Abducted by a Prince by Olivia Drake Page A

her every move, and she had been imagining herself as Princess Arianna at the end of her adventures, restored to the loving company of her long-lost parents. On a whim, Ellie had fashioned a bit of white gauze festooned with pink roses as a makeshift crown over her upswept hair.
    She turned to see the stout proprietress bustling into the dressing room. The woman had a toadying smile on her face, though this was the first time Ellie had been the recipient of it. She felt a tickle of amusement at being mistaken for her cousin. Always before, she had been the dowdy chaperone sitting forgotten on a chair in the corner.
    She flicked the swath of gauze off her head. “Good afternoon, Mrs. Peebles. I’m Miss Stratham, Lady Beatrice’s cousin.”
    The obsequious manner vanished as the woman gave Ellie a critical stare. Her upper lip curled. “Oh! Of course, I should have known. Your hair is a slightly darker shade than your cousin’s. But why is Lady Beatrice not here?”
    “She had an unexpected conflict, so she sent me in her stead.”
    It had been the oddest thing, the way Lady Milford had appeared out of the blue to invite the girl to visit the Duke of Aylwin. Odder still, her ladyship had proposed that Ellie stand in for her cousin at this appointment. Lady Milford had even insisted that Ellie borrow a gown and the peacock-blue cloak from Beatrice, and had cleverly maneuvered their grandmother into agreeing that the Earl of Pennington’s niece must be more fashionably garbed when she went out into public.
    Ellie decided that Lady Milford had been well cast as the Furry Godmother in her storybook. Nevertheless, Ellie had her doubts about receiving anything other than hand-me-downs. Not even a magic wand could pry open her uncle’s purse strings.
    Mrs. Peebles straightened the lace on Ellie’s sleeve. “Well! I shall make the final adjustment on a number of hems today. Will Lady Beatrice’s shoes have a similar heel to yours?”
    On Lady Milford’s sage advice, Ellie was wearing the garnet dancing slippers. No shoe had ever felt so soft and comfortable, and she smiled to see the tiny crystal beads sparkle in the light of the lamps mounted on either side of the mirror. “Yes, I’m quite sure of it.”
    Mrs. Peebles knelt down on the floor and tugged at the hem. She held a number of straight pins in one corner of her mouth, but that didn’t stop her from talking around them. “I cannot say that I knew you to be so close in proportion to Lady Beatrice. You appear to be exactly the same size, except for the bosom, of course.”
    Gazing at her reflection in the mirror, Ellie eyed the too tight bodice that squeezed her breasts to the point of nearly spilling over the low neckline. Embarrassed, she could think of no reply to the frank comment. She had always been uncomfortably aware of being more endowed in that one area in comparison to her cousin.
    “’Tis a crime to wear shapeless gowns when you’ve such a pleasing figure,” Mrs. Peebles went on. “A woman should draw attention to her best assets. Turn, please.”
    Ellie obliged, inching around so that the seamstress could reach another section of the hem. “I’m merely the chaperone. It’s my cousin who is making her debut, after all.”
    “Bah. All women must keep up appearances. Begging your pardon, but how else will you attract a husband?”
    Ellie cast a glance downward at the brown sausage curls on the proprietress’s head. Evidently, Mrs. Peebles had overcome her initial snit and now desired a friendly chat. Ellie didn’t mind a conversation, but she balked at confessing her private plans to a stranger. Most people couldn’t fathom how a woman could be perfectly happy without a husband to clutter up her life with his demands.
    Of course, most people also didn’t have a head full of stories.
    “I’m sure you’re quite right,” Ellie said tactfully. “Tell me, if I were to improve my appearance, what colors would you recommend?”
    Mrs. Peebles