~❦︎~❦︎~

Chapter XVIII - Once Loved and Yet Love No Longer

~❦︎~❦︎~

Athena sucked in air through clenched teeth as Aunt Helena grazed over the sketchbook. The woman flipped a few pages but continually came back to the roses and thorns dress.

"I do not see any others in here that I think would look better on you, Athena. You may have this one." She glanced over toward Henri. "Name your price, good Sir."

"Oh, Aunt Helena," Athena lifted a finger, "I am paying for the dress."

Aunt Helena raised one of her thin brows—so light in color that one could only see folds of skin wrinkling on her forehead. "You? How on earth are you going to pay for the dress?" She stifled a cackle.

Athena pulled the sack of coins out of her pocket. "I have—"

Aunt Helena rushed to the girl's side, snatching the sack from her and peeking inside. Athena had never seen anyone move so fast in all her life.

"Where did you get this? Who gave it to you?"

The sack's fabric attracted Henri's gaze.

Athena froze, drawing in her silvery eyes. Her hands shook. "I—I have been housekeeping." She looked away, rubbing her arms. If she were in cat form, her tail would have been between her knees, and her ears folded back.

"For whom?" Aunt Helena leaned in, clutching onto the sack.

"Ahem…" Athena and her aunt turned to face Henri. "It doesn't matter where the money comes from, as long as it comes, Mrs…"

"Brookshire." She dropped the sack in his hand, closing her eyes and smiling. Her plump cheeks doubled in size, almost popping off of her face.

He counted the coins. "Thank you for your service, Mrs. Brookshire. I shall begin working on the dress once I take Miss Everleigh's measurements." He ushered Athena to step up onto one of his platforms in front of several mirrors. She looked at her Aunt Helena, noticing the woman's thin smile, and faltered on the top step.

"Ooh! Miss Everleigh!" Henri caught her by the wrist. "Are you alright?" he asked, worry lining his face.

"Yes," she spoke.

He pulled the measuring tape down from around his neck, then held it up to her body, his eyes intense and focused.

"Athena!" Aunt Helena called.

"Y-yes?"

"Rubina, Margie, and I will go run more errands now! We will fetch you in a little while."

"Yes, Aunt Helena."

The three of them pranced out of the shop, side-by-side, with Aunt Helena in the middle, like a flock of swans.

Athena sighed once they were gone, bowing her head in relief. Henri lifted his brows and looked at her with empathy. "Wou—would you care to know more about… mon amour?"

The girl smiled and nodded.

"Well, then," he said, lifting her arms and pulling the measuring tape around her waist, "where to begin?" He furrowed his brows. "Ah! I know! I already told you about the day we met, but I did not tell you about the day after." Henri leaned down, planting his knees on the carpet, as he measured her waist and bust. Athena's eyes ran over the top of his head—his hair was so blonde it was almost white. "The day after I met her, I asked around town: 'Who was that woman?'. No one knew. No one could tell me anything at all. I became so frustrated that I decided to go to Dublin myself. The love I felt for her in my heart—the way our eyes interlocked—I knew it could not be for nothing." Henri arose. "Almost finished, mademoiselle."

"I'm in no rush, Sir." She patted him on the shoulders. "As I said, I will look for her and ask around. I'll tell you of my findings at my next fitting."

"You are too kind, mademoiselle, although you do not have to do it."

"I insist. A love so strong shan't be wasted…." She looked away, her left eye twitching.

"What is wrong, mademoiselle?"

Athena hugged her arms, rubbing her hands all the way up to her shoulders. She winced, and her eyes almost shut, but she tried not to close them. Biting her teeth and tongue, blood seeped into her gums. "Henri… I—I feel a great deal of fondness for someone as well…."

"Mademoiselle, forgive me, but you spoke so softly I could not under—"

"I feel a great deal of fondness for someone as well," she practically shouted.

"Oh—oh…." His eyes flew back to his work, as quick as two magnets coming together. "If I am intruding, tell me and I will cease my incessant words…. Are you... upset with this man?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because he—" She tugged at her skirts.

"Oh, Miss Everleigh, please do not do that! It will ruin the measurements!"

She let go. "I apologize. It's just that he—he—can be so frustrating!" Athena threw her hands up in the air and covered her eyes. "Sometimes he is kind and gentle. He is so generous and cares about me—will do anything to please me! Other times, he is nasty and rude. He also has so many secrets! I will bring something up in conversation, and he will shout at me to never speak about the subject matter again. It is not as if I knew it was a sensitive topic. There was no need to hurl words at me!" Boiling water sloshed around in her eyelids. "I'm exhausted… ill of being treated as though I'm just… I'm just…."

"A housekeeper?"

Athena's head snapped up as she directed her eyes towards Henri's. "Why would you assume such a thing?" she asked, dumbfounded.

"The way you describe this man… it sounds as though he is authoritative, much like a master treating his servant. Sometimes it is with gentility, other times with hostility."

"But I do not want to be just a servant!" she yelped. "I want him to—to enjoy my company." Her breathing quickened, and her cheeks flushed bright red which intermixed with her brown freckles. "I want him to trust me enough to speak with me about sensitive topics."

"Mademoiselle, how long have you known him?"

"A little over a month, Sir."

He began to chuckle. "I'm surprised you made it this far in a month. Give it time, mademoiselle, and he will open up to you."

"How do you know?" she asked.

"I just do."

~❦︎~

Mrs. Everleigh perched at the end of the settee, staring into the dining room, watching every move Athena made. Aunt Helena had invited two young beaux Athena courted while in Dublin to her homecoming party.

Athena stood in the middle of the dining room, next to the table, her hands folded neatly at her waist—not at the side, as she generally kept them. When one of the young men joked, she would dip her head, smile—her dimples seeping in—and then look back up at one of them—her eyes flashing in the candlelight. Mrs. Everleigh had never seen her act in such a way.

"Relax, dear sister," Aunt Helena cooed, sipping her tea. "Athena is old enough now to court. She has done marvelously well in society. The whole town's talking about her." The older woman smiled like Devil's wife.

Mrs. Everleigh rustled her feathers and flared her nostrils. "I do not want her in society. I know you and Charles do… but she belongs in the village with me!"

"You and Charles, yes, let's talk about you and Charles! What a lovely idea!" She set her tea down and ran her long nimble fingers over her skirts.

"Charles… and I?" She leaned back, the settee engulfing her form, her face gaunt. "There is nothing to speak of about Charles and me."

"I mean, how is your marriage? How is raising nine children? I know it must be a hassle. Charles has always been difficult to deal with," she cackled, throwing her head back, her fat rolls jiggling like a gelatin dessert.

"Charles and I are just fine," Mrs. Everleigh declared. Her hawk gaze faltered, for the wind was too strong.

"That is just wonderful." Her lips raised, then they fell, just as quick. Aunt Helena sighed. "I so wish that my George were still alive. Just seeing how happy you and Charles are makes me miss him all the more." She leaned her chin on her palm, gazing out the window, before becoming too curious and looking straight back at Mrs. Everleigh, who had tears rising in her eyes.

I once loved and yet love no longer… I no longer love and yet once loved… once like ocean tides that rose and fell with the moon… but there is no moon now….