"Samantha!" Grandmary's voice startled me and I looked up to see everyone in the room staring at me, startled looks on their faces. I was confused for a moment until I looked down and saw the broken teacup and the tea that was quickly making a brown puddle on the floor.
"Oh, I'm so sorry Grandmary!" I exclaimed, feelings my cheeks turn red with embarrassment.
Grandmary let out a sigh. "It's alright dear," she assured me. "Elsa!"
Elsa's sour face appeared in the doorway a moment later. "Yes, ma'am?"
"Please clean this mess up and bring Miss Samantha another tea cup," she said, and Elsa nodded, with that same lemon-sucking look on her face.
"Yes, ma'am." As Elsa walked over to us and cleaned up the mess, Grandmary turned her eyes to Nellie.
"And now you, my dear. Your escort will be the Admiral's grandson, traveling all the way from England just for the occasion."
"I told him all about you, and he says he can't wait to meet you," the Admiral told her with a wink. Grandmary chuckled and nudged him playfully, while Nellie looked down at the ground and blushed.
"Can we go to the ball too, Grandmary?" Jenny asked.
"I'm sorry, girls, but it's only for young ladies sixteen and older," she said, and when she saw their hopeful smiles turn into frowns she quickly added, "But of course, when you girls turn sixteen you will have your own debutante balls!"
Suddenly Elsa appeared in front of me with a new teacup in her hand, and I was surprised when I glanced down and saw the mess had already been cleaned up. I took the cup from her hands and thanked her.
"Will that be all, ma'am?"
"Yes, that will be all, Elsa. Thank you," Grandmary said politely, and then she turned back to Nellie and me.
"Well, I'm glad we have all that straightened out," she said as she stood up. She turned to the Admiral. "Dear, the girls and I are going to head to town to get them fitted for their new dresses!"
"Alright, dear. Gardner and I will stay here with the younger girls," he said with a nod. What seemed like only minutes later, Grandmary, Cornelia, Nellie, and I were on our way to town in Grandmary's carriage.
"Oh, girls, I almost forgot—I have another surprise for you," Grandmary mentioned as we rode towards town. I perked up at this and turned my eyes over to her.
"What is it, Grandmary?" I asked. I hope that this time it would be something I would find interesting.
"Well, in preparation for your debutante ball, I have arranged dancing lessons with the finest instructor in all of Mount Bedford!" My hopes were crushed; I was terrible at dancing.
"That's…great, Grandmary," I finally said, forcing my lips to curve upward into a smile.
"Yes, that was very kind of you. Thank you," Nellie agreed. Grandmary smiled at our reactions.
"I knew you girls would be happy. Your lessons begin tomorrow morning at eight a.m. sharp. You will go there every day—excluding Sunday, of course—up until the day of the ball."
"I can't wait, Grandmary," I lied.
"Aunt Cornelia, this is terrible!" I cried into my pillow that evening after supper. Cornelia rubbed my back soothingly.
"What's wrong, Samantha?" she asked.
"First of all, I am to be escorted to a ball by Eddie Ryland! He is an annoying pest of a boy who teased and mocked me while I was a child up until I left," I started, my voice coming out muffled because of the pillow, "and second, I have to take dance lessons for two whole weeks, but I am terrible at dancing!"
"Samantha, dear, that's what the lessons are for," Cornelia said calmly. "As for Eddie, well, he may have changed. People can change an awful lot in six years. He may be a completely different person than the boy you knew as a child." Cornelia's voice was hopefully, but I could tell she was just trying to make me feel better. "Well, it's time for you girls to go to bed. You have to be up early tomorrow for your dancing lessons." Cornelia stood up and walked over to the door. "Goodnight girls."
"Goodnight Cornelia," Nellie and I said in unison before she closed it. It was already night, but the blinds weren't closed, so the moonlight shone in the room, casting everything in a ghostly glow.
"If it helps Samantha, at least you know who is taking you to the ball. I don't know my escort at all," Nellie said softly. I looked across the room in the dim light and saw her green eyes staring back at me in sympathy.
"I'd be happy to go with anybody but Eddie Ryland, even somebody I've never met before," I replied, turning onto my side.
"What do you think he'll be like?"
"Who? Eddie? Same as before."
"No, I mean the Admiral's grandson."
"Oh, well if he's anything like the Admiral he'll be a fine escort, that's for sure," I said with a smile. I could see Nellie's lips curve into a grin in the light before she turned over in her bed; a moment later I heard a soft snoring. I let out a sigh and closed my eyes, trying to find some sleep before I humiliated myself at the dance lessons tomorrow.
"Samantha, Nellie, time to get up!" Elsa's grumpy voice woke me up the next morning and I opened my eyes to see sunlight streaming in through the blinds.
"Your grandmother wants you ready for your dance lesson in half an hour, misses," she said before closing the door behind us. Nellie sat up in her bed with a sleepy look on her face. I climbed out of bed and put my slip and petticoats before pulling a corset out of my trunk.
"Nellie, can you lace my stays?" I asked, moving my long brown hair out of the way. She nodded and walked over to me, eyes dropping down. Her sleepiness certainly didn't stop her from lacing up my stays tight, though. Cornelia started making Nellie and I wear them when we turned fourteen, saying we were becoming young ladies, and young ladies wear corsets to make their figures look better. I detested the things—so constricting and always pinching my back if I slouched in the least.
"All done," Nellie finally announced. I bent down in front of the trunk and shifted through the clothes I brought with me.
"What should I wear to the dance lesson?" I asked. She peered over my shoulder as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.
"The purple dress with the bright yellow sash around the middle. If you impress the dance teacher maybe he won't mind that you can't dance very well," she suggested.
I pulled the dress out of the trunk and slipped it on before smoothing out the wrinkles. Corsets weren't the only things that we had to start wearing when we turned fourteen. Cornelia took us to a small little boutique near our New York home and bought us all new dresses that brushed against the ground. They weren't as bad as corsets, but it was terribly hard to run in them when you were constantly worried about tripping over the long hemline. Then again, young ladies were not supposed to run.
Nellie seemed to adapt to the new clothing changes better than I did, but of course she was always good with change. I was sure that when the time came for Bridget and Jenny to start wearing corsets they would adjust with ease and grace. Of course, that was to be expected. Within a couple months of their adoption they had settled into their new lives and adapted quite nicely to their new role as daughters of a wealthy couple.
"Samantha, can you lace my stays?" Nellie asked. I turned to see her already dressed in her undergarments. I nodded and began pulling at the strings. Just as I was finishing, there was a soft rap on the door.
"Are you girls decent?" came Cornelia's soft voice from the other side.
"Yes," I called back. Cornelia walked in and quickly shut the door behind her since Nellie was only in her petticoats and corset.
"I was wondering if you girls needed help with your hair," she said. I nodded and sat down in front of the vanity table while Cornelia picked up a brush and began to arrange my hair. Another thing that we had to change when we turned fourteen was our hairstyle. Instead of the loose, cascading hair we'd been used to all our lives, we had to pile our hair on top of our heads in elaborate fashions, just like Cornelia. We hadn't quite gotten the hang out doing it ourselves yet, so Cornelia always came in after we were dressed and helped us pin our hair up. By the time Cornelia finished with me Nellie was dressed and Cornelia quickly arranged Nellie's hair in a similar fashion.
As soon as we were done Cornelia went to the younger girl's bedroom and disappeared inside. Nellie and I looked at each other with a grin before picking up our long dresses and racing each other down the stairs. We slowed down as we approached the parlor where Grandmary was having an early cup of tea. We figured that the men were still asleep in their rooms since neither the Admiral, nor Uncle Gard were anywhere in sight.
"Oh, girls, Mrs. Ryland was just over here a few minutes ago and she can't wait to see you and Nellie again. She even invited all three of us over for a cup of tea at noonday," Grandmary announced as we walked into the parlor and sat down on the couch across from her.
"Will Eddie—I mean, Edward, be there?" I asked cautiously.
"But of course, my dear," Grandmary replied before taking a sip of her tea. I cringed on the inside, but knew better than to let Grandmary see.
"Well, we should be off to those dancing lessons. You mustn't be late for your first day. First impressions are everything." She let out a sigh as she placed her teacup down on the saucer. We all rose and walked out to the carriage that was waiting for us.
"Good morning, Miss!" Mr. Hawkins greeted me, tipping his hat. I smiled and curtsied like a duchess would.
"And good morning to you, sir," I said in response. I think I missed Mr. Hawkins and his wife the most out of all the servants I left behind when I moved to New York City. When we pulled up to the dance studio in town, Grandmary turned to us before we got out.
"Good luck, girls. Hawkins will be back here when the lessons are over and then you two will have just enough time to change and get ready for the tea at Mrs. Ryland's house at noon," she said before we got out. I stood on the corner of the street and watched as she waved goodbye while the carriage drove away. When she was gone I turned back to the double doors and took a deep breath. Nellie touched my arm and smiled.
"Everything will be fine, Samantha. Remember, I'm not the best dancer either," she reminded me. "Remember when we were younger and we went to that dancing class where we had to pretend to be trees? My stockings were falling down all throughout the dance and I kept having to pull them up while still doing the dance." I laughed when I remembered that and nodded.
"Right, everything will be fine," I said, more to assure myself than Nellie.
I couldn't have been more wrong.
I know things are a little slow starting out, but trust me, things will get real interesting really fast in the next chapter-trust me. =)
