The Greatest Thing

Mes Rêves Épanouis

After spending some time reading, Estelle managed to pull herself away from her book and make it upstairs to prepare for the Harper's dinner party. Her younger sister, always fascinated by watching her get ready for such events, followed behind her like an eager puppy.

"I've always found dinner parties to be stuffy and boring," her sister whined.

"That's because they're hosted by father," Estelle smirked. "The Harpers are known for their dinner parties. They always have a theme, and they are very exclusive."

"How did you warrant an invitation, then?" her sister teased.

"You are terrible, little sister!" Estelle admonished. "Father made a business deal with Mr. Harper that was particularly lacking on rewards for father. This was Mr. Harper's way of softening the blow."

"What is the theme?" Mary asked, hanging upside-down off the back of Estelle's bed.

"Paris," she replied. "You shouldn't sit like that. All the blood will flow to your head."

With a huff, Mary righted herself and laid on her stomach, feet swinging in the air as she watched her sister open her wardrobe. "Will anyone we know be there?"

"Ms. Renton will be there, as well as Mr. Thompson," Estelle blushed as she pulled out a pink dress.

"If Christian is going to be there, then you need to do better than that," Mary replied, getting off the bed and going to rummage in the wardrobe. "Here. This is French silk, it's midnight blue, and it will accentuate your figure."

Estelle looked at the blue dress that her sister had pulled out from the closet. "Are you sure the sleeves aren't a bit... too much?"

"Nonsense. Have you seen French style? It is the fashion capital. You'll turn heads in this, sister."

"Very well," she gave in. She tugged on the dark blue dress, admiring the golden fabric that went down the middle, almost in a stripe. Then, she pulled on the jacket that went over it, allowing her sister to fluff out the puffy shoulders.

"Beautiful," her sister murmured. "Now, your hair, what are you going to do with it?"

"I was hoping you might have some ideas," Estelle smiled.

Mary pushed her into the chair in front of her vanity and got to work pinning her curls into a different formation, leaving it so that a little bit spilled out and flowed around the back of her neck. To further accent the gold in the dress, Mary placed stars in her hair. When she was done, she took a step back to admire her work.

"You've outdone yourself," Estelle grinned as she met her sister's eyes in the mirror.

Mary shrugged. "I like to practice on my friends and my dolls. Now, it's getting late. You should be on your way."

Estelle stood and slipped her feet into the heeled evening shoes she had placed on the ground. "I'll tell you all about it in the morning."

"I'll hold you to that," her sister grinned as she watched her leave.

Estelle made it down the stairs, noting that her father still had not returned home from work. She stepped outside and waited on their steps for her carriage to be brought around. She hadn't been to a dinner party hosted by anyone else but the Rentons by herself before, and was feeling especially nervous. As she got into the carriage, she realized that you wouldn't be alone, though. Anna would be there, and so would Christian. She'd be just fine.

The carriage stopped outside of a respectable home in London. She took a deep breath and exited, walking up to the door. On her way there, she heard footsteps approaching as someone got out of a carriage that had pulled up after hers.