8 New dresses

Kayleigh stood near the table and with a demure smile said, "Good morning everyone."

This forced anyone not looking at her to at least acknowledge her or else risk seeming rude.

Most of them returned the greeting warmly.

"I was beginning to think that you would not join us, Miss Kayleigh." Overking O'neill said.

As Kayleigh took her seat, she said, "I am sorry my Lord. I did not mean to offend you with my lateness. I had Ciara go through all my trunks and couldn't find anything worthy of my doernemed status that would not bring shame to you, as my guardian."

As Laoise's angry stare bore into Kayleigh, she blushed.

The blush as well as the words had a great effect on the Overking.

"Not to worry, dear! I do not feel offended in the least. The clothing issue does trouble me though. Any girl under my care should be well dressed; especially a beautiful flower like yourself."

The Overking O'neill summoned a servant and put in a request for two new dresses to be made for Kayleigh, as well as the purchase of more material for new dresses for all the women in his household.

Today, at breakfast, Laoise was talkative with all the others and ignored only Kayleigh. She couldn't make any passive aggressive comments as the atmosphere at the table had already begun to change. Everyone at the table had seen how favoured Kayleigh was by the Overking. It ended up being the most pleasant meal Kayleigh had at the castle so far.

Since she talked with Tara and Orlaith the day before, she might not know everyone in the castle, but she knew about them. Kayleigh felt a little sad that the two women sat near the end of the table, too far away for her to talk to. But she didn't have a lack of conversation companions; in fact, there were a few men who talked with her, some married, some unmarried. So, Kayleigh chatted with some and flirted with others.

After breakfast, Kayleigh went with Ciara back to her room. They talked about what the new dresses might look like. Since Kayleigh was a fashion design student in her past life, there were some things that she wanted to change about the traditional dress design, but she didn't dare to.

As Kayleigh and Ciara talked about colour combinations, all Kayleigh could hope for was good quality material that had been dipped in good quality dye.

A knock came on the chamber door. "Come in!" Kayleigh called. She had expected seamstresses, but instead it was Tara and Orlaith. They asked if they could come in and Kayleigh welcomed them. All four ladies chatted about dresses they wanted or dresses they or others had had in the past few years.

While they were talking, Kayleigh walked over to the small window, from what she could see of it, it looked like a beautiful day out. Kayleigh realized that she had not been outside since the first day she got to the castle. She wanted the freedom of the wide, open spaces.

"Do you ladies ever go outside for air?" Kayleigh asked. "Today looks like a lovely day for a walk."

"That's a lovely idea!" Tara said.

"We should do that after the seamstresses leave." Said Orlaith.

"I would love that." Kayleigh said. "Do any of you ride?"

"Ride horses?" Asked Orlaith, "I wouldn't know how."

"I have gone a couple of times." Admitted Tara.

Kayleigh felt disappointed, she had hoped that they could ride together.

"You shouldn't ride alone though." Tara said. "It's not safe for a lady."

"Why don't you have the Overking assign one of his men to accompany you and protect you?" suggested Orlaith. "They all know how to ride."

Orlaith's words reminded Kayleigh of Liam. Liam was one of the Overking's men. "Perhaps I will." She said.

A sharp knock sounded on the door. Ciara opened it. Finally, the seamstresses had arrived. There were three, two dressmakers and their young apprentice.

Kayleigh let them stand her on a footstool to take her measurements before the ladies all took a look at the materials available. Kayleigh asked the seamstresses about their sewing techniques. On a few small scraps, they showed her a sample. 'I can do that, it's easy.' She thought.

"I think this pink fabric is the most beautiful!" Tara said.

"Why would you choose that one?" Kayleigh asked.

"Why because of the dye, of course!" She exclaimed. "The reason it is such a soft pastel pink is because less of it is used. The dye used for this comes from far away, while these other two are more common."

"Hmm." Kayleigh pondered. "You are right of course."

The seamstresses moved to fold up the bolts of fabric.

"I want both my dresses made out of the pink." Kayleigh told the seamstresses.

"But Miss, there isn't enough fabric to do that."

"Yes, there is, and I will show you how."

Kayleigh pulled ashes out of the fireplace grate and spread them on the hearth. She then used the fire poker to draw in the ashes. She demonstrated how to fit pattern pieces like a puzzle on the cloth before cutting them out, to make the most use of the available resources.

When she was done, she explained that she didn't want any trimmings or embellishments added to her dress. They were to leave it plain.

When all the other women in the room protested about this break in tradition, Kayleigh assured them her dresses would have them, but that they were to be created and sewn on by Kayleigh herself.

"Are you sure, Miss?" Ciara asked her quietly.

"Yes. Ciara, you just wait and see what I can do!"

The seamstresses then left to go sew the bodies of the dresses, and Kayleigh, Ciara, Tara and Orlaith prepared to go out to the castle grounds to walk in the early afternoon sun.