Elsie

Chapter 17: A Christmas Party

It was Tuesday at four o'clock when Elsie raced from the servants' corridor towards the library. She had nearly lost track of time while she was working on Hannah's dress. She turned the corner to speed down the hallway and quite literally ran into Mr. Jones.

"Oh! I'm sorry!" she exclaimed, using her hands to push herself off of his chest.

"I was just looking for you," Clement cocked a brow at her in amusement. "It seems Miss Thomson has forgotten about me," he sighed, feigning sorrow.

"No, sir! I mean, I just lost track of time," Elsie explained, leading the way down the hall.

"What could possibly be more interesting than reading in that atrocious British accent of yours that you would lose track of time?" Clement teased. "It must be quite the secret," he added, causing Elsie to gesture with a hand to her lips, signaling him to be silent.

Suddenly, before Clement could react, he found himself being pulled into a nearby room by a small hand, the door shutting behind them immediately after.

"The library has changed since last I saw it," he commented as he looked around the music room. "Have my employees rearranged?" he asked innocently.

"Shh!" Elsie shushed him. "Hannah is just down the hall. I'm making her a wedding dress, but she doesn't know and—" Elsie stopped abruptly and looked up into his face. "Atrocious?!" she cried, suddenly processing his previous words. "Your accent is atrocious!"

"Seeing as I've just returned from England, I believe I am the better judge," Clement countered with a grin.

Elsie shook her head. "It doesn't matter," she said quickly. "You can't say things about keeping secrets," she chided him. "If Hannah hears, she might catch on."

"Mrs. Jacobs didn't approach me about buying material for a wedding dress," Clement mused. Elsie did not hear any judgment in his tone, merely curiosity, but she wasn't about to tell him that she bought it herself.

"Come on," she said, cutting the conversation short. She peeked out the door for any sign of Hannah before letting herself and Clement out of the room and continuing on to the library. Clement shook his head in amusement behind her, fully aware that she had used her allowance to buy supplies for the dress. She was selfless, and he adored her for it.

When they reached the library, they were far enough away from the rest of the household that Clement felt he could speak freely.

"It is very kind of you, Elsie," he said, "sewing a special dress for Hannah."

"It is her wedding," Elsie said in a matter-of-fact tone. "It should be exquisite."

"It will be," Clement confirmed. "I've told Mrs. Jacobs to decorate the parlor for the occasion," he divulged. "There will be candles everywhere."

"Oh!" Elsie cried. "How lovely! You really are a romantic, Mr. Jones," she teased him a bit flirtatiously.

"Never mind that," Clement dismissed her words. "Let's hear that atrocious accent of yours."

The next week and a half passed by in a flurry of activity. Elsie snuck away to work on Hannah's dress whenever she could. Nora secretly gathered decorations from around the mansion and stashed them away in one of the empty servants' rooms, planning how best to dress up the parlor. Adam was in on their secrets, helping to keep Hannah distracted so that she wouldn't wonder what Elsie or Nora were off doing.

Before Elsie realized it, it was the day before Christmas Eve, and Nora was fussing over her appearance in the mirror. A cream-colored shawl had been added to the robin-egg dress to warm Elsie's arms. Hannah had braided sections of Elsie's hair and then twisted it all into an elegant updo, and Nora took a jeweled comb that she had worn at her wedding years before and added it to Elsie's hair.