pride seized my tongue. I had always been the strong one. I had always been “above” things. If I cried, I cried alone.
“I think I just have a touch of stage fright.”
A heavy tread came to a stop in the doorway. Linza and I both glanced over to see Hollin there.
“How do I look?” I stood up and pulled my tunic straight, frowning at a wrinkle near the hem.
“Nimira, you’re right. Change into the evening gown.”
His abrupt decision left me startled. “The gown?”
“Smollings won’t be able to do a damn thing about it once we’re all there. I want them to see you as the well-spoken traveler you are, not an imported curiosity.” He slapped the doorframe before he turned away.
Linza raised her eyebrows. “The gown it is, then.”
She brought forth the splendid gown, with its rustling silk and air of grandeur. It dipped low in back and front, with cream and black velvet flowers crawling around the neckline, exposing what seemed like far too much of my brown skin. I tried not to care how pale Linza’s hands were against mine. The bodice hugged my form and the skirts swept around my legs, so different from the clothes of Tiansher, meant for moving and stretching and leaping.
Linza dressed my hair in a pompadour and pinned velvet flowers that matched the flowers on my gown just above my ears. She spritzed my hair and neck with some scented water until I smelled like a spring garden. Finally, she handed me my long ivory gloves, waited as I tugged each finger straight, and draped my cape around my shoulders.
Hollin watched me descend the stairs. He looked quite serious. I tried to smile.
“You are a queen of Shai,” he said, referring to the long-gone country Tiansher had once been a state of, a land I had noticed stories of Lorinar tended to romanticize.
“I would have been a queen of Shai if I’d worn the trousers. But I’m glad you changed your mind.”
He offered me his hand as I took the bottom step. “One more touch, I think.” He took something from his pocket—diamonds gleamed in the light. His hands slipped around my neck. It wasn’t just the corset that restrained my breath as he fastened it. His hands lingered on my shoulders an extra moment before he removed them.
“I meant to give Annalie this necklace on her birthday,” he said. “But I never got the chance.”
I touched the gems. The platinum settings felt cold and weighty on my skin. I could imagine him giving them to his smiling bride, and the thought stabbed at me.
He swallowed, looking strangely forlorn as he studied the way the diamonds rested. “You—you look very beautiful tonight, Nimira.”
Despite it all, I thought of touching his cheeks—of warming the skin there. “Thank you, sir.”
“Shall I escort you to your carriage?” He held up his arm.
I slipped my gloved hand into the crook of his elbow.
Aldren Hall was a smaller estate than Vestenveld, probably built in the last century, if I could judge by the illustrations in novels. Their bewigged romantic heroes always had estates like this: a broad rectangle of stone with two extended wings branching off the sides. Three rows of windows glittered with light from one wing to the other. A line of carriages looped around the curving driveway, dropping their guests off at the door before trotting on.
As we approached the doors, Hollin took my arm again. I suppressed a grin of pride. I would enter in a gown, on a man’s arm, like a lady.
We were received in a grand hall, under a glittering chandelier. The servants taking our wraps and hats wore curled white wigs, black uniforms trimmed in gold, and white stockings. All around us, gentlemen removed their top hats; ladies shed their shawls and capes to reveal creamy shoulders. Jewels of every color and staggering size hung around their necks, and I was glad I had the diamonds. Annalie’s diamonds. I never forgot their presence. Cheerful chatter echoed across the wooden floors, mingled with the
“I think I just have a touch of stage fright.”
A heavy tread came to a stop in the doorway. Linza and I both glanced over to see Hollin there.
“How do I look?” I stood up and pulled my tunic straight, frowning at a wrinkle near the hem.
“Nimira, you’re right. Change into the evening gown.”
His abrupt decision left me startled. “The gown?”
“Smollings won’t be able to do a damn thing about it once we’re all there. I want them to see you as the well-spoken traveler you are, not an imported curiosity.” He slapped the doorframe before he turned away.
Linza raised her eyebrows. “The gown it is, then.”
She brought forth the splendid gown, with its rustling silk and air of grandeur. It dipped low in back and front, with cream and black velvet flowers crawling around the neckline, exposing what seemed like far too much of my brown skin. I tried not to care how pale Linza’s hands were against mine. The bodice hugged my form and the skirts swept around my legs, so different from the clothes of Tiansher, meant for moving and stretching and leaping.
Linza dressed my hair in a pompadour and pinned velvet flowers that matched the flowers on my gown just above my ears. She spritzed my hair and neck with some scented water until I smelled like a spring garden. Finally, she handed me my long ivory gloves, waited as I tugged each finger straight, and draped my cape around my shoulders.
Hollin watched me descend the stairs. He looked quite serious. I tried to smile.
“You are a queen of Shai,” he said, referring to the long-gone country Tiansher had once been a state of, a land I had noticed stories of Lorinar tended to romanticize.
“I would have been a queen of Shai if I’d worn the trousers. But I’m glad you changed your mind.”
He offered me his hand as I took the bottom step. “One more touch, I think.” He took something from his pocket—diamonds gleamed in the light. His hands slipped around my neck. It wasn’t just the corset that restrained my breath as he fastened it. His hands lingered on my shoulders an extra moment before he removed them.
“I meant to give Annalie this necklace on her birthday,” he said. “But I never got the chance.”
I touched the gems. The platinum settings felt cold and weighty on my skin. I could imagine him giving them to his smiling bride, and the thought stabbed at me.
He swallowed, looking strangely forlorn as he studied the way the diamonds rested. “You—you look very beautiful tonight, Nimira.”
Despite it all, I thought of touching his cheeks—of warming the skin there. “Thank you, sir.”
“Shall I escort you to your carriage?” He held up his arm.
I slipped my gloved hand into the crook of his elbow.
Aldren Hall was a smaller estate than Vestenveld, probably built in the last century, if I could judge by the illustrations in novels. Their bewigged romantic heroes always had estates like this: a broad rectangle of stone with two extended wings branching off the sides. Three rows of windows glittered with light from one wing to the other. A line of carriages looped around the curving driveway, dropping their guests off at the door before trotting on.
As we approached the doors, Hollin took my arm again. I suppressed a grin of pride. I would enter in a gown, on a man’s arm, like a lady.
We were received in a grand hall, under a glittering chandelier. The servants taking our wraps and hats wore curled white wigs, black uniforms trimmed in gold, and white stockings. All around us, gentlemen removed their top hats; ladies shed their shawls and capes to reveal creamy shoulders. Jewels of every color and staggering size hung around their necks, and I was glad I had the diamonds. Annalie’s diamonds. I never forgot their presence. Cheerful chatter echoed across the wooden floors, mingled with the
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