Chapter 12: It's Come to This
The morning felt easy; for Rebecca at least. But with the shock of the working girl's return, it was hard to keep it out of mind. She remembered the conversation after Iris and herself were finally able to come to their house during an hour when they were home. Melody exclaimed how M. Lysandre had brought in Irishmen, which threatened to bring the strike to a halt. They had another meeting, a few days earlier, before they started work, and the women came to the conclusion, they weren't going to get something with others taking their places. A lot of them decided to go back, including Melody and Kim. The girls knew there was disappointment in Rebecca's eyes, but she decided not to dwell on it for the moment. It was all for the better not to. After all, she was technically a much higher up than M. Lysandre. As for him, she didn't know what to think. Feeling the way she was, she didn't want to jump to the conclusion that he did this to just get the girls to give up. Perhaps there was something to do with the factory... Rebecca believes this might be something more suitable to Lysandre's actions. After finally dressed, she heads to the dining room, where she finds it almost empty. Even with her father's health, he would never skip out on breakfast. Unless it was something much more serious than the Times before… Rebecca called for the attention of one of the servants.
"Where's my papa?" She asked, almost unsure if she wanted to know the answer.
"He stepped out half an hour ago. He gave orders to continue as always without him until he comes back." she answered. A breath of relief was let out of Rebecca. She took the seat where the maids had placed her plate, and after a thank you, she ate in loneliness.
After a few laps around the house, and skimming through some of the books in her father's library, M. Maelstrom finally got back. Rebecca was in the drawing room when she heard the carriage approaching. She looked out the window and saw her father get out of it before it had even made a complete stop. She wondered what was wrong and walked towards the hall, only to be ignored by him. He walked past her and into his study, where he yelled for one of the maids. Rebecca waited outside the door, when the maid came out, she held the door open and poked in her head.
"Papa?" She squeaked.
"Not bow, Rebecca." he said in a harsh tone. Rebecca felt speechless, and was barely able to respond to him. She stepped out and stood frozen in front of the door.
Sometime later, a man came in, Rebecca couldn't remember his name, but it had seemed as though he had some sort of business with her father. They stayed in his study for the rest of the evening. She didn't know when her father went to sleep. All she knew was that it was far after Rebecca herself had gone to sleep.
The following weeks were very quiet. Iris was hardly around, and her father was still too busy to talk with. Then came the day when M. Lysandre, after weeks of never visiting, came to her home. When she saw him out the window in her bedroom, she immediately got something that would look pretty. She didn't want to change her whole outfit, as that would take too long. Instead, she settled on putting on some new jewelry that she had bought for herself not too long ago.
When she came down, she saw her father greet him and lead him to his study. Rebecca felt a twinge of disappointment and headed back upstairs. She removed the jewels and headed back down, hoping that there could be something to do for the time being. When she was about to enter the parlor, she noticed Iris getting ready to leave. She found it odd since she had come to think she was taking another day off. She hurried to her and called for her. Iris turned while she adjusted her bonnet.
"Where've you been? I haven't seen you in days." she asked. Iris was quiet at first, then responded in a whisper, "M. Lysandre is her, correct?"
"Yes," she whispered back, "What does that have to do with your absences?" Iris was done tying her bonnet, and stood for a moment, trying to think about something. It seemed, to Rebecca, that she was trying to decide on what to do.
"Alright, I'll show you, but I don't know if you'll be happy." she finally said. Rebecca nodded and grabbed her own coat.
The girls were heading to Melody and Kim's place. Though Rebecca wondered what was so terrible. She soon got worried that one of them had fallen ill. But as they were heading in through the streets, in front of one of the houses the front door was overwhelmingly filled with candles. Some of them were almost to the end, but there were still a few new ones. They passed a few houses that were the same. Some even had people adding new flowers and new candles. Rebecca was starting to get the picture. But this didn't ease her worries.
When they finally got to the flat, melody answered the door. Her eyes were swollen red and she seemed to be in a disaster.
"Miss!" she yelps when she sees Rebecca. She tries to pat down her hair, and let's them in. The rooms are still the same, but the atmosphere feels gloomy. Kim comes into the room, her arm bandaged in a cast, a square gauze covering her left cheek.
"Miss Rebecca…" Kim looks to Iris, then back, "I didn't know you were coming."
The girls looked exasperated, worn out and beat.
"What happened?" she asked unexpectedly. She wanted to take that back, but she couldn't, she needed to know.
"There was a fire." Kim said, almost in a whisper. Almost immediately, Rebecca clapped her hand to her mouth.
"How?" she asked in a small voice.
"Some stupid shrew," Melody said without regret, "was smoking and dropped her cigarette on the extra pieces of cloth. Almost the whole factory is rubble now." Melody's eyes started to form tears. No one stood to give her a handkerchief, and she didn't rub them away.
"And the casualties?" Rebecca asks, because it's okay to do so. Melody and Kim didn't really have any sort of partnership with the other girls other than co-workers.
"Peggy and Capucine were lost. They were stuck in the far back. Luckily Melody was with the two Masters." Kim responds. It finally hit Rebecca as to why her father was so tense the whole week. And why M. Lysandre had come to visit today. They were probably discussing the repairs.
"We're all out of work until they can find an alternative to the factory." Kim said in a calm tone.
After giving the girl's the name of her father's doctor, Iris and Rebecca left. Rebecca was in her thoughts, and Iris decided to cheer her up.
"You know, Mlle…" she said catching up with her, "M. Lysandre kept going back in to save as many girls as possible." Rebecca smiled at that.
When they got home, M. Lysandre had left, so Rebecca decided to talk with her father.
"Papa?" she asked, coming into the study. She found him hunched over some papers.
"Papa?" she asked again. He looked up from the papers, his brows still furrowed.
"Rebecca… I'm sorry, I can't join you for dinner again tonight." Rebecca knew this was the type of response she would get. But she wasn't concerning herself too much.
"I went to visit some girls, with Iris, this afternoon. They told me what happened." Her father looked up at her, regret in his eyes.
"Rebecca, I didn't mean to hide it, I just didn't know how to bring it up." he tried to explain. He stood up and held both her hands in his. Rebecca eased his tension by letting out a small smile.
"Don't worry, I know you weren't trying to hide anything." she took a seat and he took the one next to her.
"What I want to know, is, what's going to happen to the Royce brothers?" Her father sighed and reached for a paper. Rebecca couldn't remember well the type of document it was, but she understood some of the text.
"A government loan?" she asks. He sighs again.
"They can barely afford to rebuild just a small room in the factory, plus the materials they need. If they don't sell, they won't be able to repay, and they'll go broke." he put the document back, "I'll get back the money they'll owe me, but the bank will take possession of the factory."
"Won't you be able to buy it again?" She asks.
"Chances are, they'll play the role of a robber baron and sell it for a higher price. Not to mention, they'll still need money for workers, materials. And I can't afford to make that investment." he answered, Rebecca felt bad that these were the circumstances. But she knew she could only accept it the way it was.
Days passed without much word of the Royce brothers. M. Lysandre didn't come to visit. All Rebecca could do was wait until the day of Rosalya's engagement party, which was fast approaching.
On that late night, Rebecca wore a royal blue ruffled dress with the shoulders exposed and the sleeves to her sides. She had her hair up in a bun with a braid circling it. Gold trims went all around the hem. Thankfully, the party was held inside, though Rebecca thought it was a shame not to get to go outside. But she figured the engagement couldn't wait 'til late spring. As soon as she went inside, the first thing that had come to mind was Lysandre. She found herself searching for him. Her eyes wandering from person to person. Until her eyes fell on a mismatched pair. Rebecca felt her cheeks flush, and turned away so she wouldn't be seen. She then decided to walk around and see if she could find Rosalya and congratulate her.
Rosalya wore a white gown with long sleeves. A ribbon a little higher than her waist. Her hair was also in a bun, though a braid draped her back and a few curls went in front of her ears. She found Lysandre eyeing the door, and decided to tease him. "
"Has she arrived?" she asked coming up behind him. He almost didn't acknowledge her if it weren't for the vague mention of Rebecca.
"Doesn't seem like it…" he said, his voice trailing off as he continued his search through every brunette. His eyes finally reached the gold that made her shine. He couldn't help but stare, and soon her eyes caught his. Lysandre was surprised to see her cheeks flush. She soon walked away, looking away from him.
Later on, Rebecca found Rosalya conversing with her friends, or associates. Rebecca took the opportunity to congratulate her and admired the rock.
"It's such a gorgeous gem." she swooned. It was a polished dark blue sapphire, sitting on a silver band, polished so that you could see your reflection. Lysandre came up next to her. Rebecca tried to keep herself calm, telling herself white lies that everything was okay.
"Once again," she says, giving him all her attention, "I see you without M. Castiel." she teased. Lysandre was getting used to this, but it still didn't mean he wasn't jealous.
"This time around, he couldn't stay. He has business at the theater company in Paris." Rebecca remembered that he was a performer, even so, she wanted to speak to him and learn more things about Lysandre.
"Such a shame." she commented, Lysandre knew she was still teasing, but even so.
"I'm sure he'll invite you one day, and," Lysandre lost his mind, but didn't stop speaking, "perhaps we could go together." When Rebecca heard this, her cheeks flushed again. This made Lysandre realized what he had just said.
"I mean, I haven't gone to Paris in such a long time, and I'm sure Rosalya and Leigh would like their honeymoon to be there." he said trying to save the conversation.
"Ah, you've been here for a while and I haven't offered you a drink," he turned away quickly, trying to avoid her eyes. Rebecca giggled, and covered her mouth with her fingers. She turned back to the other guests and tried to socialize, though, his suggestion from before still lingered.
The, Rebecca saw from the corner of her eyes, M. Thorne. She tried not to turn, but out of habit, did. He was conversing with others, Mdm. Thorne at his right, seeming more like a decor than an actual person. Suddenly, Lysandre came up next to her again, holding a cup of wine. He looked to where she was looking, and realized why she couldn't look away.
"It still hurts?" He asked. He hoped he'd never have to ask again.
"Sad…" she turned to him, and grabbed the cup, "but true." she placed the glass to her lips, trying not to lose her composure like the last time she drank too much. However, Lysandre grabbed hold of her hand and led her away. He took her outside, to the other side of one of the glass doors. The tears were already forming. So she took her handkerchief and wiped away anything else on her face.
"I'm sorry you had to see him." he apologized. Rebecca shook her head, but still didn't look at him. She began to breathe heavily, trying to keep herself from sobbing.
"It's good to see him again. This way I can reassure myself that we weren't meant to be." She spoke in a small voice, Lysandre battled with himself for a moment over something important to him. In the end, he decided to keep it out of context until she was in a better mood.
"Let's not talk about things that make us sad." he said, coming next to her. Once he did, he noticed she was shivering. He put a fist to his forehead and murmured curse words to himself.
"Huh?" Rebecca asked, turning to face him. Immediately, he plastered a smile to his face.
"Oh nothing…" he said, trying to sound collected. She looked at him in question.
"Oh, right!" he begins to take off his coat, "You must be cold." He rests the coat on her small shoulders.
"Thank you." she says shyly.
"By the way, I have to wonder, what are you to do if you can't find another tutor?" he asked.
"I think," she paused, "I'll have to return back to Le Mans. I should be able to learn a few things by myself. Maybe I'll hire a lawyer." Rebecca was trying to sound cheerful. Lysandre noticed this.
He wasn't happy with the response.
"You don't have to, you know…" he said, still trying to think of what to say. Instead, his brain screamed, say the words!
"Rebecca," he got down on one knee, it wasn't the first time she had brought him to this point, "J'taime. (I love you)" He brought out a small box, "Mlle, S'il vous plaît dites que vous allez épouser. Si non, alors les cieux peuvent me frappent ici et maintenant, pour leur est pas d'autre douleur plus forte que votre rejet. (Miss, please say you'll marry me. If not, then the heavens can strike me here and now, for there is no other pain stronger than your rejection.)" Rebecca could only stare, her mind completely blank.
"Non." Lysandre's heart dropped and sank to the pit of his stomach. As did Rebecca's, but she couldn't understand why her answer was so blunt.
"Monsieur, je l'espère, la mort est pas le prix que vous devez payer pour avoir un tel grand amour, mais je ne peut pas accepter. Et je prévois que vous savez pourquoi! (Sir, I hope death is not the price you must pay for your great love, but I cannot accept. And I expect you to know why!)" She dropped his coat to the ground and walked back into the ballroom. She looked around and found her father. She grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the others.
"Father we must go." she said, she didn't hear his protests and pulled him away to the exit.
"Rebecca, what's the matter?" he asked hurriedly.
"No time. We must go." her voice was getting hoarse. Her face was red as a tomato, but she couldn't decide if it was supposed to be sweet.
Once finally home, Rebecca paced in her father's room while he got undressed.
"I can't believe he would pull something so low. He knew how I was still full of despair."
'So you hate him?" he asked, unbuttoning his shirt.
"Father no!" she cried, sitting on his bed, "I love him…" her cheeks flushed. He laughed and sat next to her.
"You are quite the heartbreaker, Rebecca. I wonder from whom you adapted this from." he said. Rebecca began thinking that was probably from her father.
"I didn't mean to break his heart," she said, "but I couldn't accept it while my heart was still hurting. If I want to love him properly, I want to wholeheartedly."
The party was over, and the last few guests were leaving. Lysandre was drowning himself in liquor, in the only empty parlor.
"Ah!" a maid yelled as she walked in, "Madame, the Master Lysandre! His corpse lies in the parlor!" Fast clicking heels passed by and into the room. Rosalya pulled on his hair, his face with slobber, a strong stench of liquor coming off him.
"What the hell is this? Is this how you celebrate a wonderful marriage of your brother's and soon to be sister?" she asked dropping his head on the table. He groaned as she took away the bottle from his cold fingers. He moaned again as he raised his head.
"It's no celebration," he sat up on the sofa, rubbing his face, "it's despair." Rosalya threw out the rest of the liquor and grabbed two glasses of water.
"Here, and I'll listen." she said sitting next to him. He grabbed the glass and chugged it down.
"I told her," he set down the cup, "I finally told her…" he laid his head on his hands, "and she rejected me." His sobs sounded like laughter. The pitiful man was going crazy.
"You told her tonight?" she asked. He moved his head in what she could only think was a nod.
"What were her exact words?" she asked again. He sat up again, his face much more red than before.
"Something- about," he rested his head on her shoulder, like a child, "not being a good time…" Rosalya laughed, pushing him off her.
"Do you laugh at my misery?" he said, or at least tried to. His voice was turning groggy and sleepy.
"Oh, I will always laugh at your misery," she cupped his face, "but right now, I laugh at your deafness." He gave her a confused look. She sighed and released him.
"Just remember this," she stood and headed towards the door, "she didn't reject you. If she had, she would've added something along the lines of, 'I never want to see you again,' or, 'no, because I don't love you.'" Lysandre slumped on the sofa, sleep sneaking in. Rosalya whispered something to a maid next to her. Then looked back to him.
"I'll explain in the morning." Then closed the doors.
I read Hamlet, so if it sounds like it's a little dramatic, it's Shakespeare, I wrote a part of it in my Literature class. That lingo is still stuck in my head. Anyways, again, I'm sorry for the long wait. These days aren't very inspirational enough for me to write more. Anyways, I'll see you all in the next chapter! (Whenever that may be)