No Grey [Anthony Bridgerton]

Chapter two-

Though this ball was probably the most important of the season Hyra had ushered all of the servants away leaving her in her room with her mother and best friend/maid, Elena.

"Which do you think, Elena?"

"The pink one, it's newer."

"But the blue one flatters her more," her mother argued in favour of the dress Hyra would almost rather burn than wear again.

"It's too small for her, she isn't me three years ago."

"Well it worked for you didn't it?"

"I was a whore, Sylvia."

"Both of you, shut up. I'm wearing the pink."

"But it looks childish," her mother complained again.

"Fine, what do you suggest I wear instead?" She paused for a moment then realised exactly what her mother would say. "And not the blue one."

"Well the rest of your dresses are just as conservative."

"Hy, babe, you have the strangest mother I've ever met."

Sylvia looked away from the closet offended. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well my mother tried to stop me from whoring myself out."

"She isn't whoring herself out, she's enticing future marriage prospects."

"No man she would want to marry would come up to her in this dress," she put the dress up in front of Hyra to make the point of it not covering most of her front when it wasn't wrapped tightly around her.

"Wait," Hyra whispered to her friend, "do you still have that one pink dress?"

"Hy, your much skinnier than I am."

"But it would fit, attractive but not to showy."

"What are you girls talking about?"

"Nothing, Sylvia," she snapped then lowered her voice back down to whisper with Hyra. "It could work, if we tightened it enough, you'd have like no breasts though."

"Yeah, I thought that was your point."

"I just like disagreeing with your mother."

"She could fire you, you are aware of that right?"

"She likes spending the fallout money too much. I'll go get the dress."

"Thank you El."

~~

As she had planned, she looked gorgeous in the pink dress. Not like Elena had when she'd worn it, but no one could top that. The three of them were now sitting in the carriage on the way to the estate of lady Danbury.

"I'll be honest I miss the feathers," Elena spoke as she looked towards her friend.

"Maybe we should present you to all of society with plumage on your head, see how funny you think it is then."

"I think I've passed the age of societal marriages."

"I know plenty of girls who have waited until they were twenty-one to be presented to society."

"I'm a spinster who became a maid at 21, before that I was a whore. Not even the poorest man you were presented to would think about marrying me."

"Just cause you were a whore doesn't mean-"

"Shut up! Both of you, your jabbering about my daughters best friend and maid being a whore is screwing up my calculating."

"What on earth are you calculating, mother?"