The Half-Class by Kayvion Lewis
Chapter Twenty-Five
“Beautiful,” Geane said.
She and her assistant stepped back. The pair smiled contently next to the gaping Kat.
“Turn around.” Kat twirled her finger. “See for yourself.”
I lifted the weighty skirts of my gown and turned to the mirror behind me. A little gasp escaped my lips as I saw the reflection looking back at me.
The dress was perfection. A deep plum purple satin encircled my arms and hugged my chest from my bosom to my waist, where a sea of fabric poured out from my waist, rippling around me. The dark tint of the purple was a flawless match for my soft brown skin. Layers and layers filled the skirt, but the layer grazing my legs was silky soft. My shoulders and the majority of my arms were free. Off the shoulder sleeves, just as Kat had requested.
My curls were braided into a perfect crown around my head, leaving only the smallest spirals free to frame the sides of my face. Pearl pins shone through the braided brown. Apparently, they once belonged to my late Aunt Louisa. A quiet pain had covered Kat’s features as Geane pressed her mother’s hairpins into my curls, but neither of us said anything.
I spun back around, letting the layers of my skirt billow around me, and looked over my shoulder to see my back. A row of satin buttons fell from the top of the fabric into my skirts, then disappeared into their waves. A simple gown, but easily the most extravagant thing I’d ever worn.
I stared at my reflection for a long while. While I’d told myself my appearance was irrelevant, I had to admit, the girl I saw in the mirror—she truly was beautiful.
“Don’t forget the shoes!” As if she’d had servants all her life, Kat snapped at Geane’s assistant and pointed down at my feet. I felt the urge to apologize for my cousin immediately, but the assistant didn’t seem to mind. Without qualm, she retrieved the shoes from the sofa and knelt on the floor before me. I lifted my skirts so she could slide the silver-heeled slippers onto my feet. A flawless fit, both of them. Allowing Geane to steal one of my most comfortable pairs of boots for sizing was well worth it.
I dropped my skirts and offered my hands down to the assistant. She hesitated for a moment, then took them and smiled softly as I helped her up. She stepped away, and Kat took her place before me.
“You look like Auntie Mai,” Kat said. Her honey eyes flittered over me.
Did she really mean that, or was she just saying it? She was older, so I suppose she would remember my mother’s appearance more than me.
She grazed the fabric looping my upper arms. “More or less.”
“We should get going, Miss,” Geane said. She and her assistant had cut it quite close. Dusk was just beginning to fall over Bexbury. I didn’t know how long the ride to the castle was, but by carriage, it couldn’t be less than an hour.
“You best be off then.” Kat exhaled a smile. “I’ll be sure to tell Auntie how lovely you looked before you left.”
Auntie seemed to have disappeared yet again. I hoped she wasn’t regretting revealing anything to me yesterday. I would’ve liked to see her before I left. Tonight felt like a night I should have seen her.
Kat followed us out of the apartment and through the main floor. Geane and her assistant helped carry my skirts as we went, keeping them out of the dirt once we were outside. In the street, two sets of carriages waited. The first was a small, brown car with a single door on the side. The second was a smooth black, twice the size of its companion, with two adjacent doors on its side. Both were led by a pair of familiar black steeds and accompanied by drivers in coats of such dark green they almost passed for grey.
Geane and her assistant led me to the black carriage, for which the drivers held open the doors. I stepped into the car and sunk onto the velvety green bench. Geane’s assistant pulled a cloth from the pocket of her dress and took it upon herself to wipe away the dirt from the bottom of my slippers. I felt like a snob, letting her do so, but I didn’t question it. Wouldn’t want to track dirt into this immaculate carriage.
“We pray you have a lovely evening, Miss Evelyn,” Geane said when her assistant was finished.
“You’re not riding with me?” I asked. The seat across from me was completely empty, and there was enough room for one person on each of my sides.
“We’ll ride ahead of you,” she said. “Good evening.”
She and her assistant scurried away, and the carriage door clicked shut before I could say another word. The other carriage was so tiny in comparison. But if this is what Cass, or his father, had ordered, then who was I to disagree.
The reins outside snapped, and the car jerked forward. We were en route to the most important mission of my life.
I wouldn’t waste it.