"We have to hurry," I was telling my friend, pulling her down the street by her hand, both of our cloaks pulled up to hide our faces as we made our way to where we knew the carriage driver would be waiting for us, thinking we were just popping into town to visit a friend and have a cup of tea. "We're late as it is and if I give my mother any reason at all to forbid me from coming to Greenwich every Tuesday."
"Hold on, Norah. Please," Silvia gasped out before stopping in the middle of the street, bending over double, and hurling the contents of her stomach onto the uneven stones.
I patted her back, smiling and making our excuses to a couple that passed, arm in arm. I wasn't surprised. Doctor Bray had conducted a surgery this afternoon and Silvia had been looking rather green ever since. Despite the late hour and how we were almost certain to get a good scolding if we waited any longer to leave, I stood by her side, patting her back until the nausea subsided. It was the least I could do for my oldest friend who had agreed to come along with me on my trips to Greenwich to serve as my chaperone while I worked with the doctor. Silvia didn't like it and she complained about the arrangement nearly every chance she got but she came all the same. Every week, she came. And this was our third visit already.
"Okay," she said, taking a deep, heaving breath and wiping her mouth with a corner of her cloak. "I think I'm okay."
I nodded, giving her a final, firm pat, and pulling her down the street to the carriage. Once we climbed inside and thumped the top in signal to take us home, I noticed just how pale my friend was.
"Silvia–" I started, sympathetically.
"That was horrible," she groaned, leaning her head against the carriage wall with a sigh. "This is truly what you want to do, Norah? What you want to see? It doesn't... bother you?"
"It's necessary. It's a part of the healing process. We should be thankful that people exist in our world who are not so bothered by blood and viscera."
Her cheeks puffed out at my description and I grimaced.
"Sorry," I apologized as Silvia doubled over with another wave of nausea. This one subsided quicker and without the appearance of vomit on my mother's soft, velvet carriage.
"Not to change the subject though I am desperate to change the subject," Silvia said then and I smiled as she looked up at me, "but are you coming to the ball tonight?"
"I suppose I am," I nodded. "It's highly unlikely that my mother would let me out of it ever since KyrieRayfield made that ill-advised trip to see me while we were out two weeks ago. It's the first ball that's been held since and I doubt she would let me go another day without cornering the poor man and demanding to know why he never returned."
Silvia snorted.
"We should get ready together then," she said, excitement brimming in her eyes as she sat up straighter on the seat. "I could have my dress brought over."
And even though I had no desire to dress and prepare for a ball of any sort, I smiled back at my best friend and nodded. It was the least I could do after she had given me three weeks worth of chaperoning, regardless of how green she was every time we left Doctor Bray's practice. It seemed to please her and so she fell back against the seat and prattled on for the rest of the way home about who she thought would attend and what matches already seemed to have been made this season. I listened, nodding when necessary and adding my own gossip into the mix, which I had heard from my mother, when required. But mostly I sat and thought about the surgery I had witnessed, about all of Doctor Bray's precise incisions and the pain relieving tonic he had taught me to brew for the patient to consume during the operation. I was trying to remember the steps, to map it out clearly in my mind, when the carriage came to a stop and Silvia and I emerged on my front lawn.
My mother was already waiting when we arrived, kissing Silvia on each cheek and squealing with delight when my best friend informed her of our plan to get ready for the ball together. She bustled off down the hall to send for Silvia's things and inform her parents and I watched her go with raised brows. I supposed she was so caught up in the euphoria of not having to wrangle me into a dress herself that she had forgotten to give her usual speech about my behavior and overall presentation.
We walked to my room arm in arm and began with our makeup, dabbing on a bit of rouge here, coloring our lips there. By the time Silvia's dress arrived, we were ready to put them on. Within a matter of moments, there were enough servants in my room to dress both Silvia and I. They swarmed around each other like a well-managed hive, skirts of satin and chiffon breezing by in a whirlwind of color and elegance. The dress I selected was lilac, complimentary to my light skin tone and auburn hair. It wasn't as revealing as the blue dress my mother had chosen for me and was far more subdued. But I adored it and the little white ruffles that embellished it. Silvia wore a bright orange and pulled it off better than I ever would have imagined. Our servants did our hair and draped our jewels around our necks and wrists and then announced us done and stepped away. Grinning at one another like fools, we linked arms and headed out to the foyer of my family home where my mother and father were already waiting.
They beamed up at us as we approached and, as my mother leaned in to kiss my cheeks, she even whispered to me how beautiful I looked. I smiled back at her in thanks and then the four of us made our way to the waiting carriage just outside. It was a bit of a tight fit with all four of us but we had no intention of separating so we managed, settling in as it lurched forward and rolled down the street toward Spencer House and the ball waiting therein.
The ball was as beautiful as all the others. The Spencer family had gone all out with the decor. Everything was sparkling, golden, as Silvia and I made our way into the manor arm in arm, pausing long enough to greet Lord and Lady Spencer behind my parents on our way inside. Silvia greeted her mother warmly and gave a wave to her father before she and I disappeared on our own, leaving our parents to talk as we took up a position idling on the side of the dance floor, watching those around us. Silvia was in the middle of a bit of gossip concerning newly debut blonde beauty Rosanna James when she squeaked and suddenly ceased speaking. I looked up in surprise to find her eyes wide and averted. I turned to see what had caused such a reaction and noticed Lord Leo Temby standing nearby surrounded by his usual posse of Archibald Starks, Owen Hamblin, Myer Booth, and none other than KyrieRayfield himself.
"Oh dear, Silvia," I said with a sigh. "You simply must speak to him."
"Absolutely not," she gasped, shaking her head with wide-eyed fervor. "I'd positively die."
"Wouldn't that be a sight."
I looped my arm through hers and made to pull her toward the group of cavorting men but she planted her feet firmly upon the tile and would not budge even an inch. I looked down to her solid stance and back to her face.
"Silvia–" I started.
"Please, Norah, I cannot."
I watched her for a moment, saw the pure terror on her face, and released her. I straightened my gown and glanced over my shoulder at the men now laughing at something one of them had said. They didn't seem so intimidating to me.
"But I can," I told her, turning back to face her. "Will you allow it?"
Her eyes widened again.
"Norah–" she started.
"I won't confess your love for him, do not worry," I assured her. "I'll simply... assess his interest. And then you'll know. Once and for all. You are... ready to know, yes?"
She looked from me to Leo Temby and something like resolve settled over her expression. She gave me a curt nod and I bowed my head demurely back before turning on my heel and striding for the group of men. They didn't see me as I approached. They were so lost in whatever was so hilarious that they did not hear my approach either. But I walked right up to Leo Temby and tapped him on the shoulder all the same.
Owen's eyes found me first. His smile faltering as he observed the girl who had been brave enough to approach their merry band of five all alone. He ran an appraising gaze from my head to my toes and must have liked what he saw because his lips quirked up into an amused smile a moment later. But it was Kyrie who spoke.
"Norah?" he asked, just as stunned as the rest of them once they realized my presence, one by one.
"Lord Temby," I addressed Leo formally, ignoring the rest of them, particularly Kyrie. He blinked at me but was polite enough to answer.
"Uh, yes Miss Collins?"
"I wondered if you were courting anyone just yet."
Owen and Archibald snorted then covered their mouths with their glasses. Myer just stared at me as though I'd suddenly sprouted two heads. Leo looked from me to Kyrie and kept his gaze there for a moment while his friend stared at me in wonder.
"Lord Temby?" I asked again when an answer was not forthcoming.
"Oh, um, no," he finally answered, peeling his eyes from his friend and turning his gaze back to me. "As it turns out, I'm quite available. Why do you, er, ask?"
"I've a friend who I believe might be a good fit for you."
"A friend," he breathed out and I could have sworn it was in relief.
"Yes. Her name is Silvia. She's just over there."
I pointed her out to him, trying not to chuckle aloud at the great pains she was taking to avoid looking our way as I spoke to the man.
"You may want to speak with her some time this evening if you please," I pressed. "She's a tad shy and you're always in this group. It's not easy to approach you, you know."
"You did it," Owen pointed out, still grinning like a cat.
"I'm not easily intimidated," I barked, glaring back at him. Archibald whooped and clapped Owen on the back as I turned my attention back to Leo. "Anyway, Lord Temby, as you wish. Have a pleasant evening."
With that, I turned away and strode back for Silvia who was practically bursting at the seams to hear how it had gone. I did my best to ignore the sensation of a certain someone's eyes upon my backside during my entire walk back to my friend and rejoined her to relay the conversation to the best of my abilities. Her hopes were sigh and her spirits were higher for the remainder of the evening. We chatted and swayed to the music, laughing and gossiping like two young women did, until finally Leo Temby got it in him to approach her and I faded away silently as they plunged into an adorably awkward conversation about the musicians which neither of them knew anything about.
"For someone who seems to convinced this whole charade is ridiculous, you sure set that up nicely."
My jaw clenched at the sound of his voice next to my ear. I turned to find that Kyrie had sidled up next to me after managing to extricate himself from his adoring fans. Shaking my head, I turned my attention back to my friend and the young Lord she had some interest in. But he was still maddeningly close.
"Why did you come to call on me?" I asked and could have sworn I felt a switch in the air as he tensed beside me.
"What a coincidence. Your mother was just asking me why I did not come back to call on you again," he mused, swirling the contents of his glass and looking down into them.
"Kyrie," I said his name and his gaze darted up to mine. We stared at one another for a moment and I watched his jaw tighten as he prepared to answer.
"I was wretched to you when we were children. I sought to remedy that cruelty and extinguish this animosity between us."
I watched him for a moment, looking for signs of dishonesty, trying to determine whether or not this was some wicked trick. I doubted it was. He truly seemed to have changed and I wasn't actually the sort of person who held a childhood slight over someone's head for all eternity. But I also didn't think he came to my home that day to apologize. Nor did I suspect that he kept finding me in these crowds, at these balls, because he wanted to be friends again.
"I think it's more likely that I'm a novelty to you," I told him then, having decided upon the most likely explanation for his sudden interest in me.
"Excuse me?" he asked, eyes widening a fraction in surprise.
"You've found the one woman in this room who isn't entirely overcome by your charms and you're intent on pestering her until you find out why," I explained. "I don't exist for your entertainment, sir. Nor do I intend to be hunted for sport. So if it's a remedy you seek, by all means, you have one. I'll relinquish my grudge against you from adolescence but I'll not have you running around giving my mother false hope that something is to ever exist between us. I can assure you, it won't."
The shock on his face told me all I needed to know about how very right I'd been in my assessment so, without another word on the matter, I strode away to attend to my parents and get out of here as quickly as possible.