that had been carefully cultivated since childhood, and she knew how to make every glance seem like a favor. Her family had long expected her to marry Nathaniel. No proposal had been made, but the expectation was repeated so often that many guests treated it as fact. Cecily herself rarely corrected them.
The smile she gave Nathaniel was radiant. The one she offered Nora lasted scarcely a heartbeat. "Miss Fenwick," she said, surveying the blue muslin. "How brave of you to wear something so... honest." A woman behind her hid a laugh in her fan. Cecily tilted her head. "I had been told you were no longer employed at the school. I do hope you have not come to trouble my aunt with grievances on a festive evening." Nora felt the familiar pressure to speak softly, to show gratitude for being allowed through the front door, and to remember that anyone who embarrassed a titled woman would be blamed for the embarrassment.
She was searching for Lady Honoria when a young maid approached. "Miss Fenwick? Lady Cecily asks whether you might come to the ladies' dressing room. She says a stitch has come loose in your gown." Nora looked down. A thread did protrude near her left shoulder, though she was certain it had not been there when she arrived. Her mother's seams were sound. She should have refused, but several women were watching, and she did not wish to have a defect announced across the hall. She followed the maid along a passage lit by wall candles, keeping one hand over the reticule that held her papers.
The dressing room was filled with mirrors, ribbons, jewel cases, and small silver boxes. Two other ladies stood near a painted screen, and a maid in pale green waited beside a tray of pins. Cecily turned toward Nora with an expression of exaggerated sympathy. "There you are. Poor thing. Your bodice seems to be coming apart. One cannot expect old fabric to behave like new silk." She beckoned to the maid. "Elspeth, you know what to do. Fix it quickly. We would not have Miss Fenwick embarrass herself."
Elspeth was slight, with dark circles beneath her eyes and hands that did not quite remain steady. She stepped close to Nora and examined the seam. "It will need only a moment," she whispered. She took a length of pale thread and bent toward the left side of the bodice. Nora felt a sharp tug, not quite a prick, and instinctively drew back. Cecily made a disappointed sound. "You must stand still. People who are unaccustomed to proper fittings always make the task harder." Elspeth's face reddened. She tied a tiny knot, then withdrew as though eager to put distance between herself and the gown.