CHAPTER - 24 - A VIBRANT SPLASH
A/N : I am a thousand years late. I'm doing my best y'all. Please have fun with this. I put my soul into it.
P.S. These are NOT instructions. Do not follow them.
Kate pondered for a long time about Lady Danbury's words regarding the secrets she held from her mama and her sister. Truth be told, she agreed with the matriarch herself. But given their financial situation, and knowing Edwina's heart, Kate decided that the secrets were best kept to herself. However, the evening had taken a toll on her. Her bones had begun to grow weary, battling all the 'if's' and 'but's' being thrown around. Perhaps that was why she ventured to Edwina and Mary's rooms to seek their company. However, the other two women of the Sharma household could not be found. Surprise would have hit Kate, if not for Edwina's melodious laugh ringing from somewhere beneath the floor. Perhaps near the kitchens.
Curiosity took the better of Kate at this point, for Edwina's shrill laughter at this hour of the day was not common. That girl would have been asleep already on most days, and she could sleep through an Elephant's parade. Whatever kept her awake must be something extremely entertaining.
Kate rushed down the stairs and made her way towards the kitchens. But her feet halted half way through, near the dining hall, where a picturesque scene was unfolding. Her mama and Edwina were seated at the table, along with Lady Danbury who was looking rather bewildered, considering the circumstances in front of her. However, for Kate, it was as plain as day. Rather, she now understood why Edwina's laughter bellowed in the house at ungodly hours.
Spread out in front of the three women were several flowers and herbs - marigolds, hibiscus, red and pink roses, turmeric root, and what Kate could identify as rosemary and blue corn flowers. While Edwina was shredding the flowers into distinct piles based on their petal color, her mother was crushing marigold petals in a pestle and mortar borrowed from the kitchens.
"Mama!" Kate exclaimed in happiness, "How?"
"Ah, dearest, Come join us," smiled Mary, pausing the grinding to look at Kate. "I mentioned Holi to Lady Danbury in passing, and she took it upon herself to arrange for the flowers and herbs."
"Lady Danbury," Kate looked towards the elder matriarch speechless. "I cannot express how grateful I am that you arranged for all of this. Thankyou, truly," she finished as she bowed and took a seat alongside her mother.
"You are most welcome, Miss Sharma. Although I must admit that I was promised the secrets of this color-making process in exchange for the ingredients," the matriarch teased.
Kate let out a small laugh as she balled some of the crushed marigold petals and started to squeeze them to release their extracts into another bowl.
"Of course Lady Danbury. Now that Kate is here, I believe she would like to pass on the knowledge she learnt by spying on the palace cooks."
Edwina gasped at that. "Didi, that is how you learned?" she laughed out aghast.
"Need I remind you Edwina that it was you who wanted more color to play with. It would have been distasteful if I asked the palace for an entire bag of color just for you."
At that Edwina threw a rose butt on her face and pouted, at least until Mary glared at her.
"Edwina. You are not a child anymore" their mother chided at that. "Now Kate-"
"-It would be my pleasure to tell Lady Danbury about Holi, mama," she replied, catching on to her mother's wishes before she needed to voice them again.
"Perhaps it might be time for you to teach Edwina as well, considering she is having way too much fun simply plucking the petals off the flowers."
"Mama!" Edwina whined her discontent, as Mary dragged her to take over the grinding of the petals, rose and hibiscus this time.
"Lady Danbury, before I start, I must ask. How much has Mama already told you?" Kate asked as she squeezed out the last batch of ground marigold petals.
The matriarch considered that for a moment. "Well, I am aware that it is a festival of colors. And that is rather about it," she replied and took a seat alongside the girls' mother.
Kate smiled politely. "Well, you are correct on that account. It is a festival of colors, celebrated on the last full moon day of the Hindu year. It is on account of a mythological story that depicted victory of good over evil. The legends say that there was a prince called Prahlada, and he was a grand devotee of Lord Vishnu. However, his father, the king, did not want his son to pray to the god. He wanted everyone to pray to him and consider him the god. So when he could not get his son to stop praying to Lord Vishnu, he asked his sister Holika for help.
"See, Holika was blessed with a boon, that no fire would ever harm her, burn her. So the King asked her to take his son and sit on a pyre. And given her boon, Holika agreed. But when she and the prince sat on the pyre, the prince began praying to Lord Vishnu. Surprisingly, Holika stopped being immune to fire at that point, and instead the prince became immune to fire. And as Holika burned in the fire, it symbolized that people with bad intentions will never succeed."
"That is a… descriptive story to teach children about good and evil." Lady Danbury huffed out, stunned momentarily.
"It may be so, Lady Danbury, but that has not stopped anyone in India from telling this story to their children the evening before Holi", Mary responded.
"Why the evening before?"
"Oh, because that is when the bonfire is lit. People set up a large bonfire and sing and dance around it to celebrate the victory of good over evil, and the next morning, they apply color, also known as 'gulaal', on each other." Kate smiled. "Edwina, it is time to mix the colors."
At that, Edwina took off from her chair and came to sit beside Kate. "Yes, didi, tell me everything."
"Well, let us first take the muslin cloth and pass this marigold extract over it. We need to catch any petals that might have made it to the bowl."
"Yes, Yes, what next?" Edwina huffed as she quickly poured the flower extract though the cloth and then squeezed it for good measure.
"Edwina, slow down, Lady Danbury is also watching." Kate said as she pulled a tray of corn flour closer and transferred a moderate section of it into a large plate. As Lady Danbury moved closer to observe, Kate gave further instructions to Edwina. "Now, we add the marigold flower extract to the corn flour slowly and mix it as we go. We shall add a spoonful at a time because we do not want to make a dough out of it. We only need to mix it with our palms," Kate said, as she gently rubbed the mixture of corn flour and marigold drops between her palms, in sort of a crushing motion. "Like this. So that the corn flour is stained with the pigments from the flower, we do this until all of the corn flour reaches the shade of marigold petals. This way we get yellow gulaal."
"I assume that the hibiscus and rose extracts are to get a pink color then?" Lady Danbury asked Kate as she moved to take some of the yellow colored corn flour. "How does one play with this damp powder? It seems abrasive," she said with a worrisome look.
"Well", Mary interjected, "The flour is to be dried in sunlight once the pigments are mixed. That gets rid of the moisture."
"I assume the ovens are an alternative, then?"
Mary laughed. "Yes. In fact I do not think it would be possible to make gulaal any other way in England given the delicate summers here."
"Well then. That is marigold for yellow, and hibiscus and rose for pink."
"Well, I would love to make some green and blue as well, Lady Danbury. But I am unsure where to procure some Indigo. It grows very commonly in India, but… I cannot think of an alternative for it in England," Kate smiled hesitantly and looked at her mother. "I mean, the blue color you are preparing from corn flowers looks very beautiful mama, but is it deep enough to change the yellow from marigold to green?" Kate asked.
"I know dearest, I suspect the same. But we cannot go to a dyeing house in London to procure some of it now, can we?" she smiled. "However, I thought you might like some purple and red as alternatives?" she continued. "I asked Clara to boil some shredded beets and black carrots."
"That would be wonderful, Mama," Kate replied, only to find Clara walking in, holding a tray with two bowls, one carrying the beet concentrate, another with the black carrot concentrate. "Although Indigo would have helped me make some green as well. I wonder if some spinach-"
However, before she completed, Clara spoke up. "Miss, if I may..." she trailed off and Kate looked up at her. As Clara looked towards Lady Danbury, the matriarch took charge.
"Yes Clara. What do you want to say?"
"My Lady, I could not help overhear Miss Sharma wanting for a blue dye. Well, my sister works for the modiste and dyes some fabrics for her. I thought of something she once told me."
Kate's ears perked upon hearing that. "Dyeing fabrics for the modiste?" she posed.
"Yes Miss. I remembe' her tellin' me that they get a decent blue with red cabbage after mixing it with barber's alum. But I don't know how much or anythin' like that."
"I suppose we can try?" Kate wondered. "Clara, could you get me some of it? I mean, boil some red cabbage and heat it until the water reduces, just like you did for beets and these carrots?"
Clara looked towards Lady Danbury, who nodded in agreement, and soon scurried away.
"Mama, I figured it out." Kate exclaimed once again. But before Mary or Lady Danbury could pose a question, "Excuse me for a moment, please", she said as she hurried away into her chambers to open her trunk. Kate opened her box of spices and took out a tiny pouch tucked away in a corner. Opening that, she took out a few oddly shaped clear crystals from it. Potash Alum, also known as barber's alum. With that, she quickly replaced the remaining contents and tucked her trunk away once more, and came back down the stairs into the dining room.
"Potash Alum", she said, as she dropped the crystals on the table with a beaming smile.
"Fitkri, Kate?" Mary asked, confused.
"Yes, Mama. The barbers use this to stop bleeding in case they cut any clients while shaving. I snuck some of these in my trunk on our way to England, perhaps for safety I think, but I assume this is the alum Clara's sister was talking about."
"You will be making blue here in my dining room?" Lady Danbury asked both aghast and impressed.
"I certainly will try Lady Danbury."
For the next hour or so, the ladies of the Sharma household dyed the remaining corn flour with the juices extracted from the flower petals. Yellow, Red, Purple, and Pink were easily accomplished. The blue cornflowers, while they did not fully succeed in creating a deep color, still gave it a bluish hue. Finally, Clara brought out the waters of the Red cabbage.
"Here it is, Miss," she said, placing the bowl of purple extract on the table. Silence stretched between the women in the household.
"I suppose you can try Kate," Mary nudged.
"Barber's alum, right Clara"? Kate asked as she picked up the crystals she set down earlier. Not knowing what to really expect, she dropped one of the crystals into the bowl and waited for any change to appear. Nothing seemed to change.
Perhaps a little stirring would help, Kate wondered, and picked up a spoon to do the same. Still, no difference.
"Perhaps a couple more, Miss," Clara suggested. Kate obliged, adding the pearl sized crystals one by one and kept stirring.
"Why is nothing happening Didi?"
Hm. Kate shrugged. "Sometimes the color takes time to develop, Edwina, have faith," she smiled at her sister. "You will see how bright some of these will get next morning".
"Does it?" asked Lady Danbury. There was an undercurrent in her voice, Kate realized, for whatever reason.
"Of course, My Lady," Kate began as she kept stirring, "It takes time and proper environment sometimes," she continued. As the first hints of blue began to appear in the waters, Kate's heart raced not only at the excitement, but also because of wonder. Making blue without any Indigo, who would have thought there was another way. "See? It only took a while to develop into the right-" Lady Danbury's triumphant smile met her eyes as she looked towards her, and Kate recognized it for what it was. An extension of the conversation they had in her room, prior in the evening.
"-color, Lady Danbury", Kate finished. "Time to develop into the right color. Nothing else".
Just as the last granules of alum dissolved, a subtle shade of green began appearing from the blue tint.
"Didi! That is wonderful!" Edwina exclaimed. "Mama, it's green, did you see that?" Her happiness echoed around them all. "I wonder what else changes colors in nature. We have to try something new every year from now on, Didi".
Kate was mesmerized by it herself. However, she wanted to be sure once and for all. So she added a few drops of the created dye into her palm and mixed it with some corn flour. Lo and behold. Greenish hue.
Albeit it was not as deep as the shade of green she was used to back in India, this would wonderfully do. It bore a similar pastel resemblance to the blue shade created from the blue cornflowers.
"I think we have been successful, Mama, have we not," Kate asked Mary, holding her palm out.
"I certainly think so, dearest," Mary responded with a bright smile.
"Well, I thought one could only witness miracles at Christmas," Lady Danbury added, and everyone fell into a bout of laughter.
Soon enough, all of the dyed corn flour was sent to the ovens for setting the stain, and everyone settled into bed. Kate fell asleep in hope that morning would await them in full glory.
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If he could say so himself, and Anthony Bridgerton was very sure that he could, he won the soiree round against Miss Sharma. One notch on his belt, many more to go. Thus was how he began this morning as he decided to call upon Miss Edwina at the Danbury residence.
As the footman opened the door, a shrill sound of laughter rang around the house. That certainly was perplexing. But before he could even begin to wonder what it was all about, chaos surrounded him, and he could merely, barely, hold on to his sanity as he made sense of the noise around him.
"Edwina. Stop. This is not the right way", rang a voice. The unmistakable authoritarian note of the elder Miss Sharma's.
"Oh, didi, if you think you can stop me you only need to catch me". Miss Edwina's playful tone. Wait, catch? Anthony blinked, confused.
"Girls, this is prepos-" A gasp, followed by a clattering noise.
"Oh, you will pay for this, Bon!"
"Miss, we just mopped the floor!" A maid.
"Preposterous. This is no way to play-" Lady Mary's exasperated voice followed.
"-thought I said to keep the festivities to the garden-". Lady Danbury's voice cut in. Not that it seemed to have any impact on the overlapping voices coming from the far end of the hallway. Kitchens perhaps?
"Edwina. Set the turmeric down and come back right away-" Kate's voice rang in frustration, something that definitely entertained Anthony.
"-not today. Everyone in the household deserves some colorful spirit-"
Anthony stood still, unsure whether to retreat or not. He glanced back to the doorway once more as he contemplated, while the voices got closer and louder offering to make sense.
"Edwina it is turmeric-" came Kate's command.
"It is yellow-"
"It will stain-"
"It is bright-
"It is not like marigold, it won't wash away-"
"Which we have run out of-" Miss Edwina laughed delightfully, "hence this."
Commotion at the said door drew his attention quickly. Miss Edwina rushed out of the door at the far end of the hallway and ran towards the drawing room. Her hair was one with the wind, wild about, as her skin was streaked in powders of varying hues. Her white dress was stained the same, in hints of red, yellow, pink, and purple. Just as Anthony began to follow, Miss Sharma ran at Edwina's heel, as the left side of her face and shoulder seemed to be drenched. A few strands that escaped her braid were dripping with water as the elder Miss Sharma flicked away the residual droplets flowing down her arm. Her expression laced with frustration and urgency made much sense. Soon, Lady Mary followed her daughters hastily, her resignation evident in the press of her lips as she dusted off some yellow where Miss Edwina must have run past her. While neither women seemed to be so put together anymore, it could be said that everyone was dressed to the nines in comparison to the chaos that they followed into the drawing room.
It was then Anthony realized - all three women were dressed in white cotton dresses. Although Miss Edwina did seem to have crashed into a rainbow, Lady Mary and Miss Sharma merely seem to have dragged their hems over wet paintings. That, and the fact that none of the women seemed to realize his presence amidst them in the cacophony they created. Not that he himself seemed to find the sense to leave.
"Kate- If you don't let me celebrate with the household staff I will celebrate this with you once again." Miss Edwina's voice rang with a hint of playful mischief.
"No, you are not. I have just taken a bath, and it's time that you prepare for yours. Now give me that bowl."
"Try to take it and see what happens", the malice increased. "You too, mama!"
"Edwina! Give that back-"
"Not a chance." Laughter rang again and abruptly stopped.
That made Anthony curious as to what suddenly happened and he chose to walk into the room, dropping his guard. Big mistake.
"-Well didi, since you warned so nicely-"
Just as he reached the threshold, Miss Sharma who was backing away hastily, bumped into him. A momentary decision led him into holding her by the arm to steady her. Before Anthony could make sense of what she was running from, a cloud of yellow dust enveloped them both.
A gasp. Lady Mary. "Edwina! What did you do?"
Anthony opened his eyes to a shocking sight. As the dust settled, he stood face to face with Miss Kate Sharma, who was enveloped in vibrant yellow, looking at him with wide eyes. The same yellow which he was quite sure had dressed him in a similar state. A stained cravat and coat, and yellow tinted skin. Turmeric was it?
"Well, Lord Bridgerton," came Lady Danbury's voice from behind him, and all heads turned. "I shall wish you greetings of the season from the Sharma and Danbury household."
Too stunned to form any new thoughts at the moment, he blurted out the only statement on his tongue. "Ah, Lady Danbury, I came to call upon Miss Edwina."
The matriarch, who herself was flaunting no less colors than Edwina on her person, cleared her throat and tapped her cane as she looked around.
"It seemed you've arrived at an inopportune moment, Viscount Bridgerton. May I suggest another time, perhaps?" she nudged.
He glanced down upon himself, rest assured, covered in turmeric that could not merely be dusted away, and then he looked towards the sisters.
"My apologies, Lord Bridgerton- I did not mean-" Miss Edwina began.
"No apologies necessary. As Lady Danbury said, it was an inopportune moment," he replied, as his eyes darted towards the other sister. Miss Sharma who still stood unblinking. Shock perhaps.
Anthony found himself staring back at her. Her pristine white dress was staining yellow, with the turmeric that settled on her brown skin, permeating through her drenched shoulder which he could only assume was water that her sister splashed on her. A painting in golden hue.
Lady Danbury's cane tapping on the floor broke him out of his trance. As he collected his hat and pride, he bowed one last time in front of the ladies. "I shall take my leave, for now."
As he approached the door, he cast one last look behind him. That was when she caught his eye, and for a fraction of a moment, there was a flicker of something in them. And within a blink, it was gone again.
Anthony tore his gaze away as he stepped out towards his carriage, forgetting all about how the morning was supposed to be another victory, yet unable to count it as anything but.
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A/N : Again, these are NOT instructions. Do not follow them.
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