Oh, God, I am going to cry and make myself ugly, and he will not want me and I will not get the five hundred florins.
She pressed her hands against her face, trying to stop tears.
"I was asking you to think, not carry on," said Tilia reprovingly. "If you want to walk well in life, you had better learn not to burst into tears when you have an important decision to make."
Rachel took deep breaths to calm herself.
"I decided days ago that I could not do any better for myself than this, Signora Tilia. But I am so afraid. Perhaps the man will not want me when he sees how afraid I am."
Tilia grinned broadly. "Nonsense. The more innocent and timid you appear, the more you will delight him."
Rachel heard a light tapping at the door, and her heart beat so hard she thought it would burst.
Tilia rose, brushing down her green satin gown. "The signal that he has arrived. I thought he would never get here. It's almost morning. I must go down and greet him, child. But remember, I will be watching everything."
I do not really like that.
Tilia winked and pushed on what looked like a plaster panel between two gold-painted beams in the wall. It swung away from her and she squeezed through.