Chapter 16-18 (1/2)

Ladies in the Garden Eet their attention) - Album Amicorum of Gervaisus Fabricus (1603-1637)

16 Conversation between

Mother and Daughter

Fredericka…

Today Mother and I are chatting and

doing things well born young ladies do; ely, it is

so I can immerse myself in

However, today Mother was fishi+ng

‘So do you like General Brennan,

Fredericka?’

Eh?!!

Wait What is with this sudden

question? (Zuben: You did tell your father, remember?) I haven’t heard that one

had to sufferembroidery My hands lost their rythym

‘Well, do you like him or not?’

Mother pressed on

I concentrate on the embroidery

pattern, in order not to ently thread the

underpainting But, I feel like I will make a mistake, but I answered as

diplomatically as I could, ‘Well I like him as a person…’

‘What about as a man?’

Ouch I pricked er

There is blood

I pick up a handkerchief to dab the

blood Hmm, blood on the handkerchief…would you like to see red flowers

blooled ivy…

Chicken

‘Fredericka’

My mother pointed her embroidery

needle at me

Stop it, don’t point the sharp end

of the needle at a person I was scared if would not end with just a stabbing

‘I…I don’t suit the General’

I was just a child Father told me

that the General was thirty five years old To hi

child, I bet

‘Who do you think would suit him?’

Mother asked probing deeper Because I am afraid of her needle, I answered

honestly,

‘A mature woman; one who is

beautiful, educated, with the strength to support him, and is conservative and

generous’ Not someone cheeky like me

I feel like crying now

I heard an incredulous, ‘Huh?!’ from my

Mother

Mother, mother, sometimes you don’t

act like a Countess

‘There is no such perfect woman’

My mother replied

I was embarrassed and tossed my

e noise and searches for the

needle

‘Even if such a person would suit

the General…’

‘What sort of man would suit you?’

I groaned I could not deny the

ieneral that appeared in my head

‘Anyone would be fine Although,

someone like me as jilted doesn’t have the option to marry whomever If

you would like me to be married, maybe I can marry an ero-ero old man?’

I only had a few options

Option 1: Not marry Because Ernest

is Father’s successor, I would be in his way So I would have to live alone as

a single woman Even if I worked in the business, my presence would be result

in a bad evaluation of ood I could enter a nunnery,

finish in

Oh that’s not it

Start a business for the monastery

to e Maybe

Option 2: Succeed the Family

Business I guess that is alright But I guess I ht need to find a stud

after all

Option 3: The common pattern of a

young lady who has passed e; settle down as a second wife

Well, I’ and unusual

in this industry Haha!

So what do you say?

Thinking of the three options I nod

to myself and take a sip of tea

‘Well, General Brennan could be the

ero-ero old man?’

Let’s see…what?!

Hey, what are you saying, mother?!

How could you think that?!

‘Mother, General Brennan is not an

ero-ero old eneral

looking at me with lewd eyes like those men and I shuddered

Marie nodded while patting my back,

‘General Brennan is a gentle me

‘Why are you guys thinking about

erotic things? The General is not impossible He hasn’t ever been married So

you would be his first wife, isn’t that a good thing?’

I do not want to hear how his flew

away okay

Also, are you ignoring logic, the

general’s taste and circumstances?

I took a deep breath to calm down

and sipped my tea

‘It would be annoying to the

General’ I said coldly trying to keep calm

I don’t understand what my Mother

is thinking

‘Try and act cute for now so he can

have a distinct impression of you Just put aside your shame And if it doesn’t

work out, I will be here to comfort you’

Oh that is a

‘So for now, if you like him, why

don’t you try te him?

‘Whu! What?’

‘Don’t be too hasty and get fucked

up I mean, talk honestly, maybe hold hands?’

Uh Oh

That hurdle is high I’ve never had

to do such a thing I didn’t do such a thing with Eugene…I-I couldn’t do it

‘You like the General, don’t you?’

I didn’t reply

Mother pestered me, ‘Do you like

him or not?’

Do I really like the general that

way?

‘I like him…’

As soon as I said the words, my

eyes grew hot and tears threatened to fall But Mother hugged me to her abundant

bosom; she was soft and she smelled nice

‘Do your best alright, and if you

have any trouble, just push your chest against him’

I burst out laughing, Mother

laughed too

That’s right, the breasts are a

weapon It didn’t work on Eugene, maybe it would work on General Brennan

‘If it’s lady’s breasts, it will be

alright’ Marie said, encouraging the madness

I don’t think this is alright

though I remember a similar conversation…

pngtreecom

17 Evening of the

“Moonlight Grass Night”

When the sky began to show the

colours of twilight, General Brennan came to take me to the theatre Unlike the

ar fields, he earing

a gentlemanly blue coat, with beautifully ornate embroidery Under Oliver’s

watch, he bowed over e

It felt like a dream as I said,

‘Thank you,’

His hand arm

As the maids and footmen watched us, from

beside Oliver, we e

It was as though alking on

fluffy clouds

♢

The evening before yesterday, my

father casually proclaimed,

‘The general is co to take you

to see a play the day after tomorrow’

At that point in time, I had