Free Some Enchanted Evening by Christina Dodd Page B

"Ladies, we shall make our way to the conservatory, where I'll show you some activities to make yourself look fresh even after dancing the night away, and tell you about the newest styles from Paris."
    The girls stared at Clarice like frogs being lured to a new lily pad.
    "Many of you are tanned from your travels." Clarice was careful not to allow her gaze to rest on any face in particular. "I have an unguent that will help remove those stains."
    Like offended cats, the mothers sat straighter.
    Clarice played her trump card. "But first I'll show you how to clear your complexion and hide the freckles on your noses."
    The shriek of rapture that rose from every throat made Clarice flinch and take a step toward the door.
    Hepburn was right. Their high-pitched voices and the scent of their perfumes could easily drive a sane man to madness — and uneasily Clarice remembered that Hepburn's sanity had already been called into question.
    But she thought him quite sane. Probably. Only ruthless and . . . dynamic.
    And she thought about him far too much for a man she'd met that very day.
    Tearing her mind away from contemplation of him, she glanced at the clock on the mantel. In ringing tones she said, "I shall see you in the conservatory at seven o'clock." Slowly and carefully she articulated, "In the conservatory at seven o'clock. Did everyone hear me?"
    "In the conservatory at seven o'clock," a few of the younger ladies repeated.
    Most of them, Clarice knew, would be late, but they would be there. The sum total of the girls' ambition was to be just like everyone else. Vaguely Clarice remembered a time when she wanted nothing more than the anonymity of being normal too. Now she just wanted to make it through the next week without being hung by her neck until dead — and without spending more time in Hepburn's company.
    Slipping from the room, she strolled toward the conservatory and spoke to the first footman she encountered. "Greetings, my good man. May I inquire as to your name?"
    "Ma'am? Urn, Your Highness? I'm . . . um . . ." The red-cheeked lad couldn't have been more than sixteen, and as his stocking slid down his skinny, hairy leg, he tugged it back up and stuck it beneath his powder-blue breeches. "I'm Norval."
    "Norval." She committed his name to memory. Whatever home she visited, she always made sure the servants liked her and wished to do her bidding. One never knew when one might need a fire made up — or to make a fast escape. "I need to have the candles in the conservatory lit, and, Norval, I think you are the man to help me."
    "Of course, Your Highness. I am. Your Highness." He beamed so much, she considered using him for illumination.
    "Thank you, Norval. I knew I could depend on you." With a smile she walked down the corridor and into the conservatory.
    Her casual air comprised part of her confident masquerade, one she always cultivated. She was gracious and made everyone around her feel at ease, and drew the Millicents of the world out of their shells.
    Beauty was easy so much of the time. If a woman thought she was beautiful, and smiled and was gracious, she became beautiful. It was all a trick, one that Clarice knew well, one she would impart tonight to those who would listen.
    She looked with satisfaction at the conservatory, easily the most welcoming room in MacKenzie Manor. The sun had not yet set, and golden light filled the glass-enclosed chamber. Violets and pinks bloomed together in small pots, while in larger pots pink damask roses grew over short trellises. A dwarf peach tree had been trained flat against the wall, and its espaliered limbs bore small green fruit.
    The servants had already placed sofas and chairs in among the flowers, facing the table that Clarice had covered with a lace cloth and with balms and creams, hairpins and swaths of cloth. Now Norval entered with three more footmen, and swiftly they lit the candles set around the room. Before she had finished with the ladies, she would need the