Page 33 of Victorian Bride

Eleanora bit her lip, her eyes dancing with laughter. “Certainly a unique sort of wear and tear.”

“It is actually rather impressive, I think,” Lottie said. “I have never been accused of being traditional in my… adventures, but I have never done such things… up against a tree?” She looked up at Mya, head tipped to the side in question. “Did you enjoy it?”

Mya groaned softly, covering her face with her hands, and pretended that neither of them existed.

A moment later, there was movement, and then Lottie was beside her, laying a hand over her shoulder. “Mya?”

“Mmm?”

“You know that we do not mean to actually shame you? It is only the sort of teasing shared between friends. There is no judgment here.”

“We are hardly the people to hold your desires against you,” Eleanora said, still sitting on the bed if the direction her voice came from was anything to go on.

Reluctantly, Mya lifted her head, regarding Lottie through her fingers. “There is no need to harp on it so,” she said.

“We only harp on it because it is terribly exciting.” Lottie grinned at her. “We have not had anything so scandalous happen here in quite some time. I am afraid that we are both living vicariously through you. It is not fair, but such is life.”

At that, Mya laughed. It was rather impossible not to. “Sometimes,” she said, “I wonder why I am friends with you.”

“Because I am a lovely person,” Lottie answered without pause for thought. “And because we are allowing you to live in our house without any sort of rent, which is rather the sort of thing that friends do.”

That was, in fact, true. “I suppose that is sufficiently balanced reasoning.”

“I presume, then, that you are finished with avoiding Lord McGregor?” Lottie dropped back onto the edge of the bed and looked up at Mya. “Or have you found some new reason to shun him?”

“No,” Mya said, shaking her head. “I have not found any reason to shun him. We have dealt with the disagreement, and decided to continue on as we were.”

“I am glad to hear it.” Lottie smiled. “He was a bit of a mess when you would not let him in to apologize. I am not sure he is quite prepared to be shut out so.”

Then he should not have spoken so nastily to her. But Mya didn't say that. They had, as she said, dealt with the disagreement, and she was not going to drag it all out again when her hosts seemed more than ready to move past the issue entirely. In truth, Mya herself was rather ready to be done with it as well.

“Wait! Did you say continue on as before?” Lottie grinned wickedly, even more pleased when Mya didn’t answer.

“Would you like some help getting yourself out of the dress?” Eleanora asked, changing the subject without being too jarring about it. “Since waking from your wound, it appears you have not had so much practice with it.” She smiled tenderly. “You remember how to do many things, but some seem new to you, like you’ve never done them before. It makes me wonder…” She waved her hand. “Never mind. Why don’t I help you?”

Mya looked down at the dress she was still wearing. “Is there any point in bothering to preserve it?” she asked. “Or is the back too shredded for a tailor to do much about the damage?”

“The skirt could perhaps be salvaged,” Eleanora said after a moment. “We can cut it from the gown entirely and hem it into a separate piece. The bodice, I think, is beyond rescue. As for the corset, we will have to see what that looks like beneath, but I think it will still serve its purpose, even if it is a little less pretty than it had been.”

“You should perhaps consider not using trees as support in such situations,” Lottie said. “In future. If you wish to avoid doing any further damage to your wardrobe.”

“Yes,” Mya said, laughing. “Thank you. I should never have thought of such an idea on my own.”

“That is what I am here for,” Lottie agreed.

Mya ducked into the dressing room and began stripping off the ruined dress. The mirror told her that the corset was not too badly damaged. A little rent in the fabric here and there, but that hardly mattered. She pulled on a long skirt and a blouse, and attempted to put her hair back in some semblance of order.

“I do have some news that is relevant to your interests, I believe,” Lottie said from the main room, voice pitched to carry.

“And what is that?” Mya asked, leaning into the mirror.

“It appears that the Auteberrys have their sights set on Lord McGregor as a suitor for their daughter. Seems they think he is quite the match for her.”

Deciding that there was nothing else to be done with her hair, Mya pinned a last loose lock back and stepped back out of the dressing room. “The Auteberrys? Does Kayden have any interest in Blanche, do you think?”

“Why would you even ask?” Lottie stared at her, shaking her head.

“Kayden has eyes for no one but you, dear,” Eleanora said kindly.