“How do you talk so to me?” I asked, struck cold by his words. “I know you have been maligned, Sylvain, but what am I to do to make things right for you?”
“You mustn’t do anything for me, Virago! I am more than capable of finding my own way.”
Desperately trying to mend a situation unraveling, I went to Sylvain and tried to reach out to him, but he avoided me. “I didn’t mean you weren’t.”
A flash of Therese’s torn dress sprung to my mind. Its careful seams ripped by careless hands. I could mend the dress, and I could mend this. But what thread does one use to repair something torn apart by fear and wrath?
“Would you have me ignore my own professional duties to run off and make vests for a man who has long tormented me?” he accused.
Adequate words escaped me. Therese’s dress was damaged because something that didn’t fit was forced into it. I could almost hear the seams first straining, snapping, and tearing. Now I faced the same predicament. The seams were straining. In the hopes of avoiding the tearing, I kept my peace.
“I see it is true, Virago, you no longer know my best intentions.”
I stood only a moment before I left the kitchen, and retreated to the shop. The shadows had grown long and the worktables and other furniture took on the shadow cast of evening. I lit candles, closed all the windows, and locked the door. I took a breath and when I exhaled, found myself choked with sadness and regret. I knew of Sylvain’s torment by Duir, and also knew much guilt for not having done more to stop it. I went to the larger of the worktables. My fingers sought tools and loose scraps of fabric and upon finding these, I felt comforted.
I remembered my father sitting in this very room, hunched over some garment. I went to him and asked why he must work so long into the night.
“Many people think a tailor’s job is simply putting thread to needle, but they are wrong. It is much more.” He beckoned me closer until I could see the torn clothing he mended. Recognizing my curiosity and awe, he held it up so I could see virtually no sign of the work he’d done; it appeared flawless. “We are able to fix what has been damaged, and make it whole. You will see much of life because of this trade. Be strong in work and you will be strong in spirit.”
“Let me be strong in work and spirit,” I repeated these words, then went to my worktable and laid the purple velvet out before me. It shimmered in the candlelight, and in its magnificent presence, I felt the tension in my mind begin to ease. My work had always been a balm to my troubles, and tonight, I sought the comfort of my familiar tools and the forthcoming challenge this new fabric presented. My doubts were short lived as I carefully caressed the velvet. It would be a splendid vest with black onyx buttons and perhaps pieces of the gold velvet cut and stitched like filigree over the front panels. I felt my imagination soar with vivid images and ideas.
“What are you about?”
I jumped when I heard Sylvain’s voice come from behind me.
“Thinking and dreaming, I guess.” I carefully folded the purple velvet. I would bring it all with me tomorrow when I started my work at the castle. I heard Sylvain sigh and immediately felt the earlier unease between us return and tighten.
“I realize I am jealous of your inclusion in Duir’s world, partially anyways, and I allowed my anger to color my words. You must forgive me, Virago. I only mean you the best, but surely you must understand my points as well.”
“There is nothing to forgive or be jealous of, Brother. We are different, but you are my family and I will never forsake our bond. Duir is duty, and as you must follow your duties, so must I follow mine.” I smiled as I felt his arm come around my shoulder.
“Indeed you must. I am no seer, but a blind animal trainer with some minor skills as a tailor, and in both of us we must find contentment.”
There was a look of tense consternation on his face.
“Sylvain?”
“I am troubled and wish the warnings in my mind would leave me. They are dark and it is horrible to not only live in a world of darkness, but feel it at the same time.”
I clasped a hand to his arm resting on my shoulder. “Let tomorrow bring what it may and in the end it will all be as it should.”
“Aye, truer words have not been spoken.” He withdrew his arm and added, “I met Therese earlier, and she told me of her visit. She has acquired some new pets she needs help with.”
“Do you mean the peacocks or the man?” I asked, thinking of Claus.
Sylvain smiled. “Therese told me she dresses him in her gowns. I wouldn’t be surprised if she buggers him with a phallus for her own, and the other whores’, entertainment.”
I laughed. “I am aware of this fancy. She brought me the results of Claus’s dalliance in dressing up. The jade dress I so painstakingly made for her last autumn now rests on the chair by the window with its seams split.”
I watched Sylvain make his way over to the chair, and finding the gown, gathered it to him and searched for the damage.
“I’m sorry I forgot to tell you about Therese’s peacocks. It’s been a day, and I am weary.”
Sylvain found the rip. “But the seam is completely destroyed. He must have been forced into this garment like a bull into a pen too small!”
“He is of slight build, so perhaps it was some
