Chapter 2:
After the little talk with her father, Catherine retreated to the security of her bedroom where she had stayed, not wanting to speak a single word to anyone. And her silence carried on to the next day. But instead of irritably sulking about the house, she kept her mind occupied on her books that they owned in their family library rather then think about the evening event that seemed to quickly approaching. When the evening started coming around, her father found her calmly reading in the Parlor room like always. He took a couple seconds to observe his daughter and noted how she had stayed in her nightwear all day long, not even bothering to put up her long hair that now hung down her lower back in soft waves. With a soft sigh, Andrew Jones stepped into the room.
"Catherine?" he called over to her. Catherine's head which had been bowed over the book she held in her hands, lifted at her name before she slowly raised her eyes up from her reading to see her father standing over by the Parlor Room's doorway.
"Father." She acknowledged before she went back to her reading. The heavy sound of his footsteps crossing the room reached Catherine's ears causing her to once more look up to see her father now standing before her,
"Can we talk?" he asked. Catherine took in a deep breath before she calmly marked her place and closed her book.
"I don't see why not." She replied in a cool tone. Her father gave a slight nod before he turned about and started to pace slowly back and forth across the room. Catherine followed her father with her eyes.
"Catherine…" he began, "….about yesterday…"he paused for a quick second to turn about and face his daughter once more, "Perhaps it was a bit un…" his sentenced got cut off by the sound of the doorbell chiming. Both of their heads turned to the Parlor entrance where they then saw John breeze on by to answer the call. The two waited patiently for a few silent moments before John poked his head in the Parlor doorway,
"Sir, a Mr. Richardson is here to see you." He politely informed before disappearing once more. Catherine lowered her gaze down to her lap understanding that this conversation would have to continue later. Without a word, she rose up from the chair that she had been sitting in and made a move to walk past her father,
"Go see to your business, Papa. I'll just be in my room when you're done." She promised while offering a tiny smile to her father. She saw her father nod his head for a second before she swiftly left the Parlor room and traveled up to her bedroom chamber. As she passed into the doorway of her room, she found her chambermaid bustling about making up her bed.
"Ah there you are, M'lady." The maid cheerfully spoke as she finished arranging the pillows.
"Hello, Eliza." Catherine replied with a small smile.
"Where have you been hiding?" Eliza asked in a teasing tone. Catherine emitted a short sigh before shaking her head as she walked over to her vanity and took a seat.
"I wish I could hide." She confessed in a soft voice. Eliza turned away from the bed at Catherine's words before she slowly walked over to her mistress' seated form,
"Oh now what kind of attitude is that?" she asked while she stopped right behind Catherine. "I would think you'd be excited for today." She stated.
A gentle snort came out of Catherine before she reached a hand out and took up the hairbrush which lied on top of the small vanity dresser.
"Excited?" she repeated while she ran the brush through her hair, "To be paraded about some ballroom to see how many men I can attract? No thanks." She answered before she turned about in her chair to face Eliza, "The whole idea of it…is just…ugh!" she exclaimed while shaking her head in disgust. Eliza offered a small sympathetic smile before she reached out and took Catherine by the hand.
"Perhaps a nice hot bath will make you feel better." She suggested while she lightly pulled Catherine up from her seat and began leading her across the bedroom to where the bathroom resided on the other side of the room. As the two women entered the room, Catherine inhaled the sweet rose fragrance that was coming over from the bathtub which was already filled with steaming water.
"I already took the time to draw the bath for you, M'lady." Eliza stated. Catherine laughed to herself at her maid's obvious statement before she reached her hands up to the tie of her dressing gown and undid the silky garment before shrugging out of it and placing it on the hook that hung on the wall next to the tub.
"I can see that, thank you Eliza." Catherine replied before she let the nightgown that she wore drop from her shoulders and fall silently to the ground before landing in a pool of silk at her feet. She then stepped out of it and quickly discarded the rest of her clothing before she slowly stepped into the fairly hot water and sank down into the tub. While Catherine relaxed her body inside the tub, Eliza went about her business and collected Catherine's nightwear before she silently slipped away from the bathroom.
"Eliza was right." Catherine noted to herself while she closed her eyes in peace, "…this was just what I needed."
Catherine soaked in the hot water for a few silent minuets before Eliza once more entered the room carrying a pitcher which she used to fill with hot water from the bath before she placed the container up on the sink. Catherine took that time to lay back completely in the tub so that the water could come up and wet her hair. When she sat back up, Eliza was already handing out a bottle of shampoo for her to use. She then poured some into her hand before she started massaging it into her scalp, a soft sigh of pleasure escaped her lips as she did this. And once her hair was all sudsy she looked over at Eliza and nodded her head who then went to collect her pitcher of water before she came to right next to Catherine who then tilted her head back. Keeping the water flow at a minimum, Eliza lightly poured the water over her mistress' head while Catherine thoroughly rinsed her hair free of the soap. When the last of the shampoo had been washed out, Catherine ringed her hair out till it was fairly damp while Eliza swiftly fetched a fresh towel out of one of the bathroom's cupboards. Catherine slowly stood up out of the tub and reached for the towel before she wrapped it tightly around her body. Eliza then helped her step out of the tub,
"I have your new clothes all laid out for you on the bed, M'lady." Eliza stated. Catherine smiled softly and nodded her head before she left the bathroom and walked over to her bed where her clothes were patiently waiting. Catherine took one glance at the outfit and stopped at the foot of the bed. She sighed softly and shook her head,
"This doesn't surprise me." She stated as she bitterly eyed the neatly laid out gown that her father had given her the day before. "The bath wasn't for calming purposes…." She stated within her mind, "….it was for preparation." Catherine mentally kicked herself as she realized what was going on. Eliza was obviously sent here to help get her ready for the night's event. With a quick roll her eyes, Catherine dropped the towel before she reached out and snatched up the black lace panties and stockings that were folded on top of the corset that rested next to the gown. Once those were on, she grabbed her petticoats and irritably slipped them on as well. As she tightly secured the underskirts about her hips, she heard Eliza cross the room and take her place beside Catherine long enough for her to pick up the corset before she moved to stand behind Catherine.
"Arms up, M'lady." Eliza softly stated. Catherine released a long sigh before she lifted her arms up from her side. Eliza then swiftly reached around Catherine's small waist to position the corset properly before she took up its laces and began lacing the thing up. "Hold onto the bed post, M'lady." Eliza politely informed. Catherine scooted over to the one of the four bed posts and held onto it with both hands before taking in a deep necessary breath of air. Eliza gave a firm tug on the laces and the corset tightened immensely. After a few more pulls, the blasted thing was at it proper place of causing any young woman slight discomfort because of its constricting purposes. Once Eliza had finished securing the laces she stepped away with a quick sigh of approval,
"Ah there we go." She stated before she reached her hands up and clapped them together once, "Now let's see what we can do with your hair."
Eliza turned about and walked over to Catherine's vanity dresser and mirror where she collect Catherine's hairbrush and a handful of bobby pins before coming back over to the bed. "Come, come, sit." She directed.
Catherine could see as she took a seat on the bed, that Eliza was enjoying herself, after all it wasn't everyday that Eliza could formally dress her up. After gently brushing Catherine's still damp hair out, Eliza went to work. It took less then ten minuets for the chambermaid to have styled Catherine's hair up into an elegant hairdo that consisted of her hair being pulled off her neck before it was intricately twisted and curled about into a messy bun with some longer curled strands left down in the front to delicately frame her face.
Eliza smiled brightly with pride at her work before she pulled Catherine to her feet and fetched her beautiful gown off the bed. Eliza swiftly had the back of the gown undone within a couple seconds before she had it ready to be slipped over Catherine's head. Catherine unenthusiastically let the gown slide over her head without having it mess up her hair and stuck her arms into the short sleeves while Eliza helped the skirt of the gown to properly go over the petticoats before it fell all the way to the ground in a soft whisper of silk. Then while Catherine adjusted the sleeves of her gown so that they were hanging correctly off her shoulders, Eliza stepped up behind her and did the hooks on the back of the gown. Catherine gasped softly at the sudden tightness of the bodice once the dress was securely on before she turned about to face Eliza.
"Oh…" Eliza breathed out with a smile of admiration, "M'lady….look at you…you're absolutely breathtaking." She stated. Catherine glanced down on herself for a quick second before she crossed the room over to her vanity mirror and gazed thoroughly at her reflection. The gown most certainly flattered her womanly figure, Catherine noted to herself as she studied her appearance. Eliza quickly rejoined her only to kneel to the ground and lift up Catherine's skirts where she then presented a pair of matching heels the same color as her gown. Catherine assumed they were from her father as well since they looked to be brand new as she slid her feet into them. Eliza quickly strapped the heels on before she lowered Catherine's skirts and readjusted them before she rose to her feet. She took one more approving look at Catherine before she bobbed a curtsey,
"I'll leave you for a while now, M'lady." She stated before she quickly left the room with a small excited smile. Catherine watched her maid leave before she sighed softly and shook her head,
"In other words," she corrected, "…off to tell papa." She stated knowingly before she turned on her heels and walked over to her bedroom window. As she glanced outside a soft frown pulled at her lips; the sun was starting to set below the horizon which meant that it wouldn't be long before it was time to leave.