“Eloise, let’s hurry!” Mrs. Surberton grabbed Eloise’s hand and led her forward. Eloise, half out of breath, struggled to keep up with her mother.

As with most weddings, Eloise had decided to wear her mother’s wedding dress.

Fortunately, Mrs. Surberton and Eloise were not too different in size. However, alterations were needed because Eloise’s chest was slightly larger. Additionally, since it was an old dress, certain parts needed to be updated to match the latest fashion, and worn sections had to be replaced with new fabric.

It was only natural that such delicate work couldn’t be entrusted to just anyone. Therefore, Mrs. Surberton had been searching for someone to handle the dress alterations.

The seamstresses in Feltham had good needlework skills but lacked expertise in handling fine fabrics. She couldn’t find anyone suitable in town either, which led to suggestions that they might need to commission a top tailor from the capital.

“It’s not an easy task. Usually, one would leave it at a dress shop, check on it frequently, and have multiple fittings, but one can’t travel to the capital each time,” Eloise had sighed. Ryan had silently listened to this conversation, and a few days later, Mrs. Surberton received surprising news.

“Eloise! Mrs. Lawrence, a very famous tailor from the capital, will be staying here this summer! Oh my, Lord! What wonderful news!”

Talent doesn’t just roll in by itself. Watching her delighted mother, Eloise turned to look at Ryan. He met her gaze and tilted his head as if asking what the problem was.

‘How brazenly he behaved!’

“You had something to do with this, didn’t you?”

“It’s nothing special. I simply arranged work for someone who needed it. Though someone else from the capital found such a person.”

There was no need to ask who had found her. A telegram had arrived from Richard in the capital saying, “I’ll be properly compensated for this job, you heartless man,” which made it clear enough.

The day Mrs. Lawrence’s reply arrived confirming she would take the job, Mrs. Surberton enjoyed her most peaceful sleep in a long time. Watching her mother return, Eloise spotted Ryan standing at the end of the corridor like a butler waiting for instructions.

In a corner of the corridor away from others’ eyes, Eloise hesitantly raised her face and kissed his lips. Though just before ending the kiss, he subtly turned his head, making it seem like their lips touched more closely than intended.

Mrs. Surberton and Eloise hurried to the lobby. Downstairs stood a middle-aged woman whose attire was clearly not ordinary at first glance. She wore an elegant dress made of sophisticated fabric never seen in Feltham or nearby, and her accessories were exotic, unlike anything Eloise had seen even in books.

Without introduction, it was clear she was Mrs. Lawrence.

She hadn’t come alone. Behind her stood women carrying trunks that looked ready to burst. Judging by their matching clothes, they appeared to be her employees who had accompanied her.

“First, thank you, Mrs. Lawrence. Welcome to Blissbury.”

Mrs. Surberton greeted Mrs. Lawrence with a bright smile. While everything was necessary for wedding preparations, the bride’s dress could be considered the most essential. Men might get by with a more presentable outfit and a boutonniere, but a bride’s dress, which would become a treasured keepsake after the wedding, required more attention.

Old fabric easily shows discoloration, and the intricacy and splendor of designs can quickly become outdated. That’s why proper families in the capital begin preparations for wedding dresses a year in advance.

‘Considering this, our Eloise’s preparations were quite late…!’

So much time had been lost worrying about where to entrust the work. Moreover, Eloise’s attitude had further upset Mrs. Surberton.

“It already seems beautiful enough, is alteration really necessary?”

While other young ladies were preoccupied with looking as beautiful as possible, saying even salt should be used for adornment if needed… But Mrs. Surberton had a savior.

‘Thankfully, there’s Ryan.’

When Eloise made that comment, Ryan became more upset than Mrs. Surberton. The two argued back and forth about whether to alter the dress or not until Ryan exclaimed:

“I know you’re beautiful even without it! Honestly, sometimes I think I don’t want to show you to other men. But on that day, I want everyone in all of Albion—no, the entire world—to see that you are the most beautiful! Then they’ll all know what a fortunate man I am!”

Mrs. Surberton, Emily, and the other maids who overheard this conversation covered their mouths and blushed. Eloise’s face turned red as well.

“Stop saying such embarrassing things! I said I’ll get it altered, really!”

And so Mrs. Lawrence was called. Despite initially finding it bothersome, Eloise’s heart raced when she saw Mrs. Lawrence.

It wasn’t that Eloise disliked beautiful things, nor was she particularly frugal. She simply wondered if such dedication was necessary when there were mountains of other things requiring attention. Eloise was more concerned with furnishing and cleaning Blissbury.

But now, seeing Mrs. Lawrence standing before her, Eloise suddenly felt her clothes were very outdated.

Despite wearing only bold pieces, Mrs. Lawrence didn’t look strange; rather, she possessed a charm that drew the eye unconsciously. Someone like her seemed trustworthy enough to handle the alterations without much worry.

After brief introductions, Mrs. Lawrence looked around Blissbury lightly and said with a smile:

“To be honest, I’m not particularly fond of antique styles. But I cannot deny the taste of this mansion. It’s not easy to find a mansion with clean columns that gives such a comfortable feeling… You truly love beauty.”

Eloise’s cheeks flushed at Mrs. Lawrence’s words.

All visitors to Blissbury praised the mansion. Some would use extravagant words to the point where one wondered when they would finish. But Mrs. Lawrence’s simple statement touched Eloise’s heart more than those elaborate compliments.

“Thank you. Shall we go inside?”

Thinking she should instruct the staff to take extra care of Mrs. Lawrence’s accommodations, Eloise guided her and her employees inside.

Upon entering the room prepared for guests, the first thing everyone noticed was a cream-colored dress hanging on the mannequin. As soon as she saw it, Mrs. Lawrence widened her eyes, approached the dress closely, and examined it.

“This appears to be Spitalfields silk… Did you have it altered when you were pregnant? And it’s made with truly excellent tailoring. Even high nobility have to wait a long time for such tailoring—your parents must have had considerable influence.”

Though not stating it directly, she was implying it was an extremely expensive dress. Mrs. Surberton’s face reddened slightly at Mrs. Lawrence’s words.

“Actually, our circumstances weren’t very good at that time, so I received help from my husband. He procured it from a friend who had prepared it but couldn’t use it…”

“That can’t be. Is your husband’s friend royalty? Even fairly prestigious families would keep such fabric in special storage. Hohoho.”

Mrs. Lawrence laughed as if she had heard an amusing joke. In fact, the dress fabric had indeed come from the royal family.

Only the Duke of Kent, who had personally provided the fabric through his chamberlain in response to the sudden request “I need dress fabric for my youngest!” and Mrs. Surberton knew this truth.

“Let me see you, Miss Surberton? Hmm, with your skin tone, a dress as close to bright amber as possible would suit you best. Something closer to pure white would be more flattering.”

As she spoke, Mrs. Lawrence looked alternately at the dress she would alter and at Eloise, then instructed her employees to open the bags they had brought from the capital. Dozens of high-quality fabrics and dresses spilled out from the bags that seemed ready to burst.

The employees, looking tired, handed various fabrics and dresses to Mrs. Lawrence. In an instant, multiple fabrics were held against Eloise’s body. Then, as if suddenly remembering, Mrs. Lawrence asked:

“For the flower crown, you’ll use silver flowers and orange blossoms, right?”

Decades ago, a new style had become fashionable throughout Albion, replacing the modest weddings that had existed on the continent. This was the flower crown worn on the head during weddings.

Silver flowers, which had long symbolized domestic happiness, were combined with orange blossoms, the symbol of a foreign prince who became king. Since then, these two flowers had been used as representative flowers in Albion weddings. Additionally, orange blossoms carried another meaning.

At Mrs. Lawrence’s question, Eloise thought for a moment and then shook her head.

“No. I plan to use only silver flowers and roses.”

Mrs. Lawrence’s expression momentarily stiffened at Eloise’s answer.