Lady Esmeralda stood immediately at Lady Morley's presence in her shop. She gave a curt bow and stepped out of her workspace.
"Lovely morning to you, Lady Morley," she greeted with a small smile—one Lady Morley did not return. The lady held a look of disdain upon her features.
"I am certain it is well past the hour of eleven to be greeted with morning, Esmeralda," Lady Morley spat.
Esmeralda's eyes widened, and she bowed again. "Forgive my mistake, Lady Morley. I have been too busy to check the hands of the clock."
"Oh, spare me the explanations, dear, I do not require them."
Esmeralda's lips thinned at the other woman's words. She followed her with her eyes as she moved to the couch and made herself at home.
"My dress, Esmeralda. I am fairly sure I did not visit your shop to be stared at," Lady Morley said, gifting her a pointed look.
Esmeralda cleared her throat and nodded. "Very well." She turned to go to the dressing table, momentarily chastising herself for putting her head in the bin. She did not know what was wrong with her that morning.
She picked up the packaged cloth and handed it to Lady Morley, who unwrapped it and inspected the gown. She turned it around, a satisfied glimmer flickering in her eyes, and Esmeralda knew she had done well.
"Would you like to try it on, Lady Morley?" Esmeralda inquired with a small smile.
Lady Morley twitched her lips and narrowed her eyes. "Why would I wish to try it on, Esmeralda? Did you not take my measurements appropriately? Are you implying that I have grown fatter?"
Esmeralda's eyes widened and she stifled a gasp, shaking her head immediately. "Of course not, Lady Morley. I would imply no such thing, for it would be most rude of me. I was merely asking, as it is the manner in which I usually work. Forgive me if my question seemed ill-placed."
"It most certainly did come across as rude," Lady Morley scoffed. "But you are forgiven. Lucky you—I do not take such things to heart, or else you would have heard from my papa."
Esmeralda closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Of course she knew about Lady Morley's papa—everyone did. She knew that if she so much as looked at her the wrong way, she would be face-to-face with one of the King's noblemen.
Lady Morley handed the dress back to Esmeralda, finalising that she would not be trying it on. What a pompous woman, Esmeralda thought. She repackaged the dress and handed it back to Lady Morley, who stood, straightened her own gown, and received it.
Lady Morley opened her purse, withdrew a small transparent pouch, and tossed it to Esmeralda, who caught it swiftly. She looked down at the pouch, already aware of its contents—silver coins, a hundred of them, though she had told Lady Morley she would be dealing in gold.
They were all the same in the end—silver and gold—though gold was the equal of ten silver coins, and it would have saved her time in counting. But, as usual, Lady Morley was just being Lady Morley.
Esmeralda counted the coins before the woman—not out of distrust, but because it was a process that must be done.
"Thank you for working with me, Lady Morley. I should love to see you again soon."
Lady Morley graced her with no response and exited the room.
Sometime later, another visitor arrived at Lady Esmeralda's door. She inquired whether Esmeralda knew of the ball, to which Esmeralda replied most certainly.
"Oh, what colour would be of your preference, my lady?" Esmeralda asked, standing before the woman, who had made herself comfortable.
"May I see the materials you have in your hold at present?" she asked, a frown etched upon her forehead.
"Why, yes, of course." Esmeralda hastily gathered all the materials she had in the shop and set them out before the lady. After a few moments, she selected an aubergine fabric with stripes of black—a colour that exuded elegance.
"It is a very beautiful colour," the lady murmured, and Esmeralda nodded in agreement.
The woman picked up Esmeralda's style magazine and selected the design she preferred.
After they haggled and settled upon a price, the lady departed. Esmeralda halted progress on her own dress and began work on the lady's commission.
That day, too, concluded on a satisfactory note for Esmeralda, though she wondered why Jeanette had not come over.
★
A brief recollection of the first week after the whole Kingdom of Eldengale heard news of the Grand Duke's fête: Lady Esmeralda, like many other seamstresses, found her hands quite full. More women than fingers could count visited Esmeralda's humble shop, demanding that garments be made according to their wishes. By week's end, she was thoroughly exhausted and took a day of respite come the weekend.
She had finished both her own and Jeanette's dresses. Hers was a myriad of emerald and cream; Jeanette's, a blend of magenta and cream. The style was exactly the same. She was thrilled to wear hers—her body tingling with anticipation at whom she might meet, and whether, perchance, someone might at last make her heart flutter.
She sighed, the overlapping hum of the sewing machine echoing in her ears. It was a Wednesday, the final workday before the fête to be held on Sunday.
A knock came upon Esmeralda's open door, and a striking lady stepped inside.
"Lovely to meet you, ma'am. How may I be of service?" Esmeralda asked as she rose from her work chair.
"Oh dear, I saw one of the dresses displayed outside and instantly fell in love," the lady exclaimed.
A small smile tipped Esmeralda's lips, dimples appearing faintly. "Yes, of course. I shall bring it out so you may try it on."
Esmeralda did so, and indeed the dress fit the woman perfectly—as though it had been made especially for her.
"Oh, it's so beautiful! The colours, the cut—everything!" the lady gushed, and Esmeralda agreed.
The lady removed the dress, donning her original gown once more, and they haggled over the price. The initial sum was two hundred gold coins—for Esmeralda, the gown was worth more—but she settled upon one-fifty. After payment was confirmed, the lady departed.
Jeanette arrived later, and Esmeralda closed the shop early that day, for they had decided to purchase shoes. They made their way to the renowned Logan's Fine Footwear—the most esteemed cobbler in Isolde's Market. He made the finest footwear known in the region.
Jeanette and Esmeralda stepped inside after knocking upon the open door. A woman, who had clearly purchased more than one pair, exited the shop with a laugh.
"Welcome to Logan's Fine Footwear. We have everything you may need!" Logan—a very handsome young man with brown hair streaked with grey, and the owner—led the two ladies inside and seated them upon a plush white couch, his eyes particularly drawn to Jeanette.
"I am known as Logan. And you, miladies?" he asked, scurrying about to gather various boxes filled with shoes.
"I am Esmeralda," she answered first, just as he returned and laid the boxes before them.
"I am Jeanette."
Logan gave a wolfish grin. "Such a lovely name you bear, Lady Jeanette."
Jeanette blinked, exchanging a glance with the smiling Esmeralda at Logan's remark.
The two ladies tried on many shoes—nearly half the shop's offerings—in search of the perfect pair, which they indeed found. By the end, they departed with two fine boxes of footwear each.
"I think he likes you," Esmeralda said with a small smile as they made their way to the brunch restaurant within the market.
"The shoemaker? You know not what you speak of," Jeanette replied, shifting her weight from one side to the other.
"Oh, I most definitely do. His interest in you was so palpable I might have mistaken it for the very rug beneath our feet. He is a handsome fellow, anyway." Esmeralda ended with a light chuckle, and Jeanette sighed.
"Indeed, he is."
★
Staying for brunch did not consume much time. Esmeralda later escorted Jeanette home. Upon knocking, the door opened to reveal an older woman bearing much resemblance to Jeanette.
"Wonderful evening to you, Mrs. Ashcroft," Esmeralda greeted with a curt bow.
"Evening to you as well, Esme dear. I trust you two had a fine outing?" Mrs. Ashcroft asked, and both nodded.
"Indeed, we did," Jeanette said, then turned to Esmeralda and placed a quick kiss upon her cheek.
"We shall see one another soon, Esme."
"See you later, Jean."