Even if her mask had covered the bottom half of her face and thus concealed her smile Elladora doubted she had the control to stop her eyes from dancing with delight. She abhorred most high society and abstained where she could help it, but it didn’t prevent her from the odd craving for company and especially company in the form of the woman before her. It was only a crying shame that they would have to return to the ballroom at some point – nights like this, and dresses like that, oughtn’t be shared with those that didn’t appreciate perfection when they saw it. No doubt all the young men inside were fawning over whoever was the toast of society this month when all the while the finest woman in the room was right under their noses, going unnoticed by their insolently idiotic eyes.
Though quite how they managed to not notice Ella would never know. Their hostess was a vision and though nothing on earth had yet to be created that would quieten Elladora’s anxieties entirely Evalina was as good a tonic as any she could find.
“I never make much of an effort for the dratted beau monde,” she quipped, quoting loosely more or less every line that had ever been written about her in the society rags. Elladora had always taken some pride in being the professional objector to fashion though the care she had taken tonight contradicted her usual raison d'être and they were both perfectly aware of why. “Perhaps I simply look better in the dark? Surely the honourable Mrs Rosier hasn’t been at the wine already?”
fabulous set by Lady <3