Crown of Smoke

Chapter 9

            She was escorted by Potter to the dining room where Hayden and Harrison were waiting. Hayden was dressed in an outfit similar to that of Harrison, a matching velvet jacket and trousers, but his was a sapphire blue. When Gwen had entered, the pair stood up, silencing their hushed conversation.

            “Well, that’s certainly more royal than before.” Harrison beamed at her. “Now I can see what Hayden was talking about.”

            “And what would that be, exactly?” Gwen asked, a rush of confidence coming to her as she fixed her skirts and took her seat.

            “That you have potential, of course,” Hayden replied his voice clear and calm, however despite this, he would not meet her eyes. Gwen tried to stare him down, but his gaze did not budge from the empty plate in front of him. “Harry, what exactly have you begun to tell people?”

            Harrison smiled as Potter came forth with the dinner staff, presenting a bowl of pumpkin soup, to begin with.

            “There will be a ball tomorrow night, nothing to fanciful, just one or two other high ranking citizens like myself and some of the middle-class village people. Guinevere will hopefully look as ravishingly regal as she does tonight and we’ll get them on our side.”

            “We’ll have to be off the next morning.”

            “Hayden, please, there’s no rush.” He smiled and turned to Gwen. “You’re welcome to stay as long as you wish, your highness.”

            “Oh please, Mr Astere, I’d much rather go by Gwen.” That caught Hayden’s attention, his eyes turning into slits in annoyance, but Harrison ignored him.

            “In which case, you must call me Harry,” he replied kindly. He was much softer than Hayden. Gwen immediately felt more at home in his company. Maybe it was the fact he didn’t act as if he had as stick stuck somewhere unseemly for a lady to think about, or the fact that he had ordered pumpkin soup to be made that night, not even knowing it was one of Gwen’s favorites, or maybe it was the simple fact would call her Gwen rather than some royal name she still didn’t feel fit to take.

            “Guinevere, do you have an outfit appropriate for a ball?” Hayden cut in, Gwen’s mouth feeling taunt to keep her smile in place when really she wanted to glare at him.

            “I have this, and I have three more dresses in a similar style.” She said, unable to hide the annoyance in her voice.

            “And I’m sure you’d fit in some of my mother’s gowns, Gwen. I shall let you try them on tomorrow and take any that you like. I’m certainly not using them.”

            “Thank you, Harry.” Gwen smiled. It was strange, how despite the fact he came from the same class as Hayden but he was filled with such a generous nature and Hayden sat there like he had been sucking on a lemon.

            The rest of the evening was easier than Gwen could have dreamed. Harry was an excellent host, keeping the conversation flowing, asking about Gwen’s upbringing and tell her about his own. He and Hayden would occasionally tell a story together about some gala that they had both been forced to attend. Gwen soon found out that Hayden was not so squeaky clean as he pretended to be, often spending events in rooms down the hall with Harry and friends getting completely and utterly drunk to the point where they could hardly speak. He still could barely look at Gwen, but she never really understood why. She thought it was because she was being so familiar with Harry, but from the moment that had arrived, he had been acting strangely. She shook it off as one of his mood swings, hoping that at the ball the next evening he would at least pretend to be more friendly with her.

Harrison followed through on his promise the next day. After a breakfast of incredible pastries and fruits, she was lead up to his parents’ old bedroom which was on the top floor of the house with a high ceiling and cream walls with a huge bronze bed set right in the middle.

            Harry stood with his back to the door, pulling dress after dress out of the closet and depositing them on the floor as Potter entered the room and presented Gwen. Harry was in day clothes, brown leather pants and high black boots for his rounds around the farm (according to his breakfast table chatter). Hayden had gone on a walk into the village, so they were left alone in the house. Well, not completely alone. There were more servants ordered in since the night before, running around with flowers and decorations for the ball that evening.

            Harrison grunted his greetings to Gwen as she took a seat on the edge of the bed, smoothing out her own mint green day dress and white cardigan over her shoulders.

            “You look like a daisy,” Harrison said as he turned around. He didn’t say it like an insult or a compliment, simply a fact that she looked like a flower.

            “You look like a farmer,” she replied.

            “Well, we can’t all be the future queen,” he winked, pulling out a flurry of multi-colored dresses.

            “My goodness!” Gwen laughed, jumping off of the bed as Harrison strode over and placed the pile down where she had been sitting. It was a rainbow of fabric laying across the sky blue bedsheets, the lace underskirts like fluffy clouds at the end.  “These were all your mothers?”

            “I’ve never had the heart to get rid of them or anything else in this room for that matter.” He ran his hand down the headboard of the bed as his eyes flew over the fabrics. “They’re a little old-fashioned, but still grand enough I’m sure. I think you’d look nice in the darker ones mostly, but I quite like the violet one for this evening.”

            “I’ll try them on,” Gwen said, moving behind the silver dressing screen. She pulled on the violet dress first, enjoying the feel of the short puffed sleeves. She adjusted the gown as much as she could but couldn’t tie the corset herself, so stepped out shyly.

            “Let me take that,” Harry said, standing up and making his way to Gwen’s back, lacing up the corset with a thick white ribbon. “This is the problem with girl’s clothes, always so many things to make them just right. When one gets into a… compromising situation with a female there is always so much more to do to make it discreet. When you’re with a man, there’s not this issue.”

            Gwen’s mouth opened to say something but kept silent. She didn’t know anything about being in a compromising situation, as Harry put it, with anyone at all. She felt herself blush as he moved her hair from her shoulders and tied it in a low knot with the ribbon from his own hair, finally turning her around to face him. His hair hung loosely around his face as the sun shone onto the freckles on his nose. Gwen bit her lip as his fingers traced behind her ears, bringing a few strands of hair to the front to frame her face artfully.

            “The belle of the ball,” he whispered, turning her to look in his late mother’s looking glass. It was a nice dress, the purple silk cascading from her hips in small pieces like flower petals, but Gwen couldn’t stop looking at Harrison behind her. She could feel herself blushing with his hands resting on her waist and hastily turned away from the mirror to the windows, where all she could see was grass and sky that seemed to go on forever.

            “I’ve never been to a ball before,” she confessed.

            “That’s not surprising, given your upbringing. I imagine your parents wouldn’t want to showcase you in ball dresses.” Gwen could hear the smirk in his voice, but for some reason, it didn’t feel condescending when it was Harry. “Have you ever waltzed?” Gwen scoffed in reply. “Well, it’s not too difficult. I’m surprised Hayden didn’t teach you. He’s an excellent dancer.”

            “Oh please, he was far too busy going through my family history.” Gwen chuckled, rolling her eyes and turning back to face Harry. “Not to mention my posture correction classes.”

            “Don’t joke, posture is very important in learning to dance, but dance also helps to teach posture so I do wonder how he could have missed that trick.”

            “Perhaps because I hate dancing.” Hayden declared, standing in the doorway to the bedroom, leaning up against the frame. “Just because one is good at something, does not mean that they enjoy it, Harry, you know that.”

            Hayden’s tone cut. Gwen looked over to Harry who was sharing a knowing look with him, his eyes sadder than they had been before, but still forcing his smile to hold on to his lips despite the fact it had left his eyes. Hayden wandered past him, taking Gwen’s hand and pulling her into the middle of the room, he bowed and she took the cue to curtsey back to him.

            “You’re getting better at that, but keep the back straight.” He said, returning to his standing position. He offered her his hand and she took it. He pulled her closer to him, moving her hand to rest lightly on his shoulder, holding the other one in his own as he straightened himself up. “Harry, would you put her in the right position for me?” Hayden asked. Harrison came over and pulled Gwen’s shoulders back, the top half of her body a little further away from Hayden’s. He adjusted her chin until he was satisfied and Hayden nodded in his own approval.

            Gwen wasn’t sure she had ever been this close to Hayden before. She could see the light from the window dancing in his green eyes as he pulled her in by the waist, counting to four in a soft rhythm.

            “Follow my lead.” He told her, his feet beginning to move as he used his arms to guide Gwen around the room whilst Harry sat on top of the pile of dresses, watching them. Hayden would occasionally pull at her, pressing his hand into her waist, making sure that she stayed in the correct position, but Gwen was finding it surprisingly easy to follow his movements, letting him guide her in the little ups and downs like the waves gently making their way towards the shore. There was no music playing, just the lilt of Hayden’s voice as he counted four over and over again, spinning her around until she was dizzy enough that only his face was truly clear to her, a fixed point in the constantly spinning room.

            “I think you’ve got the gist of it.” He finally murmured after a few flawless circuits around the room. Harry was quiet, observing them with an unreadable expression on his face, Hayden still holding Gwen in place. “The dress is excellent, Harry. Thank you for your help.”

            “Of course.” Harrison shook his head, smiling to himself. “You’re welcome to take them all with you if that bloody pony you managed to acquire can carry them all.”

            Gwen took a step back from Hayden and went over to the pile of dresses ignoring the look which Harry and Hayden were sharing behind her back.