The Iron Man [Serial]

Libraries

I was alone in Murphy's room when a knock came at the door. I went still. "Who is it?"

"Hypatia."

I quickly flopped to the bed and straightened my clothes, trying to seem like I hadn't just been dancing around the room in Damascus heels. "Enter."

As the door opened, I considered that the chair might have been a better choice, but it was too late. I did my best to look casual, reclining on the bed, wearing bright red knee-high riding boots with metal soles.

Hypatia barely looked at me. "Master Julien, please allow me to inform you that I will soon be returning to the Palais d'Antoniadis with Chief Quim, Mr. Garin, and Miss. Dolores. Dinner will be served then, and you will be expected to dress appropriately."

"Thank you, Hypatia."

"We do have a ballroom, but should you want to dance in those shoes, I should have to order some planks laid down so you do not chip our marble."

I could not help a guilty laugh. I was glad when Hypatia left and shut the door. I lifted one leg to admire the heeled boot. The pair were the fiercest shoes I had ever seen. Literally; they were like dancing shoes for an evil queen, which could also deflect swords and kick skulls from horseback. It was shocking they were not part of Hauteorian Guard uniform, though they also wore red boots. 

I believed I understood what Alpha meant when he described the feeling of wearing leather. Togs we donned on our outside could affect how we felt on the inside: a uniform, the clothes of another caste, the clothes of a loved one, a costume.

I knew Hypatia would be some time driving across Alex and back. So, there was time to wash and dress before dinner. I had already unpacked Murphy's luggage and straightened his room. Now, I got up from his bed and walked to the bookshelves. The heels tapped at the wooden floor as I left the carpet near the bed.

I remembered Hedone saying how xe and Murphy used to talk about their reading. It was curious, because I so often saw Murphy reading popular picture-novels, but here in his own room, among university texts, and holy books in at least two languages, were many European novels in French and English.

These were not like the works Alpha made me read in lessons. Those were classical, and sometimes printed in Greek or Latin. Some of these Authors' names from Murphy's library I had heard in passing: Alexandre Dumas, Jules Verne, Lewis Carroll, and Charles Dickens.

There were many others I did not recognize: George Eliot, Anthony Trollope, Thomas Hardy, George Gissing, Stendhal, William Makepeace Thackeray, and Jane Austin.

A few novels I could see had physical wear suggesting they were read or studied often: Erewhon by Samuel Butler, Salammbo by Gustav Flaubert, Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins, and something with a ridiculously long title by James Hogg.

And then there were some of these which seemed to be written anonymously: Teleny, The Sins of the Cities of the Plain, and The Green Carnation.

I took the last from the shelf. With this, and still wearing Murphy's Damascus heels, I descended to the second floor where I found my own guest room.  I collected what thing I needed to wash and went to the nearby washroom for a bath.

I read the first chapter of the book while I soaked, careful not to wet the borrowed novel. I was struck immediately by certain parallels; the passages described a young man from a neighborhood in London dressing for the evening, and much detail was given to texture and color. A green carnation, lemon lighting, silver brushes, silk dressing gown, ruddy wood furniture, gilt hair, silk stockings, the shine of a shoe, blue eyes, lavender gloves, buff overcoat, a lady in black, pink roses....

The remainder of the chapter was given over to dialogue between four principle characters discussing how they enjoyed theatre, puns, epigrams, and wittiness. It bored me, but I imagined Murphy might think it funny.

I returned to my room in my cotton dressing-gown and chose my clothes for dinner.

When Hypatia returned with the others, I descended the stairs to the main hall, still wearing the tall boots and kilt, but now in my grey suit jacket, with burgundy waistcoat, pink necktie with flamingo clip, and pale pink shirt.

Dolores hugged me nearly before I could open my arms; I could feel her leather cincher and the hoops of her farthingale. "Oh, you look fantastic. Did you grow taller?"

"It's the shoes."

Dolores stepped back. "Hypatia told us about Murphy. We should be able to head to Cairo tomorrow afternoon."

Garin, nearby, offered his hand. "You do look haute, Jade."

"Thanks, Garin." I smiled as I shook his hand. "It's good to see you, too."

Alpha made his entrance from the end of the hall, with his mother on his arm. I felt she might be frowning at me, or just in general, but Alpha smiled. He looked like a prince in an indigo tailcoat with gold buttons and embroidery.

I saw others were near: Nikola, Queen Elena, Chief Quim, Prim, Hypatia, Hedone, and Valentine with a touch of his usual leopard-print on his waistcoat. Hypatia made introductions for those who had not met. Garin confessed he had read much about Mr. Tesla's work in telegraphy and electronics.

We moved to a dining room where Alpha sat me in Murphy's customary seat at his side, which also put me opposite Ariella's scrutinizing gaze. Prim, seated beside Dolores, shared his experiences investigating the Hypogeum of Ħal-Saflieni on Malta. "It is five thousand years old!" He said, "An underground temple carved almost entirely from the natural bedrock! It has some fascinating acoustic properties!"

"Julien," Alpha said quietly.

"Ha."

"I have to appear as Sultan tomorrow morning. Ground breaking for a new library. Would you go with me?"

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Last of the special Thanksgiving updates. I'll return to the more routine schedule of Friday and Tuesday updates after this.

The media for this I sort of picked on a whim. But, I think the sound in the music goes with tapping shoes, and the lyrics evoke a similar feel to this chapter (and the chapter Julien is reading) with many colorful words. It's Something Blue by Siouxsie & the Banshees.

The Green Carnation, described here as being written anonymously, was later known to have been written Robert Hichens. The novel was scandalous when first published, because the main characters were allegedly based upon the real life Oscar Wilde and Lord Alfred Douglas, whom Hichens knew. (Did we think the 1D fanfic on Wattpad original?) Robert Hichens also enjoyed travel to Egypt, and wrote books on the country, such as The Spell of Egypt. This may be relevant to our story, later.

Damascus heels may be a real thing, possibly called 'jizmet', but I've never seen a picture, and only found one written description (through a wikipedia citation). I'll put it in the external link, but it's some kind of European-written report of Palestine in 1903. The page of interest is 163. Whether the shoes are historically accurate or not, they do exist in The Iron Man story.

Egyptian blue is a name for a specific historical blue pigment, though I don't think in this case it was a textile pigment. Anyway, just throwing this out there, now, given the media/song and because it may become relevant in future chapters.