School of Ladies - The Debutantes

Part 10

The day of the ball arrived. From the morning on, the girls were feverishly getting ready; there was a tremendous hustle and bustle. All the chamber maids were helping the girls one after the other with the most fashionable hairstyles piling and pinning their curls on top of their heads. Only Emma and Kate asked that their hair be let down on the nape of their necks in a braid. All of them had buns that were truly queen-like. The dresses looked magnificent on everyone - they sparkled and shined like princesses. They had never been more beautiful. Emma truly felt like a queen, and she regretted a bit that she hadn't pinned all of her hair up. Suzy's hair looked very nice all pinned together on the top of her head. Clara's dress looked really good on her too, even though it was hard to find one that looks good on her figure. Though the peach color didn't particularly suit her white skin and made her look a bit pale, but she still looked splendid in it. Even Vivienn forced a bit of a friendly smile on her face on this day. The girls were very excited and Emma could barely contain herself she was so afraid. Their dance partners were awaiting the young ladies at the top of the stairs so that they could escort them all the way down to the ballroom. Mart was rendered speechless when he saw Emma. Everyone stood next to their partner and were quietly waiting for Miss Giff to signal them to start. They stood in silence. Emma was terribly anxious taking deep breaths so as not to faint. Fear overtook her once again and they had never tied her corset as tight as it was now. She was concentrating on not passing out. Mart saw how nervous she was and he was politely encouraging her that everything was going to be alright. They could see from upstairs that a lot of people had already gathered together and invitees were still continuously arriving. Among them were many people of rank and wealthy young men and their families.

"I heard that yesterday's St. Clerence's ball didn't go particularly well, and that many of the people invited didn't show up. Our invitations were sent to all the mayors. Perhaps they will all be here!" Kate said elated.

"Well! Maybe your friend will be here, too, Suzy!" Emma suddenly remembered.

But Suzy didn't respond. She was as pale as a white wall. This seemed strange to Emma since Suzy was always so self-confident. It wasn't at all encouraging to see that even Suzy was this nervous.

Then Miss Giff appeared and was admiring the girls a bit teary eyed. She smiled but didn't say anything. She motioned to them and they began to head down the stairs toward the ballroom. Everyone was mutely silent as they headed toward the big room. Miss Giff stopped them in front of the door. Emma was shaking a lot and her palms were sweating. Any other time she would have been embarrassed by this, but right now she didn't care that Mart could feel her shaking and her sweaty palms. They were waiting in deathly silence in front of the doors to the ballroom. Then all of a sudden, both wings of the doors opened slowly at the same time, and everyone made sure they were in their places as the pairs walked into the room. Suzy and her partner went in front, followed by Emma, Clara, Kate, Dora and Vivienn with their partners. It was dark with only a few candles giving light above the dance floor, but one could see there was a huge crowd encircling them in a semi-circle. Emma didn't dare to even look up; her heart was beating so hard she thought it would jump out of her chest. There was complete silence until the last pair walked in and they closed the doors behind them. Then the music broke the silence and on the fourth beat, fortunately everyone started dancing. As the first minute passed, Emma's heartbeat was back to its normal pace, and it only seemed a moment that she had been in the spotlight. As they were spinning around and around, she became a little dizzy as everything was spinning with her. She was enjoying herself and enjoying dancing with Mart who was holding her so firmly that the dizziness didn't even bother her. She began smiling as her dress was breezily spinning together with her. She felt so light - she thought she would float away at any moment, and only Mart's firm hold on her kept her on the ground. They successfully danced the waltz without any mistakes exactly the way they were supposed to. She let Mart lead while she was light and graceful and she didn't miss any of the steps. As soon as it was over and they bowed, Emma was very relieved. She had never felt this way in her life. It was so good to feel relief. Though it's true she had never been so afraid of anything before, but she was finally over it. That moment was wonderful. After they bowed, Mark kissed her hand, and with slightly sad eyes said goodbye to her and wished her well. Emma was also sorry that Mart will no longer be a part of her everyday, and that she hadn't appreciated his company more.

As everybody bowed, the lights came on, and the crowd began to applaud. The girls looked around with broad smiles, and at that moment, they were very happy.