*Summer*
I have nearly finished writing out the invitations when the seamstress arrives two days later, a couple of servants in tow carrying several boxes. I do not bother tamping down my excitement as I stand and … out of the corner of my eye … catch Dion’s smug expression. It seems in the matter of clothing, he understands me better than I understand myself. I thought I had resigned myself to wearing worn dresses, but now the prospect of wearing something that is mine again brings with it unexpected delight. Perhaps I haven’t left my previous life behind as much as I had hoped.
I lead Beth and her girls into the living quarters, nearly bouncing on the balls of my feet as I wait for them to unpack the boxes, tossing aside the thin paper and carefully displaying my new wardrobe over vario
