Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters. They are the property of Hajime Kanzaka and Shoko Yoshinaka.

Author's Notes: I'm sorry I wasn't able to get this chapter out sooner. I have an excuse and it's a good one too !

Chapter Six

Zelgadis preferred to ride in the carriage beside Lina rather than gallop his horse beside the carriage. So, he left his horse at the stable where he rented the coach and headed to where she promised to meet him. It wasn't much of a spot, only a slight incline in the road, but she was there when he and the driver pulled up to pick her up. She didn't wait for Zelgadis to get out of the carriage before launching herself into it – calico skirts flailing and all.

"For goodness sake woman," he said urgently as she smoothed the fabric of her dress. "Haven't you any decency? What would someone passing by say if they saw you?"

She shook out her hair like she was hardly listening to what he was saying. "Don't be ridiculous," she said saucily. "No one saw me . . . and even if they did – they won't recognize me as the same person after we fix me up. I'll appear a sweet young lady when you introduce me to your mother, and you didn't even get out of the carriage just now, so there's nothing to pin you with. It doesn't really matter to you, does it? If it does, then we're going to have problems later on. You are setting yourself up to be part of one of the biggest scandals in English history. You know that don't you?"

"Why's that?" he asked.

"Because, your wife is going to run away with a caravan of gypsies rather than stay with you, that's why. Don't you think the gossip mills are going to run you through once they see what's happened? Some people will say, 'There's that cold-hearted Colonel Greywers. He married the sweetest little plum of a girl and then he went and drove her off. What she must have suffered to prefer to live with the gypsies rather than with her own husband? Poor creature!" Lina said pouting her lower lip.

Zelgadis could not stop himself from laughing at this. "I'm not sure at you're being able to convince anyone that you're sweet."

She ignored him and went on, "And some people will say, 'Poor Colonel Greywers! He married that crazy girl and now no one can free him from her. Oh, such a charming young man too! He would do very well for my daughter, but alas, it is not to be. He's fated for a difficult life'," Lina said, in a voice she must have specifically designed with which to imitate a dowager.

Zelgadis abruptly stopped laughing. "I won't allow them to say such things of you after you have gone away from me Lina. Anyone can say anything they like of me, but I shall not have them defaming you. It would be against the rules of our agreement. I have promised to bear the whole cost of this and that does not simply mean that I will pay for your dresses or the wedding or the lawyer or whatever else happens to come up. It means that I will direct all complaints regarding the affair to myself."

"But I'll be the one running away!" Lina insisted hotly. "I have already brought a considerable amount of shame onto my own head that was absolutely none of your doing, and I refuse to let you take total responsibility for my choices. I don't care what they say about me. I am merely stating that you must be prepared for what they will say about you behind your back and to your face. I'll be so far removed from those gossiping fat cats that it won't harm me at all what they say, but you will still be part of this society, and thus will have to bear it to a certain extent. I only wanted to make sure that you were prepared for the consequences."

Zel shook his head, feeling even better about their arrangement than he expected to. "There's no reason for you to worry about me. I'm sick of living my life for their pleasure, but still . . ." he said, pausing, and putting two of his lean fingers up to his lips thoughtfully. "Still . . . I'll not allow those I associate with to treat you in that vile way, even if what they say can't possibly hurt you."

"Interesting," she said propping up her head with the palm of her hand and staring out the window. "You know, I don't need anyone to save me – least of all you."

"This whole proposal isn't about me saving you, you silly girl. It's about you saving me," Zelgadis said, with a sort of ultimate confidence behind his voice – behind his eyes.

Her head jerked around at his words. At first she didn't say anything, as she was regarding him very carefully. "You really are the most singular man I have ever met, and I would kiss you for what you just said . . . except . . ."

Zelgadis found himself tensing up at what she was about to say. "Except?" he asked cautiously.

"Except . . . you didn't give me permission."

Zelgadis wondered immediately if there was any way for him to correct his mistake. Why didn't he just say that he would gladly accept kisses from his fiancée? He opened his mouth and searched for the words that would remedy the situation, but luckily he remembered why he had objected in the first place. How would he manage without her kisses when she went away? To her, all that seemed like a joke, something to help pass the time and alleviate her boredom, but it wasn't like that for him. Perhaps he felt things more deeply than she did.

Zelgadis closed his mouth and examined her across the carriage – specifically her lips. It suddenly occurred to him that her lips would be the last lips he would likely ever kiss. He intended to be faithful to her, so he would never be free to pursue romance with other women. With those thoughts, he felt a rush of gratitude that at least her lips managed to quirk in precisely the right places when she delivered her lines as to leave him enchanted.

He would not forget her easily.

Zelgadis had not been entirely sure where he ought to take Lina to purchase her new wardrobe. He had actually given it quite a bit of thought, and at last he decided to take her to a place bordering the 'wrong side of the tracks'. He vaguely remembered someone saying that it was higher class than it looked, but he couldn't remember when or where he had heard the recommendation. It puzzled him, but in the end decided that a lesser known place would be a good place to start. He didn't want to take Lina into a place likely to be busy with prominent people until she had shed her charming little gypsy dress.

Well, the outfits they were to purchase were not to please him, he reminded himself. It didn't really matter that he thought she looked wonderful the way she was.

When they arrived in front of the boutique, Zelgadis asked Lina to wait in the carriage for him while he went and spoke with the manager. She didn't answer him and her eyes were closed. That was all right, as he had suspected her of being asleep for some time. They had spent most of the night before talking, so it was really no surprise.

He put on his top hat and exited the carriage.

The shop was called "Claire's Legacy". At least Zelgadis was sure he was in the right place. There was a bell over the door and it jangled as he pushed the door open.

It was dark inside the shop, or maybe it just seemed dark after the blaring sunlight outside. Soon his eyes adjusted and he saw that he was in a dress shop after all – just in case there was any doubt. There was a small counter with a woman sitting behind it, and racks and racks of dresses. The rest of the shop seemed virtually deserted, which was exactly what he was looking for.

He turned to the woman at the counter. "Good day," he said, perhaps less than pleasantly. He simply couldn't be pleasant all the time.

The woman had her back to Zel, but when she spoke to him, she turned around to flash wet eyelashes at him. She had been crying, but she looked at Zelgadis at first like she was confused, and then almost like she was angry. "What do you want?" she asked crossly.

"I have a young lady waiting outside. I was wondering if you could fix her up with some dresses," Zel said, wondering about the woman's wretched state.

"Why did you decide to come here?" she asked, blowing her nose in the most pitiable way. "Don't you know what kind of shop this is? Or aren't you a gentleman?"

"I'm sorry, but you puzzle me. What kind of shop is this that I wouldn't bring a lady here?"

She shook her head, examining Zel very closely. "I'm sorry. Have we met before?"

"I don't think so," Zel said cautiously, wondering if he were really in the wrong place. He examined the dress at the head of the rack closest to him. It looked ordinary enough. What sort of place was it so that gentlemen were not allowed? "Is this not really a dress shop? Have I stumbled on an opium den instead?" he asked, trying to keep his voice light.

She shook her head slowly. "No. If it were that, I'd be making more money than I am now. Listen, my name is Miss Eris Claire. I'm going to be profoundly honest with you, because I've just heard some dreadful news, and if I don't tell someone I think I'll go crazy. This is really a dress shop, and it was once quite successful. When I opened for business, I had an amazing financial backer, who presented me with a business loan in order for me to get started. Everything was wonderful at first, but over the past few years there has been an astounding amount of gossip concerning me. Business has gone down since then, because people of high class did not want to support someone as immoral as I'm reported to be. Then today, as if to finish me off, I have just learned that my financial backer is insisting on a full repayment of the loan." She stopped and put her nose into her handkerchief again.

"That's quite a bad story," Zelgadis said, removing his own handkerchief from his pocket and approaching her. "Please use this," he said, extending it to her. "The one you are using is soaked Miss Claire." He stopped speaking and waited until she took the fabric and until she seemed more comfortable before he went on. "That is a sad story,you're your bad reputation doesn't frighten me away. I'd still like to be a patron in your stop. I'm Colonel Greywers, and my fiancée, Miss Inverse, is waiting outside in a carriage. We need to set her up with a complete wardrobe, and unfortunately, we only have this one day to get everything. She needs absolutely everything. Do you think you could help us with an entire wardrobe? I'll pay you well for it – I promise."

Eris gave him the strangest look. "Miss Inverse? You don't mean Miss Lina Inverse, do you?"

"Indeed I do. Will that be a problem?"

Suddenly, it seemed that Eris' tears instantaneously dried. "Not at all. All right," she said confidently. "I would love to dress up your fiancée. Bring her in here at once, and I will dress her to the nines."

Zel was even more confused than before. "I'm sorry. Do you know her?"

"I've never laid eyes on her in my life, but I promise it will be a real pleasure to be the one to prepare her for her wedding. Ohhh, can I be the one to fit her for her wedding dress? I'll do such a good job of it – the people on the balcony at the church will be shielding their eyes for the brightness of her dress," Eris said excitedly.

Zel didn't understand at all, but decided not to make a point of it. Obviously, this woman needed business badly, and to create an entire toilette for someone would probably earn some of the money she needed to repay her loan. Besides, her enthusiasm helped fuel his own determination to carry their scheme out in style.

He went to go get Lina.