Chapter 7
"Miss, the day of the flower show is here. Let's make you as beautiful as possible. If there's a male judge, and there usually is, it can't hurt."
"Alice, you're probably right. Men can be such silly creatures. All they're interested in is a pretty face, an ample chest, and someone who can say "yes, My Lord, and No, My Lord."
Alice shrugged. "It's the way of the world, Miss. Now, I think pulling your hair up into ringlets would be suitable."
. "Alice, today is a very important day for me .I've totally ruined my chance at a marriage to Lord Warwick. I just have to win that flower show, so I can help Mother. If have to pretend to be a woman who is only here to please men, then so be it."
"Just smile a lot and don't speak too much. Men like that."
Pandora sighed. "You're probably right. I'll try my best to be a demure lady, a lady who is a credit to the ton."
"Being a part of the ton isn't that bad, Miss. It's something someone in my class dreams of being."
"I suppose you're right. So if I have to smile like a grinning idiot that's exactly what I'm going to do. I'm going to win that prize and hand the money over to Mother."
"That's very kind of you, Miss."
"I have to redeem myself to my mother. I'm not the only person in the world who exists."
Alice looked fondly at her mistress. "I think everything will work out fine, Miss."
"Now the dress." Pandora walked to her closet. She chuckled to herself. "When I was about to meet Lord Tristan Royce, I wanted the most demure dress I could find. Now, I'm back to where I started from, except..." Pandora fell silent. Alice looked at her mistress curiously, but didn't say anything further.
Pandora continued. "Except that now I have found out what a scoundrel Lord Royce truly is." Pandora shifted her attention onto choosing her dress. She riffled through many dresses, until she focused on a pink confection. She held the dress up to herself. "Alice, what do you think of this?"
She clasped her hands together. "You'll look very sweet in that, Miss. You're sure to catch the eye of a proper gentleman in that dress."
"Yes, I shall look dainty and demure, all words to mask what men truly want, a woman who agrees with whatever they say."
"If a woman can catch a suitable husband that way, then I suppose it is a good thing to be that way."
"I suppose so." After Alice helped her into the dress, Pandora glanced at herself in the mirror. The delicate white flowers which dotted the pale pink background, truly made Pandora look ethereal. The white eyelet trim added an air of innocence to her whole ensemble. She then quickly placed her attention on to other matters. "Now, Alice, it's time to go to the show at the Langton estate. My rose has already been delivered and is waiting to be seen."
Pandora waited with her mother for their carriage. The carriage pulled up to the front of the house and they both got in. "You look lovely, Pandora."
"I hope so, Mother. I do so want to win this show."
"Even if you don't, it's a way to get you out and seen. Many a match has been made at a flower show. Of course, I'd much prefer if you were showing a more garden variety rose, but...."
"Mother, I know I will win this show. No one could possibly have a rose as fiery as mine."
"Yes, but perhaps the fiery kind of rose is not what the judge wants."
"If the judge has any sense, he or she will."
"Then, of course, we have to worry about what Miss Powell said. Not to mention Lord Royce. "
"I'm a big disappointment to you, aren't I, Mother?"
"Pandora, I love you with my mother's heart, but you have been a handful. I often wonder why you aren't more like your sister. If you were, you would have landed a husband a long time ago, with your beauty."
Pandora held herself back. She recalled all that her mother had done for her over the years, and she realized that her mother had been trying to shield her from her dire financial circumstances.
The carriage had arrived at the estate. The groomsman helped the women into the carriage. As the women rode to the site of the show, Pandora quietly studied her mother. Although still a beautiful woman, even with her graying hair, she could see how the stresses of her life had aged her. She impulsively reached for her mother's hand. They sat in silence as they exchanged smiles. As the carriage pulled up in front of the estate, her mother admonished her one final time. "Pandora, please be good."
"I will, Mother, I desperately want to win. It's the least I can do for you after all that you've done for me."
"Everything will be alright, Pandora." She patted her daughter's hand.
A torrent of feelings coursed through Pandora as she faced her mother on the lawn of the estate. Before she could offer any reply to her mother, a female voice pronounced, "Lady Freestone?"
Lady Freestone greeted the woman with a warm smile. "Lady Langton, your estate looks simply regal."
"Pandora, how have you been, dear? You look simply splendid, and I hear you have a rose entered into the show."
"Yes, it's my own...." Pandora stopped when she saw the way her mother's eyes pled with her.
"Your very own flower from your very own garden? What a sweet way to put it, Pandora." Lady Langton beamed her approval. "Pandora, would you please excuse your mother and me? I'm dying to ask her advice about which china to use for the luncheon."
"Certainly," Pandora acquiesced. As the two women walked away, Pandora scanned the ever increasing crowd. She spotted the Duchess of Westcombe speaking to a tall man who had his back turned away from her. When he turned to face her, her heart quickened. She started to walk away from him but could hear his footsteps following behind her.
"You seem to be in quite a hurry, Miss Freestone."
"I wasn't't expecting to see you here, Lord Royce."
"And why not?"
"I didn't take you for the type of man who would like flower shows."
"One must always do the correct things. Don't you agree, Miss Freestone?"
"I don't know what you mean."
"There are certain things that are expected of men and women of the ton."
"And attending flower shows is one of them?"
"I appreciate all the hard work men have put into developing rose breeds."
"And if it is the woman who developed the breed?"
Lord Royce cocked his head as he assessed Pandora. "I suppose there is that rare breed of woman who can do that."
"And you don't approve of that breed of woman, I suppose."
Before Lord Royce could answer, Miss Powell sauntered beside him. She locked her arms around his, and smiled sweetly at Pandora. "Hello, dear. Are you here unescorted?"
"I came with my mother. I have a rose entered into the show. My own rose."
"Of course it's your own rose."
"No, I mean it's a rose I developed myself. A hybrid rose."
Miss Powell stared. "Of course, some women are just of too delicate a temperament to even attempt such a feat. Your mind must be stronger than the average woman. After all, we have to depend on men for so many things, and with good reason." Her head dropped onto Lord Royce's shoulder
Pandora caught the upward curve of Lord Royce's smirk. He turned his full attention on to an adoring Miss Powell. "It's so nice when a woman appreciates her place in society." As Pandora stared at Lord Royce and his appendage, she could feel her insides churning. Lord Royce suddenly bowed. "I bid you adieu, my dear Miss Freestone." Miss Powell clutched at his arm as they walked away in apparent gaiety.
Before Pandora had time to process what had just happened, she saw her mother approaching. "Pandora," she said as she arrived at her daughter's side. "I have found out who the judge is." Her mother just stood there with a stunned expression.
"Don't just stand there, Mother, tell me."
Just as her mother opened her mouth, her other daughter approached. "Mother, what's wrong? You look like you're not feeling well."
"Oh, dear, oh dear," she said as she fanned herself with her hand. "I have found out who the judge is."
"Mother, just calm down and tell us," her older daughter prodded.
Lady Freestone inhaled deeply. "Alright, I shall tell you both who the judge is."
"