Текст книги "Consequences"

Автор книги: Aleatha Romig

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Текущая страница: 17 (всего у книги 36 страниц)

  This is the finest measure of thanksgiving:

athankfulnessthatspringsfromlove. —William C. Skeath

 Chapter 25

They talked into the early morning about the wedding. Therefore, Thursday morning, Claire slept soundly until after nine. Sensing that she was alone in the big bed, she focused her gaze on her left hand. On the fourth finger was a spectacular engagement ring. Smiling, she marveled at the reality; it wasn’t a dream. She was really marrying Anthony Rawlings.

Until last night, Claire hadn’t allowed herself to think of Tony in terms of emotions or endearments. She knew she was having feelings, but she wouldn’t let herself elaborate. However, when he said he loved her, it opened a floodgate. She thought about her feelings and how she missed him when he’s gone. How she enjoyed having him around to talk with. How he could make her feel special, and how she thought about him when they were apart. She realized, to her own amazement, she really did love him! She couldn’t contain her smile; this revelation was so astounding!

Claire wrapped herself in a thick long robe and walked downstairs to the dining room. As she approached, the rich poignant aroma of fresh coffee filled her lungs and brought her senses to life. Jan had coffee warm and ready for Claire. Tony wasn’t there either. “Mr. Rawlings is in his office, Ms. Claire. And if I may? Congratulations.”

“Thank you, Jan. I’m sorry you have to work on Thanksgiving,” Claire offered as Jan poured her coffee.

“It is all right, miss. I am looking forward to having guests this afternoon for dinner. We rarely entertain here.”

“Guests? I am sorry. If Mr. Rawlings mentioned guests, with the excitement of our engagement, I’ve forgotten. Do you remember who is joining us for Thanksgiving dinner?”

“I am sorry. I don’t believe he told me names. I know there will be two, and they are scheduled to arrive at one thirty.”

Jan convinced Claire to eat an English muffin and grapefruit. After breakfast, Claire went to Tony’s office. She could hear him speaking behind the closed door. She may be his fiancée, but interrupting him uninvited in his office didn’t seem like a good idea. Perhaps some rules would change, but she decided that he would choose which ones. She went back to their bedroom, showered, and thought about how glad she was she’d bought new clothes. If she needed to be the perfect companion for some business associates, she felt better in well-fitting clothes. She decided on a black pair of wool slacks and a pink knit sweater that came from Neiman Marcus. The black boots had high heels, Tony wouldn’t seem as tall. Dreamily, she thought about fuzzy socks and her new hoodie—being Mrs. Rawlings would teach her to keep up appearances. Actually, being Claire Nichols had taught her that.

As she straightened her hair, she marveled at the new even lighter shade. The auburn showed through enough to be considered low lights, but she was definitely a caramel blonde now. Although Catherine packed many pieces of Claire’s new jewelry, she wanted to wear her grandmother’s necklace and the O earrings Tony brought her from Europe. She shook her head; that seemed so long ago. Once she was completely dressed, she relaxed on the bed and let her mind wander.

Internal monologue: I’m going to marry Tony. I’m going to marry Tony in four weeks. I need a wedding dress. I need to call Emily. There were guests coming to dinner. Perhaps after dinner I can approach the Emily subject with Tony. Where will we marry? Who will we invite? Suddenly, a nice destination wedding anywhere seemed like a good idea.

Then her mind went from the wedding to Thanksgiving. She could hardly believe it truly was Thanksgiving. She’d arrived at Tony’s house on March 20. Now she’d be eating Thanksgiving dinner with him and some associates and planning her wedding. She imagined drowning in chocolate sauce, too much of a good thing!

As a means of escape she let her mind float to childhood Thanksgivings. They usually went to her grandparents’ home, where Grandma made all the traditional foods. She remembered helping her grandma and mother bake pies. At Thanksgiving they usually had pumpkin, apple, and sometimes pecan pie, and always too much food. Even when she lived with Emily and John she baked pies and helped Emily with cooking. Part of her wanted to go down to the kitchen and offer to help. But she knew that wouldn’t be appropriate.

She was somewhere deep in her memories when Tony entered the bedroom. He wore slacks and a burgundy ribbed turtleneck sweater which looked wonderful stretched across his broad shoulders and chest. He wore suits so often. Claire liked seeing him in something other than a jacket and tie. He smiled and joined her. “Good morning, my fiancée.” He kissed her lips. “How are you feeling today?”

Claire propped herself up. “Good morning, to my fiancé, I feel well. I was just thinking about Thanksgivings when I was young. Did you eat all the traditional Thanksgiving foods when you were young?”

He sat next to her on the edge of the bed. “Claire, don’t talk about the past. We have a future ahead of us, let’s look ahead.”

“I’m sorry, I guess I’m reminiscing.” She touched his arm. “Tony? Who is coming to dinner?”

“First, let me tell you . . .” his voice was brimming with excitement, “I have been on the telephone all morning. Patricia is going to contact Shelly, and a statement regarding our engagement will be released tomorrow. Also, you have an appointment tomorrow at a very exclusive bridal boutique in Manhattan for a wedding gown. They are expecting you, the future Mrs. Anthony Rawlings. They want to meet your every need.” He kissed her lips and continued to hold her gaze with his chocolate brown eyes. “I want you to have the dress of your dreams. Patricia will also choose a wedding planner and coordinator to meet with us when we return to Iowa. Since Christmas is on a Saturday, the wedding will be December 18, which too is a Saturday. I hope you don’t mind, but with the wedding only three weeks away I decided to have it at the estate. Now we don’t have to worry about booking some place, and security is already set. We just need to decide how many guests and where on the estate to hold the ceremony and reception. I did reach Catherine. She is thrilled, and told me to tell you so.”

Claire felt inundated, information overload! She laid her head back on the pillow. “Maybe this is all happening too fast.” Tony didn’t say anything, but his smile became subdued. “It isn’t that I don’t want to marry you, I do. But three weeks, that seems very rushed.”

He scooped her into his arms. “I promise you, money can make anything happen. Don’t worry about it. We will marry on December 18, and it will be amazing.”

“I just worry about disappointing you.”

“Claire, this is your wedding. I want you to be happy. I also know you are not back to yourself. I don’t want you to overdo. Just enjoy all the things your money can buy and watch the wedding take shape. It will be spectacular.”

“My money can’t buy us a piece of gum.”

He laughed and kissed her. “My dear, in three weeks and two days you will be able to buy a gum factory if you want. I want you to share all that I have. You will have everything the world has to offer.”

Claire struggled with the meaning of his words. “Tony, I don’t want your money. I have not done anything to deserve part of your fortune. I’m happy to share your name, I don’t need any more.”

“My love, you have done more than you will ever know. And I am pretty sure you will do more.” He leaned down to kiss her, and his hands were busy with the buttons on her slacks.

“Don’t we have guests coming?”

“They aren’t due until 1:30. I am pretty sure we can be successful multiple times before then.” He removed her slacks and started removing her sweater. He straddled her legs as he removed his sweater and undid his slacks. His smile was seductive and his chest moved with his breaths of anticipation. Claire could smell his cologne and knew that if he bent down she would taste the scent on his neck.

“But, Tony—” He put his finger to her lips.

“Shhh, I have better things for those beautiful lips to do than talk.”

They left the bedroom together just before 1:30, and Tony spoke. “I am sure you realize, but I am going to say it for the sake of clarification. Just because we are engaged, divulging private information is still forbidden.”

Claire looked up at his eyes and wondered what he possibly thought she would say to his associates. “I promise I know that.” They continued to the front stairs, where muffled voices could be heard from the sitting room. “Now who am I meeting?” As she asked, the voices came into range, her eyes moistened, and she looked to Tony for confirmation. “Is it really them?”

He gently held her shoulders, “Yes, I invited them to surprise you for Thanksgiving but now you have even bigger news to share.”

“I can tell them about our engagement?”

He smiled. “Of course, didn’t you say you wanted Emily to stand with you?” She wanted to run down the stairs or cry out, but his grip on her hand tightened. “Claire, follow my rules.”

“I will.”

When the soles of their shoes hit the marble floor, John and Emily turned toward them. They’d been enjoying the view from the sitting room windows. Her family looked just as Claire remembered: John tall with dark blond hair and playful blue eyes, and Emily with the Nichols brown hair, cut short and sassy, and Claire’s sparkling green eyes. Claire ran to Emily and hugged her.

“I didn’t know you were coming. It is a wonderful surprise. Oh, Emily, it is so good to see you!” And then she hugged John. “And, John! Oh, let me introduce you to Anthony.”

Emily told Claire it was good to see her too. However, she and John made eye contact, sharing an expression of concern. Claire looked so different. They proceeded politely as Claire made introductions. “Anthony, this is my sister Emily. And, Emily, this is my fiancé Anthony Rawlings.” Emily and Tony shook hands. Anthony emitted charm.

“Very nice to meet you, Mr. Rawlings.” Her brain made sense of Claire’s words. She looked at her sister in disbelief. “Did you just say fiancé?”

Claire continued with introductions, “And, Anthony, this is Emily’s husband, my brother-in-law John Vandersol. John, please meet my fiancé Anthony Rawlings.” The two men shook hands and exchanged greetings.

Gracious as ever, Tony said, “Please, we are about to be family. Call me Anthony.” Claire smiled and they all sat down to chat before dinner. Jan entered the room to offer some hors d’oeuvres and drinks. Claire showed Emily her engagement ring and told them about his romantic proposal in Central Park. John and Emily were speechless, perhaps in shock. Tony was very attentive, holding her hand, putting his hand on her shoulder or thigh. Claire rambled on, cautious to not divulge any personal information.

During Thanksgiving dinner, Claire learned Emily had attempted to reach Tony around her birthday. She didn’t know what else to do. She had no way to reach Claire, and she saw pictures of the two of them together in magazines. Apparently, it is not easy to get calls or e-mails through to Anthony Rawlings. Just recently an e-mail finally reached him and he had called. It was during a telephone conversation about a week ago that Anthony invited them to NYC for dinner.

Claire apologized for her inconsiderate behavior. She should have done a better job staying in touch. Life had been a whirlwind since she started working with Tony. The important thing was that they were together now. She asked them if they were driving home to Troy tonight or staying in the city. John said they decided to spend some time in the city, after all it was a three-hour drive home.

Tony then surprised Claire again. “Well, Emily, Claire has a reservation tomorrow at a bridal boutique in Manhattan. I am sure she would love to have you join her to look at wedding dresses.”

Claire tried not to stare at him. She looked to Emily. “Yes, I would love to have you join me if the two of you don’t have plans.”

Emily looked at John. “Of course, I would like to help you.”

“Emily, I would also like you to be my matron-of-honor. Would you please stand with me at our wedding?”

“You want me? Of course, I will.” Emily sounded cautiously enthusiastic. “But did you say the wedding will be the eighteenth of December?”

“Yes, it will be. That is all the more reason to find some dresses soon.” Claire smiled at her sister. “Hopefully they will have some bright pink puffy bridesmaid’s dresses.” Emily laughed.

From her peripheral vision Claire could see Tony’s fleeting expression of disbelief. She turned to her fiancée and smiled. “Tony, it is a long-standing joke. Emily made me wear a green dress at her wedding. Since pink is my favorite color, I have long threatened to have her wear the puffiest bubblegum pink dress I could find when I married.” He exhaled and smiled, relieved she wasn’t serious.

Once they finished eating Tony invited John to the living room for the four o’clock football game. He asked the ladies if they would like to join them, but Emily said she would rather catch up with her sister. Tony kissed Claire before leaving the room. It appeared very sweet, but Claire saw the warning in his eyes.

Jan poured the ladies coffee and cleared the table. Claire and Emily sat at the table, drank coffee, and tried to catch up. Once they were alone Claire knew the conversation would be more difficult to dodge. Emily was full of questions. How was her little sister, a meteorologist in Atlanta, suddenly engaged to one of the wealthiest men in the country? How did they meet? Where has she been living? Why hasn’t she been in contact? Why is she so thin? Why is her hair blonde? Did she really like living this way, being waited on and having house staff do everything? She always liked cooking. Now she says she hasn’t cooked, why? What is Anthony like? Why were they marrying so fast? Is she pregnant? Wasn’t he much older than her? Did she love him?

Claire did her best to be evasive with some answers and more detailed with others. Above all she told Emily that she did love him. It didn’t start that way. It was strictly a working relationship. Tony could be a wonderful, kind, romantic, gentle man. She also told Emily that Tony was very private, begging her to not repeat anything about their relationship to the media or anyone else. Claire didn’t understand at first how tenacious the media could be, but the longer she had been with Tony the more apparent it became. She asked again, not for Tony but for her, please don’t share private information with others. Emily said she understood.

Emily was very happy to hear Claire sound so happy and excited about Anthony and the wedding. However, what about her weight, she was too thin. And what about meteorology? Did she plan to ever work again in her chosen field? Claire was tired of all the questions. Formulating answers made her head hurt. She wanted to hear about Emily and John.

Emily proceeded to tell her stories about John and the law firm, and about her class and teaching. She talked about some of their friends in Troy and Albany that Claire knew when she lived with them. She also talked about some friends back in Indiana. Claire laughed as they remembered stories from childhood.

The names were people Claire hadn’t thought about in some time. Her mind wandered, thinking about the guest list for the wedding. She wondered if she had anyone to invite other than Emily and John. She thought about college friends, and that reminded her of Meredith. Claire knew Meredith did not intend for her sneak interview to produce such drastic consequences, but nonetheless it had. Perhaps college friends were better not invited.

They joined the men when they thought the game was nearing its end. However, it was far from over, it was getting interesting. Both men seemed to be cheering for the Saints. Claire wondered how John and Tony would get along. They were both incredibly strong willed. Tony was not accustomed to being anything less than the alpha male. John seemed to respect Tony; after all, he was Anthony Rawlings.

Claire loved and respected John. Ever since the death of her father and her grandfather, John was the man of their family, an omnipresent influential part of her life. Now seeing him there next to Tony, she reconsidered her assessment. Tony dominated in structure, probably four inches taller, and in demeanor more self-assured. They both shouted at the screen as the Saints regained the lead with less than two minutes to go. Then the room fell silent when it appeared the game would be tied with a field goal. The Dallas kicker missed the field goal, wide left, and the men simultaneously stood and cheered. Seeing these two men united in a common goal, Claire felt her chest swell with delight.

After the game they sat in front of a warm fire and enjoyed the lovely view of the city and delicious dessert. As Claire sipped coffee, forgoing dessert, Emily told Tony all about the pies Claire used to make. She explained what a great cook and baker Claire was. Tony seemed very interested in this new information.

They discussed the plans for the next day. Tony needed to work, and John graciously agreed to stay at the hotel and do some work also. Eric, their chauffeur, would bring Claire to their hotel and pick Emily up for the bridal boutique. Emily offered to take a taxi, it was no problem, but Claire and Tony insisted. It was settled. Claire would be at the Hyatt Regency at nine in the morning to pick her up. Their appointment was for ten.

Tony then asked if he and Claire could join them for dinner Friday night. They planned to go back to Iowa on Saturday morning. Claire now understood why Tony had been so vague about their travel plans. John and Emily agreed.

Before they left, Emily hugged Claire like she didn’t want to let go. “I have missed you so much. We’re all we have left. Let’s not stay out of touch again.” Her green eyes shone with sincerity. Claire’s began to tear. She wanted to say so much, but knew she was supposed to be elusive.

Before she could speak, Tony injected, “Emily, we have a wedding in three weeks. I bet you will be tired of hearing from Claire after that!” He laughed. They all laughed. Tony offered them Eric for the ride back to their hotel. John politely declined.

After Jan retrieved their coats, John and Emily left. When the door shut, Claire turned to Tony. “Thank you! Thank you so much. This was absolutely the best Thanksgiving ever. I can’t believe you surprised me like this.”

He smiled but she saw the message in his eyes. “Your sister is extremely inquisitive.” Claire agreed. She said her head hurt from working so diligently on answers. Kissing her cheek, “My dear, you should take an aspirin and retire to our room. I will be up shortly. I have some pressing matters in my office that I must attend to.”

First Claire went to the kitchen to thank Jan for her hard work. She really appreciated all she did to make their Thanksgiving special. Jan seemed genuinely touched and surprised by Claire’s appreciation. While walking up the stairs, she thought about the estate and the top-notch surveillance, perhaps Tony’s work was to review some video footage of her conversation in the dining room. She told herself it would be all right, she had followed all his rules.

  A sister shares childhood memories and grown-up dreams. —Author unknown

 Chapter 26

Tony left the apartment early so Eric could drive Claire and Emily to the boutique. On her way to Emily’s hotel, she contemplated her fiancé. By the time he came to bed the night before, Claire was sleeping. She faintly remembered him kissing her, turning out the lights, and feeling relieved. Maybe he hadn’t been reviewing surveillance. Maybe he was doing actual work on Thanksgiving night? No matter, when he came to bed, he wasn’t upset. That morning, before leaving, he hugged her tight and told her to have fun with her sister choosing her wedding gown. Claire wanted to believe her life was as it appeared.

Traffic to the hotel was crazy. Until she saw the multitude of people, she’d forgotten all about Black Friday. The department stores were inundated with hoards of shoppers. It made their destination of a private boutique all that more appealing. The associates would be totally devoted to them. None of this mad rush she witnessed from the windows of the limousine. Smiling faintly, she fondly remembered Black Friday shopping with her mom and Emily when she was young. To save $25, $50, or $100, they would wake at three in the morning and stand in multiple lines. It sounded unpleasant, but the memories were warm.

Eric approached the Hyatt Regency a few minutes before nine. Emily wasn’t waiting. “Miss, would you like me to go to the front desk and inquire of Mrs. Vandersol?”

Claire thought a moment. “No, we will give her a few minutes, and then I will go in.” Emily hadn’t read the Anthony Rawlings’s rules of punctuality memo. Claire decided she deserved some slack. Five minutes after nine, Emily emerged from the lobby. Eric quickly got out of the car and opened the door. Emily entered the limousine. She hugged Claire again and looked around at the leather seats and splendor.

“Seriously, this is how you get around New York?” Claire said yes. “And you don’t feel ostentatious? Perhaps you haven’t heard our country is in an economic downturn.”

Eric pulled away from the curb, and they entered traffic. It wasn’t the stop-and-go traffic that caused Claire’s neck muscles to tighten, more the sudden onset of defensiveness. “Emily, please don’t judge me or Tony. I want you to be part of our wedding. Let’s have fun looking for dresses.”

Emily exhaled and sat back on the seat. “Claire, I want to. I really do.” Claire could tell there was a “but” coming. “But John and I sat up for hours discussing you and Anthony.”

Sitting straighter, she asked, “What did the two of you decide?”

“We decided we love you. We are so happy that Anthony invited us to get to see you. But here is one of our concerns.” Claire raised her eyebrows, Emily continued, “Why did Anthony need to invite us? Why couldn’t you?”

Claire’s head almost touched the ceiling. She sat so straight and looked Emily directly in the eye. “Emily, that is ridiculous. I could. I told you things have just been busy. With his schedule, we are all over the place, as I am sure you’ve read about in the newspapers. I didn’t even know until last week that Tony was needed in New York.” And then to clarify, she added, “He didn’t know until then. He has a lot on his plate.”

“Uh . . . hmmm, please know we are just concerned. It seems like you’re a different person.” The conversation paused, and Emily continued, “That isn’t necessarily bad, but it makes us uncomfortable.” Emily saw her sister: polished, refined, stylish, elegant, and worldly. Not the little sister she knew. “I have tried to learn about Anthony Rawlings. Everything I found about him on Google is business related. He has an impressive reputation as a businessman, but I cannot find anything about him personally.”

“Emily, he is an impressive private man too. But I must emphasize private. He asked me to join him in his private personal life. I want you and John there, but you must respect the importance of his confidentiality.”

They sat in standstill traffic. “Okay, we can do that. But we worry about you. Don’t you get to have a life too?”

Claire felt her blood pressure rise. She needed to defend the life she’d despised for months. It was time to utilize the compartmentalization, bring out the good stuff. “Just because I haven’t contacted you doesn’t mean I don’t have a life. I do. I have a very full and rewarding life. I live in a beautiful home. We attend a number of events and functions. I’ve met wonderful friends in the Quad Cities area.” She surveyed Emily’s reaction. “I’m not doing meteorology currently, but I am working with Tony. As I said, he is a very busy man, with a busy schedule.” She didn’t need to offer more explanation.

The car moved again. “Are you living with Anthony there? And how long have you been living with him?”

Claire exhaled; as much as it killed her she knew she couldn’t spend her day like this. It was too much work, and although it was early her head pounded. “Okay. Emily, I am sorry this didn’t work.” Claire suddenly pushed the button to open the window to Eric. “Eric, we have a change of plans. You may drop me off at the boutique, but Mrs. Vandersol will be going back to the Hyatt.”

Emily stared at Claire in disbelief. Eric answered, “Yes, miss.”

Claire shut the window. She sat back in the seat, didn’t speak or look at Emily. She should be sad, but truly she was mad. She also realized she’d behaved like Tony. Perhaps she was being too cautious about his rules, but she knew too well that behaviors had consequences. Given the choice, she’d choose to err on the side of Tony.

“Claire, I am sorry. You’re obviously a strong independent woman. I think of you as my kid sister, someone who needs us to look out for her. Anthony Rawlings is lucky to have you in his life. I still don’t understand how it all happened. I don’t care how wonderful he is. He is the fortunate one in this relationship. I love you and want to be a part of your wedding. If this is what you want, we will support you 100 percent.”

Claire was too emotional to be completely like Tony. Overwhelmed with a sense of relief, she reached over, hugged Emily, and smiled. “Good! Let’s put this behind us and have fun looking at dresses!” Pushing the button again, she said, “Eric, we are both going to the bridal boutique.” She closed the window.

“One more thing though.” Concern showed in Emily’s green eyes. Claire exhaled, she didn’t want to hear one more thing.

“John is planning to speak to you tonight about your prenuptial agreement.”

“What? I don’t know anything about that, he should talk to Tony.” Claire thought about that scenario. “On second thought, no, tell him not to worry about it. I totally trust Tony, and I honestly couldn’t care less about his money. It really isn’t an issue. Tell John to forget it.” Emily said she would tell him, but couldn’t make any promises. After all he was an attorney, and Claire was his kid sister-in-law.

The entrance to the boutique was a grand ten-foot door surrounded by limestone. Above the door was a street number but no visible store name. There were no gowns in the window or advertisements evident, a different experience from when they had shopped for Emily’s dress. Claire knew from past boutique shopping that to enter the boutique you needed to ring the bell. However, Eric called ahead and as he parked the car and opened the door for Claire and Emily, the door of the boutique opened.

A woman in her fifties or sixties dressed in posh business attire rushed out to welcome Ms. Nichols to their modest boutique. She introduced herself, Sharon Springhill. As she ushered the women into the shop, she gushed, “Ms. Nichols, we were so happy to receive Mr. Rawlings’s call yesterday. Since that moment we have worked diligently to create a collection especially for you. We truly hope that you, the future Mrs. Anthony Rawlings, will find the dress of your dreams today.”

Claire did her best to play the person she’d become. Looking at Emily she could sense her uneasiness and decided this was an opportunity to educate her sister. “Ms. Springhill, I am very excited to be here today. Mr. Rawlings told me the wonderful reputation of your boutique. I appreciate you taking the time to personally assist me on this holiday weekend.” Ms. Springhill thanked Claire for the kind words. (Emily witnessed Claire’s ease with the situation.) “Now, Ms. Springhill, this is my sister, Mrs. Vandersol. She will be my matron-of-honor. Perhaps Mr. Rawlings informed you our wedding will be on December 18. I am hopeful that you will not only be able to assist me with my dress, but also one for my sister.” (Emily would experience the treatment Claire endured.)

Emily was immediately met with her own entourage of associates. Claire smiled at her sister as their eyes met. Emily shook her head, it didn’t seem real. The women were offered coffee, water, tea, and champagne. Next they were escorted to seats in front of an open area. It reminded Claire of a dance floor in a hotel reception hall. Ms. Springhill explained to the ladies that she put together a collection especially for Mrs. Rawlings. It included many of the top wedding gown designers: Vera Wang, Oscar de la Renta, Manuel Mota, Monique Lhuiller, Maggie Sultero, Winnie Couture, and Mieko, as well as others. “Please sit back and relax while models display the most extravagant and stunning wedding gowns you have ever seen. Feel free to make any requests. If you choose, you may see any gowns again, and please touch the magnificent fabrics.

“Ms. Nichols, once you narrow the selection you may try on those gowns. We will then take your measurements so that the gown of your dreams will be tailored specifically for you. Also, if you desire a certain gown but would like something changed, the designer can be contacted and every effort will be made to accommodate your desire.

“After the wedding gowns, they will gladly repeat the process for Mrs. Vandersol. Is there anything we can get you to make you ladies more comfortable?” Claire told her they were fine and excited to see the gowns.

The decision proved incredibly difficult. Most of the gowns were exquisite. Actually, some were a little strange, Claire and Emily exchanged glances. However, most were elegant. There were glamorous gowns with bold contrasts in volume, rich fabrics such as lace, organza, or heron, and the finest accessories. Some were covered with drapes that were bound with precious-stone details, natural folds, pleats, ruffles, or tulle.

There were fashionable gowns with very thin and light materials in fluid, sheer, and mermaid-cut styles. These were made with soft fabrics like chiffon, pleated chiffon, or morbid tulle. They accentuated curves, had impeccable details such as asymmetrical necklines, floral appliqué, feathers, or rich gemstone embroideries.