For those who haven't been following this blog, let me introduce it a little. I am currently blogging my 21st novel that has the working title Daemon. The novel is about Aksinya, a wondrous sorceress, who, to save her family from the Bolsheviks, called and contracted the demon, Asmodeus. Her family was murdered anyway, and she fled with the demon from Russia to Wien, Austria.
Ernst made his way into the house and is greeted by Aksinya. He brought a red rose. He prepares to escort Aksinya and Natalya out to dinner...
Ernst stood and put out his arm, “If you please, Countess. My landau awaits you.”
Sister Margarethe loudly cleared her throat behind them.
Aksinya half turned, “Ernst von Taaffe, I am pleased to introduce Sister Margarethe. She looks after the Lady Natalya and me.”
Ernst turned his head only a fraction of an inch, “Will she accompany us?”
Aksinya shook her head, “Not on this occasion. And I can’t forget my best friend and confidant, the Lady Natalya Alexandrovna Obolenska. She will accompany me.” Aksinya didn’t turn this time, “Sister Margarethe, the Lady Natalya and I will be going out for the evening with Herr von Taaffe. We will return after the ballet. Please bring our cloaks.”
Sister Margarethe curtsied, “I am very pleased to meet you Herr Taaffe. Do not keep my charges out too late. They must both attend chapel and early classes.” She exited the room for a moment and returned with the cloaks.
When Sister Margarethe approached Aksinya, Natalya stopped her, “That is the wrong cloak for the Countess. Please bring the mink one.”
Sister Margarethe pressed her lips together, but she went back for the heavy mink cloak. When Sister Margarethe returned, Natalya took the cloak from her and placed it over Aksinya’s shoulders. She took a deep breath, smiled, and tied the cloak at Aksinya’s neck.
Sister Margarethe placed Natalya’s black woolen cloak over her shoulders. Natalya stepped toward Aksinya before the nun could fasten the cloak. She buried her face in the fabric and slowly tied it at her neck herself.
Aksinya eyed Ernst’s proffered arm dubiously. Then she placed two fingers on his forearm. Ernst covered her fingers and forced her hand against his arm. He smiled at her, “I wouldn’t want you to stumble.” He led her to the door. Sister Margarethe just had time to get to the portal and open it so he and Aksinya could exit into the freezing evening. Natalya nodded as she passed the nun, but she didn’t say a word, and she turned her head away from the sister to hide her smile.
Much is suddenly going on and much is unsaid in the little scene inside the parlor of Aksinya's house. I promise you will learn the reason for much of it and much much more you might have wondered about, and you will learn it soon.
At this moment, you can rest in the gentle arms of the culture. It is so refined and so much the kind of environment Aksinya and Natalya are used to. Sister Margarethe makes a noise to remind Aksinya of her manners. Aksinya was going to treat the Sister like a servant. I told you before why. This doesn't bother Sister Margarethe. Aksinya is not surprised--she did not forget. The Sister was a little too forward, but that's all right. Aksinya continues and introduces Natalya. Note that Aksinya is completely in control at this moment. She is the consummate Countess and aristocrat.
Sister Margarethe is no fool. She warns Ernst in more than one way: not too late, chapel, and early classes. She didn't have to tell Ernst that she is waiting up and watching for the ladies to return. There are some other things that are immediately clear to the Sister that might not be clear to the reader--they will be very soon.
I wanted you to see the control of Natalya too at this moment. Watch what happens when the Sister brings the wrong cloak. Do you remember, Aksinya made Natalya her chaimberlin (the steward over her clothing). Natalya takes this responsiblility very seriously. She dresses the Countess and she handles her clothing. She will allow a servant to fetch and carry, but she will ensure the proper clothing and adonrnment. She sends Sister Margarethe back for the Mink and that irritates the Sister. We know this is Aksinya's favorite cloak, and we know why. It was her mothers and held her mother's smell. Now it holds Aksinya's scent. Natalya takes it in like a breath of fresh air.
Then the Sister puts Natalya's cloak on her. Natalya prevents the Sister from taking the liberty of sharing her joy in the scent of Aksinya's cloak. This is a very tense and careful interplay. It describes the place of servants compared to friends in the household. It all goes on almost automatically and silently.
Now, they are ready to go out. Ernst offers his arm and Aksinya gives him two fingers--she is polite, but not forward. Ernst is very forward. Aksinya's quick exit with Ernst catches the Sister off guard. Natalya laughs at Sister Margarethe. Natalya is not mean, but Ernst has forced his way into the house and taken her mistress with him and Natalya is going with Aksinya. This is her greatest joy and she was invited, not Sister Margarethe. Tommorrow, more revelations inside the landau.
Showing posts with label clothes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label clothes. Show all posts
Friday, February 11, 2011
Sunday, December 26, 2010
A New Novel, Part 84 The Beginning of the Weekend
This is the beginning of chapter 8. I set up Aksinya in her house. Now we see the progression of her sin and some very important connections. The first is the Freifrau...
The week continued for Aksinya and Natalya without great problems. The demon led them every night to the house across the street. As yet, he made no other demands on Aksinya. The cellar workroom remained unused for now. The demon didn’t even ask Aksinya to go down to it again.
Chapel was a daily chore. With Natalya beside her, Aksinya could endure it, but it was not pleasant for her. Aksinya spent her time in the evenings working with Natalya on her German. Aksinya’s work in her classes suffered, but the sisters didn’t seem to expect much from a countess anyway. They didn’t praise her, but they didn’t berate her either. Only Sister Margarethe, in German class, seemed to show Aksinya any special attention. No matter what Aksinya did, Sister Margarethe praised her. Aksinya thought, perhaps her German was truly improving because she worked with Natalya so much.
On Friday afternoon, Freiherr Bockmann’s coupe, the covered carriage, came for Aksinya and Natalya. The Freifrau Bockmann herself sat in the coupe. For the weekend, Aksinya and Natalya had taken clothing from the house across the street. They wore something other than their Sacré Coeur uniforms now. Aksinya was dressed like a countess. Natalya like a lady-in-waiting. Both of their jewelry was much more elegant than that which would have been expected any student to wear.
Freifrau Bockmann’s eyes widened when she saw them. She descended from the carriage and curtsied to Aksinya. Then, she greeted both the girls with a kiss. The Reverend Mother came out of the school to see them off. Frau Drescher stood as an after thought in the shadows near the gymnasium’s door.
The Reverend Mother curtsied to Freifrau Bockmann. It was a deep curtsy that included Aksinya, “Freifrau Bockmann, the Countess and Lady Natalya have started well. We are glad you decided to take them under your wing for their social training during the weekends.”
Freifrau Bockmann was effusive, “Thank you, Reverend Mother. I will return them Sunday evening. Please don’t expect them for dinner.”
“Yes, Freifrau Bockmann.”
With the drivers help, they climbed into the carriage. After they were inside, Freifrau Bockmann tapped the ceiling of the carriage with the top of her cane and the driver started the horses moving.
This is the setup of the entire chapter, and this is the means to convey to you the basis of a continuing of action in the novel. The week continued... then we see their week abbreviated to show only the important parts. This is a writing technique to move the writing in time and to give the reader the expectation of what is happening without going into great detail. Detail is left for important parts. The key takings here is the cellar remains unused, the chapel, Natalya and German class. Watch the sister and German class closely.
So Freifrau Bockmann comes herself to pick up Aksinya and Natalya. You can see the small details. The coupe, the girls are dressed in finery and with jewelry. This is what gets the attention of Freifrau Bockmann. They are wearing clothing and jewelry, especially jewelry she didn't expect them to have. She has no idea about the house. The Reverend Mother can't miss the opportunity to greet the Freifrau or see Aksinya off. She is kind, but she is political and wise. She praises the Freifrau in a manner the Freifrau can't ignore. The point of all this is so I can detail for you what Aksinya and Natalya are about for the weekend. At the end of this piece, I give you a little color to show how the world worked at this time. That is the way to tell the driver to start the horses.
The week continued for Aksinya and Natalya without great problems. The demon led them every night to the house across the street. As yet, he made no other demands on Aksinya. The cellar workroom remained unused for now. The demon didn’t even ask Aksinya to go down to it again.
Chapel was a daily chore. With Natalya beside her, Aksinya could endure it, but it was not pleasant for her. Aksinya spent her time in the evenings working with Natalya on her German. Aksinya’s work in her classes suffered, but the sisters didn’t seem to expect much from a countess anyway. They didn’t praise her, but they didn’t berate her either. Only Sister Margarethe, in German class, seemed to show Aksinya any special attention. No matter what Aksinya did, Sister Margarethe praised her. Aksinya thought, perhaps her German was truly improving because she worked with Natalya so much.
On Friday afternoon, Freiherr Bockmann’s coupe, the covered carriage, came for Aksinya and Natalya. The Freifrau Bockmann herself sat in the coupe. For the weekend, Aksinya and Natalya had taken clothing from the house across the street. They wore something other than their Sacré Coeur uniforms now. Aksinya was dressed like a countess. Natalya like a lady-in-waiting. Both of their jewelry was much more elegant than that which would have been expected any student to wear.
Freifrau Bockmann’s eyes widened when she saw them. She descended from the carriage and curtsied to Aksinya. Then, she greeted both the girls with a kiss. The Reverend Mother came out of the school to see them off. Frau Drescher stood as an after thought in the shadows near the gymnasium’s door.
The Reverend Mother curtsied to Freifrau Bockmann. It was a deep curtsy that included Aksinya, “Freifrau Bockmann, the Countess and Lady Natalya have started well. We are glad you decided to take them under your wing for their social training during the weekends.”
Freifrau Bockmann was effusive, “Thank you, Reverend Mother. I will return them Sunday evening. Please don’t expect them for dinner.”
“Yes, Freifrau Bockmann.”
With the drivers help, they climbed into the carriage. After they were inside, Freifrau Bockmann tapped the ceiling of the carriage with the top of her cane and the driver started the horses moving.
This is the setup of the entire chapter, and this is the means to convey to you the basis of a continuing of action in the novel. The week continued... then we see their week abbreviated to show only the important parts. This is a writing technique to move the writing in time and to give the reader the expectation of what is happening without going into great detail. Detail is left for important parts. The key takings here is the cellar remains unused, the chapel, Natalya and German class. Watch the sister and German class closely.
So Freifrau Bockmann comes herself to pick up Aksinya and Natalya. You can see the small details. The coupe, the girls are dressed in finery and with jewelry. This is what gets the attention of Freifrau Bockmann. They are wearing clothing and jewelry, especially jewelry she didn't expect them to have. She has no idea about the house. The Reverend Mother can't miss the opportunity to greet the Freifrau or see Aksinya off. She is kind, but she is political and wise. She praises the Freifrau in a manner the Freifrau can't ignore. The point of all this is so I can detail for you what Aksinya and Natalya are about for the weekend. At the end of this piece, I give you a little color to show how the world worked at this time. That is the way to tell the driver to start the horses.
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