My Sweet Daisy

Chapter 10 - Gowns for the Ball

Chapter 10

Gowns for the Ball

Daisy was on Snow, her beautiful snowy-white mare her father had gifted her for her birthday. She felt the freedom that comes from riding a swift creature like her sail through her. Her hair flew behind her, the cool morning air bathing her face. She felt ecstatic for the first time in days. With the mountains behind and the foamy, cool ocean basking invitingly ahead of her, she allowed Snow free range to stretch her long, thin limbs across the savannah, closing her eyes in contention as her face met the fresh gush of salty air.

"You came." Her eyes snapped open. That voice. It carried a drawl with that hint of mockery she had recently been familiarized with. It was him. Richard, the stranger he met at the ball. How had he followed her to Raperzah to her home? She felt a sudden grip around her midsection like she had when he waltzed her around the rose garden in Shingham.

"I had the premonition you'd fail to come to the park so I came to find you here," he said. He sat behind her on snow.

"I-I-uh..." She was going to honor their appointment. She really was. She just... just... How am I back home? she thought.

"Missy," he called gently.

"Mmmm?" she murmured.

"Missy, please wake up." The voice had turned soft and almost apologetic. Somewhere in the distance, she heard curtains rustling and a gush of sunlight flooded in. She popped one eye open and groaned loudly.

"You must wake up, Missy. It's past six o'clock. The countess and the young ladies are already in the sewing room. You must go in there now, or right after you've had a bite."

"That's right, the fittings." Daisy groaned again, pulling herself up against the pillow.

She was still in Cacitel, in her uncle's house, not Raperzah, and she would soon be scolded by her aunt for tardiness if she didn't quickly get out of bed. She dropped her legs on the floor and sat up. Mariam, her handmaid, placed the food tray she had brought up with her on her laps.

"Eat quickly, please, Misssy. I've laid out your dress. I'll help you with it."

"Go away, Mariam. How do you think I fare in my father's farm-house?" She brushed the maid off.

"Don't forget to brush your hair." Mariam reminded her with a smile before she walked out.

Even though she came to the capital with a full wardrobe her mother had exerted herself in making for her season, her aunt had taken one look at them and cast them aside. She insisted that for her first season to be successful and coin a suitor at best, she needed a new wardrobe of Cacitel's latest fashion before the first Bair-Havel ball. The fitting had been scheduled for that day. Daisy was not looking forward to being prodded and drowned in a pool of multi-coloured fabrics.

The countess and her daughters were in the ladies room when she went downstairs after breakfast. She sat stiffly in an armchair at one corner of the room, looking sharply at the proceedings taking place before her like a constable determined not to miss any detail of an important case. Her cousins were both in their chemises. Juliet was sitting cross-legged in the settee, going through sketches the seamstress had brought along. Cynthia, who looked as if she had been dragged out of bed too, was standing, shoulders drenching, on the small measuring platform.

"Stand straighter, my lady." The seamstress gently straightened her shoulder. Cynthia rolled her eyes.

As Daisy walked in, all eyes travelled to her. She could feel the seamstress and her five, if she counted rightly, apprentices measuring her with their eyes.

"What took you so long to come down?" her aunt wailed.

"I am sorry I am late," she muttered quietly. She found a stepping among the sea of dazzling silks, soft satins, filmy chiffon and delicate linen, of every colour and design, to the settee where Juliet sat. Hundreds of rolls of sketches scattered the floor here and there.

"Get prepared. You'll go after Cynthia," ordered the countess.

There was the ordeal of picking fabrics, sashes and ribbons after their measurement had been taken. With each minute that passed, Daisy bit her cheek, wondering when all would end so she could escape. Her ten o'clock appointment with the nephew of the Grand Duke of Shingham was fast approaching and he couldn't keep him and the prince, if he brought him along waiting. Her heart thudded in anticipation just thinking about the handsome stranger.

"You haven't chosen any fabric, Miss?" the seamstress brought her back to the present. She stared dumbly at the array of fabrics around her and finally dug out a silk one. It was orange. Her aunt gasped; the seamstress scowled.

"I'm that daft about fabrics. Please feel free to make selections for me. I need help," she smiled apologetically.

"Obviously nothing orange or red," the seamstress gave her hair an emphatic look.

"I understand what you mean. Something green then. Green has always suited me. You do have a lot of greens. I'm sure your choices would not only be outstanding but also the best."

Looking fluttered, the seamstress got busy pulling out fabrics, from emerald-green that matched her eyes with perfection to the lightest shade of green, almost white. She did throw in a couple of cream silks after another long assessment of her hair.

At eight, a large tea tray was wheeled in, and they had tea while going through the sketches. "This style will look lovely on Daisy," the countess said, bringing to the fore one paper. The design was simple but stylish and gratefully was in deep green hue. It had a long, standing collar and elbow-length sleeves puffed at the shoulders. The skirt's fullness was so slight it was almost non-existing. It was quite classy with a delicate round dip at the neckline.

"Ah good, My Lady. She has the shoulder for it and the cleavage," the seamstress agreed, quickly pinning that too as selected. Daisy couldn't care less about the dress. Her mind drifted back to the stranger she ought to be meeting in the next one and a half hour. She had to find a way to get out of the room if she would keep her appointment. She wondered if he would really help her meet Prince Richard.