Stone Dreaming Woman (21 page)

“
Oui, Madame
,” Juliette replied. “This way, Doctor Weston.”

Jenny smiled at Shane, still mired in little girls, and followed the maid upstairs. A younger maid, carrying the bundle from Fleur’s saddlebags, followed a few yards behind them. Juliette opened the door to a lovely, well-appointed corner room with marble-topped furniture and rose-garlanded wallpaper similar to Jenny’s room back home in Parkfield. She felt the cloak of New York manners fall back upon her as she looked at her reflection in the triptych mirror above the vanity table and undid her scarf.

“Juliette, could you please have someone touch up my gown? It’s bound to be wrinkled after I carried it in my saddlebag for so long.” She indicated the bundle on the bed. Juliette untied it and unfolded Jenny’s favorite ball gown: forest green silk damask, with an empire waist and a graceful, narrow skirt with a back placket. The neckline had been cut to echo the shape of her grandmother’s pearl-and-diamond necklace, and the top was heavily embroidered along the floral pattern of the damask with deep green silk, crystals, and seed pearls. The edges of the cap sleeves had been cut to follow the roses in the damask and a band of pearl-crusted lace below the bustline hinted at an empire waist. From beneath it hung a divided overskirt with a gathered train. The overskirt consisted of three panels of sheer, diaphanous, pearlescent silk in teal, embroidered around the Moorish-scalloped edges with deep green that matched the dress. Two panels on either side fell straight, perhaps two inches shy of the hem of the skirt, divided down the front and back, while the third had been gathered only across the back and formed the pointed, ornate court train. Though the train had been constructed to be detachable, a button-on wrist loop caught it up for dancing.

Jenny had not thought to need a ball gown in Elk Gap. The sole reason this one had gone into her trunk was that she did not want to risk leaving such a horrifyingly expensive designer original in Arlington. Early this morning she had packed it carefully, interspersing her nightclothes and extra underthings in the folds. Juliette picked up the dress and expertly shook it out.

“It is not too mussed,
Mam’selle
, but I will have it pressed. Ah! How lovely! Silk, is it not?” Her English was even more heavily accented than Marie’s.

“Yes, it is. It’s my favorite ball gown. It’s from the House of Genesse in Paris. They have a New York branch now, you know.”

“I will caution Adrienne to take extra care and use only a lightly warm iron. Do you require anything else, then,
Mam’selle
?”

“Not now, thank you. I’d like to wash up and rest for a while.” Juliette left, assuring Jenny that if she wanted anything, she need only ring. Jenny poured tepid water from the ewer into the basin on the washstand. It was pleasantly perfumed and slipped soothingly over her skin, and the linen towel smelled of fresh air and sunshine. She patted her face and arms dry, then undressed and sponged herself all over. It felt refreshing, even though the ride had not been overly warm. When she put on her matching teal silk underclothes and went over to look in the mirror again, she noticed the sun had colored her cheeks a delicate pink. As long as her nose was not red she would not worry, although Aunt Eleanor would certainly have scolded her severely for risking her complexion.

Adjusting the triptych mirror, she touched her hair. She had done it up before leaving, and she had carefully coiled the back into several large barrel curls and pinned them into place. All she would need to do would be to unpin them and touch them up later. Then, thinking of Shane and the coming evening, she reclined atop the bedspread. Perhaps she should only close her eyes, just for a moment.

The next thing she knew, her hostess herself was knocking at the door.

“
Entrez
,” Jenny responded. Marie bustled in. Now that she was not wearing her apron, Jenny detected telltale fullness in her bust and roundness in her belly. Coupling that with the high color of her cheeks and the way the sides of her hair lay, Jenny could draw only one obvious conclusion. She smiled at the thought of another little girl to climb on Shane.

“Forgive me for waking you, but it is nearly time to dress. Juliette is bringing your gown up now. May I stay and chat with you a while? I do so want to become acquainted with the young lady who has so thoroughly captured our dear Shane’s heart.”
Oh, brother, not another one,
Jenny thought. But it was evident that Shane and his superior officer were close, and Marie seemed to be only a harmless, if somewhat gushy, Frenchwoman. Doubtless she meant well. Jenny rose and rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

“Please, Madame. Stay and talk with me. I welcome the company.” Her full skirt buoyed up by what looked like a hundred petticoats, Marie sailed across the room to perch on a chair in a corner. Jenny meanwhile splashed water on her face, then proceeded to put on the rest of her underclothing, including the hated corset that Marie indulgently laced up for her.

“You scarcely need that, you are so slender,” Marie observed, patting her own plump bosom by way of comparison. “And your French is superb. Did you learn it on the Continent?”

“No. Actually I’ve never been abroad. Right now there is too much unrest in Europe. I had a Parisian professor in college. I learned my accent from him. You sound Parisienne yourself.”

“I am. My family emigrated when I was twelve. Business was poor in Paris, so Papa brought us to Montreal. But Shane has told us you are from New York. How did you come to be all the way up here?”

“I’m visiting my uncle. He’s my dearest relative, and since he’s been on the Continent doing research and I’ve been away at school, I hadn’t seen him in three years.”

“Then when will you return to New York?”

“I’m not certain I’ll return. I may stay here,” Jenny replied, bending down to unroll her hose and slip the right stocking on. It was of deep green silk to match the gown. Marie clapped her hands in delight.

“I do hope we can make a Canadienne of you, then!”

Jenny smiled, bringing a dimple to the corner of her mouth. “Perhaps,” she replied.

“Shane seems so happy when he speaks of you
.”

Oh, here comes the fishing trip
, Jenny thought.

“Believe me, Madame, it wasn’t always that way. When we met, we roundly disliked each other.”

Marie laughed, covering her mouth coyly. “I disdained Bob at first, too. He is, after all, not French.”

“That couldn’t have lasted too long.”

“No. Elise was born when I was but eighteen.”

“When is this baby due, then?” Jenny asked, steering the conversation away from Shane.

“The middle of January. Bob so wants a boy this time. I only hope it’s well and healthy as my others have been. I am so fortunate to have three and lose none,
non
?”

“You and your husband are indeed fortunate. Your girls are lovely. I understand why Shane indulges them.”

“They do adore him. He always brings them surprises and tells them the most charming stories. And when he lets them ride his horse they talk of nothing else for days.” Jenny was listening with only half an ear as Marie rambled on, waiting for the inevitable cautious probing about her feelings toward Shane. A rebuff would not do this time; she had to be tactful but noncommittal. While Marie talked, Jenny pulled the pins from her hair and brushed out the cluster of curls in the back until they cascaded over her right shoulder.

“As many parties and receptions as Shane has attended with us here in River Bend, this is the first time he has ever brought a guest. I believe you have taken his heart.” There it was, and not even a question, Jenny thought, only a statement that requested elaboration. She stuffed several hairpins into her mouth to avoid answering immediately and tried valiantly to dredge up a carefully ambiguous reply. But she was rescued in the nick of time. Juliette returned with her gown, then was dismissed by her mistress.

“Shane and I have been seeing each other, it’s true. But it’s as much a professional as a personal relationship. You see, I have been practicing medicine in Elk Gap, and it’s so rural that I don’t yet know my way around the countryside. He frequently comes for me and helps me attend emergencies. If I continue sharing Doctor MacBride’s medical practice, I will probably stay in Elk Gap. But you understand I do have a professional career, so I have given very little thought to…personal relationships.”

“I see.”
Marie is trying much too hard not to sound too disappointed
, Jenny thought.
She probably wanted me to say I was panting for Shane to propose so I could make a cozy little nest and start raising my own brood like hers. Well, life does have its disappointments.
Jenny gave a twist here and there to the stray strands of curling hair that framed her face.

“There. I’m finished,” she announced, reaching for her dress. She carefully lowered it to the floor and stepped into it so as not to muss her hair.

“I will help you with the buttons and the train. There is no need to call Juliette. She is busy with the girls.” Marie did up the line of crystal buttons fastening the back of the gown, and Jenny settled the shoulders and the skirt properly. Then she shook a velvet pouch from one shoe. It contained the best items of her heirloom jewelry: her grandmother’s breathtaking diamond-and-pearl necklace, with matching earrings, bracelet, comb, and ring. The necklace consisted of three strands of matching graduated pearls caught up in scallops by platinum-and-diamond bars. It draped gracefully around a huge central teardrop pearl with a diamond cap. Smaller identical teardrops formed the earrings, and a slightly larger one depended from the diamond-and-platinum bar across the top of the tortoiseshell comb. Marie gasped involuntarily.

“How exquisite!” she exclaimed, helping Jenny with the clasp. “Are they family heirlooms, then?”

“Of a sort. My grandfather Weston’s wedding gift to my grandmother. Since Grandfather passed away when I was a still a little child, she gave them to me to wear to my coming-out party.”

“How lovely of her, to give you something so dear to her.”

Jenny’s bittersweet thought was otherwise. Her grandparents had been so terribly ill matched that her grandmother had found solace only in her children and her one and only grandchild. She had been all too glad to give up everything that brought her late husband to mind.

“I loved my grandmother very much. She was a lady to the bone, always poised, always polite, always socially proper, always tactful and charming.” Jenny removed her simple, ivy-patterned, gold-loop earrings, leaving them in a little trinket dish on the vanity table, then tucked the comb into the left side of her hair, where the pearl teardrop peeked from between deep waves.

“Do you resemble her, then?” Marie asked.

Jenny shook her head. “No. I look like my mother’s people, except that the Westons all seem to have this sandy, darkish-blond hair. Now I’m ready, but you?”

“I have only to put my dress on. Juliette did my hair long ago. And a matron like me cannot be too concerned about looking young and lovely anymore. You will be the one who will turn heads.” Marie gave an embarrassed laugh.

“Oh, no, Madame Shepherd! Don’t say that! You look quite beautiful. I’ve noticed before that some women glow when they are expecting a child.”

“Marie, please. There must be no formality between us. And yes, you may flatter me any day you wish. Come, then. I will change into my gown, and we will sweep down the stairs in all our glory and overwhelm our men.” Jenny picked up her green, pearl-decorated evening bag, her gloves, and the light wrap, somewhere between a tippet and a shrug, made out of the same diaphanous teal silk as the overskirt of her gown. She thrust her arm through Marie’s, and they glided down the hall in an apparent comradeship Jenny did not feel. She helped Marie with her voluminous pink lawn gown with its mountain of frothy lace around the neck. She thought for an amusing moment that it made Marie look like an enormous birthday cake. Marie, too, took up gloves, reticule, and a wrap, then gave her hair a pat and ushered Jenny out of the room.

At the top of the stairs, Jenny paused to let Marie precede her. She well knew the dramatic impact of being the coup de grâce. Marie glided into the parlor like a ship under full sail, and both Shane and Bob rose. Then Jenny floated in, a graceful sloop in the wake of a freighter. Shane’s eyes grew round in surprise.

“Jenny!” he whispered. His tone left no doubt he was awestruck. She watched him with no small amusement as he proceeded to ignore whatever Bob was saying.

“Well, Shane, don’t you think we should be going?” Bob prompted after a pause. Shane’s eyes flickered from Jenny to his superior officer, then back to the vision in the green dress as though drawn by a lodestone.

“What…? Oh. Yes. It must be time. Should we walk? It’s close enough.”

“That’s what I just suggested,” Bob replied, with a grin that made Shane’s cheeks flush. He settled Jenny’s wrap over her shoulders and offered her his arm. She took it with a smile, and felt her fingers pressing his forearm.

“Jenny, you look so beautiful,” he said quietly.

“Thank you,” she murmured, the corner of her mouth dimpling. “However, had I a choice of ball gowns, I’d not have picked green. You and I look like Merry Christmas together.”

“I’ve never seen anything like that gown. And your necklace…”

“Well, Shane, you are looking at a gown designed specially for me by the House of Genesse, and also Grandmother Weston’s pearls. They were her wedding present from Grandfather.”

“And you’re with a little backwoods boy like me,” he said with a disbelieving sigh. She gathered her train over her forearm and smiled up at him again, thinking that if she lived to be a hundred she could never be happier than she was at that moment.