No Erik in this one either! And after such a long period between updates…I'm very sorry, I was just experiencing horrible writers block for a very long time…when I first started this chapter, it was like scraping sand out of a cut…oww! It's also a wee bit short. I am terribly sorry….and about Erik….to be honest, I'm still a little frightened to write him…really it seems a little impossible from my perspective, but I promise, my next chapter will include the dear masked man! Anyway, I'm planning on this story to be more than just 4 or 5 chapters, so these first few are more of a build-up than pieces that are waist-deep in the plot-line. And please, reviews serve as one of my biggest inspirations, so the more you review, the more I write!
Antoinette took her daughter out of the house, shopping for some lace to add to one of her dresses to make it wedding-appropriate. Antoinette herself had decided she would just wear her usual black dress, perhaps with the gold sash she had purchased only a month before the Opera House fell. It would add just an edge of high-society fashion, though no doubt she would be the only woman to wear black to a wedding, but she hadn't the money to buy new trimmings for both Meg and herself.
"Oh, look at this!" Meg ran forward, to a shop with a small wooden sign hanging over the door that read, "Madame Babin's cloth and dress shop". The simple wooden sign looked as if it belonged to someone practical enough to have reasonable prices. The baby blue lace that had caught Meg's eye sat curled on a cushion in front of the shop window.
"Come," Antoinette ordered, as she sailed through the door, looking about for "Madame Babin". The first person she saw, however, was a small boy no more than 9 years old sitting on top of a desk, with his feet resting on a beaten wooden chair.
"Pardon, but is the Madame in?" She questioned.
He nodded, "Yes, Madame. I'll get her for you." He jumped off the desk and trotted into a door in the back of the shop, disappearing behind the curtain. The sounds of a low conversation went on for about a minute, then a middle-aged plump but fashionable woman appeared. Her hair was an off-blonde color that Antoinette was certain was artificial. But her gray eyes were cheerful as she spoke.
"Madame, Mademoiselle, I am Madame Babin. You are in need of my service?"
"My daughter needs some material to renew one of her older gowns," Antoinette reached into the large, sack-like bag she was carrying and brought out the wrinkled, somewhat sad looking dress. It really was rather plain, and Antoinette wished she had the money to buy something better. Still, they would make it work.
Madame Babin gave a small exclamation, then moved forward, "Oh, you poor thing."
Antoinette blinked as the woman took the dress from her hands.
"Jean-Paul!" She called. The boy came out of the back room, and Madame Babin held the dress out to him.
"Go put this on the rack for me."
He took the dress and walked over to a wide board standing up in the corner of the room. He gently pinned the dress to it, so that it lay in a position similar to what it looked like when worn.
Madame Babin glanced at it, then turned back, moving towards Meg, who was still examining the blue lace.
"No, no, no, I do not think that is a good color. The gown is blue, yes, but still, the shades…they will clash, certainly." She moved the lace away. "Come, we will look at something else."
She led Meg to another table, holding several different items. Antoinette let them go, while she herself browsed the shop. A particular fabric had caught her eye, a dark red color that she would have called maroon, only it was just a little too red. It had no real design, but the color was slightly brindled with a lighter red. Overall the fabric almost reminded her of leaves in the autumn, shades of reds blending into each other on a tree. She touched the fabric gently. It was velvet, and breathtakingly soft.
Suddenly she laughed, and pulled her hand away. Breathtakingly expensive more likely, and she certainly didn't need it. Unfortunately, Meg had caught her admiring the cloth, and walked over to her.
"Oh mother, that's lovely, the color is beautiful!"
"Yes, Meg. But—"
"What is it that has attracted you so much, Mad—Oh, yes indeed! With your complexion and hair, you would look exquisite!"
Lovely, Madame Babin had come over as well.
"No." Antoinette stated in a tone that brooked no argument. "Meg, did you find something?"
"Yes," Her daughter held out both of her hands. There was a lovely deep blue lace in one, and satin ribbon of the same color in the other. "Madame Babin says these will be the best…but they are a bit costly. More than you were planning to spend, I know—"
"Oh, but the color is perfect for the dress, and the shade would highlight her figure perfectly," Madame Babin interrupted.
Of course, it is the most expensive that is so perfect.
Antoinette raised an eyebrow, "Indeed? How much?"
Madame Babin named a price that made Antoinette's breath catch for a moment. But only a moment. For all of her merchants persuasive statements, she really was right. The color would look marvelous on Meg, and the dress.
"Very well."
Madame Babin, and her daughter, both smiled, though the formers was a smile that hinted at greed, whereas the latter's was merely happiness.
"Wonderful! Jean-Paul, wrap the Mademoiselle's things carefully!"
The boy took the lace and ribbon from Meg, and began to fold it up inside sheets of brown paper.
"Now Madame, are you certain you do not wish to purchase any of this fabric? Why, just imagine, a skirt made of the velvet, with a silk bodice in the deepest color, here, fashioned in the newest style, with the low neckline, and the little sleeves that—"
"I said no, Madame Babin, and I meant it." Antoinette drummed her fingers on the table.
Madame Babin seemed to realize it was a hopeless cause, for she sighed and turned away.
"That is fine, Jean-Paul. Madame?"
With a sigh Antoinette reached into her purse. She handed the money to Madame Babin. Meg took the packages, and her dress, from the boy, and Antoinette walked out of the store, refusing to give the velvet—or Madame Babin—another glance.
"Mother?" Meg had to jog to catch up with her. "Mother, why were you so cold to the Madame? She really was very nice."
Antoinette glanced at her daughter with a frown, but then shook her head. Meg was right the Madame had been pushy, true, but considering her helpfulness, she had not needed to be treated so rudely.
"She was Meg. I'm feeling rather irritated today." She shrugged.
Meg raised a brow, looking startlingly like Antoinette herself for a moment.
"You do have your reasons, mother" A moment later she was smiling happily, and she gave her mother an impulsive hug.
"Thank you so much! I know it was costly, but we can get by on a little less for just a while, I'm sure!"
"Mmm." Antoinette hummed, not really listening at the moment. Her mind was on a brindled red fabric, softer than a kitten's fur.
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