Love, Remember Me Read Online Free PDF Page A

her household. There will be plenty of fabric in the storeroom for our use."
    The following day, while her mother recovered from the birth of her new sisters, Nyssa, with the help of her aunt Bliss, chose the fabrics from which her court clothing would be made. In her sixteen years she had never traveled beyond the bounds of her extended family's estates.
    "Surely not these, Aunt," she protested as Bliss put aside several bolts of rich, heavy fabrics. "They are far too elegant for me."
    "They are exactly right," the Countess of Marwood told her niece. "Everyone at court is dressed to the teeth, my dear." She peered closely at the girl. "You have excellent skin, Nyssa. It is fair and clear. You've inherited your mother's violet-blue eyes and her heart-shaped face, which is to the good. It is surprisingly attractive with your dark brown hair. That you have from your father."
    "Mama says my hair is a bit lighter than my father's was," Nyssa noted. She could not remember Edmund Wyndham at all, for he had died when she was not even two years of age. His nephew, Anthony, who had later married her mother, was the only father she had ever known.
    "You do have rather attractive golden lights in your hair," her aunt told her. "Your father did not."
    "I do look like him, Heartha says," Nyssa noted. "Sometimes I stand before his picture in the gallery and just stare, but he seems a stranger, Aunt. Still, I can sometimes see the resemblance I bear to him."
    "He was a wonderful man," the Countess of Marwood said. "You can be proud that you were born of his loins, Nyssa, and thank God you have his nose, not that little retroussé one of your mother's."
    Nyssa laughed. "Mother's nose is sweet," she said, "but I agree with you, Aunt. I like my nice straight nose quite well."
    The Countess of Marwood chose fabrics of velvet, taffeta, brocade, silk, satin, and damask weaves for her niece's gowns. Some were plain, and others woven with metallic threads. Lengths of black, gold, and white lace were selected to trim the gowns. There was silk, wool, cotton, and linen for undergarments. Nyssa's hose would be of silk, or wool, cut and sewn for a perfect fit. She would have cloaks of silk, wool, or linen, some lined in fur. There would be delicately embroidered nightrails of linen and cotton; nightcaps, caps, and hoods of velvet. Her newly made shoes and boots were of the best leather, and to her great excitement, some of her shoes were decorated with real jewels. She would have jewelry not only sewn to her apparel, but jeweled ribbons, necklaces, and rings of her very own as well.
    "I have never had such magnificent clothing!" she exclaimed when at last her wardrobe was completed. "Do people at court really dress like this all the time?"
    Blaze, who had recovered from the twins' birth, laughed. "You will be a little sparrow amongst peacocks, my darling," she told her eldest child. "It is not required, however, that you outshine the mighty. You are a beautiful young girl, Nyssa, and your clothing is exactly what it should be, thanks to your aunts' kindness."
    "Ohh, Mama!" Nyssa told her mother, "I am so confused! One moment I am excited to be leaving RiversEdge for court, and the next moment I am absolutely terrified over the prospect. I've never been anywhere in my whole life. What if I make a mistake before the king? What if I disgrace the family by my actions? Perhaps I should not go." Nyssa was suddenly pale.
    "Did you know that your aunt Bliss took me to court when I went for the first time?" Blaze told her daughter. "Your father had died in late autumn. I loved him so much. His death and that of your infant brother were a terrible shock to me. Your aunt, however, decided I must not mope about. Shortly after New Year's I went with Bliss and your uncle Owen to Greenwich. The farthest from Ashby that I had ever been was RiversEdge . I cried. I was very frightened. I felt awkward and quite gauche, despite the fact I was a widow, not a maiden. I just