Chapter 116: Chapter 116
Once she got an idea, her body moved fast. She jumped to her feet and found a pair of scissors in Khanna’s toolbox.
Sadly, there was no silver fabric, but there was a white fabric that glittered because of the mixed silver threads.
Rubica cut out a huge piece to make a knot. She folded it so that the cut part wasn’t shown and started to move her hands quickly. Khanna didn’t even get time to stop her. And soon, you could see something similar to the knot that had decorated Angela’s hair but was about three times bigger.
“This is…”
“How about decorating the stomacher with this?”
Khanna looked at the knot. Similar knots were sometimes used to decorate the edge of furniture or curtains. It was rarely used to decorate sleeves, but it had never been used as the ornaments of a stomacher. It was something new. Still-
“I think it would be pretty.”
Rubica’s knot was nothing like any knot Khanna had seen till now.
“Right? I can make one with silver fabric and it will glisten like a jewel in the light.”
“Yes. And if I decorate the stomacher with this, it will highlight Ms. Solana’s beauty and cover the flaw of her shape.”
Elise was tall and thin, and it was charming. However, she wasn’t ample. Her flat breasts were one of her worries. Adding jewels to the flat stomacher wasn’t going to help with that, but the knot could perfectly have that problem covered.
“We should put the biggest knot on top, then a middle-sized one under it, then a small one. It would make a good balance.”
“Yes, right?”
“How about changing the design itself like this?”
Khanna felt excited, and the passion inside her, that she thought was gone, flamed again. She took out a pen and started to draw a new sketch since she had only brought designs for Rubica while Elise had her own matching designs.
“We should put small knots at the end of the sleeves. I think it would be better to decorate the part with frills embroidered with silver thread rather than using laces.”
That simple explanation was enough for Rubica to imagine the finished dress. It was not only splendid but also attractive, and she couldn’t wait to see Elise in that dress.
“You should make it. I will convince Elise.”
Rubica’s eyes burned with passion. When that happened, her eyes were red like a ruby instead of being auburn. But Khanna, who had just been passionate with her, didn’t agree and just smiled awkwardly.
“But it’s something new.”
“It’s pretty. Shouldn’t it be fine?”
Although Rubica was knowledgeable about beauty, she didn’t know much about the aristocrats’ society. She just had vague ideas about it. She only participated at a couple of balls for barons and baronets while she nursed her mother. Those kinds of parties were for socializing. They took place only for young men and women to meet. Rubica knew only the brightest and the best side of society, but she didn’t know what lay beneath it. Could she even guess what kind of scheme and darkness was in there?
She had met tough sailors and evil soldiers, but evil had the power of adjusting to every situation. Therefore, Rubica didn’t know about the demons of society.
Luckily, Khanna knew about them. Expensive dresses and the society were inseparable. To make clothes for high nobles, designers went from this to that mansion and heard many rumors. And, her late husband would sometimes tell her those rumors.
-The marquess didn’t know the party’s dress code had changed and ended up getting greatly humiliated.
-Oh my, Countess Portman must have been very sorry.
However, her husband carefully whispered her something else.
-Actually, she was quite delighted.
-What?
-It had been her who forged that scheme.
Moreover, designers were not free from such rumors. When a designer suddenly became famous, all kinds of rumors about him flooded out through boutiques. Some noble ladies believed those fake rumors and even stopped ordering dresses from that designer.
“People might dislike such a sudden change. This knot is very pretty and would look good on Miss Solana but, in the end, it’s only made of fabric. Even if we use silver thread, it would be nothing compared to using jewels.”
“But this dress will be much prettier than other dresses with tons of jewels.”
Rubica was still naïve, and Khanna shook her head. Rubica didn’t know the truth about society yet. It wasn’t like one could get all the attention with just being pretty in there. Even the most beautiful girl was ignored if she didn’t have enough dowry. That story about how a girl’s life could totally change as long as she was pretty was a fantasy created by men.
“People don’t care about how beautiful a dress is if it doesn’t have many jewels on it. They would say you couldn’t afford to use jewels. No matter how good the fabric is, no matter how beautiful it is, it would be considered shabby.”
“Oh.”
Rubica could now see what Khanna was saying.
“Moreover, people might scold you and say you tried to use some strange knots because you couldn’t afford to use jewels. In this case, the dress being pretty and being noticeable would bring even worse consequences.”
That couldn’t be good as Elise lacked confidence even now, and Rubica didn’t think she would be able to endure hearing all that.
“What should I do?”
“There’s nothing much we can do. Um, I think this dress would be too much for Ms. Solana for now. I will bring simple designs she wouldn’t reject.”
“Okay.”
Rubica answered, quite disappointed. She couldn’t take her eyes off Khanna’s design and the knot she had made, so Khanna tried to sound lively to change the mood.
“But what should I do about your dress?”
“Huh? My dress? Um, like I said earlier, just make a few dresses. You choose the design. I think it is a little too early to make dresses for a pregnant woman. I will order them once my belly pops up.”
Khanna wanted to say Rubica had to have them made in advance, but she didn’t.
‘But everyone will be so eager to meet her and congratulate her…’
Although Rubica had met the relatives who were living in the annexes of the mansion or nearby, she hadn’t met any great nobles who had political influence and was famous in society. The sowing process had just ended, peasants could relax a little, and the duchess was pregnant. There was no way they would miss this good chance. Rubica had to wear even better dresses to meet them and show dignity.
‘Next time.’
However, the duchess had just announced her pregnancy and was really busy. Trying to make her order even more dresses now couldn’t be good, so Khanna decided to talk about it again when she came back with new dress designs for Elise. She would also bring more fabrics for Rubica, not just the royal blue she had purchased in an instant just because it was pretty.
“Then I will send a message when the dress is finished next week.”
Khanna curtseyed, packed her things, and left the room.
“Woof woof!”
As soon as she came out, four or five dogs, that had been waiting outside, ran into the room.
‘Is it okay for a pregnant woman to be with dogs?’
Of course, commoners like Khanna had no choice, but noble ladies had to be different. One noble lady was even forced not to leave her bedroom until she safely gave birth to her baby.
Moreover, another family even sent the pregnant mistress to a faraway villa in the mountains lest she caught some kind of disease. Compared to them, the Claymore Family was quite free.
“Ms. Elise is in the reception room with Mrs. Taylor. Would you like me to take you there?”
The dogs weren’t the only ones who had been waiting. Khanna recalled what Elise had said before leaving at hearing a maid ask that.
“Oh, but I have many belongings…”
“Please don’t worry about that. This man will take them to your carriage.”
A servant lifted up the bag full of sample fabrics and ornaments and carried it away. The family’s servants had been educated well. Khanna then followed the maid to the reception room without any worries.
‘She said Ms. Solana is with Mrs. Taylor. Is it about the payment? Then she should have told me to go to Mrs. Taylor. Why did she ask me to go to her?’
It was weird as Ann the housekeeper handled the actual use of the budget. In front of Rubica, she was the kind housekeeper and agreed with every decision she made. She didn’t say anything to her even when she ordered very expensive jewels recommended by jewelers. However, she always called the merchants later to compare the cost of raw materials with the market price and was extremely strict when setting the specific price and due date. It was practically impossible to commit fraud on Claymore.
However, while other noble families often ordered a bunch of expensive stuff and delayed paying or issued a promissory note with a faraway payday, Claymore was different. It always paid immediately after making a deal for buying raw materials and, when the good was finished and sent, the rest of the payment was immediately paid.