Page 42

Anne laughed and wiped away another tear. “I may not be a princess, but this is indeed a bed fit for fantasy.”

“Everything else is restrained and elegant, but I thought the bed was a suitable place for surprises.”

Anne sized her up and thought she might have enough momentum. She tackled Letty to the bed, catching her off guard. For a moment, they tussled, laughing, and Anne felt blissfully aware of the freedom of falling and rolling and gripping and tugging. There was no center of balance, and everything was a blur.

She had never so enjoyed feeling off kilter.

“You told me once that designers are not magicians,” she said, pinning Letty down beneath her, “but today I beg to differ. This room is magic. You aremagic.”

Anne pressed her lips against Letty’s, tasting heat and chocolate and feeling all her inhibitions falling away. With Letty’s hands pressing against her waist, she felt safe. Protected. This was a woman who had planned every last little detail of this space for her, with her pleasure in mind.

Anne slid off the bed, as unsteady now as she had been when they were ice skating on the pond. “You saw all of me,” she said, “and you created all of this.”

Letty propped herself up on her elbows. “Yes.” Her eyes, often full of mischief and light, were serious.

“I want you to seeallof me, like you did that first time. But I want to be the one to show you.”

The weak winter sun slanted in through the stained-glass windows, showing a pattern of beautiful color on the rug. She didn’t need a mirror to show her that her lips were plump and rosy with need, or that her eyes were luminous with desire. The reverent look on Letty’s face was the only reflection of her desire that she cared about.

Anne slid the diamond-tipped pins from her hair one by one, dropping each to the carpet.

“I worked so hard on this room, only to have it in disarray almost at once,” Letty said, shaking her head.

“How shall I ever make it up to you?” Anne teased her. Her fingers hovered over the buttons of her frock.

But her dresses weren’t meant to be undone without the presence of at least one maid, and the buttons proved decorative in nature. Letty started to rise, but Anne stilled her motion with a gesture.

She wanted to be in control this time.

Biting her lip, she considered her options. She spared a look of longing for her frock, which was a favorite, then decided there were more important things than fashion. She fetched a pair of heavy shears from the dressing room.

Letty was frowning now and sitting upright on the bed. “Anne, let me help you.”

Anne stepped away and snapped the shears open and shut. “I have this well under control.”

She slipped the cold blade between her chemise and the dress, and before she could change her mind, she slid the scissors shut and heard yarns rip and stitches pop. Done was done, she thought, moving the scissors again, snipping down the bodice to the waist, feeling the cool air on her skin and feeling gloriously alive. She had cut enough now to wiggle free of the dress, leaving her in a sleeveless chemise, stays, a petticoat, and stockings.

“You are beautiful,” Letty said, standing up, a hungry look in her eyes.

Anne took a deep breath and eyed the shears once more. She felt so light with the remnants of her frock at her feet, like she had shed a layer of herself in the process.

She cravedmore.

Thankfully, clothing was not the only thing that a pair of scissors could cut.

“Anne!” Letty gasped, her hand flying to her mouth as a hunk of golden hair floated to the floor.

“I am returning to myself, at long last,” Anne announced. She considered for a moment. “Or I am something new entirely. Either way, I feel different. I want to look different too.”

With a few unconcerned snips, she hacked her hair above her shoulders. “I shall have a hairdresser come in the morning to put it to rights, but this is a good start.” She ran her hands through her hair, shaking any loose strands free.

Free.

At last.

Anne sashayed to the chaise lounge, putting as much wiggle into her walk as she could. She sat and drew her legs up beside her, giddy with pleasure and heady with desire. “Maybe I wish to be admired as much as the room is,” she said and slid her petticoat up her legs to bare her thighs to the winter light and Letty’s gaze.

She felt scandalous. It waswonderful.