Chapter 11- Surprise from Big Brother

...

I spent the rest of that evening helping Lefou go through Gaston's items in the depressingly empty manor house. After a few hours, I invited him to join me for dinner at my home with Maman.

She was happy to see I was helping my grieving friend- though his mood was excessively cheerful though dinner. He made her laugh several times with his jokes about the horses. Finally, after Maman gave Lefou a basket of her cinnamon rolls, we went our separate ways. Lefou left for his cottage for the night. His plan for the next day was to work with Michel to buy and deliver horses to the castle.

As for me, I started out at the crack of dawn the next day meeting with Aunt Sophie and the triplets in the tailor shop. With great excitement, they showed me the clothing patterns that Belle had sketched out and drawn herself. I was impressed with her talent in design. I should have realized it before with her innovative dress pockets and such. Fortunately the dresses she designed did not feature pockets for books.

It was now decided that for Adam and Belle's celebration ball, we as villagers would be wearing uniformly matched outfits. Black waistcoat vests with gold stitching, black breeches and white blouses for all of the men, and formal white dancing gowns with matching frilly bonnets for all of the women.

Thankfully, an army of seamstresses and tailors were helping to make their own suits and gowns in their homes. I definitely needed to stay in town the next few days to oversee and help with whatever was needed. Lefou promised me he would speak with Madame de Garderobe, since I wanted to finish Belle's magnificent ballgown with her and have that done by Tuesday.

The celebration was in only one week! Mon Dieu!

I couldn't wait to see what this would look like. Everyone from Villeneuve, dancing in the castle's grand ballroom dressed to the nines in elegant black, white and gold? Certainly a once in a lifetime event. It needed a pop of color, in my opinion. I had the idea that us men ought to wear burgundy hairbows and cravats.

Full of ambition for the tight deadline, I began sewing another multilayered, snowy white frock. The name on the tag? Elise's.

...

Dick's entrance into the sewing room of the tailor shop caused me to startle, dropping my needle and thread.

"Where were you for three days this week, Stanley? Maman said you and Lefou came by for dinner last night. Why didn't you stop by to see us?"

"I'm terribly sorry, Dick," I said with remorse. My brother missed me. "I know it was rude leaving the girls and Aunt Sophie behind, and not going to see you yesterday. It's just that I got a job offer at the castle this week. Making up the gown for Belle. I couldn't turn it down. And now I have other ballgowns on top of that. I'm swamped, Dick. So if you want to have a beer with me, you'll have to sit and drink it here and watch me make dresses."

"I know about the job offer, " said Dick. "Lefou told me. I know you were at the castle. I just want to know why you stayed away for almost four whole days without TELLING us."

"I'm back now, though, so don't worry about me anymore," I said in a nonchalant tone. I fumbled with my needle and tried to concentrate on the line of stitching.

Dick stood there for a long while in silence, studying me with a puzzled look. "What happened to your lip?" he finally asked.

"Oh, this?" I pointed to my lip and gave Dick a grin. "I think it must've happened during the castle battle. Must have swelled up afterward."

"You were with us the whole day after the battle. I didn't see anything wrong with your face then."

I forced a laugh. "I'm fine! Like I said, don't worry about me. I can handle a minor injury anytime, you know me."

"I'm worried about you."

"Don't be." I looked down at my meticulous stitching of the bodice of Elise's ballgown. "Ah, magnifique!" I commented. "Not bad. Say, Dick, could you get Aunt Sophie in here to see this?"

Dick groaned in frustration. "Stanley- I know you like the back of my own hand. For one thing, you have never NOT been where you're supposed to be your entire LIFE."

"Oh, I wouldn't say that."

"But it's true. Sure as the sun goes up in the east, I've been able to look to my right-hand side and see you there. Okay, sometimes to my left, but for the most part, you're been at my right-hand side ever since we slept in trundle beds," Dick reminisced. "So when I pass by Aunt Sophie's dress shop the other morning, and Elise, Eliana, and Eloise are throwing conniptions 'cause you're missing- that tells me that something's going on with you. Something big."

"Well, yes, Dick. You're right!" I said cheerily. "A chance to be the royal tailor and dressmaker in His Highness' castle is a pretty big opportunity."

Dick narrowed his eyes in thought. "True. But there's more than that."

"Oh?" I said, looking back to down at my sewing.

"I'm getting old, Stanley. I know...people." Dick looked at the ceiling and scratched his chin. "I notice other people, their habits. Same way I know myself."

"Brilliant, Dick. Your insight is truly amazing. I'm awed and inspired by you," I said, keeping my eyes on the line of stitching. Mon Dieu, I was quoting lines from that little song my dearest person had made up and sang back in simpler times, only a week ago. Heaven help me.

Dick grinned. "Now, that. 'S what I'm talking about. You've always been the 'quiet one.' But when you DO speak up and say something, it's a zinger. Sometimes when you say something, your mouth has gotten you in trouble. And I have this feeling, Stanley...that you ran your mouth off to someone recently, and THAT'S why your lip looks like that. Am I correct?"

"You're somewhere in that realm, I'd say."

"I heard this one saying a couple times," said Dick with a pedantic air. "They say 'love makes you crazy.' When you start going off your normal routine, and you start taking risks- it might just mean the love bug has bit you good."

"Interesting." I adjusted the dress bodice to start a new stitching line. I caressed the soft white fabric, holding it up to look at it. "I can't wait to begin making the skirt on this ballgown. Elise should look lovely in it."

"I am sure she will, but let's get back to-"

"You're invited to this ball, too, Dick! You should have us make Martine a new dress. Take her out to dance. I think it's time Martine gets some romance from YOU, since you've touched on the subject."

Dick hung his head a little guiltily. "You're right. She'd probably like that. We need to arrange for someone to take care of Cecile, though."

"I can watch Cecile."

"Non!" Dick argued. "We'll find someone else. Because I want to see YOU romancing someone."

"Dick, look- I'm not looking for a wife," I replied. "We've been through this over and over."

"Stanley, I know what's going on. I finally got it through my thick head that we CAN'T make you get a wife- just the same as I can't get Tom to think about subjects above beer, food and card games. You're in love, Stanley. And it's someone you can't actually, well...marry."

What? Who does he think it is? What is he implying?

I shrugged and lowered my eyes back to the dress bodice. I was trying to hide my shock and worry, but instead I was likely making a face that resembled a child having to swallow cod liver oil.

"So," Dick continued, "If you want to be with him, if you wanna dance with him, I will-"

"Him? WHAT?" I yelled, my head jerking up. My heart was pounding like Rosie's hooves on a foxhunt. No.

Dick, please, you cannot know this stuff. But he kind of does. He'd told me about those lynchings.

Dick continued to talk very fast, as if he needed to spit it all out before I could interrupt him further.

"I'll support you in any way I can, because you're my brother and I love you and that is all that matters. I don't care about rules or what people say, and Tom will never figure it out 'cause he don't know his nose from his ass, and Maman might cry a little but she won't disown you 'cause she's just too kind and loves you too. I just want you to be HAPPY!"

I was stunned a moment; my mouth starting to fall agape. My burly carpenter brother, several years my senior, was blinking very rapidly and gazing at me with affection. I watched Dick turn away for a moment, sweeping his finger over one eye and shaking his head in emotion.

I finally spoke up, firmly in damage control mode. "Dick, what...w-what are you implying? I know I've been way too picky about girls. I'm always been kind of shy, you know me. I just haven't been able to click with any-"

"Cut the crap, Stanley! I said I KNOW!" Dick thundered. He glanced at the door, checking to see if a certain aunt or three nosy cousins were around; they were not.

I blinked a few times, the news slowly sinking in that I could trust my dear brother to support me and protect me, and Lefou, from being strung up on a tree or thrown in the asylum.

I took the fabric and thread and needle, and set them all gently upon an empty chair. I stood up and walked closer to him. A lump the size of a baguette was clogging my throat.

"But I'm...abnormal. I'll let my whole family down." I whispered, shaking. I was trying very hard not to cry again. Crying in front of Madame de Garderobe was one thing. But this- this was Dick!

"Stanley," Dick said with shimmering eyes, his arms held out wide. "You have two eyes, one nose, one mouth with a slightly puffy lip, strong arms and legs, and you look just like Papa. You're tall and good looking. You were an excellent student in school. I mean, you were the Headmaster's pet! There is NOTHING...abnormal about you. Or Lefou, either. He's a fine fellow."

Dick stepped closer and wrapped me in his sturdy, muscular arms. I stiffened a moment; then relaxed. I hugged him back as tightly as he could and whispered a soft, broken, "Merci" into Dick's shabbily-stitched shirt seam.

"So...who punched you in the mouth?" Dick asked me as he broke the embrace.

"Lefou did," I admitted. "He and I went through a...rocky start. I ran my mouth off a little, like you said. And he has a lot more backbone than he had about a week ago. But we're fine now."

"That is good," Dick whispered. "And I won't breathe a word. If anyone thinks anything, you know...or tries to start something, they'd be dealing with ME."

Dick cracked his knuckles threateningly.

...

I spent the next several hours in a state of shock and relief as I measured and cut and sewed. Eloise and Aunt Sophie brought me some fruit and cheese as I would not leave the sewing room until I could finish at least two gowns. My aunt and I worked our fingers to the bone, while the three girls sewed some simple hems in the adjoining room.

I could hear them talking about who would be at the ball. They seemed to have it in their heads that Adam's royal relatives would also be there, but of that I wasn't certain. They all hoped to follow in the footsteps of Belle, of course. My guess on that was it's 'never gonna happen.'

It was ten thirty at night when I decided to retire to my and my mother's house. The next morning was a repeat of the same; my fingers working with white organza and satin, threading it all together. I also picked up some fine black fabric for the men's vests and breeches.

To prepare and begin work on one, I went to look in the files where each of the men customers had their measurements written down. I thumbed though and found a file of a man I knew; one who stood an endearing five-foot-five and possessed a generous thirty-eight inch waist and a short inseam of twenty eight inches.

I smiled, thinking of how elegant he would look at the ball.

...