Persephone Unchained
Chapter 29
Sophie sat on the sofa and drank tea with Nadir as they listened to Darius entertain Emma in the kitchen. The soft spoken and mild mannered manservant had become Emma's closest companion in the last few days since they'd come to live with the Daroga.
While reserved and mute around Sophie, Darius came alive around the little girl. He'd already told her many wondrous stories about friendly tigers and bands of thieves who found an enchanted oil lamp that contained a wish granting djinn. The mischievous djinn brought misery to all who wished upon it, much to Emma's delight.
A knock at the door startled the entire household from the day's routine. Darius slipped from the kitchen to answer the door and returned with Madame Giry. Darius followed her, carrying in a rather large, white box tied with a red satin ribbon.
"Ah! Madame Giry, please won't you join us for some tea?" Nadir invited her in cordially.
Madame Giry nodded politely and joined Sophie on the Sofa.
Sophie reached forward to pour the woman a cup of tea.
"What brings you here to enjoy this afternoon with us?" Nadir inquired.
"He has a delivery for the mademoiselle," the woman said evenly as she pulled a sealed letter from a pocket of her jacket and handed it directly to Sophie.
Sophie's heart raced. Another note! She took it from Madame Giry with a smile and said her thanks. She used the handle of her tea spoon to break the red wax seal and began to read its contents. She read it twice, then smiled at the post scripts.
"Erik sends news about the arrangements with the church and the solicitor. They've settled on a date for each. Monsieur Khan, it seems that you will have your home restored to order before June. We're to marry on Friday the twenty-sixth of this month and then we'll travel to Jouy le Portier and take possession of the house," she summarized.
"Ah, my dear, how delightful. Weddings are such a joyous occasion," Nadir said cordially.
"Thank you, Monsieur, for everything. I can't ever thank you enough for your kindness and generosity," she directed at him.
Nadir tipped his head forward and took a sip of tea.
"This is also for you," Madame Giry pointed out as she nudged the large, heavy box forward on the table. "He wishes me to stay and assist you with this," the woman explained as she took her long, graying braid in her hand and placed it over her shoulder. It was a practiced movement.
Sophie turned her attention to the box as she pulled the ribbon loose and lifted the lid.
When she saw what it contained she gasped and held her hand to her mouth. From within the confines of the perfumed, tissue paper that enveloped it she pulled out a beaded headpiece and its attached ivory veil. Underneath that, she found the dress itself.
The wedding gown was the most beautiful garment that she had ever seen. It was made of ivory silk that had been embroidered with gold thread. The pattern that was sewn onto the bodice of the dress was floral in nature with twists and ropes and whorls of roses. The neckline plunged low despite the high collar of the back, and there was a line of mother of pearl buttons down the front of it. The skirt that accompanied it was underneath.
"Come, child, let's try it on and test the fit of it," Madame Giry instructed.
Nadir stood and bowed like a gentleman as the ladies left the sitting room and carried the box into the guest bedroom.
It was a little strange to undress in front of another woman. Sophie pulled her gown off over her head and laid it on the bed while Madame Giry unpacked the wedding dress and shook it out. It was even more amazing than she'd first thought. The sleeves of the dress came down to the middle of the forearm with a little cuff, and then underneath the cuff there was a spill of fine pleated ivory tulle. The bodice was even more low cut than she'd first thought. Madame Giry took up the skirt next. The ivory silk skirt had a small bustle in the back and the front fell in drapes of fabric down the front. There was a plain ruffle of silk at the bottom along the hem, and in the back there was a bustle with a long train made of the same gold embroidered silk fabric as the bodice. Inside of the box there was even a set of matching gold embroidered ivory heeled shoes.
"It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen," Sophie murmured as she stared at it on the bed.
Madame Giry smiled and fingered the fabric. "Yes, he has good taste," she agreed. And then the woman was inspecting the cut of the gown and the corners of the mouth had turned down slightly, "although I see that he also has a man's tastes."
The bodice really was quite low. Sophie blushed as she stood there in her undergarments and corset and waited patiently for the woman to set the garment back down.
Madame Giry turned to her and frowned. "Corset and undergarments too. Take it all off," she barked.
Sophie's eyes widened in shock. This woman wanted her to disrobe completely? In front of her? While she watched?
"Umm… I don't…" she stammered.
Madame Giry merely rolled her eyes and stepped behind Sophie to attack the ties of her corset. The old woman had her corset untied and removed before Sophie could think to protest any further.
"It's nothing that I haven't seen before, my dear. I have a daughter, Meg, and I was the ballet mistress at the opera house. Who do you think helped the dancers dress and undress for each performance?" Madame Giry informed her in clipped tones.
Her corset hit the floor and then Madame Giry's fingers were pulling off her chemise and adding that to the growing pile on the floor. Thankfully, however, the old woman let Sophie keep her drawers in place.
Sophie raised her arms to cover her now bared breasts as Madame Giry grabbed the skirt from the bed and all but slung it over her head and into place. The bodice was next. Despite the row of mother of pearl buttons down the front of it the bodice opened and closed in the back with laces. Madame Giry unlaced the back of the gown and held it before Sophie.
She realized that she would have to put her arms down in order to put the bodice on. But that would expose her breasts. It was a dilemma.
Madame Giry stamped her foot on the floor and Sophie dropped her arms in reflex.
The old woman stared at her for far longer than Sophie thought was decent or necessary, but then the bodice was being shoved into place and Madame Giry was stepping around behind her and lacing it together. Where the woman had been rough before, she was gentle now. The bodice came together and Sophie discovered why Madame Giry had insisted on her total disrobing. The gown had its own support system of stays built into the top. Erik had bought her a wedding gown that would leave her naked underneath. The implication was embarrassing in front of the ballet mistress who was helping her get dressed, and Sophie felt the hot blush as it crept up her neck.
"The gown will fit," Madame Giry announced. "You are lighter than you must have been when it was ordered, which has given you the room that you will need for your swelling belly."
Sophie was shocked into speechlessness as the old ballet mistress tightened the laces once more and announced that it was done.
The bodice was tight along her swollen breasts, but loose enough across her soft stomach so that it was not too uncomfortable. Sophie looked down and saw the massive cleavage that the gown created from her swollen breasts. She was unused to such a low result hovered just a hairsbreadth between scandalous and completely outrageous.
"Is it that obvious?" Sophie asked quietly once she'd found her voice.
"To another mother, yes. And to a ballet mistress, yes. I had to sack many dancers who came to costume fittings with a belly like yours. They too thought that they could hide it from me. How far along are you? I'd guess six weeks," the woman said succinctly and with no side-stepping.
"Five weeks," Sophie answered. What else was there to say? There'd be no hiding it at all soon.
Madame Giry grasped her by the shoulders and stared at her as if there was some secret answer hiding in her face.
"My dear, I know that your mother, may God rest her soul, has recently passed. So as a mother myself, I will overstep the bounds of our relationship and fulfil her role for you in this moment. Erik is not a man to be lied to, or trifled with. If there is even the slightest chance that the child is not his then it would not be wise for you to mislead him in such a way. He would discover it, of that you can be certain. And the consequences could be disastrous."
Sophie blushed even harder than she had before as the woman stared at her like that. Should she have felt indignant or angry? Or rather, should she have felt pleased that Erik's friends were so fiercely protective of him? Mostly, she was just embarrassed.
"There is no question of it, Madame, Erik is the father," she finally managed to say when she found her voice.
Madame Giry stared at her, as if she could catch Sophie in a lie simply by looking at her. Sophie wondered suddenly if this stern ballet mistress wasn't truly capable of such a feat. It was certainly disconcerting to be stared at like that. It made her want to confess just to get the punishment over with, even though Sophie was not lying and had nothing to hide other than her illegitimate pregnancy. Apparently whatever the woman saw was satisfying because the ballet mistress released her shoulders, grabbed the veiled headpiece, and settled it on Sophie's head.
"Beautiful," Madame Giry announced. And then the woman smiled at her.
Sophie looked down at the gown and smiled. She felt beautiful in it, even if the bodice was cut lower than she'd have chosen. She only had a moment to marvel at the feeling of wearing her wedding gown until Madame Giry was demanding that she take it off again. The old woman unlaced the back and helped her remove the garments and then they were hung up into the wardrobe for airing out.
Sophie picked her clothes up off the floor and quickly redressed.
"Madame Giry, I wondered if you might wait for me to write a note, and then take my reply to Erik? If it is not too much trouble," she asked, unsure of the woman's response. Sophie considered the woman's cane and bad knee and the terrible amount of stairs that would be involved. She felt selfish for even asking for such a favor.
To her relief Madame Giry only paused for a moment before nodding.
"I'll wait for you in the sitting room," the woman notified her, and then the ballet mistress left and closed the door behind her.
Sophie sat at the little desk in the room and took out a sheet of paper and the pen and ink set from the drawer. She dipped the pen in the ink pot and set it to the paper and wrote.
Dearest,
The wedding gown is absolutely lovely and delightful. Madame Giry has advised me that it fits well and will not require any alterations. I must protest, however, that the neckline is quite scandalous. If the priest dies of shame upon seeing me in it then you have been forewarned and must agree to bear all of the blame. I may be a very bad Catholic but even I do not want to add 'caused the untimely demise of a brother of the priesthood and the physical manifestation of the voice of God' to my list of sins.
I am overjoyed that we have come to a date and that the closing of the house is going well. Although I find that I am curious as to what furniture has been left behind. Has the solicitor provided you with a list or summary or some idea of what is included? And do you think that it would be best to obtain the rest of what we need here, or shall we complete the furnishing upon arrival to our new home? I must confess that I feel lost and useless here. I have never handled this aspect of a household before and I do not wish to disappoint you.
Nadir is a wonderful host and Darius has become Emma's fast companion. He speaks to her! Imagine my surprise when I heard the man's voice for the very first time. I nearly slid off of my chair in shock. She greatly enjoys his stories of Persia and their travels through the Middle East and Orient. Now that she has heard about tigers she likes to crawl around on the ground and nip at everyone's ankles. She pretends now that she is a ferocious jungle beast, much to everyone's dismay. She still cries at night and misses mamman and her papa so we ignore our sore ankles. Nadir will spoil her rotten if we are not careful. I think that he enjoys having a child in the house again. I have told her a little of what is happening. She is so young and she has been through so much. I did not wish to give her too many changes too fast. But now that we have a date set I will continue to work on preparing her. I've told her that we can plant a garden and grow whatever flowers she'd like. She says that she wants to grow an entire field of only sunflowers.
Maman's funeral went as well as can be expected. My neighbors Madame and Monsieur Durant came to pay their respects. My stepfather came and made an ass of himself, as I expected he would. I have not seen or heard from him since. Nadir has threatened to whip the man if he sees him again. The old Daroga has some spark left in him yet!
The baby and I are fine. Nadir has completely saturated me with tea and croissants and now that I have caught up on my sleep and rest I feel fully restored. The morning sickness is only in the mornings now. It is a good thing that our wedding is merely two weeks away or I would surely not fit into my lovely dress!
With all my love,
Your Sophie
P.S. please send more of that gingered tea when you are able.
