“Annushka, fashion and makeup create the woman,” said Madame Koska. “Half the world’s beauties are perfectly plain… it’s an art.”
“I want to look like that all the time…” said Natalya, holding tightly to the mirror and looking at herself. “It’s not me, it’s someone else. Who am I?”
“It’s you, my dear. Several women may use the same kohl or lipstick, but the result would look very different on each one. You give the face its character.”
“If I looked like that every day, I would not be so scared,” said Natalya.
“That’s my intention,” said Madame Koska. “Next time the Inspector calls, he will be talking to a confident, strong young lady, not a trembling little rabbit. Feeling good about yourself makes all the difference. And now, take a look at the other clothes I brought. When you sew at night, by the way, no more extra work for the atelier. The dresses I brought are only the core of an excellent collection that you will create with your good sewing skills. We have just begun your transformation, my dear.”
“I don’t know how to thank you, Madame Koska,” said Natalya humbly.
“No need to thank me at all. I am doing it for all of us. And tomorrow morning, come to the atelier about half an hour early, and I’ll show you how to apply a proper daytime look. But you always come so early anyway, we’ll have plenty of time. And another thing; when you take a clean smock tomorrow, choose the dark blue with cream stripe. Not the pink and white.”
“Why?” asked Natalya, intrigued.
“It will bring out your eyes. Until now, I only saw pale, washed-out blue eyes. With the makeup on, they look like aquamarines.”
“My favorite stone,” said Natalya, enchanted.
“Really? Then we must get you some jewellery piece that you should wear most of the time, what they call a signature piece, with an aquamarine. The best thing would be earrings, since they are easy to wear and won’t interfere with your work. We can’t afford the real thing, since those who have the properly saturated colour are extremely expensive, but there are many very good imitations made from paste or semi-precious stones.”
Natalya laughed. “In the past I would have said that wearing an imitation stone is not for a real lady, but now… with my new look, I would love it! And since I know a lot about gems, I can pick some that no one would guess.”
“She is learning very quickly,” said Madame Golitsyn, satisfied.
While Natalya was looking through the clothes, happily absorbed, Madame Koska took Madame Golitsyn to the kitchen, in the pretence of making tea.
“Annushka, I lost my temper this evening,” she said contritely. “It was very bad.”
“Not again, Vera… with whom?”
“Gretchen.”
“Well, I can’t blame you. I wanted to beat her,” said Madame Golitsyn.
“But when I shouted at her, I lost my Russian accent.”
“Oh, Vera… she is the last person you can trust. That is not good.”
“I know. My only hope is that she did not notice since she was so upset when I told her what I thought of her.”
“But what did you say to her?”
“I told her that I knew she did not tell us everything, Annushka, and I was right. You would never guess what she was hiding, not in a million years. Her uncle, the respectable Mr. Howard, goes regularly to a fancy opium den by the river.”
“And she did not tell the police, the little idiot? Why not?”
“Who knows? She has no common sense, for all her scholarship. By now the two annoying sisters, the Plimpton-Anderson girls, and Mr. Howard, must be under suspicion of some irregularity. And I remember distinctly, Annushka, that Mr. Howard was very much annoyed when the conversation at dinner led to the stolen brooch. He really did not want anyone to discuss it. It’s getting more complicated every step we take.”
“You must tell all of that to the inspector,” said Madame Golitsyn.
“Of course, I’ll be in touch with him tomorrow morning,” said Madame Koska. “Annushka, I just thought about something rather funny. Earlier this evening, when I was screaming at Gretchen, I told her that looks mean nothing, and integrity and character were everything. A few minutes ago, I told Natalya that clothes and makeup make the woman, and her new image would be the cure to her fears. And yet I don’t feel I was wrong in either statement. I don’t feel there is a contradiction here.”
“There is no contradiction, Vera. Being a woman is a very complicated matter,” said Madame Golitsyn. “You told both of them what they needed to hear. And thank you so much for what you have just done for Natalya.”
“And for you, Annushka, don’t forget! You will never have to look at Natalya’s red nose again!”
Twelve
Madame Koska was surprised when the telephone rang at such an early hour. She had just entered the atelier, and was alone there.
“They are gone,” she heard Inspector Blount say. “The whole crew skipped town.”
“Who is gone?” said Madame Koska.
“Mr. and Mrs. Howard, the Plimpton-Anderson sisters, and as far as I know, Miss Van der Hoven,” said the inspector. “That is why I am calling. I wanted to know if she was with you.”
“No, she is not supposed to be here before ten,” said Madame Koska. “How did you find out?”
“I sent a man there to question them, very early this morning; he just called back. The servants are there, swathing everything in the front rooms in dust sheets.”
“Do they know any details?”
“They said Mr. Howard was called on urgent business to Paris, and that Mrs. Howard decided to go with him; they thought she wanted to shop there. They don’t know how long their employers will stay in Paris. They may go to Switzerland after that.”
“Did they leave an address?”
“No, they said they’ll let the servants know later. They were not sure in which hotel they would stay.”
“And the sisters vent vith them?”
“No, apparently the sisters left last night to go to their home. I’ll have to contact someone there, we know the address, but unless I have a good reason I can’t pursue them out of my district. Right now all I have on them are vague suspicions.”
“And the servants said nothing about Gretchen?”
“They said she left last night to stay with friends, taking only a little luggage.”
“So if she comes at ten, should I telephone you, Inspector?”
“There will be no need, thank you, Madame Koska.”
“Oh, yes. I forgot. There is alvays a man in the front.”
“Exactly so; and at this point, more than one has been stationed. If she comes, I will follow immediately. Please don’t say a word to Miss Van der Hoven, it’s best to pretend you know nothing.”
“Of course, Inspector, but I vant to tell you something new about Mr. Howard,” said Madame Koska, and told him about Gretchen’s revelations regarding the opium taken by Mr. Howard.
“Interesting,” said the inspector. “That puts everything in a different light.”
“Indeed,” said Madame Koska, but he had already hung up. She stood by the telephone, thinking about the news, which again did not quite fit in. Mr. Howard certainly made himself look very bad by leaving, but she did not believe he was a key figure in the theft of the brooch. More likely, he was a small, marginal figure in the Eurasian gang, probably did some opium business with them. It would be a good idea to discuss the opium den by the river with Mr. Korolenko. He was bound to know all about it…. Madame Koska stood by the front desk, drumming on it with her fingernails. At this moment Natalya walked into the atelier and Madame Koska smiled at her. “Quite early, Miss Saltykov. Let’s do the makeup before everyone arrives.” She was adamant Natalya must look her best before the inspector came in to terrify her.