With the Second Ball only a few short days away, the dressmaking was underway and took up most of my time. My room had become something of a command center, with Charlotte, Elva, the nanny, Mark, and I as regulars. Susie visited quite often, sometimes with a maid or two in tow.
Her gown, leopard-themed, she shared, was already completed.
"The design wasn't overly complicated," Susie said. "The leopard-print fabric is what makes it."
"I'm sure it's beautiful," I told her.
"So am I," Mark added. When Susle looked at him, he quickly glanced away.
She continued to watch him as she said, "Thank you, but I truly have little interest in this event."
Mark, surprised, finally glanced back at her. "But if you don't do well, you might not make it through the elimination."
If she did stay, it would have to be at the selection of one of the princes. If Nicholas knew Susie and Mark liked each other, he might select her, just to help them be together. Although he tended to be a stickler for the rules, of which Susie and Mark were definitely breaking, by crushing on each other.
I supposed there was no easy answer for them. Whatever time they had together was likely to be brief. "I know," Susie said, a bit sadly.
Mark frowned but didn't say anything else.
"Hold on," I said, a few minutes later, as I put the finishing touches of a wolf mask of faux gray fur. "Elva, come over here."
She skipped over to me, and I placed it on her face.
"Keep it right there a second," I said.
Diligently, she lifted her hand up and kept the mask in place. I tied the ribbons securely behind her head, keeping the mask in place. It was lightweight so the ribbon should be enough. I wanted to test it now, though, rather than chance it at the Ball.
"See how that fits for a while, okay?"
She nodded at once. Through the holes in her mask, her eyes were wide and bright. When she smiled, it was all crooked teeth and gums,
"Look! Look! I'm a wolf!" She gave a little howl and then scurried around the room.
Susie, laughing, started to chase her.
I rose off my chair, about to join in, when I noticed Terry enter the room unannounced. He peered around
the room without anything.
When Mark noticed me stiffen, he followed the length of my gaze to Terry.
"Oh, sir," Mark dipped his head. "Forgive us. You should have made your presence known."
As he spoke, Susie skidded to a stop. She was in the back of the room near the window, and came not closer.
Elva continued to run, until she came to me and noticed my tension. Once she spotted Terry, she hid once more behind my skirts.
"Well, don't let me disturb the good times occurring in this room," Terry said with his snake-like smile.
He walked further into the room and peered down at the assortment of fabric swatches Charlotte and I had fashioned into the semblance of a skirt. It was far from finished and unnerved me to see him taking. such an interest.
I inched closer to him.
"Was there something we can help you with, sir?" I asked.
He looked up at me. "What did you have in mind?"
My stomach twisted with disgust. I didn't have anything in mind. I wanted to know what he was doing here. But I couldn't just ask that, as much as I wanted to. With the nobility, very rarely did anyone ever say anything directly.
I stood there awkwardly under his stare, until Elva peeked out from behind me and caught Terry's attention.
"Oh, little Elva," he said. He attempted to soften his voice, but it came out breathy and wrong. "You aren't still afraid of me, are you?"
Elva returned to hiding, indicating that yes, she was Terry moved closer, like he planned on walking around me to confront Elva a second time.
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