She gasped. The trunk held several neatly folded dresses. The one on the very top was familiar to her. She stood up, pulling the top dress out with her. She held it up in the sunlight, blinking in quiet amazement. Turning, she moved to another area of the attic where she had placed several of the portraits and paintings she had found. Laying the dress gently to the side, she pulled a few forward, looking for one in particular. When she found it, she pulled it out from between two others and held it up in front of her.
It was a portrait of her ancestor Helen. She had always borne a striking resemblance to Helen. Her grandmother had told her that when she was young but it was confirmed by this very painting. Helen was almost her twin.
Chills ran up her arms. She would have bet that if she put the dress on that she had found, which was the very same one her ancestor was wearing in the painting, she would look just like her. Except for the hairstyle, of course. And the shoes.
Eve shook her head. It couldn’t be an exact match. She didn’t have the shoes or the hairstyle that Helen had worn. But she could still put on the dress.
She looked at the gown, setting the painting down next to her, leaning it up against the ones it had been boxed in with. She wondered if she should put it on. Was it appropriate? Was it ethical?
“You’re a silly girl, Eve,” she said out loud to herself. “Who is going to mind if you just try it on?”
It looked like it would be a perfect fit.
Giving in to herself, she slipped off the shirt and jeans she was wearing and pulled the dress over her head. She wasn’t able to fasten it in the back but even without that; she could tell it was a perfect fit.
She looked down at it, breathing in quietly. It was a beautiful green dress with gold lacing through it, making an elegant design down each side. She ran her hands down the lacing.
As she did, the gold lacing changed. She narrowed her eyes. She brushed her hands down the front of the dress. The green fabric brightened and the clean color spread slowly down the dress like water.
Eve’s eyes opened wide, and she looked up at the room around her.
Chapter Two
It was nearly empty. The walls and floor looked almost new. The cobwebs and dust were gone. So was most of the furniture. Eve heard the sound of music playing below her.
She began to breathe rapidly. Her heart was pounding in her chest as she fearfully moved across the room to the door that would lead to the lower floors. The dress was somehow fastened behind her, and she didn’t notice it until she opened the door and saw what was below her.
The stairs leading to the second floor were wide and looked new. She took one step down and saw that she was now wearing the shoes that Helen was wearing in the painting. She made a small squeaking sound and covered her mouth with one hand. This wasn’t possible. It wasn’t possible!
She took another step down and then glanced back up to see that the door she had first gone through had been replaced by one that was much taller and wider.
“I can’t believe this!” She felt anxious and excited at the same time. Could her dream possibly have come true? She moved carefully down the stairs, completely unused to the layers she was now wearing and the high-heeled lace-up shoes she had never worn before. She giggled, thinking she would look like a clumsy fool. She straightened her back and when she stepped out of the stairwell, she tried her best not to look shocked by what was around her.
It was beautiful, grand and elegant. The furniture, the draperies, the walls, it was all so new and different from what she was used to. She tried not to stare around her at the taller ceilings, the bigger rooms. The renovations that her family had made over the years had completely transformed the home from what it had looked like.
She wondered what year it was. There were a few people wandering in the huge hallways and she glanced up at them as they passed, catching fleeting glimpses of them as they went by. They smiled at her but there was something in their smiles that made her pause. Their smiles weren’t in their eyes. They were like masks. She smiled back, noticing that hers was also not in her eyes. She didn’t know them. But they knew her. So why weren’t they genuinely smiling?
She went toward the music. It was a waltz. She didn’t recognize it.
One of the large double doors opened, and the music became louder. The gentleman who came through the door looked up at her and stopped, holding it open.
“Good evening, Miss Helen,” he said. “How are you feeling tonight?”
It was the first friendly face she had seen. She smiled at him. “I’m feeling good. How are you?”