"Black goes with red," Victoria said as she took a black lace dress out of one of her gigantic wardrobes. Madilyn had been invited by her and Elizabeth to prepare for the Birmingham ball together. Victoria had shown them to a separate room that was filled with wardrobes. Inside it were dresses, corsets, petticoats, shoes, hats, undergarments and socks. There were so many, Madilyn felt like she was in the biggest store she had ever seen, though everything was for free.
"Red goes with red," Elizabeth said as she took out a red walking gown.
Victoria shook her head and took another dress. "Mayhap we can try a bit of green."
"But then I look like a Christmas tree," Madilyn argued.
"Not with the right kind of green," Victoria disagreed.
"Just look at her gowns, and then make your choice," Elizabeth suggested.
Elizabeth and Victoria seemed very keen on seeing Madilyn in a different colour from white. With a sigh, she had admitted that mayhap she should indeed try something else. But she did not want to say goodbye to her red ribbon – not even for a mere ball.
She walked from wardrobe to wardrobe and took out a few dresses that seemed very beautiful. There was a white dress with a red bow on the back, or the red ballgown with lace sleeves. There was also a blue gown she liked, but that did not look beautiful with a red ribbon.
Eventually, Madilyn took out a gown she quite liked. It was red with many white decorations and a long skirt that stayed behind like a vail. The neckline was wide and the sleeves short. She found it the perfect dress for an occasion like this.
She lifted it up and looked at Elizabeth and Victoria. Both ladies nodded with a smile on their.
"That would look very good on you, Madilyn," Victoria said.
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Once Madilyn was finally dressed, she walked with Elizabeth and Victoria to the children's room, where their husbands were waiting for them. She noticed Thomas first, who was holding Gwendolyn, then found Hazel in William's arms.
"I want to see the baby, papa," Francis was whining at his father's legs.
William crouched down to show his son the baby in his arms. Francis carefully caressed Hazel's hair, causing William to smile.
"Mama!" Alice shouted and ran to her mother, who picked her up before walking to her husband and their son. Madilyn walked to Thomas, who was smiling at her from the moment he noticed her.
"You look gorgeous in red," he told her.
She started blushing as she looked into his eyes. "Thank you."
"Now, time to say goodbye," he said, lifted Gwendolyn to look into her eyes. "For we must go to a ball."
He planted his lips on her forehead, then gave her a smile before he handed her to Madilyn. She looked into the eyes of her beautiful baby daughter. They had the same colour as Thomas', and honestly, she would not want it any other way.
What she had said in the Brompton parlour was true. She had thought her marriage to Thomas to be worse than her possible marriage with the lord of Colston. But now that she truly knew her husband, and now that she had seen the love he had for Gwendolyn and Hazel, she could deny she truly loved him.
No matter how improbable their love seemed to the outside, all she cared about was how she felt on the inside. And that was a good feeling.
Finally, everyone had said goodbye to their children, and not much later, three carriages drove to the Birmingham mansion.
YOU ARE READING
The Broken Daylily
Historical Fiction"I hope I can be a better mother than I am a wife." Daylilies symbolize motherhood. In China, it refers to a mother's devotion and filial devotion from a child to his or her mother. In Chinese superstition, the daylily relates to birth. It is said t...
