Vanessa narrowed her eyes down at her plate. “Yes, Mama,” she said obediently. But again, Dora got the distinct feeling that her cousin had not listened to any of them, and that she had some sort of plan in mind regardless.
“Well!” Lady Hayworth said. “This is a fine turn indeed, but it means that we shall have to redouble our efforts. Finish your food quickly. I expect I shall have to bully our way into an appointment to fix up Dora’s dress.”
Auntie Frances smiled at Lady Hayworth, and Dora swore that she could see the stars in her eyes as she did. It was clear that Auntie Frances thought the world of the countess. “We are so very lucky to have you on our side, Lady Hayworth,” she said. “I do not like to imagine what we would have done without you.”
Dora looked down at her food. It occurred to her only belatedly that the countess and her aunt had decided she ought to marry Albert, and never once consulted her on the matter. She wasn’t entirely certain how to feel about that.
He is quite kind, Dora thought. Though I only met him briefly. And it is a terrible shame that so many mamas and their daughters have been avoiding him only because of his arm.
But the idea that Dora was to be pawned off on Albert distressed her in a very vague manner. It did not seem right that he should be used in some scheme to snare his older brother. Besides which, Dora was quite certain that she did not have the capacity to properly feel love for anyone, and a man as sweet as Albert did deserve to be loved.
“Are you upset, Dora?” Vanessa whispered over to her. Obvious concern laced her voice. It was rare for Dora to feel anything at all deeply enough to show it on her face.
“My stomach is off,” Dora lied to her, in a soft murmur. She didn’t wish for Vanessa to worry too badly. “I did promise to introduce you to Albert. Please don’t let them make me a liar.”
Vanessa reached out to squeeze her cousin’s hand, beneath the table. “I would love for you to introduce us,” she assured Dora. “I promise, I will make sure to speak with him.”
This comforted Dora somewhat, so she squeezed Vanessa’s hand back.
Good to her word, the countess swept them all away to the dress shop directly after breakfast. The poor dressmaker was clearly already overwhelmed, but the countess must have been an important woman indeed, for she managed somehow to browbeat her way into an appointment nonetheless. After one of the tailors had stuck a few dozen pins into Dora’s gown, they left it behind them for picking up later, and went down to Gunter’s for some of those ices which Dora had been so interested to try.
By the time they were done with ices, Vanessa’s back had straightened, and there was a strange new steel in her posture. Vanessa engaged with Auntie Frances and Lady Hayworth with a deceptive enthusiasm, asking questions about how she ought to approach Lady Carroway’s sons, and what she might do to charm the lady herself. But Dora greatly suspected that they had not heard the last of Vanessa’s insistent interest in the Lord Sorcier, and she quietly vowed to herself to corner the awful man and keep him well away from Vanessa, in the unlikely event that he did end up at Lady Carroway’s ball.
A few days later, once Dora’s dress had been returned, she found herself subjected to the most intense party preparations she had ever experienced before. The countess was determined that Vanessa’s first official appearance in London should be exceptional, and so all four of them spent the entire day getting dressed. Dora found she had to whisper requests to the servants to bring her and Vanessa snacks, as they were both so monopolised that they couldn’t get away.
When she was finally released from captivity and shown to a mirror, Dora found herself briefly arrested by the sight there. The pink muslin now hugged her as though it had been made for her; at Lady Hayworth’s direction, the dressmaker had lowered its neckline ever-so-slightly, so that it was just this side of daring. The countess had also deigned to lend Dora some proper pearls, which seemed to lengthen the line of her neck. The maids had pulled her hair into a rusted red bun, leaving only a few delicate curls to frame either side of her face.
But while the sight was a bit more appealing than usual, it was not this that gave Dora pause. In fact, there was a vague worry niggling at the back of her mind, and it took her a long moment to put her finger on just what it was.
I look like I did in the mirror at the magic shop, Dora thought. Except that I think I was bleeding terribly in that reflection.
Dora felt a moment of regret that she hadn’t asked the shop owner just what sort of spell was on the mirror. But as Lady Hayworth rushed them all into a carriage outside, the thought soon darted away again, just as it had done at the shop.
“Lady Carroway favours what topics of discussion, again?” Auntie Frances quizzed her daughter, as the carriage took off for the ball.
“Embroidery and charitable works,” Vanessa answered dutifully. “And above all else, her children, of course.”
Auntie Frances beamed at Vanessa approvingly, before turning her attention to Dora. “And what must you do before the end of the evening?” she asked leadingly.
“I must dance with Albert twice,” Dora replied distantly. “As he will feel obliged to come calling upon me if I do.”
“Very good,” Auntie Frances said. Dora couldn’t help but feel a moment of pleasure at the rare praise, in spite of her continued discomfort with the idea.
“Do be sure that Lady Carroway sees you dancing with Albert,” the countess
