Yours Truly

Chapter Four

Her first few days in the Dowager Countess' household went smoothly enough. They ate meals together, albeit in silence. However, it was not a silence filled with tension but one slightly marred by the awkwardness of a newly formed acquaintance.

Her aunt had asked Adelaide about her interests, if she read, or painted. She replied noncommittally, in the slight chance that her aunt was reporting to her father about Adelaide's behaviour.

They mostly remained separate which was quite useful for Adelaide's employment with Henry. One day her aunt insisted that they venture out to Bond Street to update her paltry wardrobe. There had been no occasion for grand ballgowns or grand anything really as the daughter of a rector in a small village. As the niece of a Dowager Countess in the most fashionable city in England, there would be enormous pressure for her to be adorned in the latest fashions.

Her aunt had hurried her into the carriage with glee as if she couldn't wait until the travesties of Adelaide's clothing was burned and the ashes swept into the sea.

The store appeared closed until her aunt rapped on it sharply with her knuckles and it swung open.

A short and round woman with shockingly bright red hair opened the door.

"Peggy, darling!" The woman cried, pulling the Dowager Countess towards her. The Dowager bent down to allow the woman to kiss each of her cheeks and replied in kind.

Adelaide was shocked. The Dowager Countess of Yorkshire being so familiarly embraced by a woman who appeared to own a dress shop? Her father had never been anything more than a rector but he had still maintained rigid formality with even the closest of acquaintances. She had never seen such unabashed affection between two people. Had she misjudged the Dowager? She admitted to herself that the idea that the Dowager had been reporting back to her father was little hasty. And based on her reception of the red-headed woman, perhaps there was an ally to be discovered.

The two women, who had been chatting casually, remembered that there was a third amongst their party.

"And who is this pretty girl, Peggy?"

The Dowager Countess smiled and grasped Adelaide's hand gently to bring her forward.

"This is my niece, Miss Adelaide Fairfax, who will be staying with me for a while."

"Ahh, Miss Fairfax, I am glad to make your acquaintance."

Adelaide was about to drop into a small curtesy but the red-woman obviously had no compunction about treating Adelaide like a long-lost friend.

She grasped her hands, much as she had with the Dowager, and pulled her slightly down to kiss both her cheeks.

A faint smell of violets surrounded Adeliade while the woman embraced her. As scandalous as it was for the woman to presume such familiarity, the surge of emotion in her throat prevented her from pulling away.

Even after the red-haired woman had pulled away, she still held Adelaide's hands in her grasp. She pulled Adelaide through the doorway and into a magical room filled with every fabric imaginable and half-finished dress hanging on wooden figures throughout the room. Although Adelaide was mainly interested in drawing and painting, she could still admire the artistry present in the rich fabrics and their intricate drapings. She had reached out to feel one of the fabrics on the tips of her fingers when she pulled her hand back so as to not show any undue interest.

Both of the women, the red-headed woman had still not introduced herself, stood watching her with a keen eye.

"I beg your pardon, madam, but I regret I don't know your name," Adelaide said.