Sweet Revenge

Adrianne. Her hands were ugly, but quick and clever. She smelled of the fragrance that bore her name and which she had just begun to market. “So that it flows down the throat to the bodice.”
    Adrianne stared at the reflection in the mirror. Her father worked quickly. It would cost a great deal to have a dress by one of Paris’ top designers put together in a week. Again a matter of honor, she thought. King Abdu could hardly send his daughter to her husband in less than the best.
    Her fingers began to ache. Slowly, deliberately, she relaxed them. “I prefer it simple.”
    Dagmar tightened the long sleeves. “Trust me. It will be simple but not plain, elegant but not opulent. Too much this, too much that makes people notice only the gown and not the woman.” She glanced up as two assistants entered carrying more dresses. “For the bridal party. We were given a list.” She pulled a pin out of the pincushion at her wrist and tucked in the waist.
    “I see. And how many will there be in the bridal party?”
    Dagmar glanced up for only a moment, surprised the bride-to-be would have to ask. “Twelve. The teal is an excellent color. Very rich.” She gestured for an assistant to hold up a gown. It had a festive off-the-shoulder neckline and a full tea-length skirt overlaid with lace. “The choice was left to me. I hope you approve.”
    “I’m sure all the dresses will be fine.”
    “Turn, please.” It was rare to meet a bride so solemn, or so indifferent. Dagmar knew of Princess Adrianne, had hoped to have an opportunity to dress her, but she’d never expected to do so in Jaquir for a wedding so hastily put together. If the bride was pregnant, Adrianne’s narrow waist and flat stomach gave no sign. In any case, Dagmar was too discreet to gossip about her clients—particularly when a job could lead to others. She was French; she was practical.
    “The train will be attached here.” She indicated a spot beneath Adrianne’s shoulders. “It will pour out of the dress like a river. Sweep down.” With her narrow, ugly hands she gestured. “Very royal.
N’est-ce pas?”
    For the first time, Adrianne smiled. The woman was doing her best. “It sounds lovely.”
    Encouraged, Dagmar walked back around to fuss with the line. Over the years she had dressed the wealthy and the celebrated, cleverly camouflaging flaws and bulges. The princess had a lovely body, small and beautifully formed. Whatever she designed for a body like this would be noticed and envied. She thought it was a pity a trousseau hadn’t been commissioned.
    “Your hair. How do you wear it? Up, down?”
    “I don’t know. I hadn’t thought.”
    “You must think. It must flatter my dress.” After patting Adrianne’s hair she stepped back. She was a stringy woman with thin, homely features and beautiful green eyes. “In a braid I think. Very French, very subtle, like the dress. But not severe. Soft here.” Satisfied, she turned her critical eye on the dress. “You will wear jewelry, something special?”
    She thought of The Sun and the Moon gleaming against her mother’s wedding gown. “No, nothing on the dress.” They both heard the laughter and noise outside the door.
    “The wedding party.” Dagmar rolled her beautiful eyes. “We will be crazy in a week, but everything will be perfect.”
    “Madame, how much do you charge for this dress?”
    “Your Highness—”
    “I prefer to know the price of what’s mine.”
    Dagmar shrugged and twitched at the skirt of the dress. “Perhaps two hundred and fifty thousand francs.”
    With a nod Adrianne touched the lace at her throat.She’d earned more than that on her commission from the St, John job. It seemed fitting, if ironic, that it be put to use here. “You will bill me, not the king.”
    “But, Your Highness—”
    “You will bill me,” Adrianne repeated. She wouldn’t wear something he had paid for.
    “As you wish.”
    “The wedding’s in Jaquir, Madame.” Adrianne smiled again. “But I’m an American. Old habits are hard to break.” In dismissal she turned as the door opened. There was more than the wedding party, but at least another dozen women who had come to watch, to drink tea, to talk of weddings and fashion. Adrianne estimated that Dagmar would have commissions for at least another six gowns before the afternoon fittings were done.
    Women stripped down to their underwear. Since lingerie was as much a passion for them as jewelry, it ranged from the gorgeous to