Chapter Twenty-Four
Otto walked into the silent hall and paused. The doors to the ballroom were open but there was no music blaring out. She was surprised to discover that in a way she missed it; presumably, Lady Clementine was not at home. It had been a week since she had come back from Norfolk and she seemed to be working every hour available. Otto was curious about what was going on, but hadn’t wanted to show an interest.
The door was open and Otto couldn’t resist the invitation. She could see that Lady Clementine had been adding to the mannequins and now the room was full of dummies all clothed in various garments. Clearly, some were antique pieces of couture, spanning the decades. She was startled to see a dress that she remembered once wearing, years ago. Just looking at it brought back the warm air and dark night and the feel of Henry’s lips as he whispered in her ear that he would never let her go. Where on earth had she dug that up from?
Other outfits were being picked apart, some were being assembled. Near a large cutting table, Otto could see the calico shell of a wedding dress with a large bolt of silk lying on the table. To the side of the cutting table were two sewing machines and then beyond them in a corner was a large desk covered in photos and sketches. Otto wandered further into Lady Clementine’s lair, curious to see what was being worked on. She looked over her shoulder, ready to flee. If her ladyship found her in here, she would say she had left the door open and she was looking for the cat. She might also mention that some of the garments were too expensive to be left hanging on mannequins; admittedly, there was no sunlight at the moment what with the constant rain, but still.
Looking at the table it was clear that this was where Lady Clementine created her ideas: the table was full of sketch pads. A group of large photos caught her eye and she thought that Clem needed some pin boards so that she could give some of her images more room to breathe. Maybe she could suggest it to her? The photos appeared to be an art gallery. Looking at the architecture, Otto guessed it was the VA but it had been years since she was last there. Not that architecture changed much. She was convinced she recognised the plinth and column. One of the photos showed a room hung with Old Masters and she leant over the table to have a closer look. Pulling the photo towards her, she took her reading glasses out of her pocket to have a closer look at one of the paintings. She picked it up and held it up to the light. Turning towards the window she was shocked to see Lady Clementine standing behind her with a quizzical look on her face.
‘Can I help?’
Otto was completely caught out. It was rare for anyone to be able to creep up on her but Lady Clementine was practically breathing down her neck.
‘Cat!’ Otto knew she sounded stupid and tried again. ‘I was looking for the cat. Those gowns should be covered. I didn’t want him to scratch them. They are expensive.’
As soon as she said it she realised how stupid she must sound, and at the same time she realised that Clem would be well aware of the nature of these gowns. Given what she had seen of her work and her sketches, it was clear that she was extremely talented as a designer and seamstress herself. It was impossible that she wouldn’t be aware of the quality of the gowns on the mannequins.
‘That’s why I always keep the doors closed.’
‘They were open when I came in.’
Clem just looked at her.
‘Maybe you forgot to close them then, because they were open and I was concerned that the cat might have got in here.’ She knew she was blabbering but she was desperate to have a better look at the photo in her hand. She needed to employ some charm; she used to be so good at being charming, but like everything else that had dried up.
‘If there was nothing else?’ Clem had now ditched her bag on the floor and looked like she wanted to start work.
‘Who’s the wedding dress for?’
Lady Clementine seemed surprised by the question and looked at her suspiciously; apparently, she couldn’t divine any ulterior motive so she decided to engage.
‘Mari, John’s daughter, over at the Cock and Feathers. She’s getting married in a bit of a rush and was after something pretty. I wanted to thank her for letting me sleep over during that snow drift, so I said I’d make something for her. I can work fast.’
‘It’s beautiful. Does the empire line have something to do with the speed of the wedding?’ Otto smiled with a knowing glint. Again Clem checked to see if Otto was being mean but relaxed and smiled back.
‘Yes, it’s pretty integral. But happily, everyone seems delighted. They were already engaged, just that they now need to bring things on apace. So, I’m afraid I’ll have to crack on…’
Otto was surprised that this was for Mari. She didn’t know the family well but she didn’t think they had the sort of money that would run to a bespoke wedding dress and especially not one made in such stunning fabric.
‘Has John been watering the whisky? This will cost a pretty penny?’
‘Oh it’s not costing them a penny; it’s my treat. I like having a project on the go and a wedding dress is always great fun.’
Now it was Otto’s turn to see if Clem was joking, but the girl looked serious. This was a surprisingly generous gesture. She didn’t remember David being particularly generous.
‘I’m not being entirely altruistic. I need to borrow it back for a small show I’m putting on in London. It’s a joint venture with the VA during London Fashion Week. The VA have offered us a small display space. It’s really exciting and I’m deciding on a theme at the moment.’
Lady Clementine’s eyes came alight as she started to talk about it. ‘Look, here are a few sketches, and I was thinking about using some of these older clothes as inspirations. A sort of then and now. I mean not that I’m suggesting I’m anything as good as them, but showing how we are inspired by our masters. If that doesn’t sound completely stupid?’
Otto paused before replying. ‘I don’t think it sounds stupid at all; in fact, I think it will be a total success. From what I’ve seen in here, I think you will compare very favourably.’
Holding the photo in her hand, she turned towards the window. ‘Are these pictures also inspiration or is this the room that you will be using?’
Otto could now see the photo clearly in the daylight. The painting she was interested in hung between two larger landscapes. It was in a much smaller frame and showed a little bird trying to escape a cage. Beside the cage was a dull, metal plate of rotting fruit, resting on a wooden side table. Beyond, a window was wide open, looking over a terraced garden. It appeared to be a small study by Vermeer. It was also everything she had feared.
‘Hello?’
Otto mutely handed back the photo to Clem and walked out of the room. She walked upstairs in a daze and finally made it to her rooms. Heading into her bedroom, she sat down on her bed and looked towards the window. Beside the heavy velvet curtains hung a small oil painting of a bird flapping its wings against the cage, a plate of rotting fruit to the side.