Sharma, her maid, placed the final clip before checking Aliah's attire. The boned bodice of her blue gown flared into a wide skirt, which was covered in lace. Her hair had been tamed into an elaborate plait laced with flowers circling her head except for a few recalcitrant wisps, which curled around her face. She thanked the girl and dismissed her before sitting on the edge of the chair to wait for her husband.
Exhausted, she wanted nothing more than to lean back and relax, but she didn't want to risk wrinkling the gown and having to change again before dinner. Perhaps it was because she was tired, or maybe because she wanted to talk to him, but Dominic seemed to take an age to emerge from his dressing room. When he finally appeared, he was tugging at his cuffs, unable to sort the row of three tiny buttons on his left hand. Aliah stood to help him.
'Where's Julius?' she asked as she finished the job Dominic's valet normally did.