by Greer Boyd
Having finished his tea and conversed with his guests long enough to be gracious, Jerome stood up, adjusting his waistcoat as he did so, then bowed to them and kissed Elizabeth’s hand before he left the room.
Elizabeth dabbed the last of the sugar from her lips and leaned slightly forward: “I want to thank each of you for coming tonight. My reason for inviting you was twofold. First, I wanted to sample your confections. Linette and Josephine, do you have your own bakery or do you work for others as do your other sisters?”
“Madame Elizabeth,” announced Linette almost apologetically, “Josephine and I are under, under bakery cooks at this very hotel. It is neither ideal nor what we would prefer but we all,” her hand swept out to encompass her sisters, “do what is necessary to maintain ourselves.”
Looking at each sister, Elizabeth made sure her voice reflected a little of the acknowledgement that she truly knew the meaning of sacrifice when she said, “I understand that more than you could ever know. Second, as I mentioned to Arabella, I would like to commission one set of clothing complete with all undergarments and outerwear. As you can see, my form presents its own set of challenges, and I am well aware of their nature . . . my stature, my proportions, and my colouring. Add to that the fact that I prefer a comfortably ‘fitted’ gown instead of the shapeless or overtly frilly concoctions usually worn these days.”
She continued with a slight, almost girlish giggle, as she rubbed the corner of her mouth with her thumb, “My Aunt Lilly has called my taste ‘simple understated elegance.’ I do like to look feminine and am basically conservative by nature, but I deeply admire beauty . . . in all of its forms. Simply put: I neither wish to look as though I am squeezed into a garment and barely contained in an uncomfortable manner nor do I wish to flop about as a fish on a hook.”
Laughter filled the room, with all four sisters enthusiastically participating. Recovering herself, Arabella said, “Madame Mills . . .”
“Elizabeth,” she interrupted. “Please. Call me Elizabeth.”
“Elizabeth,” acknowledged Arabella, sweeping her eyes to look across at the faces of her siblings, “my sisters and I have been observing you since we arrived and feel that we can provide exactly what you desire.”
“Wonderful,” giggled Elizabeth, throwing her hands into the air in a display of the kind of merriment that the young women had not seen in a very long time. “Measure away. This room is private, and there will be no interruption or intrusion. You may take me to whatever state of undress is necessary to assure the proper measurement is made.”
With that said, the quintet swarmed over Elizabeth, measuring, stepping back to consider, and chatting together with obvious enthusiasm and eagerness. At the end of half an hour, Elizabeth was again dressed. As the young women sought out gloves, hats, and coats for their departure, Elizabeth approached Arabella with a small purse containing £100. “As I mentioned previously, I intend to provide funding up front for my commission. Gabriella, Arabella, and Pauline, three days from now we will again meet in this same room at eight o’clock, and I will see what you have created. Linette and Josephine, would you again come with your sisters and bring another sampling of your confections?”
“Of course, Madame Elizabeth,” Josephine grinned with obvious pleasure. “We will all meet with you again three days hence.”
“I look forward to it,” replied Elizabeth, and the bright smile she gave them told of the truth of her statement.
∞∞∞
True to their word, three days later, Arabella and her sisters were shown into the same private sitting room as before only now they were followed by two footmen who were helping to carry an assortment of boxes. This time, the sisters noticed that a dressing screen had been placed prominently in the room behind which were four full-length mirrors set in a box-like configuration to allow a person positioned inside to see all sides of his or her form at one time.
After the footmen were dismissed and the door locked, Elizabeth greeted the sisters warmly. Almost chuckling she said, “I have to admit I have been most anxious to see what you ladies have prepared for me.”
Without saying a word, Madame Gabriella lifted the lid from one of the large boxes and began to remove a gown. As she slowly, almost enticingly, drew the gown from the box gently holding it by the shoulders, Arabella traced her fingers down the garment until she was supporting the hem. Elizabeth’s hand had gone to cover over her heart as she quietly said, “Beautiful, absolutely beautiful.”
The sisters grinned widely at one another and began to laugh as they approached Elizabeth, just as they had when they took her measurements, and soon she stood only in her muslin chemise and small clothes.
Pauline chuckled as she presented her with a small box and indicated the dressing screen with a simple motion of her hand: “You did say from the skin out. When you are ready for us, we will begin to bring you the remaining items.”
Elizabeth readily took the box and smiled eagerly. Once behind the changing screen, she removed her remaining garments and replaced them with the contents of the box, admiring each item as she put it on. The small clothes (drawers) were of the finest woven pima cotton as was the chemise, which fell below her knee, but not quite to her ankle. The garter was made of the same material, with beautiful silk ribbons placed in front and back to be tied into the sheerest of pale rose-coloured silk stockings.
Once she had adjusted these undergarments to her satisfaction, Elizabeth let them know the other clothing could now be brought in. “Absolutely intriguing” was the only way she could describe the design of the new stays Arabella presented to her. Instead of the long unyielding strips of whalebone usually used in the making of stays, shorter sections had been sewn into a multitude of small pockets. A system of ribbons was used to loosen or tighten, and also strengthen sections to provide a comfortable fit along with the support Elizabeth needed.
Gabriella and Pauline came back to assist Arabella with the final adjustment of the stays. When that was completed, Elizabeth threw her arms out and spun around in a circle, laughing like a merry child. For the first time in her adult life, she could truthfully say that she felt totally comfortable in her clothing.
Next, the young women lifted over her head in succession three silk petticoats in varying colours of rose, each darker than the previous, arranged them carefully, and then gently lowered the gown over her head, delicately pinching the fabric here and there until it was properly settled.
The gown was a dark rose-coloured silk with darker rose velvet ribbons sewn into a plethora of tiny tucks throughout the fitted bodice ending at her hips, where the luminous fabric flared out into a half-full skirt. Strategically placed ribbons of silk on each side of the bodice allowed for any final adjustments to the fit. More velvet ribbon adorned the décolletage and the bottom of small cap sleeves. As she moved about, Elizabeth felt almost as if the dress had become a part of her. She marveled at the comfort and freedom she felt as the gown freely ebbed and flowed with her every movement.
Small bows of the same ribbon jauntily graced the kid slippers on her feet, shoes that were dyed to perfectly match the gown and designed to be at once elegant and comfortable. Intricately crafted, bone-coloured lace gloves with two lengths of ribbon ran from her wrist, past her elbow, then midway to the shoulder. Pauline placed in her hand a small silk reticule, also trimmed with the velvet ribbon, while Arabella and Gabrielle wove several lengths of the bone- coloured lace into her hair to complete what she thought was a veritable symphony of coordination and style.
For outdoor wear, the sisters had designed a pelisse of very fine, extremely lightly woven wool, once again the colour of the velvet ribbon and lined with the same rose silk as the gown. It sported three capes: one cape breaking just beneath the shoulder blades, the second breaking several inches below the waistline, and the final ending at the hem of the dress. Since there were no sleeves, she thrust her arm through elegantly tailored slits. A cap made of the same wool adorned with wide rib
bons of silk the colour of the gown, and elbow-length kid gloves the same bone colour as their lace counterparts completed the ensemble.
The effect was both alluring and sensual, but most important it was, per Elizabeth’s request, elegant in its sheer simplicity.
From behind the dressing screen, Elizabeth politely asked Arabella to ring for a servant, so that she could ask him to request that her husband join them, and then to bring tea.
Within only a few minutes, Jerome Mills arrived, accompanied by the servant carrying the tea service. Immediately, Linette and Josephine set about preparing to serve the tea, as Jerome settled into his favourite chair, allowing the young women to attend him. Moments later Arabella and Pauline emerged from behind the dressing screen followed by Elizabeth wearing the outdoor attire over her gown.
When Jerome saw Elizabeth, a broad smile broke across his face. “Beautiful. Elizabeth, I truly have not seen anything like it before.” Neither had she, and since her husband was an importer of fabric, among other things, she knew he would be interested in the origins of the unusual cloth as well as in how it had been fashioned into its current design.
Curtsying to him with a laugh, she went back behind the screen and with Gabriella and Arabella’s help removed the kid gloves and other outerwear, made small adjustment to her hair, and donned the lace gloves. This time when she emerged, Jerome simply froze . . . stunned as he gazed at her . . . his mouth slightly open and the cup held immobile between the saucer in his hand and his lips.
Several long moments elapsed before Jerome became aware that the women around him were giggling behind their hands. His brain finally registered that Elizabeth was as amused as the five sisters, so he could only look at her with a sheepish expression as he smiled broadly.
“Husband, I take it by the expression on your face that the dress meets with your approval,” she stated, still unable to contain her mirth.
Jerome handed his cup and saucer to the nearest sister as he slowly walked to Elizabeth, wrapped his arms around her, and murmured, “Simply perfection,” before he kissed her full on the lips. When he realized what he had done, he released her, both of their faces emblazoned a deep crimson. In a husky voice he added, “I will leave you now to your discussions.” But he took her hand and placed a gentle kiss on the back of it before bowing to the sisters and quickly exiting the room.
The sisters exchanged a knowing glance before they all turned to look at Elizabeth. “I think that he approves.” Her blush deepened even more, and then again they all burst into peals of laughter.
As they finally regained their composure, Elizabeth sat down in the chair recently vacated by her husband and began, “Shall we get down to business?” gesturing for them to help themselves to tea as she prepared a cup for herself.
Madame Gabriella reached into her reticule to retrieve the same small purse Elizabeth had given them three days prior and handed it to her. With obvious pleasure tickling the corners of her mouth, she pronounced, “It was not necessary for us to use the funds provided.”
Elizabeth looked at the sisters. With her gaze finally resting on Arabella, she said resolutely, “I find that very difficult to believe. Shall we start our business dealings with honesty? How did you manage to find the astonishing materials for the gown, pelisse, and all the other things without this money? I had the distinct impression that funding was needed upfront to procure the fabrics and accessories needed.”
Again, Madame Gabriella quickly spoke for the sisters as she looked from her clinched hands to Elizabeth’s questioning face: “I must apologize. We learned soon after our father’s death that not everyone could be trusted to pay us once a garment was made and delivered, and we are not in a position to work without payment.”
Elizabeth understood immediately that the sisters had been cheated before and had thusly devised a way to assure they would receive the payment that they had earned. Holding out the small purse so that it dangled from her fingers, she asked, “If you are not in a position to work without payment, then why is this being returned to me?”
Gabriella assured her that almost all of the fabric had come from the vast stock of materials that their father had removed from his shop and successfully hidden away before both he and her husband were killed, and the shop subsequently ransacked by the soldiers.
Elizabeth lowered her head and spoke softly, “I am so very sorry.” Then, thoughtfully, she folded her hands in her lap and continued. “How would you feel about owning your own modiste shop and confection shop?”
Arabella leapt from her chair and practically ran to Gabriella’s side. “Oh Gabby, you were right. How did you know?” she exclaimed.
Gabriella murmured, “I did not know,” and with overflowing eyes she looked toward Elizabeth whose own eyes sparkled with unshed tears, “but I hoped so very much.”
Looking from sister to sister, Elizabeth asked with a laugh, “Is that a yes?”
When in happy unison they answered vehemently, “Yes,” she clasped her hands together in her lap, and continued: “Then let us get to business, shall we? My husband and I would like to assist you with the opening of two shops: one a modiste and the other a confectionery. For this assistance, we ask for a ten percent ownership in each business.”
Gabriella was perplexed, “Why do you ask so little from us in return for all that you will do?” Far from being ingratiating, she truly wanted to know. In her experience, others offering such assistance would ask for much, much more.
Elizabeth simply smiled and explained sincerely, “Because I want you to succeed. We will recover the original investment from your net profits through our partial ownership of the shop. Thereafter, the ongoing profit you generate from your sales will be our return. If this is agreeable with all of you, we will work out all the final details when we meet with our solicitor in London. Now, I will call for more tea since what was brought before has gone quite cold. We can have tea, eat your confections, and make our plans.” Clearly delighted, she stood to ring for service.
For the next hour, the women discussed the requirements necessary to procure, decorate, and stock each shop, as well as to provide for housing and transportation from Lille to London. Elizabeth was quite surprised to learn of the vast amount of fabric and other accessories that the sisters’ father had been able to salvage and hide away before his death. Gathering the empty teacups on the tray, she asked, “How long do you anticipate it will take you to pack for the trip?”
The sisters all looked sheepishly to Gabriella, who slowly turned to Elizabeth, tilted her head slightly, and replied, “We have been packing for the last three days. After we met with you here and returned home, I had such peace come over me that I insisted we start.” She continued to look to Elizabeth when she added, “And I so hoped that it would not be in vain.”
“Have you packed everything?” asked a stunned Elizabeth bringing one hand to rest over the swell of her breast. “I would not want you to leave any of your memories behind.”
“Yes, with the exception of our clothing, everything is packed and ready to be loaded onto wagons,” giggled Gabriella as she looked at her sisters. “Our challenge was to do so without our mother knowing. Since our father’s death, she has become very nervous and easily excitable. We did not want her to know should nothing come of it.”
“Gabriella. Oh, may I call you Gabby? And I am Lizzy,” asked Elizabeth as she laughed merrily and reached across to where Gabby sat to pat her hand. “You have not seen a mother who is nervous and easily excitable until you have met mine. My sisters and I have always doubted that there was another like her within all of England.”
By the time the sisters had gathered their things to depart, the ladies had become Lizzy, Gabby, Lin, Paulie, Bella, and Jo, and they were as comfortable with one another as if they had been friends for a lifetime.
Jerome made all of the arrangements for the sisters and their mother to travel with him and Elizabeth back to the port at Rouen and on to London, along with th
e transport of all of the sisters’ possessions. Within a month of their return from France, “Madame Claudine’s Modiste” and “Serendipity Confections” had opened on Bond Street.
Both of the shops proved to be so successful that Jerome and Elizabeth’s original investment was completely repaid well before the end of the first year. Then Jerome had his solicitor quietly transfer their partial ownership in both shops to Elizabeth’s ownership alone. She now had holdings in shipping, clothing, and confections, as well as all of the other investments she had held before their marriage.
Since returning from their combination business trip and honeymoon to the Continent, Jerome had become even more aware of his wife’s intellect and her interest in the world of business and finance. In addition to these multiple business interests, she managed their household finances with amazing efficiency, even having funds left over at the end of each month. Their home was modest in size, but Elizabeth had decorated it with the understated elegance that reflected her extraordinary good taste without regard to any perceived social level.
