Rose blinked, trying to bring herself back to the present.
“The way you have it now is fine,” Rose said absently.
Sarah giggled.
“Milady, should you go to the ball like this, the guests would surely think that your hair was done by a madwoman,” she said.
Rose glanced in the mirror and saw that Sarah was only half of the way through fixing her hair, and that she, indeed, looked strange. Rose could not help but giggle herself.
“Yes, you are right,” she said. “You are doing an excellent job thus far. Just keep going as you are. You are amazing with my hair.”
Sarah nodded, seeming pleased to finally get a coherent answer from her mistress. She worked in silence for a moment.
“Is something troubling you, milady?” Sarah asked, pausing only briefly to glance at Rose’s reflection as she worked.
“Oh, Sarah,” Rose said. “I just worry so about Father, what with all the stress of repairing the theater.”
Sarah nodded.
“Of course, you do,” she said. “But your father surely wants you to enjoy yourself tonight.”
Rose sighed.
“I know that he does,” she said. “But it hardly eases my mind.”
Sarah stopped working for a moment and squeezed Rose’s shoulder.
“I believe that you will be helping him by letting him know that you are taking time to enjoy leaving behind all the worries for the night.”
Yes, and searching for a suitor, Rose thought.
Rather than voicing her thought, she gave Sarah a small smile.
“Yes, you are right,” she said. However, the thoughts of the ball reminded her of her conflict between the Specter and Daniel. For the first time in days, something other than the stresses over the theater occupied Rose’s mind.
“Please, milady,” Sarah said, ceasing her work altogether and taking a seat in the chair next to Rose. “Tell me what it is that is troubling you so.”
Rose smiled, more warmly this time. Aside from Mary, Sarah was her closest friend, and she should have known that Sarah would be concerned about what was bothering her so. However, she could not outright tell Sarah that she was developing feelings for both a well-to-do Earl and a common actor.
“It is this whole suitor issue,” Rose said, speaking with care.
Sarah looked at her from head to toe.
“Do you not think that you can find a proper suitor?” Sarah asked. Rose noticed the tinge of incredulity in her maid’s voice, and she smiled again.
“No,” Rose said. “Not exactly.
Sarah frowned.
“Then, what is it that is bothering you?” she asked.
Rose sighed. She needed to speak to someone about what was bothering her. Still, she was not prepared to tell anyone everything, not even her most well-loved and trusted maid.
“What qualities do you find attractive in men?” Rose asked, as casually as she could manage.
Sarah thought for a few moments.
“Well,” she said at last. “I really have not given it much thought.” She sat deep in thought for another moment. “I suppose that I would wish for a suitor who was sweet, with good humor. And kind eyes.”
Rose smiled dreamily. Sarah was describing both the Specter and Daniel, and those were among the very reasons why she was in her current dilemma.
“Yes, those are wonderful qualities, indeed,” Rose said. “But there are many men with those traits, and many other good ones.”
Sarah nodded thoughtfully.
“Yes,” she said. “You are right.”
Rose sat up straighter in her seat.
“What would you do if ever you met more than one man who had the qualities you sought?” she asked. “I do not think I could ever make a choice, should I find myself in that situation.”
Sarah giggled.
“Yes,” she agreed. “It would be most difficult, indeed.”
Rose pretended to think on the subject. In truth, she was trying to choose her next words carefully.
“Let us say that there are two men,” Rose began. “And both of them possess those very qualities. However, their other traits are a bit different, but just as wonderful.”
Sarah narrowed her eyes, and for a moment, Rose thought that she was going to try to get Rose to divulge her true reason for asking such questions. However, she did not.
“In that case,” Sarah said. “I suppose that would depend on the other traits of each man.”
Rose nodded, thinking first about the Specter.
“Well, the first man is very talented and clever, and passionate about what he does for a living,” she said, her heart skipping as she thought of how wonderfully the Specter performed on stage. “And he does not possess a title, although he does seem to be well-to-do, and quite generous.” She took a deep breath, conjuring an image of Daniel in her mind before she continued.
“And the second man is very intelligent and strong, and he has an amazing affinity for empathy and compassion. Unlike the first man, he does have a title, and the wealth that comes with it.”
Sarah rose and began work again on Rose’s hair, seemingly deep in thought once more.
During Sarah’s silence, Rose caught a glance of Sarah in the reflection of her mirror. Sarah’s brow was furrowed, but her gaze was fixed on Rose. Rose held her breath, certain that Sarah would pry further. She did not, however. Instead, she smiled after a few more moments.
“Well,” she said. “I believe that, if we only choose to listen to it, our heart will give us the most sensible answer.”
Rose frowned. That was not the advice for which she had hoped.
“But what if what is sensible is not clear?” Rose asked.
Sarah smiled knowingly.
“The most sensible decision is always clear,” she said. “We just will not hear it if we are not willing to listen.”