Saving Simona (Alone In The World Trilogy) (7 page)

6

When Gia awoke a few hours later, it was to the sound of Solomon and Lucie arguing in the parlour. She pushed herself slowly out of bed, pushing the blankets aside and rotating her hips around to the side. She had barely tapped her toes on the ground before a chill wracked her body, the wood freezing the bare digits almost instantaneously. Normally, Gia wore her stockings the entirety of the day, but her clumsiness had shown through before Lucie had arrived. Solomon had brought Gia a mug of tea, and her hand had slipped when she attempted to pick it up from the bedside table, successfully soaking through the wool and dampening the brunette’s foot.

A glance over to the side table revealed that
Solomon had left her another bit of food for her to snack on, since Lucie had come in before Gia had gotten a chance to eat. She smiled as she moved the plate over, picking up one of the biscuits and nibbling on it happily. Further investigation showed Gia that a dry pair of stockings were resting near the top of the table to replace the tea-stained ones. She pulled the stockings on and stepped back down onto the floor, happy that she could cross the room without having to worry about frostbite. She grabbed the poker and stirred the fire, filling the room with warmth as the flames roared back to life.              Just like the fire, Solomon and Lucie’s argument exploded back to life as well, and it only took Gia three steps towards the door for her to hear every word that the sandy-haired blondes were yelling at one another. “I said no, Luciana, and that is my final notice! You are not to act of your own free doing! You are my bride!”

“I am a fully grown woman and I will do as I please!
You do not have the right to tell me what I will and will not do until we are properly wed.”

“It is not proper for woman of your standing to be traveling by yourself!
I doubt that your father would allow it.”

“Pish posh!” Lucie retorted, her words growing more fiery. Gia slowly crept out of the room and into the hallway, where she could see Solomon pacing just past the open French doors that lead to the parlour at the end of the hall. Lucie was sitting on the chaise lounge, her hair beginning to fall from its orderly upsweeping as she shook her head in anger. She narrowed her eyes as she exclaimed, “My mother did so at least once a week before her passing, to shop the vendors of the surrounding cities
, since before I was even born. She would take the train to and fro in order to find the best trinkets.” She shook her head. “If Father would allow Mummy to travel by herself, then why would he not allow me?”

“You are not your mother, Luciana! I am sorry, but I cannot let you go! Not when there are men like Simona’s kidnapper still running around out there!”

Gia watched the scene for a few more screamed lines before exiting her room quietly, determined to hear more as the volume decreased. She moved closer to the parlour, her back pressed against the wall as she moved down the hallway. Her hair fell over her face, but she brushed it back as she crossed her feet one over the other, her hands trailing over the wooden paneling. She pulled a ribbon off the sleeve of her dress, using it to tie back the upper section of her hair, leaving the rest flowing over her bosom and down to her waist  so that she could see better.

Once Gia got near the pale yellow French doors, she
pressed herself against the outer frame so that she could hear what was being said more clearly than she could from down the hall without being seen, her shadow not even visible as the sun streaming through the windows cast it in the opposite direction of the door.. Gia strained her eyes as Solomon had begun to speak again, his voice turning quiet as it filled with emotion. “Lucie, please. If you are alone, I cannot protect you from all that is evil in the world! If your sister’s kidnapper decides that he wants you as well, how can I know that you are safe if you are not home with me?” He let out a shuddering breath. “Please, Lucie. Please.”

Lucie let out a breath, seemingly walking towards Solomon as
her footsteps echoed into the hallway. Her voice, like Solomon’s, was soft. “Sol, I have to find my sister. I cannot keep going on, knowing that she is out there, alone and scared. I need to know that she is still alive.”

Solomon’s voice was tight. “Lucie, I
will not lose you. I cannot go through that again.”

Gia narrowed her eyebrows in confusion. Had Lucie gone missing or nearly lost her life, once upon a time? Gia risked a glance around the doorframe. Solomon was now the one sitting on the chaise lounge, his elbows resting on his beige trousers, his head buried in his hands. Lucie was sitting on the armrest, running her fingers over Solomon’s hair as she wrapped him in her arms, dropping kisses onto the top of his head.

Gia turned back away from the door as Lucie spoke again. “You will not have to bear the mourning of two brides, Solomon. I am not Alexandria.  I will take the train to whichever cities Gia has been able to remember, and I will be back in two morrows time. I will be fine.”

Solomon let out a heavy sniff, and Gia realized that he had begun to cry. “Alexandria swore the same. ‘It is only a shopping trip, Solomon, I will be fine
,’
she had said. ‘I am purchasing trinkets for the wedding, aren’t you glad? The day will be so beautiful. Our wedding, can you imagine?’” He let out a shuddering breath. “It was only supposed to be to the next town over, and she was killed only minutes after the train left the station.”

“Solomon, the accident could have happened to anyone. There were couples on the train, men and women alike who with boarding with their families.” Gia could hear the sound of Lucie kissing the top of Solomon’s head. “If something is going to happen, it will happen regardless of whether or not I am alone or with another.”

Gia did not hear the rest of the conversation, for at that point, she made the trek back to her room, deciding that she had heard enough. Let the couple have their privacy.

Gia let her mind wander back to the reward money. She really hoped that she could convince Lucie to come with her and leave Solomon home.
If he stayed away, then the cash reward would go straight into Gia’s coin purse. That is, if she
had
a coin purse. She had not needed a coin purse since she was a child. The most money she had at one time was the few shillings that she had managed to sneak out of Leander’s earnings from her body, and even then, it was at
most
three or four coins, and that definitely was not enough money to warrant an entire coin purse.

First thing first, however, Gia needed to convince Lucie to go along with her plan. The brunette began to cough loudly, as if she were choking upon her meal. She hoped that it would be enough to draw Solomon, and therefore Lucie, back into the room. She was not disappointed, and within a minute, Solomon came rushing in, eyes wide and ready to save Gia’s life
once again if something had suddenly gone wrong. Lucie ran in as well, her skirt flying beneath where it was clenched in her fists.

“Are you alright?” Solomon asked, sitting on the edge of the bed. He put a hand out, grasping Gia’s shoulder. He leaned forward, his eyes searching Gia’s from beneath his lashes.

Gia coughed again before taking in a shuddering breath and nodding. “I am fine,” she murmured in response. She placed her fingers against her sternum and looked down at her lap, pressing the tips of the center three against the bone as she gasped another breath. She could feel her heart pulsing against the bone, erratic from the sudden forcefulness of her coughing fit. Gia continued to fake problems with her breathing for a moment more, slowing the lie down until she appeared to be breathing at a normal pace once again. She turned her eyes to Lucie, her head turning slowly in the same direction a moment later. “I- I remembered something else,” Gia commented, angling her brows to make her appear apologetic for not remembering earlier.

Lucie sat down on the bed as well, leaning over like Solomon had when he was checking on Gia. “What is it?” she asked calmly. Her eyes, however, showed that she was anything
but
calm. She needed this information desperately, and Gia knew that she would be able to get Lucie to do anything that Gia desired, if it meant getting Simona back, safe and sound. Lucie placed her hand on Gia’s knee. “Gia, tell me, please?”

Gia nodded before she looked at Solomon. “I would like to tell Lucie alone, please.”

Solomon narrowed his eyes at her. “Why do you have to be alone?” he asked, his eyes growing suspicious.

Before Gia had a chance to answer, Lucie did for her. “Solomon, please just leave. The fewer people who know where Simona is, the better. Please. I do not want there to be any chance that something
worse happens to my sister.”

Solomon’s eyes widened, and he gaped at his
fiancée. “Do you really think I would tell…?” He trailed off, shaking his head.

“Solomon, please. I need you to leave,” Lucie said again, her voice stern.

Solomon sighed and stood, heading towards the door. “Fine. I can see when I am not wanted.” He stalked out of the room in a huff, slamming the door behind him.

Gia watched sandy-haired man leave the room, her eyes following him until the wood smashed against its frame, the crunching noise echoing around the room. Once Gia was sure Solomon was gone, she turned to Lucie. “I want to go with you.”

“That is not possible..”

“Lucie, I will be essential to your travels. I will not write down what I remember, out of fear that someone could find it and cause Simona more pain than she has already been through. I can give you directions verbally, but that runs the risk that you will forget something along the way. What if you
do not arrive in time simply because you refused to bring help along?”

Lucie narrowed her eyes. “Why should I trust you? I hardly even know you.”

Gia shrugged. “What option do you really have? You can choose to ignore what I overheard, and keep trying to find Simona on your own, since that has clearly worked so well thus far. Or, you could trust me, and have a much greater chance of finding your sister.” She shook her head, rolling her eyes. “It is your choice, really, but if it was my sister? I know which I would rather choose.”

Lucie sighed, her shoulders dropping in defeat. “I suppose you are right.” She sighed again, leaning her face into her palms and rubbing at her eyes before looking back up. She narrowed her eyes and pointed her finger at Gia.  “Fine. You can go. But at the first sign that you are not being completely honest, that you are having me over, I
will
tell Solomon, and then you are at his mercy, should he choose to tell the authorities in the town. Is that clear?”

Gia nodded, crossing her hand over her heart before holding up her hand. “I swear,” she said, the fingers of her other hand crossed beneath the bed sheets.

Lucie nodded before standing up and going to the door, quietly leaving the room. Gia assumed that she was going to speak to Solomon about what Gia and Lucie had decided, so that he knew that she would not be going alone, as he had feared. Gia guessed correctly, as a moment later, she could hear Solomon’s enraged, “What?!” come from down the hall.

Well, it seemed Gia’s company was still not any better than none at all.

7

“Come on, follow me,” Lucie instructed as she walked down the front hallway of her home the next morning. Solomon had dropped the girls off at the Dickens Manor before heading to the station to get Gia and Lucie tickets for the next available train to Leeds (which was the
only
bit of information Gia would reveal “remembering”). 

“Where are we going?”

Lucie glanced over. “I am assuming that you do not have any clothes, other than the ones that Solomon lent you of Alexandria’s, am I correct?” Gia nodded. “That’s what I thought. You look like you are around the same size as my eldest sister, Rosamond. I am sure she has something in her old room that could possibly fit you.”

Gia followed behind as Lucie led Gia to the blonde’s room, bypassing the bed and heading towards a tapestry of the Crucifixion, displaying Christ on the cross, his twelve disciples bowing and sobbing at the foot of the wood. Gia looked around the room in awe at the vast size of the chamber as she walked through it. There was at least forty feet spanning from wall to wall in a sea of brown, and the vaulted ceilings towered above Gia’s head.
Lucie’s four-poster bed was draped with a sheer orchid fabric, contrasting beautifully with the dark mahogany of the bed posts. The walls themselves were two separate colors, the bottom half of each wall a dark brown, the top half a floral pattern made up of hunter green and mint green patterns. There were two windows against the outside wall that let light into the room. The windows themselves were taller than Gia’s five-foot-five stature, and stretched nearly one and a half times the height in a sweeping arc. The early-afternoon sun shot through the window in streams, casting a glow on the tapestry that Lucie was leading Gia to.

Lucie picked up the edge of the tapestry, her arm shaking at the weight of the fabric. She held it up as far as she could, gesturing for Gia to slip
under it. Gia looked at Lucie in confusion before doing as she was asked, ducking down and darting under.

She was shocked to see that beneath the tapestry was a false wall. The moment that her fingers brushed against the “bricks,” her hand slipped through what appeared to simply be fabric. Lucie darted under as well, pushing the fabric away. “Shortcut,” Lucie commented, shrugging at Gia’s puzzled look.

“To?”

“Rosamond’s room,” Lucie said, rolling her eyes as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Where else would we be going to get Rosamond’s old clothes?”

“I understand that, Luce, but I did not expect there to be some sort of secret passageway within the home.”

Lucie snorted. “You really are new to these kinds of houses, aren’t you?” She shook her head. “Old homes like these are full of hidden passages. My sisters and I made a game of finding all of them when we were children. This is one of the first ones that we found.” She stepped further into the abyss.

The passage was pitch black, disallowing Gia to see anything about it other than darkness. She perked her ears, listening for Lucie’s steady breathing to let her know that she was still in the right place, even though the passage was pretty straightforward.

In less than a minute, Gia heard a knocking sound as Lucie wrapped her knuckles on the wall before pushing back the fabric and pushing up the tapestry. Gia shielded her face as light flooded the passage, the bright white bringing tears to her eyes as they struggled to readjust. She squinted before taking a step forward, entering the room behind Lucie.

Her eyes widened as she saw the room. It was even larger than Lucie’s, a feat that Gia did not know was possible. The walls and carpeting mimicked Lucie’s chamber, as did the windows, but the bed itself was different. Rather than the draped four-poster that adorned Lucie’s room, Rosamond’s bed was much more simple and stream-lined, with a dark green comforter and a simple cherry oak headboard and baseboard. On the end of the bed sat two girls: as tan girl with light brown hair and a thick waist, and a more petite, pale girl with hair so blonde it was nearly white. The tan girl had her hair curled and pulled back into a fluffy mass at the back of her head, and was wearing an olive green and white dress. The bodice was eggshell in color, and buttoned up to the girl’s collarbone, the sleeves reaching three-quarters of the way down her arms. The blonde girl was wearing a periwinkle dress that had a lower neck, the edges of the neckline expanding outwards with sheer white ruffles to meet her chin. Her sleeves extended all the way down to her wrists, and also held the ruffles, as did the hem of the skirt. The hemline was slightly different, however. Gia expected that
these
ruffles were part of the girl’s petticoat, and was included to hid the fact that the dress was made slightly too short. Her hair was twisted into a bun that sat atop her head. Both girls were laughing, but looked up when they heard the knocking on the wall.

“Lucie!” the brunette girl exclaimed when she spotted her sister. “Had I known that you were home, I would have greeted you before I came to see Winnie!”

Lucie hurried over to the bed and hugged her sister. “Oh, Rosie, I was not expecting you to be here! I thought that by now you would have gone into confinement! That baby is growing rather large, I see.” She gestured for Gia to come over to stand next to the bed. Once Gia did, Lucie pointed at each of her sisters in turn. “Gia, this is Rosamond…” she said while pointing to the tan girl. She then gestured to the fairer girl. “….and this is Winnifred.” She waved her hand back towards Gia. “Rosie, Winnie, this is Solomon’s ward, Gia Fletcher. She is the one that was found stabbed in the woods,” Lucie added in a whisper. The girls nodded.

“How do you do?” Gia asked, curtsying. Rosamond smiled at her, beckoning with her hand for Gia to come and join them on the bed. Winnifred scooted over so that there was room for her.

“Just fine, thank you,” Rosamond responded before turning to Lucie. “William is traveling out of town for a few days from tomorrow on, and I did not want to be left at home by myself, just in case anything should happen to the little one.” She rubbed at her waist thoughtfully. “I will be confined to the house after William returns, though, until he or she is born.”

Gia looked at Rosamond, trying not to show her confusion. She could not understand why, if Rosamond was far along enough to need to be
hidden from society, why her belly was not obviously protruding.
She must still be wearing her corset,
Gia mused. She had heard of wealthy women continuing to wear corsets all the way up until the birth, but it did not seem very comfortable or safe to her. She could barely stand her own corset, and she did not have a child growing inside of her. Granted, Alexandria must have been quite a bit smaller than Gia, as the lacings had to be loosened out quite a bit in order to fit Gia’s bodice. She shrugged before making her way to the bed and settling down onto the sheets.

Lucie laid her head on Rosamond’s shoulder. “Rosie, I came in here to see if you would perhaps have something from before your marriage still lying around that could fit Gia. She lost all of her luggage when she was injured, and is in desperate need of something to wear other than Alexandria’s old frocks.”

Rosamond nodded, narrowing her eyes at Gia as she studied her form. “I believe that I do.” She pushed herself off the bed and waddled over near the door, where three large armoires rested. She opened the first one and pulled out several petticoats, corsets, corset covers, chemises, and drawers, which she placed on a table on the other side of the door. “Gia, come and try these,” she instructed before returning back to the armoires. Gia did as she was told, and was pleased to find that the corset was able to be tight-laced without much of a problem. She quickly slipped the corset cover and petticoat cover the corset and the crinoline, marveling in the mirror above Rosamond’s vanity that sat next to the bed. She had never seen her body look as womanly and attractive as it was in these luxurious underclothes.

“Gia, look in here,” Rosamond called, staring into the third and final armoire. A quick peak in the middle armoire, while Rosamond had left open, showed Gia that the storing there was for the fancier ball gowns. She assumed that Rosamond was looking at the more casual of gowns. Sure enough, when Gia looked inside, she found dresses that were similar to the ones that Rosamond, Winnifred, and Lucie were wearing. Rosamond smiled at her upon seeing that the undergarments did, in fact, fit her. “I cannot wear any of these garments any longer, including what you are wearing now. I was planning on donating everything here to a charity, regardless, so you may have anything that you like.”

Excitement filled Gia’s gut. She had never owned anything this luxurious. “Oh, thank you Rosamond!” She exclaimed, hugging the girl. Rosamond laughed and hugged her back.

“It is not a problem,” the brunette said back, ruffling Gia’s hair. Gia smiled again before turning her focus to the dresses.

“These dressed are all so beautiful,” Gia commented in awe as she began to thumb through the satin and silk gowns. 

Rosamond nodded before pulling out two gowns, one a dark midnight blue, the other a deep royal blue. “What do you think of these two? I believe that they would do wonders for your complexion, especially with those beautiful grey eyes of yours.”

Gia’s eyes widened when she saw the dresses that Rosamond was offering her. Her breath caught as Rosamond held them out with a quiet, “Go on, try them on!”

Gia nodded mutely before choosing the midnight blue dress to try on first. This dress, unlike most of the others, was made with crushed velvet, and was soft to the touch. She slipped it on with Rosamond’s help before heading back to the mirror.
Her breath caught in her throat when she saw herself. “Wow,” she said softly, running her fingers over the bodice and over the top of the skirt. The bodice of the dress was tight against the corset, with a slightly lighter blue ribbon criss-crossing from the midnight ruffles of the neckline down to the beginning bump of the skirt. The sleeves had the same ribbon an centimeter away from the hems, puffing the shoulders out and gathering the sleeves tightly against the sensitive skin of the crease of her elbow. The neckline itself was different than anything that Gia had ever seen before, coming down to at “v” that rested just below her collarbones. The bottom of the skirt was more full that the rest, and was layered with row upon row of black lace ruffles that began a quarter of the way up the skirt and met the ground. She spun around, feeling the weight of the skirt swirl around her ankles as she stepped.

Gia smiled and spun around again before stopping shorting, seeing the new dress that Rosamond had just pulled out. She had thought that this midnight blue dress was the most elegant that she had ever seen, but she could clearly see that she had been wrong.
This
new dress was the most beautiful thing she had ever set her sights on. “Can- can I try that one?” she asked shyly, her eyes still locked on the dress.

Rosamond nodded. “Of course! This silly thing has not fit me for years, it was my first ‘adult’ dress. I would be honored if you wore it.”

Lucie came over and helped Gia undress before helping Rosamond carry over the slightly-heavier dress. Gia stepped into the silk, chills racking her body as she watched in the mirror as Lucie did up the buttons along the back of the dress. Lucie’s face lit up as she saw her companion. “Be back in a tick, I have the perfect bonnet to go along with that dress!” she exclaimed, darting back into the passageway to return to her room. She returned a moment later, her hand hidden behind her back as she brought the bonnet. Lucie smiled as she revealed her arm and placed the hat against Gia’s head.

Gia was speechless as she saw her reflection. She was right, this dress
was
much more elegant than the previous dress. It was a mixture of royal blue and black. Skirt was made up entirely of black ruffles, each section several centimeters wide before the next ruffle began. The bodice of the dress was royal blue with narrow sleeves that stopped at Gia’s wrists. Much like the previous dress, the upper sleeves were gathered and cinched with a black ribbon. Gia’s waist was pulled tight against the corset with a thick section of black lace, tied together in the front with a royal blue ribbon that sat laced from below her bust to the top of her skirt. The fabric from the bodice continued over the sides of the skirt, covering all the black ruffles except for a pyramid shape in the very front of the dress, as well as several centimeters along the bottom of the dress. The dress began halfway up her neck. There was a twin set of bows directly below her neckline, in the same color of the dress. Gia straightened the bonnet that Lucie had placed upon her head. Lucie was correct in matching the two articles. The bonnet was black and ruffled, with several royal blue flowers clustered along the crown of the bonnet, as well as a royal blue ribbon that lined the hems.

“Can I keep this one?” Gia asked breathlessly, her eyes still l
ocked on her reflection. She saw Rosamond laugh and nod from behind her in the mirror.

“You look stunning. I would be offended if you did not take it from me,” Rosamond admitted,
grinning. Gia continued to stare as Rosamond left the frame of the mirror before returning a moment later, a pair of black boots in her hand. “You will need shoes as well for that dress.” She came up to Gia and handed them to her. Gia slipped them on quickly.  Rosamond looked her over, smiling in approval before stepping back. “There. The boots are a bit worn thin, but they will do. How do you feel?”