Shadow War - Deborah Chester [98]
Her hair was smoothed down and coiled in a heavy, intricate knot at the base of her neck. Curly tendrils escaped to frame her face. The simple styling was to complement the crown that she would wear later.
Thinking of it, Elandra found her mouth dry and her heart suddenly pounding. She tried to think of something else, anything else in order to quell her rising anxiety.
They made her stand while they carefully lowered the gown over her head. It was made high to the throat, and she could wear her jewel pouch concealed without difficulty. She wished there was time to have the topaz secured to a chain so she could wear it as a pendant, but instinct told her this was a jewel to hide, not to flaunt.
The dress, made of cloth of gold, had always been extremely heavy, especially with its train that swept the floor. But today its weight did not seem so great. She stood patiently while the seamstress pulled at the long sleeves, making sure the wrist points reached Elandra’s knuckles and were not twisted. Then the full sweep of skirts had to be smoothed and the hem checked once again to be sure she could walk without tripping, yet would show no unseemly expanse of ankle.
Next came the jewels she was to wear. A new necklace of rubies had been created in her honor. Elandra examined it without much favor. It looked gaudy and overdone.
“Did the emperor order this made?” she asked.
The woman in charge of the jewels looked suddenly nervous. “Not exactly, Majesty.”
Elandra’s brows lifted. “What exactly do you mean?”
“It is a very fine piece of work,” the woman said, staring at the floor. “The jewels are beautifully matched.”
“Perhaps,” Elandra replied. “Answer my question. Did the emperor order this to be made for me?”
“No, not this necklace. The jeweler thought your Majesty would admire it.”
“I don’t,” Elandra said curtly. She had seen this trick pulled before at her father’s court. A jeweler would fashion something extra and send it in among the rest of the order. If it was accepted, he would then pad the bill accordingly. And he would use its acceptance to solicit more orders. “I do not like it at all,” she said. “I do not wish to wear it. If the emperor did not order it for me, then it may be returned to its maker.”
“But—but, Majesty!” the woman protested nervously. “It’s design was chosen by the emperor.”
“What do you mean?” Elandra demanded. “You speak in riddles. Either he ordered it, or he did not. Are you saying he chose this design, then changed his mind and did not request it to be made?”
“No. It was made to his order. I mean, another was made to his order.”
Elandra looked at the woman in silence. By now, the woman was perspiring and knotting her fingers together.
She looked as though she wished to be swallowed by the floor.
When Elandra said nothing, she gulped and began wringing her hands.
“I’m sorry, Majesty. We thought it would please you. It was made up in garnets first, simple, inexpensive stones, but see how much finer it is with rubies?”
Elandra refused to look at it when the woman held it up. “For whom was the garnet necklace made?” she asked coldly, although already she guessed.
The woman’s face looked bloodless. “The emperor wished to give it as a gift. He often—”
“I see,” Elandra said, her voice like ice. The ladies in waiting watched in bright anticipation. “He often gives baubles such as this to his concubines.”
The woman licked her lips and nodded. “Well, not exactly like it. I mean, the rubies are very fine stones. The jeweler thought that since the emperor had commissioned the design, it could be used—”
“This jeweler thought that her Imperial Majesty the Empress Elandra would be happy wearing the same necklace as a mere concubine,” Elandra said stonily. “This jeweler is a fool.”
“Majesty, forgive—”
“No. Why should I forgive what is a blatant insult?