Peggy had been anticipating that her friend would swoop in with immediate reassurances that she would never make it to twenty-eight before marrying, and tried not to be outwardly put out when such reassurances were not forthcoming. Rachel must have thought it went without saying, she supposed (but it still would have been nice to have been said!). How much of a success is it really if half of the couple don't survive the honeymoon? she might have said, or your mother must not be in a particular hurry or she'd hardly be delaying your debut for finishing school, but she recognized that both options were bordering on too blunt for this interaction. And anyway, there was such a bigger target dancing not ten feet away from them.
"She was never the best with charms," Peg said, voice full of sympathy she did not actually feel. "Poor dear. She mightn't even know how to fix it, even if she did stop dancing long enough to get a proper look. You know — I'll help her," Peggy continued, closing her fan and reaching for the subtle pocket sewed into the top of her own skirt, which hid her wand away. (There had been quite the debate on whether debut gowns ought to have pockets for wands or not, but ultimately her mother had been satisfied upon seeing that the seam really was almost impossible to spot upon casual observation, and that the wand being placed inside didn't disrupt the way the skirt hung or spun). She cast a charm which, to her credit, did solve the problem of the now-dragging bit of fabric. The way in which the problem was solved, however, was much flashier than Miss Quibbleberry would doubtless have preferred: it flourished up into the air and then rolled in on itself, drawing a great deal of attention, and then knit itself together at the base of the remaining skirt... which was now short enough to allow the backs of Louise's ankles to be glimpsed when she turned on the dance floor. The spell had, understandably, also caught the dancing pair off-guard: Louise stumbled slightly, Mr. Bellchant trod on her toe, and then the pair of them both collided with the couple nearest them on the dance floor. Overall, it was entirely the wrong impression to be making on one's third dance.
Peggy shot Rachel a wide-eyed look, as if to say can you believe how entirely graceless some people can be? — indeed, as though Peggy had nothing to do with the matter at all. She'd already slipped her wand back into its hiding place and no one nearby was looking at her when Louise was such a spectacle, so as far as the majority of the guests were concerned, that might have been the truth.
"She was never the best with charms," Peg said, voice full of sympathy she did not actually feel. "Poor dear. She mightn't even know how to fix it, even if she did stop dancing long enough to get a proper look. You know — I'll help her," Peggy continued, closing her fan and reaching for the subtle pocket sewed into the top of her own skirt, which hid her wand away. (There had been quite the debate on whether debut gowns ought to have pockets for wands or not, but ultimately her mother had been satisfied upon seeing that the seam really was almost impossible to spot upon casual observation, and that the wand being placed inside didn't disrupt the way the skirt hung or spun). She cast a charm which, to her credit, did solve the problem of the now-dragging bit of fabric. The way in which the problem was solved, however, was much flashier than Miss Quibbleberry would doubtless have preferred: it flourished up into the air and then rolled in on itself, drawing a great deal of attention, and then knit itself together at the base of the remaining skirt... which was now short enough to allow the backs of Louise's ankles to be glimpsed when she turned on the dance floor. The spell had, understandably, also caught the dancing pair off-guard: Louise stumbled slightly, Mr. Bellchant trod on her toe, and then the pair of them both collided with the couple nearest them on the dance floor. Overall, it was entirely the wrong impression to be making on one's third dance.
Peggy shot Rachel a wide-eyed look, as if to say can you believe how entirely graceless some people can be? — indeed, as though Peggy had nothing to do with the matter at all. She'd already slipped her wand back into its hiding place and no one nearby was looking at her when Louise was such a spectacle, so as far as the majority of the guests were concerned, that might have been the truth.
