Free Debutantes by Cora Harrison Page A

shoulders I look like one of the Victorian paintings by that fellow Burne-Jones.’ She removed the dress with a determined air and handed Daisy a comb and scissors.
    ‘Excuse me, your ladyships, I’ve brought more wood for the fire.’ Maud must have knocked while they were all exclaiming loudly over Poppy’s dress and now she stood there with the wood basket in her hands, looking intently at Poppy, surveying her with her head to one side.
    ‘I wouldn’t bob your hair, my lady, if I were you.’ Maud addressed Poppy in the rather forthright style she used to Rose when none of the adults were around. She dumped the basket of wood on the floor and then went over to Poppy. ‘There’s some good styles in those magazines . . . Excuse me, my lady,’ she said to Violet. ‘I can’t help noticing your magazines sometimes and I’ve seen a style that would suit you, Lady Poppy.’
    ‘Maud used to do hairstyles for all the girls in the orphanage when they were in their dormitory at night,’ Rose informed them.
    ‘What would you do with all of this, Maud?’ asked Poppy, clutching handfuls of her hair. Violet looked shocked at her sister talking to a scullery maid in such a friendly fashion, but Poppy never cared about things like that.
    ‘You need something for a headband, my lady.’ Maud picked a long strip of beaded sash out of Violet’s sewing basket. It was cut from the dress that had formed Poppy’s short jacket. Daisy guessed that the scullery maid had been looking through the pieces of material earlier on when the basket had been up in the schoolroom as she had selected the sash without hesitation. She watched with interest as Maud quickly swept back the heavy mass of red hair, brushed it carefully, tucked it behind Poppy’s ears, and then wound the beaded sash around her head, letting it sit like a crown over her sister’s eyebrows. Daisy held her breath.
    ‘Jazzy,’ said Poppy after a long moment.
    And it was perfect. The effect was completely up-to-date and very flattering without spoiling the impact of Poppy’s beautiful hair. Daisy knew that it would break her father’s heart if she cut the hair that was so like his wife’s.
    ‘Could you do my hair like that?’ asked Rose.
    ‘There are plenty of sashes in the sewing basket,’ said Violet. She gazed at Poppy’s hair, a slight struggle showing in her face. Then she made up her mind. Violet rarely spent long trying to decide about anything – she just went with her first instinct. Immediately she began to get dressed.
    Violet had made her own dress short, with a hemline that fell to above her knee on one side and dipped heavily on the other. Apart from this, the dress was simply made, cut fairly low in the front and back, sleeveless, but the gorgeous shade of shimmering green-blue silk sewn with thousands of tiny electric-blue beads needed no extra embellishments. She looked wonderful in it, the dress glittering and her violet-coloured eyes glowing. She gazed at her reflection in the looking glass and then turned to Maud.
    ‘What do you think, Maud?’ she asked, sitting down in front of the dressing table. ‘Would the same style as Poppy suit me?’
    Maud didn’t answer, just picked up the silky hair and cupped it in her hand, looking at the glass over Violet’s shoulder. Then she dropped it and reached for a jar of enormous old-fashioned hairpins, presented to Poppy by Great-Aunt Lizzie with advice about keeping her hair tidy. Maud wove Violet’s long hair into one very loose plait, then tucked it under and pinned it at the nape of her neck, loosening the strands near her face. The effect was a sleek, bell-like bob that curved around Violet’s ears and below her chin. When Maud was satisfied she went across to the sewing box and took out the other half of the beaded sash and tired it round Violet’s head like an Alice band, knotting the ends at the nape of the neck to secure the plait in place, and then cutting off the spare material with