The Fourth Mistress

Music Recommendation: The Darkest of Days - Piotr Musial

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"Is this the one?" asked Aunt Merlin, who brought her hand up in front of her forehead to shield her eyes from the bright sunlight.

Louise looked at the visiting card that she held in her hand and looked back at the shop with a board with the writing 'Burnell's stitched gowns' hanging at the top of it. "Seems like it is," she replied.

The Burnell's shop that Mrs. Reed recommended was nearly an hour's journey from Habsburg by carriage. She and her aunt had left early so that they could use the time in discussing how they wanted the gown, and now that they were here, they headed towards the door.

Louise placed her hand on the glass door and heard the bell fixed at the top of the door tinkle when she pushed it. Stepping inside the room, she held the door for her aunt to step inside.

The shop was moderately big, and the walls of the shop on either side were filled with bundles of different fabrics that were neatly placed. The windows let enough light inside the store, discarding the need for lanterns to be lit. Three mannequins at the corner had been draped in dresses. The place seemed quiet and old, which it would be considering how Mrs. Reed was here for her wedding gown years ago.

"No no, this needs to be in a V shape," came an old man's voice from the other side of the room and an old man appeared in the room. The man was bald with a few grey hairs on his head. A tape was hung around his neck. The man wore round-framed glasses, and he looked at the two customers who had entered his shop. "Welcome, how can I help you both?"

"Good morning," greeted Louise before asking him, "Are you Keaton Burnell? We came here on Mrs. Reed's recommendation."

"Ah, Mrs. Reed's acquaintances. Yes, I am Keaton Burnell. And what would you like to get stitched and whom is it for?" asked the old man, his voice slightly hoarse and his gaze shifting to Aunt Merlin, ready to size her up and down.

"It is for her. Louise Evardon my niece," Aunt Merlin let the man know, and the tailor went back to look at Louise. "We are here to stitch a wedding gown for her."

The tailor, Mr. Burnell said, "Congratulations on the coming wedding. When is the big day so that I know on which day the wedding gown needs to be ready to wear beforehand."

"It is approximately three weeks from now," informed Louise and the man hummed.

"We usually take only orders that give us at least a month's time in advance." He adjusted the glasses that he wore, his eyebrows naturally raised over the years, he said, "But since you have been referred by Mrs. Reed, who is one of our most important customers, I will try to get my assistants to accommodate their time and get the wedding gown ready. Please step forward so that I can take your measurements." While he pulled the tape, which had been hanging around his shoulders, he called, "Clark."

A man appeared in the room to pick up a book and pencil from the drawer.

"Please stretch both your hands, Ms. Evardon," Mr. Burnell asked Louise, and she quickly stretched both her arms on both sides so that the man could take her measurements to stitch the wedding gown. With every detail that came out of the older man's mouth, the man wrote down the details in the book.

"This is my son, Clark Burnell," introduced the older tailorman when they finished taking her measurements. Louise and her aunt offered a nod as a greeting. It seemed like the next generation of the Reed's would be wearing their wedding gowns from here too, thought Louise to herself.

"This is my aunt Merlin DeRose and I am Louise Evardon," Louise introduced herself and her aunt.

"Welcome to our shop," Clark bowed and greeted them. "Congratulations on the wedding being fixed."

"Thank you," Louise thanked him, a polite smile on her lips. Clark left with the details while Louise discussed with the old tailorman about how she wanted her wedding gown to turn out to be. After an hour of picking and choosing what she wanted with the materials and designs, Louise asked,

"If you don't mind me asking, Mr. Burnell, when was this place set up and for how long has the Burnell's family been acquainted with the Reed's family in making the gowns?"

The man put the measuring tape back to hang around his neck, walking to one side of the room to place one of the materials that was on the table.

"My grandfather was the one who opened this shop, and my father continued the work before it was passed on to me," replied the man, turning back to come to where the two ladies stood. "The first gown for the Reed's family was made for Lady Theodora Reed and then for her daughter-in-law Viola Reed and so forth."

"So you even created the wedding gowns for Mrs. Reed's daughter-in-laws.." her voice trailed, trying to confirm, and the old man nodded his head.

"Why yes, I did prepare them. They were made out of exquisite silk, pearls and satin. The best of the best," confirmed Mr. Burnell. "Those were beautiful dresses. Actually, we have them here as a showpiece. Some women don't like to keep the gowns with them, and instead of having them in a closed closet, they send it back to us so that other women can make use of them. We cut down the rate of such gowns so that brides who cannot afford the usual price, can make use of these as second-handed gowns."

Louise couldn't help but wonder why anyone would want to return their wedding gowns to the shop because they were supposed to be special. Unless the women who gave their wedding gown were all generous, she thought to herself.

"Do you think we could take a look at them?" asked Aunt Merlin, and when Louise gave a questioning look, she said, "It is not going to cost us anything for taking a look at them."

"Clark!" The old tailorman called his son's name, but hearing no response, he said, "I will go and bring those gowns from their cupboards. Take a seat."

Louise turned to her aunt, "He may think we are strange," she whispered.

"Come on. Aren't you a little curious to know how the young women's gowns were? At least we'll know what the family expects and your gown wouldn't look dull in front of the previous ones," Aunt Merlin whispered back to her. It was a good point, thought Louise to herself. At the same time, it was odd to look at the wedding gowns previously worn by Graham's wives.

A few minutes later, Mr. Burnell came back to the room where they were waiting, carrying one gown in both his arms, while another gown was carried by another person who Louise assumed to be one of the assistant's who worked for the Burnell's.

"Here are the two wedding gowns that we have with us," announced Mr. Burnell, placing the beautiful white gowns on the table next to each other.

"Oh my, they are indeed very beautiful!" exclaimed Aunt Merlin, and Louise took note of the embroidery work on the gowns. It seemed like the Burnell's were true to their work. "It is surprising that one would give back the gowns as beautiful as these."

"The Reed's family sent these back together after the second girl passed away," informed Mr. Burnell.

"And what about the third gown? Did they decide to keep it?" asked Louise, her curiosity piqued.

"We don't have that gown anymore. The gown was indeed returned after Mrs. Reed's son's third wife passed away, but I believe soon it was brought by someone else. I wouldn't expect anything less as it was much more beautiful than these two. Jimmy, the register," ordered Mr. Burnell, and the assistant quickly went to the table, bending down to pull the drawer and pulling out a white register. "We keep information about the customers who buy the clothes we stitch, it should be somewhere in here," explained the man.

Louise moved closer to where Mr. Burnell flipped the pages of the register, and he said, "It was another beautiful dress that was stitched and personally supervised by me." A deep frown came to form between his eyebrows, and he turned to look at his assistants, "How many times have I told you to not use the low quality pencil while noting down the details? The names have faded from this page to the next three pages."

"My apologies, Mr. Burnell," the assistant was quick to apologise, and Mr. Burnell waved his hand.

Dismissing his assistant, the old tailor turned to look at Louise, "Looks like we have lost almost a dozen of information."

Louise stepped closer to the gown, looking at the gown that was once worn by the man's brides whom she was going to marry in a few days. By the looks of it, she could tell that the bad luck didn't emerge from this place as Viola Reed was doing fine even after wearing the gown from this place.

"If you were to come here the next week, this one won't be here," said Mr. Burnell, picking the gown that was on Louise's side. "The gown has been booked by a woman for her daughter to wear on her wedding day."

"I see," murmured Louise.

"It is good that the gowns are going to be reused. You're doing a good job, Mr. Burnell," Aunt Merlin raised her hand to give him a thumbs up.

"Of course, we try to make every bride happy on their wedding day. Gowns like these are preserved for some of our finest customers who don't mind rewearing something so beautiful," replied the old man.

Noting down the dates on when to come here to check the fitting of the dress, Louise and her aunt left Mr. Burnell's shop. Stepping out of the shop, she noticed the heat in the atmosphere had increased, and they quickly stepped inside the carriage to get back home.

On their way back, in the carriage, Louise slightly opened the carriage window, letting the air in that moved the side fringes of her hair.

"...was going to be an expensive visit. But the prices are almost the same as you would find in the town of Habsburg," her aunt spoke to her. "From what we saw, I am sure the man will stitch a beautiful gown for you."

"Yes, it looks like it," replied Louise before looking outside the window.

Louise couldn't help but question if Mrs. Reed had lacked attachment with her previous daughters-in-law. By what she had heard from Graham, his mother herself had picked the first two wives.

Yet after their demise, she had given their gowns back to the shop, including the third one's wedding gown whom Graham cared about.

She wondered what his thoughts were on it.

A week passed since Louise and her aunt had visited Burnell's tailoring shop. But Louise' wedding shopping didn't finish there as two new trunks had been purchased for her clothes and other important items like her books were being packed inside it so that it would be easier when the day to move out arrived.

"It isn't uncommon these days to give the gowns back to the place where it was brought from," said Louise's friend Coraline, who lived a few meters away from her home. She had come to her house to help her in packing her things. "But a lot of them choose not to do it, because you know how women often cherish wedding gowns."

"Right," responded Louise while folding the clothes. "I wonder if Mrs. Reed didn't want to keep the belongings of her three deceased daughters-in-law."

Coraline nodded her head and said, "Maybe the thought of them makes her feel uneasy. I mean with the way some of the people keep gossiping about the three death's, I guess it just raises eyebrows at the family."

People often fueled the misery of others, without thinking of the effect their words would cause the person, thought Louise to herself.

"Frankly I was surprised when you told me that you are going to get married to Graham Reed. Not to be rude, but the man is good looking, Louise. And it is quite noticeable considering how many times he has been married before," Coraline raised her eyebrows as if to make a point while placing the stack of folded dresses in the trunk.

"He is handsome," agreed Louise, a smile on her lips.

Every time she closed her eyes and remembered the man, she remembered those olive-green eyes that stared at her with a subtle frown on his forehead. He was a good looking man and an intense one at that.

"Look at you already dreaming about your future husband," chuckled Coraline.

"Did you dream about Braden too when you got married to him?" questioned Louise, and her friend offered her a cheeky smile.

"All the time. I was possibly the most excited bride in the entire history of Habsburg," on hearing Coraline's response, Louise laughed while shaking her head. "I will miss you when you move to the Reed's manor."

"I will miss you too. But don't worry, I will come to visit you when I come here to see my uncle and aunt. This place will always be my first home," said Louise.

The news about her going to wed Graham had not spread yet, and it was kept under wraps. But when the time would come, Louise knew there would be a lot of murmur about it, and she would turn out to be a well-known person.

Days moved like seconds in the clock, and when the day to pick her wedding gown arrived, she went ahead by herself so that she wouldn't trouble her aunt, who was busy with other wedding preparations.

Pushing the door of the shop, she heard the door chime because of the bell fixed at the top of the door.

"Ms. Evardon," Mr. Burnell's son Clark greeted her with a polite bow, and Louise returned it.

"Good afternoon. I am here for my wedding gown," she informed the man.

"Of course, please take a seat while I go fetch the gown," responded the man. He went inside and came back after a minute with the gown. He placed the wedding gown on the table, "Here it is, milady. My father has gone out to get materials. He is very specific about certain things."

Louise couldn't take her eyes off the wedding gown, noticing how lovely it looked. The embroidery pattern was intricate, and though the gown would look simple from afar, there was a lot of work that went into the gown, which she noticed. From the neckline to the hem of it.

"I am hoping your silence is out of excitement," said Clark out of nervousness.

"My apologies. The gown is just so beautiful, I couldn't help but be awestruck by it," replied Louise, and the man sighed in relief. "It is more than I expected it to be. You have done a wonderful job."

"Thank you so much, Ms. Evardon. My father will be very pleased to hear about it. Would you like to try the gown here to make sure about the fittings and if any extra stitches are needed," said Clark.

Louise tore her eyes away from her wedding gown, and she said, "Yes, that would be great."

Getting inside the fitting room, Louise changed her dress by wearing the wedding gown.

As this side of the room didn't have any windows to protect the clothes from catching dust, a chandelier hung close to the ceiling. It gave the room a warm golden glow as Louise stepped out of the room.

"How do you find the gown, Ms. Evardon?" The old tailorman, Keaton Burnell, had returned from his shopping, and he handed the materials to his son.

"It is beautiful. I love it," she replied to the man, who gave a nod of approval while looking at her gown without looking through his glasses that had slid down from the bridge of his nose.

"You can take a better look in front of the mirror here," Mr. Burnell suggested, and Louise walked towards the wooden stool that had been fixed to the floor.

Stepping on the stool, Louise took a look at herself in the long mirror. She ran both her hands against the sides of her gown, feeling the smooth fabric. The chandelier that was in the front, it let the light fall on her and the gown.

"Hm," hummed Mr. Burnell as he took a round while making sure every single thread was in place and was not let out loose. He looked at the reflection of the young woman, who was admiring the gown. He then looked at the ground before he made another round around her. "It looks like there's just one stitch that needs to be done at the hem while the rest looks perfectly fine. You would turn out to be the most beautiful bride one has ever seen in Habsburg, especially after wearing the wedding gown."

Louise could tell that Mr. Burnell took great care of the clothes that he made while also being proud of his craftsmanship. The man knew his job well, and Louise was glad she was able to afford the price. She continued to stare at the wedding gown, turning left and right.

"I can tell why Mrs. Reed recommended you to me now," smiled Louise. "I think I have come to fall in love with the gown."

"Just like every bride has to feel," replied Mr. Burnell.

"We intend to make every bride who decides to buy wedding gowns from here to be happy with what they receive. Who is the lucky man who is going to marry you?" asked Mr. Burnell. He had raised his hand, offering Louise his hand so that she could step down from the wooden stool.

"It is Graham Reed," replied Louise, and for a brief moment, the old man stared at her as if the information was still sinking.

"I see. So the time has finally come."

"The time?" asked Louise, slowly placing her hand in the old man's rough hand, and she got down.

"Yes," answered the old man. "With the way the family was trying to get him married, I could only guess that he wasn't going to stay as a widower for long. Pardon me, Ms. Evardon, but I cannot help but think that you must have fallen in love with the man."

Mr. Burnell had been holding a serious face since the moment she had met, which was why she was surprised with the words he had uttered to her now.

Louise cleared her throat. She said, "It isn't uncommon for the bride and the groom to fall in love," and she moved towards the fitting room so that she could change back into the clothes in which she had entered the shop before.

"The first two wives of the man were picked by Lady Viola. You seem different, your demeanour is more radiant," said Mr. Burnell without elaborating further into the matter. "I will be waiting here."

"Thank you," she murmured before getting inside the fitting room.

While Louise closed the door of the fitting room, Mr. Burnell's expression turned grim. A fourth wife, he thought in his mind. He hoped not to see this gown returned like the other three gowns from Reed's family.

The previous three young women who had come to the shop in the past were from wealthy families, just like how Reed's family preferred their company to be in. It was why Mr. Burnel believed Mrs. Reed wasn't the one to pick this girl for her son. As Mrs. Reed was his customer, the man didn't want to talk about unnecessary things, and he decided to keep his thoughts to himself.

Louise gave back the gown to Mr. Burnell, and the assistant worked on the hem before the gown with few others dresses was packed in large rectangular boxes so that it wouldn't crumple. The carriage had been pulled in front of the shop, and the older man had come to see her off by stepping outside the shop.

"Thank you for your help, Mr. Burnell," Louise bowed her head in appreciation. "I look forward to you stitching many more dresses for me in the future."

"I hope to be at your service, milady," Mr. Burnell bowed his head. "I wish you luck and happiness in your marriage."