@DucDePhilippe Henrietta let out a faint huff of amusement. “You’ll need a far larger glass than that if you expect a smile, Philippe.” She takes the one he offers anyway.
It was far too deliberate, far too regular to be mistaken for anything else.
Her breath broke with it.
She tried to steady herself, but the force at her back kept her caught between him and the door; firmly held, pressed forward, only to be drawn back again.
Henrietta exhaled, slow and deliberate, and allowed herself the indulgence of a private smile.
“If only you knew,” she murmured to her reflection, voice barely stirring the air, “how carefully I have chosen this… and for whom.”
The new gown settled around her in gentle folds of ivory silk, the bodice shaped carefully to her form, the neckline trimmed with pale lace that brushed her skin like a whisper.
She lifted her chin slightly, studying the way the fabric followed her breathing, rising, falling {+}