Vixens. Bertrice Small

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СКАЧАТЬ in the employ of the duke of Lundy and his family, who sewed. Each girl was measured carefully. The tailor’s cutter began to dissect the materials into varied and sundry shapes, which the seamstresses, under the direction of the tailor himself, began to pin together and then baste. The gowns were carefully fitted upon each of the young ladies, and at last the serious business of sewing began. As each gown was almost completed, a final fitting was required. And with each final fitting, the tailor warned his young clients not to gain an ounce of weight.

      Finally, it was all done. The beautiful garments were hung in the cedar storage room until it was time to pack them. In addition the estate seamstresses had sewn petticoats of both silk and flannel; chemises with their wide balloon sleeves, the wrists and necklines edged with lace; corsets, lightly boned, for none of the trio really needed a corset, but it was the fashion. Besides, it helped display the breasts wonderfully, Cynara insisted. The corsets were of fine white silk brocade decorated with pink silk rosettes and laced with pink silk laces. Each girl had several sets of drawers edged in lace, which were called les calecons and came from France. There were nightgowns of fine silk, all trimmed lavishly in lace, and silk stockings, each pair decorated with a different design, as well as matching garters.

      The shoemaker came, and the girls were fitted for new shoes, boots, and slippers. The dress shoes had jewel-studded heels, and ribbon bows, or bejeweled enameled buckles. There were pantofles, which were half-slippers made of soft leather or covered in silk or satin brocade. Each girl had a fine pair of leather buckskins, calf-high close-fitting hunting boots with a turnover top. Jasmine told her granddaughters that when she was a girl in India her royal foot was measured using a strand of pearls. The leftover pearls were given to her servant.

      There were accessories to be chosen. Perfumed leather gloves of fine leather; shawls of sheer delicate silk or cashmere, imported by the O’Malley-Small trading company; fringed parasols; silk ribbons; painted fans; fans of ostrich feathers; silk flowers in every color to decorate their hair; and satin misers, which were small purses with a tiny slit in their center. Each purse was fitted with a small gold or silver ring so that valuables might be kept secure in one end or another. And of course, jewelry.

      Jasmine was generous with her granddaughters, loaning them some of her finest pieces. There were necklaces, long strands of pearls both creamy pink and black. There were dangling earbobs, bejeweled broaches, and rings of all kinds. Jasmine advised her three granddaughters in their selection, and then saw that it was all carefully packed with their trunks in ivory boxes lined with velvet.

      The autumn deepened with clear dry days and crisp nights. Fancy began to enjoy this new life she was living. Her cousins were wonderful companions, and the three girls had swiftly become fast friends. It seemed impossible, Fancy thought, to think she might have spent her entire life without ever meeting them. Her letters to her parents began to take on a happier tone. And then in mid-November, Jasmine announced that the family would be leaving for court in a few days’ time.

      “Your uncle has his own apartment at Whitehall,” Jasmine told Fancy, “but it is barely big enough for him and for Barbara. You and your cousins will stay with me at Greenwood House.”

      “Where I stayed my first night in London?” Fancy asked.

      “Yes,” came the brief answer.

      “Is it yours?” Fancy asked.

      “It once was,” and then Jasmine explained. “Greenwood House was my grandmother’s London home. It was confiscated during the rule of the Commonwealth and given to a man known as Sir Simon Bates. Sir Simon, however, was not Sir Simon. He was a spy for King Charles. He was actually Gabriel Bainbridge, the duke of Garwood, my daughter Autumn’s husband. And so Greenwood House remained in the family, although it is now hers, not mine. I probably would have given it to her one day. I stay there when I am in London as does my daughter India and her family. None of them will be coming to court for the Season though, and so Greenwood is ours,” Jasmine concluded. “You will find it is advisable to have one’s own place in London. So many people come to court, and there is not enough accommodation for them. The house next door to us is owned by your cousins, the earl and countess of Lynmouth. Sabrina is your Uncle Charlie’s eldest child. She lived with her brothers in Scotland during the Commonwealth period while their father was with his cousin, the king. My son Patrick and his wife, Flanna, looked after them.”

      “Diana’s parents,” Fancy said quickly.

      “That’s right!” Jasmine laughed. “You will get them all straightened out eventually, dear girl.”

      “What is court like, Grandmama?” Fancy wondered.

      “It is a whole world for those privileged to be a part of it.” Jasmine explained. “It is where the rich, the powerful, the not-so-rich and not-so-powerful come to see, to be seen, and to climb the social ladder toward whatever goal they desire. It is where families make matches between their children, and the society of the elite flourishes. It is, quite frankly, unlike any place on earth.”

      “It sounds exciting, and dangerous, and perhaps even a bit boring all at once,” Fancy noted.

      “Clever girl!” her grandmother approved. “It is all of those things and more, Fancy. If I may be blunt, you are still a true innocent where human nature is concerned despite your unfortunate experience with Parker Randolph. At court you will meet all sorts of people. Some will be exactly what they seem to be. Many will not. Do not be afraid to come to me, or to your uncle, or to your aunt, Lady Barbara, to ask for our counsel or advice. I do not want you hurt again as you were in Maryland.”

      “I won’t be, Grandmama,” Fancy assured Jasmine. “I know that I lack experience in human nature, but I shall trust no one except you, Uncle Charlie and Lady Barbara. I have come to love Cyn and Siren, but for all their talk, they know even less than I do. I will be careful, and I will come to you for your wisdom.”

      “You put both my heart and my mind at ease,” Jasmine replied.

      Finally the day came when they were to depart for London. There would be several coaches in their train. Three would carry the baggage, and two would be for the travelers. There would be their riding horses as well, for it was not expected that the three young ladies coop themselves up in their transport. There was also a fourth large carriage for the personal servants who were going with them. Rohana and Toramalli would be left behind as they were simply too fragile to travel with their mistresses any longer. In their place Jasmine was served by a French woman who had been in her daughter Autumn’s service. Orane had found life in the north dull. Realizing her unhappiness, Autumn had asked her mother to take the woman into her service. Orane was willing, and the move suited everyone. Orane was clever enough to be respectful to her mistress’s two longtime retainers, and hence by deferring to them, or pretending to defer to them, she had fit in quite nicely.

      Jasmine bid her twin servitors farewell. “You will both be here when I return in early summer,” she instructed them.

      “We will be here,” Toramalli said. Rohana bobbed her head in agreement but added, “But not for much longer, my princess. We are both very, very old now, and all those we dearly love are gone but for you.”

      Jasmine nodded with her complete understanding. “Wait until I return,” she said softly, and then she kissed them both on their soft wizened cheeks. “Stay by the fire in the hall,” she instructed them. “And keep warm at night. Wear flannel petticoats to bed as well.”

      “The cats sleep with us,” Toramalli cackled. “They keep us quite warm, my princess. Go now. The family awaits you to depart.”

      The great train belonging to the duke of Lundy and his kin СКАЧАТЬ