“Gia, look in here,” Rosamond called, staring into the third and final armoire. A quick peak in the middle armoire, while Rosamond had left open, showed Gia that the storing there was for the fancier ball gowns. She assumed that Rosamond was looking at the more casual of gowns. Sure enough, when Gia looked inside, she found dresses that were similar to the ones that Rosamond, Winnifred, and Lucie were wearing. Rosamond smiled at her upon seeing that the undergarments did, in fact, fit her. “I cannot wear any of these garments any longer, including what you are wearing now. I was planning on donating everything here to a charity, regardless, so you may have anything that you like.”
Excitement filled Gia’s gut. She had never owned anything this luxurious. “Oh, thank you Rosamond!” She exclaimed, hugging the girl. Rosamond laughed and hugged her back.
“It is not a problem,” the brunette said back, ruffling Gia’s hair. Gia smiled again before turning her focus to the dresses.
“These dressed are all so beautiful,” Gia commented in awe as she began to thumb through the satin and silk gowns.
Rosamond nodded before pulling out two gowns, one a dark midnight blue, the other a deep royal blue. “What do you think of these two? I believe that they would do wonders for your complexion, especially with those beautiful grey eyes of yours.”
Gia’s eyes widened when she saw the dresses that Rosamond was offering her. Her breath caught as Rosamond held them out with a quiet, “Go on, try them on!”
Gia nodded mutely before choosing the midnight blue dress to try on first. This dress, unlike most of the others, was made with crushed velvet, and was soft to the touch. She slipped it on with Rosamond’s help before heading back to the mirror. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw herself. “Wow,” she said softly, running her fingers over the bodice and over the top of the skirt. The bodice of the dress was tight against the corset, with a slightly lighter blue ribbon criss-crossing from the midnight ruffles of the neckline down to the beginning bump of the skirt. The sleeves had the same ribbon an centimeter away from the hems, puffing the shoulders out and gathering the sleeves tightly against the sensitive skin of the crease of her elbow. The neckline itself was different than anything that Gia had ever seen before, coming down to at “v” that rested just below her collarbones. The bottom of the skirt was more full that the rest, and was layered with row upon row of black lace ruffles that began a quarter of the way up the skirt and met the ground. She spun around, feeling the weight of the skirt swirl around her ankles as she stepped.
Gia smiled and spun around again before stopping shorting, seeing the new dress that Rosamond had just pulled out. She had thought that this midnight blue dress was the most elegant that she had ever seen, but she could clearly see that she had been wrong. This new dress was the most beautiful thing she had ever set her sights on. “Can- can I try that one?” she asked shyly, her eyes still locked on the dress.
Rosamond nodded. “Of course! This silly thing has not fit me for years, it was my first ‘adult’ dress. I would be honored if you wore it.”
Lucie came over and helped Gia undress before helping Rosamond carry over the slightly-heavier dress. Gia stepped into the silk, chills racking her body as she watched in the mirror as Lucie did up the buttons along the back of the dress. Lucie’s face lit up as she saw her companion. “Be back in a tick, I have the perfect bonnet to go along with that dress!” she exclaimed, darting back into the passageway to return to her room. She returned a moment later, her hand hidden behind her back as she brought the bonnet. Lucie smiled as she revealed her arm and placed the hat against Gia’s head.
Gia was speechless as she saw her reflection. She was right, this dress was much more elegant than the previous dress. It was a mixture of royal blue and black. Skirt was made up entirely of black ruffles, each section several centimeters wide before the next ruffle began. The bodice of the dress was royal blue with narrow sleeves that stopped at Gia’s wrists. Much like the previous dress, the upper sleeves were gathered and cinched with a black ribbon. Gia’s waist was pulled tight against the corset with a thick section of black lace, tied together in the front with a royal blue ribbon that sat laced from below her bust to the top of her skirt. The fabric from the bodice continued over the sides of the skirt, covering all the black ruffles except for a pyramid shape in the very front of the dress, as well as several centimeters along the bottom of the dress. The dress began halfway up her neck. There was a twin set of bows directly below her neckline, in the same color of the dress. Gia straightened the bonnet that Lucie had placed upon her head. Lucie was correct in matching the two articles. The bonnet was black and ruffled, with several royal blue flowers clustered along the crown of the bonnet, as well as a royal blue ribbon that lined the hems.
“Can I keep this one?” Gia asked breathlessly, her eyes still locked on her reflection. She saw Rosamond laugh and nod from behind her in the mirror.
“You look stunning. I would be offended if you did not take it from me,” Rosamond admitted, grinning. Gia continued to stare as Rosamond left the frame of the mirror before returning a moment later, a pair of black boots in her hand. “You will need shoes as well for that dress.” She came up to Gia and handed them to her. Gia slipped them on quickly. Rosamond looked her over, smiling in approval before stepping back. “There. The boots are a bit worn thin, but they will do. How do you feel?”
Gia shook her head, still gaping at her reflection. There were not enough words to ever express how she felt.
Once Gia had removed her dress, she changed back into Alexandria’s frock before glancing back into the closet. Once she had selected three more dresses, Lucie and she took the garments back to Lucie’s room before making their way to the parlour to talk.
“What was Simona like?” Gia asked as Lucie and she sat down on the cushy mulberry chairs in the parlour. It was next to a large black piano. Gia looked longingly at the piano as she sat down. She had always wanted to play the piano, but never gained the chance when she was a child. Her mother had promised her that she would be allowed to learn when she was fourteen, if she was good, and if there was enough money after the crops were done, but seeing as Gia was taken at twelve… Gia shook her head. There was no used mourning what never was. She shifted in her seat, switching her focus back to Lucie.
“What is she like. Is. She is not dead yet,” Lucie chided her, her eyes narrowed. Gia nodded. Lucie took a deep breath, looking grim as she remembered her sister from before. “Simona is only twelve… she is so young. She has experienced so little in the world…” she shook her head. She took a shuddering breath and wiped quickly at her face as a lone tear ran down her cheek. “Simona was a dancer. My mother started her out when she was two, and she has been dancing ever since. She is rather good.”
“Are you a dancer?” Gia asked.
Lucie shook her head again. “No, I never had the grace. I am a painter, however. Hold on, I will show you.” She got up and left the room.
After a moment, Gia stood up as well, walking over to an oval-shaped mirror that sat above an end table near the white stone fireplace. She looked into the glass, playing with her hair. She loosened the tight bun, positioning it so that the crown of her hair puffed out around the knot. Once it was styled correctly, she dropped her hands and took a deep breath. Combined with the high neckline of her dark purple dress, Gia really looked like a proper lady. She sighed. If her life with Owen had pulled through, she could have had something close to this. Granted, Owen did not have nearly as much money as Lucie and her family did, but she would have had a much more elegant life than the one she was still forced to have.
Gia looked up as Lucie came back into the room, a large square canvas nestled beneath her arm. She propped it up on her easel, which was next to a floor-to-ceiling window, looking out over the grounds. Gia sauntered over to the painting, her eyes widening at the realism of it. “Impressive,” she said, nodding at the painting. It was of a lark in midflight, flitting across antiqued gre
en birdcage. Gia recognized the background of the painting as being the same paintings that made up the walls of Lucie’s bedroom.
“His name was Henry.”
“Pardon?”
Lucie nodded to the painting again. “The bird. His name was Henry. My father got him for me for my seventeenth birthday, a few years back. Simona let him out of his cage month or so after I finished that painting, and the cat got him.” She shook her head, looking back at the painting before turning to Gia. “Ah well, what is done is done. What about you, Gia? Did you have any hobbies before you came here?”
Gia shook her head. “I have always like to look at the stars, but I have never had a hobby other than that, no.”
“That is a shame.” Before Lucie could say more, a young maid came into the parlour. She held out a slip of paper to Lucie.
“You have a visitor, ma’am. He says it is urgent,” she said. She curtsied in turn to both Lucie and Gia before slipping back out of the room. Lucie followed behind her. She returned only a minute or two later, after a door loudly slammed shut. Gia assumed that the sound was the end of an angry visitor’s visit.
Sure enough, when Lucie entered the room, she was shaking her head and mumbling to herself. “That irritating man,” she was saying, “so jealous, all the time. Thinks the world revolved around him.”
“Was that Solomon?” Gia asked. Lucie glanced up and nodded before rolling her eyes.
“He is still angry that I refuse to bring him along with me to try and find Simona, so he refuses to spend the afternoon with us.” She rolled her eyes again. “I told Sally to tell the chefs that we were ready for dinner at their earliest convenience. While we are waiting, however, do you want to see my favorite room in the house?”
Gia nodded. She followed Lucie out of the room, down a hallway, up two levels, and down another hallway. Finally, Lucie stopped in front of a glass wall. “Here we are,” she said, waving her hand towards the room. She smiled as she walked forward and entered the room. Gia followed her, shocked to find that the room was much warmer than the rest of the house. The air was sticky and smelled sweet, and left a light film all over Gia’s body. She looked around, seeing that the room was filled with flowers of all types, many of which Gia had never seen before. There were tables of differing heights, each taking in a different amount of sunlight. That was why the room was so warm, Gia realized. Everything was made of glass. It was like being outside, without the hazardous weather. The sun beat down through the panes, allowing the plants to grow without worry of being killed by frost, wind, or excessive rain.
“Lucie, what is this room?” Gia asked, walking towards the largest of the flowering pots. She wrinkled her nose as the smell of rotten meat filled her nasal cavity. She squeezed her nostrils together and screwed up her face as she stepped all the way up to the flower. It was a dark purple in color, and bloomed outwards in an arc. The center of the flower was a light yellow in color, and extended upwards, towering above Gia’s head. The flower appeared to reach around two meters in diameter, and six meters tall.
Lucie walked over to the plant, cocking her head as she looked at it. “Oh, I forgot how pretty this plant is when it blossoms. It only happens once every several years, you know.” She glanced at Gia. “This was one of my mother’s gardens. She was always so sad every year when it grew too cold for her to sit outside in her gardens, so Father built her this garden indoors when she was bedridden with Simona. It was such a pleasant surprise for her, once she could see it.” She gestured back to the plant. “This is the corpse flower, or Amorphophallus titanium. Father brought one back during his travels. He thought Mother would be excited to see a flower so vastly different from any she had ever seen before.”
Lucie lead Gia over to another section of flowers that Gia had never seen before. “These are all flowers from Mother’s homeland. They were her favorites.”
“Where was she from?”
“Sicily,” Lucie said, leaning down to cradle the petals of one of the flowers in her hand. “That is where Simona and my names come from. Granted, Simona was named after my father, Simon, but mother only agreed to it because she had had a friend with the same name when she was a girl.”
Gia stared at the flowers for a moment more before she heard a bell ring from somewhere off in the distance, presumably still in the house. Lucie glanced into the hallway. “Dinner is ready.”
***
The girls reached the dining room at the same time that Rosamond and Winnifred came in. The each took their seats at the table, patiently waiting for the hired help to bring in their meal. Gia’s stomach rumbled loudly, and she realized that she never actually ate the breakfast that Solomon had provided her with that morning. Granted, he had been so angry that he had more or less tossed the food in her direction, not really caring if she picked up the nourishment or not.
“Thank you,” Gia said as a man placed a plate in front of her. She smiled at him before eating a spoonful of the stew in front of her. Gia was not sure what it was made up of, but it was warm and filled her stomach pleasantly. She took a sip of her punch, happily washing down the stew. The second course came out just as Gia spooned the last bit of the course into her mouth. It was potatoes with roasted Salmon, something that Gia could remember having only once in her life, when she attended her cousin’s wedding as a child. Much like the stew, it was delicious.
The room was quiet as the girls ate. Once the plates were cleared, however, Winnifred smiled at her sisters, leaning forward on her elbows. “Adelaide brought me my wedding dress this morning. She said that she finished it late last night, and wanted to bring it to me before one of her boys could stain or somehow otherwise maim it.” She chuckled. “Charles and Alexander are so rambunctious! I do not know how she handles those two with her business. I can barely sew for pleasure when there is anyone else around.”
Lucie leaned forward onto the table as well, her face lighting up with excitement. “Oh, Winnie! That is so exciting! What does it look like?”
Winnie took a sip of her punch before pointing a finger, gesturing for her sister to wait a moment. “Mm. Let me show you.” She slinked off to her room before coming back a few minutes later, a silk bolt of fabric resting over one arm. She moved to the section of the table that was not used for eating, laying the silk down. She folded back the fabric, sighing happily as she looked at the dress. Gia and Lucie both stood to get a closer look at the dress. Rosamond, who had already seen the gown, remained seating, sipping at her tea.
The dress was stunning. Even without any petticoats or a crinoline, the skirt was full. It was a champagne-colored satin, with a pale pink tulle overlay. It sparked in the candlelight, the tulle shimmering as the hanging candelabra swung slightly overhead. The bodice of the dress was also champagne in color, but did not have the tulle to hide its beauty. The top ducked down in the center in a sweetheart neckline, arching to the armpits were two short cap sleeves were puffed out with a dusty pink ribbon. Winnifred shifted the dress to pull out a thicker sash the same color of the ribbon. She laid it over the top of the skirt, smiling as she stroked the beading of the bodice.
“You will look beautiful in this,” Gia said, smiling at the blonde. Winnifred smiled back, her ice blue eyes glinting happily. Gia turned to Lucie. “Do you have your gown yet, for your vows to Solomon?”
Lucie shook her head. “I have requested Adelaide to make me one, but she has not finished it quite yet. She has been working dutifully on finishing Winnifred’s dress. Mine will be next.” She returned to her chair. Gia walked back as well as Lucie’s younger sister took her gown back to her room. She turned to Rosamond.
“When is your baby to be born?” she asked, nodding towards the woman’s thickened waist.
Rosamond patted her stomach, letting her hand rest against her left side, her wedding ring glinting. “Ten weeks time. Would you like to hear the names we are considering?”
“Yes, please.”
“If it is a girl, we like Allie, after my
mother, Lillian, or Minnie,” she said, listing the names off on her fingers, “and Harrison, Levi, and Rudolph for a boy.”
Gia shuddered as the name “Rudolph” was mentioned. Rudolph… one of Isaiah’s men. He is one of the reasons that I am here in the first place.
Lucie turned her eyes to Gia, concern coloring her face. “Are you alright?”
Gia nodded. “I am fine, simply caught a bit of a chill.” She turned back to Rosamond. “Allie and Levi are my favorites.”
“Mine too. However, William likes Harrison much more than Levi,” Rosamond responded. She winked at Gia. “Do you have children of your own? Any little boys or girls running around your feet back home?”
Gia shook her head. “No, none yet. No beau, either.”
Rosamond nodded. “Well, that is all right. You are young, yet. There will be plenty of time for you to have little ones of your own.”
Gia did not respond, but there was only one thought echoing through her mind. I sure hope so.
8
The rest of the night passed in a blur. Gia learned a lot more about the upper class than she had ever expected to know, and spent her evening in the guest room that Rosamond’s clothes were occupying. The most interesting of these luxuries, however, had to be the water closet that Lucie explained had been installed six months previously. Gia had never heard of a room such as this and, quite frankly, felt rather intimidated by this indoor privy. As Lucie and she made their way down to the dining room for an early dinner while waiting for Solomon to arrive to pick the girls up, Gia excused herself to the facilities.
Saving Simona (Alone In The World Trilogy) Page 8
