“Yes,” I said quietly as I tried not to feel offended by her remark. It wasn’t that she insulted me, but I felt affronted for Branford, knowing he would not have approved of her words. Determined not to let them know I was bothered, I held up the first dress, still looking around to see where the rest of it might be. All three of the dresses were nearly identical with only the color of the trim signifying the difference. What was most odd was the cut of the dress, which appeared to be very low across the front, and the sleeves themselves didn’t appear to be complete at all.
Doing as they instructed, I first assisted Nelle and then Kimberly into the strange attire, growing more and more uneasy as the efforts continued. Once they were dressed, they both helped me into the outfit while I kept my eyes to the ground, both from my own uncertainty and also because I felt as if I were intruding on their privacy.
Their dresses showed their entire necks and the tops of their chests, even to the point where the slight dip between their breasts was clearly visible. The whole outfit was held up by gathered cloth wrapped around their chests, with other matching gathers around the tops of their arms, but their shoulders were completely bare. The garment’s sleeves ended just below the elbows, and though it fell nearly to the floor, the fabric was light and showed much of their curves when they moved from side to side. When I looked down at myself and saw an almost identical dress barely covering my body, I was truly horrified. This couldn’t be right—it just couldn’t be.
“This is the dress Ida wants me to wear? The one Queen Sunniva hemmed for me?” I asked, incredulity overwhelming me.
“Would I be here with it if it weren’t?” Kimberly snipped back at me. “Come on, now. Let’s make sure it’s the right length.”
She knelt down and fiddled around with the hem, shaking it slightly before letting it billow back around my legs. She declared it of the exact right length before standing again to face me.
“Where is the rest of it?” I asked quietly, for surely I was missing something here. There was no way I was supposed to wear such a thing in public. The garment was much more likely to be reserved for a wedding night, not a wedding reception. Even then, it was far more revealing than the nightdress I wore the first night I was with Branford.
“Don’t be so old-fashioned,” Kimberly said with wide-open eyes and raised eyebrows. Nelle laughed, her hand coming up to cover her mouth again. “This is the latest fashion, and we are all going to be the talk of the court for at least a month. The princess only brought five of these back from Sawyer.”
“Who will wear the fifth?”
“The queen, of course.”
“Queen Sunniva will be dressed like this?”
“Of course!” Kimberly exclaimed. She nudged Nelle, who began to nod emphatically.
“The queen has always had an eye for clothing,” Nelle informed me.
“And she wants me to wear this?” I was really having a hard time believing this wasn’t some kind of jest, and I found myself caught between the risk of not wearing what Ida and Sunniva intended me to wear and how uncomfortable I would be wearing something that clearly showed so much of my skin. Even as I stood there with the other two women in very similar dresses, I couldn’t believe we were all planning to be seen in such things outside these chambers. Would Branford want me to wear such a thing? “I just don’t know if I can…”
“Look, Alexandra,” Kimberly said with an exasperated sigh, “I’m trying to help as a favor to Sir Branford, but you are obviously too stubborn or just too ignorant to understand. If that’s the way you are going to be, then fine, but I’ll just have to tell Sir Branford you are refusing any help.”
“I’m sorry,” I replied, her sharp words stinging me. My mind told me to stop being such a fool—there was a noble here trying to help me, and I was all but refusing her assistance. I reminded myself that this was a different kingdom with different customs from what I had been exposed to before, and I needed to fit in. “I’ve just never worn such a thing before.”
“Trust me,” Kimberly purred as she leaned a little closer to me and tilted her head. “I know exactly what Branford likes, and this is going to drive him wild.”
I wasn’t sure exactly what that meant, but her tone and emphasis on Branford’s name without his title did not leave me with a feeling of comfort. However, I didn’t want her to think me ungrateful, so I nodded quickly.
“Let me fix your hair a bit,” Kimberly said as she adjusted the combs and smoothed out a few escaped strands.
“We’re ready in record time!” Kimberly exclaimed. “You should wait about an hour, and then come in the main entrance. Do you remember how to get there? Or do you want me to send an escort to bring you?”
“I remember, Lady Kimberly.”
“Good!” she exclaimed, and her eyes brightened. “We’ll see you at dinner, then.”
She quickly hustled Nelle out the door and closed it behind her, leaving me in this most revealing dress with no idea what I was going to do to occupy myself for the next hour before I was to enter the main hall. Since I couldn’t bring myself to even look down at my dress, I stared at the wooded area visible from the windows closest to the bed I now shared with Branford. I couldn’t even bring myself to think of what he might do with me later that evening, for when I did, I was mortified to see my blush was not just on my face, but on the top of my chest as well. If I blushed during dinner or while we were dancing, it would be clearly visible to anyone who looked.
I forced thoughts of the dress out of my mind. If this is what the ladies of the court, Ida, and Queen Sunniva herself would be wearing, I wasn’t going to insult them by not wearing the gift they had provided even if it terrified me to be seen in such a state. Still, when it was finally time to join everyone else in the great hall, I found it difficult just to open the door.
There was no one in the hallway, thankfully, and I assumed most everyone was already in the hall, waiting for my entrance. I looked down at my exposed skin once more and grimaced a little. I took a deep breath, sealed my determination to at least look fashionable even if I still didn’t know exactly
what would happen during the feast. Branford has assured me all that was required was my entrance, eating, and dancing. As long as he was leading the dance, I thought I would be just fine.
I made my way to the entrance and saw the two guards standing outside the huge pair of doors leading to the hallway. I dropped my gaze to the ground as they looked first at me, then at each other. Trying to keep my nervousness in check, I walked up to the center of the two doors and glanced up at the guard on the left side. I felt my teeth trying to puncture my bottom lip and made myself stop.
“Are you…um…ready to enter, my lady?” the guard questioned quietly.
“Yes,” I replied, my voice equally as soft.
He nodded once, then met his counterpart at the center of the doors and swiftly pulled them apart. I took one last deep breath, tried to hold up my head, and walked quickly into the grand room.