Blooms of the Empyreal

Chapter 4: Dresses

Mariana jumped her feet, her throat closing around a scream that built up there. Her leg throbbed in response, sending shooting pain up and down her whole body at the sudden movement, but she still hobbled away from the Duke. The ice pack slipped down her leg as she stared at him.

The Duke remained kneeling, his eyes locked on something in the vicinity of her hips. “What does my lady desire?” he whispered, his voice low and silky, sending shivers through Mariana’s whole body. And not entirely from fear either.

He was so beautiful-

Their eyes locked; the purple of his narrowing a little as some thought crossed his mind. That thought altered the expression on his beautiful face to one of desire, and Mariana's heart thundered in her chest. It was suddenly a lot warmer in her room, and the walls seemed to be closing in around them.

Mariana opened her mouth to say something, her mind a mix of anger, fear, and though she wouldn’t admit it to herself, equal desire. But there was a soft knock at the door very briefly before it opened that stopped her from making any reply.

The Duke was back in his chair, sipping tea like nothing had happened.

Had Mariana imagined it? 

She could still feel the hot line of the Duke’s lips through her scrubs. She was mostly sure she hadn’t invented it.

The tailor Collins stepped into the room with a bow. “My lady Mariana, we have found several dresses that have been kept in storage, awaiting your arrival. We have few nearly your size, and several of these will hopefully be serviceable until I have completed yours.”

Mariana’s eyes widened at the piles of fabrics in his arms. There were glistening skirts, embroidered shoes, pearls, gold threads, and delicate beadwork adorning what looked like giant puddles of silks and lace.

Oh no.

The tailor brought the pile over to the bed and laid them all down, each dress worse than the last. With a broad smile, the young man held out a green dress, dripping from head to toe with black lace, ribbons, and bows of ebony silks. Mariana blinked at it, unsure of whether to laugh or cry.

“Ah-” she swallowed and tried hard to be as kind as possible. “Have you anything- hmm- simpler? All this beading and trim looks- cumbersome.”

Collins bowed, holding up dress after dress. Mariana was deeply dismayed at the heavy level of detailing on each of the outfits, all of them looking like someone had dumped a whole craft store’s worth of sequins and glitter on the fabric. Was this the style of the women’s clothing here before whatever tragedy took them all away? She was appalled at the opulence and waste in each of these dresses. They looked massively heavy and uncomfortable.

“That one, that one please,” Mariana cried suddenly, pointing.

 Finally, the tailor pulled out something a little more sensible than the rest. While still heavily embroidered, this dress was tea-length, without all the ruffles and beads Mariana was fearing she’d have to wear just to have a suitable dress for her new home.

The color was a deep amethyst, and it somehow complimented the hues of the Duke’s outfit becomingly.

The tailor handed her the dress, looking relieved. Mariana stepped into the bathroom and slipped into the outfit, finding the fit a little oversized but close enough for now.

One of the servants had slipped into the bathroom while she was picking a dress and left her a variety of pins and hair adornments, each of them jeweled and glittering. There was a simple bird adornment in the shape of a long-tailed bird, and it was the same delightful purple color as the dress. She pulled her hair down from its hasty knot and fluffed the curls carefully before adding the pin to the hair around her temple.

The tailor, his helper, and the Duke’s eyes all widened as she walked back into the room.

Silence enveloped the space. “Do I look okay?” she asked, knowing the answer by the look in the Duke’s cat eyes. She wasn’t sure she liked being looked at like that. It made half of her want to crawl back into her scrubs. But the other half-

She squashed down the other half, a blush coming to her cheeks as the servants nodded enthusiastically. Feeling foolish, Mariana sat down on the edge of her bed, smoothing the skirts with uncertain hands. She'd never in her life worn anything like this, and the fabric felt like she would ruin it just by looking at it. She’d always treated clothing with little respect; her outfits were always disgusting by the end of her shifts regardless of what she did. But this-

It was fine without being gaudy, expensive and beautiful without being over the top. The tailor looked over the dress and took some notes, hung one of two of the plainer dresses in the closet for her to wear later, then departed, once again leaving the Duke and Mariana alone together.

Unwilling to discuss what had transpired immediately before the tailor had reentered the room, Mariana spoke as soon as the door was shut behind him. “Do you have a library, your Grace?” she asked, her hands pressed into fists against her skirts. “I would like to read more about this world if you have the texts for it.”

“We have quite the library, and I would be happy to escort you there. Do you feel up for a little walking?” the

Duke looked very pointedly at Mariana’s ankle, then back at her face.

“I think so. After the ice and the bath, I’m feeling much better.”

The Duke held out his arm and Mariana took it like an actress in a period piece. Supporting much of her weight, the Duke lead Mariana out of her bedroom and into the hall. She hobbled along next to him, her eyes wandering the lengths of the rooms they walked. She was stunned at the size of this place; it was at least twice the size of the entire apartment complex Mariana had lived on back on Earth.

The décor was not something Mariana would have picked out for her home on Earth, but it did seem to suit the place. She was reminded of the line in Pride a Prejudice, when Elizabeth Bennet first sees Pemberley, about how the furniture was “more elegant and less uselessly fine” than some others she’d seen. Everything seemed comfortable, neat, open, and airy while still managing to look rich. Massive windows let sunlight from the two suns spill over the lush carpets and cool marble flooring. Everything was oversized, but not in an intimidating way. Mariana had never seen anything so beautiful in her life.

The Duke said little as they walked together, their arms wrapped together, except to point out some of the important locations in the house. "This is the front hall, Lady Mariana, which leads into the gardens. When your leg is better, I would be happy to show you about the gardens myself. And this-" he said finally, as Mariana was ready to give up hobbling on her aching leg and sit down on the marble floors, "-is the library."

He lead her to the wall, giving her something to lean on while he opened the heavy, ornately carved wooden door for her. Mariana blinked as the library came into view. 

It was a massive place; two floors nearly filled with floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall books, scrolls, and maps. There were no windows here, but the room was lit with tiny, shaded balls of glass. Mariana eyed their soft yellow glow, wondering if they were powered by electricity or something else. 

"As you can see, my lady," the Duke said, taking her arm again and directing her gaze upward. "The Library is split into two sections. I ask only that you do not venture up to the top floor."

"Oh?" Mariana said in a low tone, bristling at the order. "And why not?" her voice was dangerous. What was the Duke hiding upstairs that he didn't want her to see.

The Duke smiled, not seeming to notice her tone. "The stairs are very steep, and I fear it would be too much for your injured leg, my lady."

Mariana blushed. She'd immediately thought the worst of him, and he was just worried about her injury. She felt like an i***t.

"Also, many of those books are protected works; they are very, very old and cannot be handled directly by human hands without falling to pieces. My Conservator would be incredibly upset if you were to damage any of those volumes. They cannot be replaced." The Duke sighed and shook his head, making the beautiful curtain of black, shining hair tumble forward over his shoulder. "I'm not even allowed up there more often than not." There was again that sort of good-natured regard for his servants in his face, a mix of friendly affection and good-natured patience that made Mariana think a little more highly of him.

The Duke lead her over to one of the many seats to rest, promising to return in time to escort her to dinner. He bowed low, kissing her fingers in a lingering sort of way that sent shivers from her head to her toes. She was left to ponder whether those were shivers of fear or of something else entirely.