Perfectly Imperfect

10

     The assistant smiled at them brightly. "Welcome! Welcome, ladies!" She spoke in an all-too-obvious French accent. "What can we help you with today?" She asked before her eyes fell to the ring on Aera's finger, and she gasped all too dramatically. "Oh my! So it is true, you are engaged to the Baron! My, what a match..." She rambled, holding Aera's hand and inspecting the ring from every angle. "I have never quite seen a ring like this. It truly is beautiful. We must make you a gown to fit such beauty, you can trust us!"

     Genevieve, no longer blinded by the glamour of her dear friend's ring, browsed the fabrics that sat on the racks. However, she did hum over her shoulder, "it is a beautiful ring, isn't it?" She allowed her fingers to run over the fabrics, paying special attention to the purple and lavender selections. "It will be lovely to have a new Lady Alhorn. The title has been empty for far too long, and I have grown tired of keeping Elias in line," she smiled at her dear friend. Humming as she allowed the modiste and her assistant to fawn over Aera.

     Aera sighed when Genevieve continued talking down on Elias but didn't stand up for him. She knew far too well how Gen struggled with having to do so much because Elias was a bit of a hopeless case sometimes. "Perhaps it will be he who will keep me in line," Aera suggested with a grin as the assistant eyed her suspiciously. "I am just kidding, of course. The most excitement I get is reading a book into the late hours of the night." Aera said, and the assistant nodded, not entirely buying it.

     "Up up now," said the assistant as she lead Aera onto the small stage in the middle of the room, "let us find you a fabric." As the Modiste began to take measurements, the assistant joined Genevieve in searching for fabric.

     "Well, did you have a fabric in mind? Or a dress in mind?" They asked, and Aera shook her head. "Uh..." Aera glanced at Genevieve. "But she would like a new dress! Something purple, or perhaps a shade of lavender." What better tactic than to try and distract them?

     Genevieve waved her off, "my dress can wait. You will be married by the end of the season. That only leaves us with six weeks to get everything sorted!" Even if not for Elias, Genevieve had been right. Their deal was that she would find someone to wed by the end of the season. At this proclamation, the Modiste took her measuring tape and began to measure around Aera's waist. However, measuring was a one-person job, and the assistant helped to find Genevieve some fabric for a dress. The modiste spoke more casually, "Well, at least let us write your measurements. Surely they will not change in six week's time," at least not for Aera anyway.

     Aera wanted to give Genevieve a small glare, but it wasn't really possible with the modiste and her assistant keeping a close eye on them. "Six weeks is a lot of time," She tried to reason. It didn't feel like a lot of time at all, especially not since she had to find herself a new husband. She merely nodded when the modiste began taking her measurements. She wasn't sure how well she could take them with her fully dressed, but she didn't really care.

     As she measured away, they did at least begin to chat with Genevieve about her dress. They mused if it was for a special occasion, to which Genevieve informed them that it was for a special lord, not an occasion. Almost as if summoned, that very Lord appeared outside of the shop, strolling along a bit too slowly to just be mindlessly passing by. As Genevieve saw him from the fabric rack, she looked down at the floor to conceal her smile from the assistant as her face flushed pink.

     Aera listened to Genevieve's conversation, frowning a bit when she explained why she wanted a new dress. She felt so bad for her best friend. Giselle wouldn't hesitate for a moment to let Dennis marry Genevieve the moment Elias and Aera would break off their engagement, and Aera doubted she could convince Elias to stop that from happening. Maybe if she told him the truth about her brother, about the kind of man he was, what he'd done... She looked up just in time to see Lord Villot pass by and Genevieve blushing. "Gen?" She called out to her friend. Could she give her an out? "While I am getting these measurements and such, do you think you could run to the market and see if they have strawberries for sale today?" She didn't need her to do it, but it would give her the perfect excuse to go and see the Lord she so longed for.