Elise managed to relax, and Jennie took out a round can.
She’s still young, so only use the rouge.
Yes, madam.
Jennie scooped a bit of that red thing in the can and started to apply it on Elise’s lips. Mrs. Shaynie had said such a thing was only for impudent girls. She especially hated red because she thought that color was indecent.
‘… are they playing with me as if I was their toy?’
Will they laugh at me after all this? Or are they about to take my hand, drag me out, and show everyone how cheap I look?
She only knew how to make bad guesses. Misfortune and being mistreated were her friends, but fortune and hospitality were far away just like the nymphs’ island across the ocean.
All done, all done.
Jennie went away and Rubica excitedly took Elise to a large mirror. The girl looked at it, wondering how funny and cheap she would look.
‘Huh?’
But there was a doll standing there.
‘No way.’
She neither looked funny nor cheap. She was surprisingly beautiful. Her horizontally cut fringe was highlighting her lightly elevated blue eyes. Moreover, the pink dress amazingly matched her white skin.
All that with the hair braided like a rose by Linda, the red rose-shaped hairpin, and rose embroidery of the stomacher created a fantastic beauty. The lightly applied rouge didn’t look wrong, instead it made her look even prouder.
Was the girl in the mirror really herself?
She didn’t just look like a noblewoman, she looked like a princess. She couldn’t speak for some time. Only a while ago, a dull and ugly girl had looked back at her each time she looked into a mirror. But now, she was seeing someone completely different. She was just so surprised that she couldn’t believe it.
Do you like it?
Elise just stared at the mirror and said nothing. So, Rubica carefully asked worried the girl might not like the dress. That question brought Elise to her senses.
She looked around to find everyone was expectantly looking at her, especially Linda who had braided her hair and Jennie who had applied soft cream to her face and the right rouge on her lips.
Thank…
Elise tried to say thank you first, but she quickly shut her mouth.
‘Her Grace might get offended if I thank the maids.’
Mrs. Shaynie had taught her to be harsh on the maids. Even when showing gratitude, you should only thank the most superior of them all and thank others only when you get the chance. However, she never taught about how to get that chance and how to show gratitude.
-You will anger your superiors if you don’t behave according to manners!
Mrs. Shaynie’s words rang in her ears. Elise wanted to show that she was grateful, but she feared she might let everyone down. Her thoughts were now entangled.
… you don’t like it? You don’t like the dress?
Rubica carefully asked when Elise looked like she was almost about to cry instead of smiling.
Excuse me?
I’ll prepare something else if you don’t like it.
The dress Rubica had chosen fitted Elise very much. It shined as soon as she wore it as if it had finally found its true owner, but the girl could be thinking differently. Beauty was a subjective concept. Rubica was willing to let her go through her dresses until she found something she liked. It looked like she was about to go back to her dressing room, so Elise quickly waved her hands.
No, no. How can someone like me not like such a precious dress…
You like it?
… yes,
she replied in a small voice.
Rubica and her maids all let out a sigh of relief. Elise hadn’t known they would care so much about every word she said, and it made her even more nervous. She had always changed her expression and words according to how others reacted to her. No one had cared why she laughed and cried.
And how about your hair? I think I focused too much on doing as I wanted…
I, I like it.
Elise glanced at Rubica and added in a small voice so that only Linda could hear it,
It’s very pretty and amazing.
Right? I wonder how you came up with such an idea. Your hair and the rose-shaped pin together make it look like flowers have bloomed on your head.
Elise was complementing a maid first instead of thanking the duchess, but Rubica was not mad. She rather agreed with her and joined her. Elise couldn’t understand what was going on and stared at her. Judging from the duchess’ expression, she was neither scolding nor getting along with the mood. She genuinely meant it. Strangely, Elise’s shoulders felt lighter. She made a very tiny and faint smile to be relieved of that heavy burden.
Oh!
Rubica covered her mouth with both her hands. Then, she started shaking hard. Elise was worried she might have done something wrong, and the maids were also surprised. The duchess was a little strange, but she had never done that before. Ann was worried she might be sick and turned pale, she was about to call the doctor immediately.
Yes, it’s that smile!
However, what she yelled was something none of them had expected. Rubica quickly took the girl’s hands again.
Could you, could you smile like that again?
Excuse me?
It looked so pretty!
Rubica was very much excited, and Elise looked at her shocked. Was she really the duchess who had coldly kicked out Mrs. Shaynie? She had seen it with her own eyes, but she really couldn’t get used to that huge difference.
Please! Smile like that again.
Elise hesitated, but Rubica held her hands together and begged. It almost made the girl faint. She had made the duchess beg. She really didn’t know what to do, and the duchess had even saved her from that pit.
‘I can even smile in front of scaffolds if that’s what she wants.’
Elise raised the corners of her lips as high as she could. She recalled what she had done and managed to smile with her eyes as well.
No, no. Don’t force yourself to smile like that. Try being proud like you just did.
… proud?
Yes, proud. You look really good when you are proud.
That was unexpected. Kindness and elegance were some of the virtues a lady should have. Elise had been taught to always speak kindly and softly. Mrs. Shaynie had harshly pointed out if she spoke just a little sharply.
‘You look sharp because the corners of your eyes are raised high. Who will marry you if you keep your mouth shut like that?’
It gave her the habit of worrying if she had offended the other person each time she spoke a word. She really hated her appearance that made her look unapproachable.
She had tried so hard looking at the mirror to look nice and kind. However, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t become like those born with kind-looking faces, and the duchess was now asking her to smile proudly.
Being proud is… being proud is…
Elise tried to say it wasn’t good, but then she closed her mouth again. The duchess looked so excited and she didn’t want to let her down. Now she really didn’t know what to think. She was supposed to act differently from the right behaviors she had learned so far.
-Splendid women will immediately catch men’s attention. However, such women are just toys for the night. In the end, men choose kind and modest women.
Elise had followed that teaching. She had been told she would eventually be rewarded if she tried to be modest, but the duchess was ordering her what was contrary to all that.
‘… but she is the one who rescued me.’
Mrs. Shaynie had told her she should become a nice and obedient woman, but she wasn’t the one who had saved her. Among the many men she had met, there had been some who said she had to become even nicer, but none of them had gratefully proposed to her. When she realized that, she got a small rebellious spirit inside her. If I can’t do it no matter how hard I try, then let’s not do it at all.
‘If she likes a proud girl, that’s who I should become.’
That was much more realistic. She was Rubica’s lady-in-waiting and, as her lady-in-waiting, it was her duty to please her mistress. She relaxed her eyes and freed her frozen lips. Then, she smiled naturally like she sometimes did in her childhood.
Oh!
Rubica shrieked like a girl did when looking at handsome and dashing opera actors. Even the maids shortly lost their words at seeing that.
That’s it!
But at the moment, Rubica had no spare energy left to notice the mood. She was completely focused on Elise’s beauty that was just about to bloom.
Jennie! You were right. Using only a bit of rouge was the best choice. Doesn’t it highlight that light smile of hers?
What? Oh, yes, yes.
Jennie quickly came to her senses. She had been so shocked by Rubica’s sudden reaction that she hadn’t examined the girl yet. She then looked at Elise again. She still looked nervous and was still slouching, but soon Jennie realized what Rubica was talking about.
