TMRDWMP CH 16
- Jun 22
- 6 min read
Updated: 5 days ago
Chapter 16
• ────── ✦ ────── •
Only to You
Monica insisted on simply taking the money, but Louis maintained that such a thing was out of the question.
“To send a lady away with mere cash would be improper.”
“Why?”
“It wounds my pride.”
“But this was Garcia’s doing.”
“Regardless, my pride remains at stake.”
Monica had already resolved not to follow Garcia anywhere to buy clothes, regardless of whether he offered to pay. Louis, however, proved to be a formidable opponent in a completely different way.
“Devoting myself to a lady who has been inconvenienced is the least I can do. To pay with cash? That is a man’s disgrace.”
Monica looked up at him suspiciously.
“There is one part that bothers me.”
“Me? Tell me what it is, and I’ll correct it immediately.”
“The bit about devoting yourself.”
Louis gave a bright but sly smile. A remarkable man able to balance those two expressions so perfectly.
“But that part is my absolute, honest truth.”
“What a flirt.”
“I prefer to think of myself as a man with a great capacity for love.”
Louis skilfully escorted her. The transition into the commercial district was so seamless that Monica only regained her senses when they stood before a grand building with a fancy pink and purple checkered doorway. The boutique was massive, standing three storeys high with elegant double doors featuring charming handles. It was clearly one of the finer establishments in the district.
“Aren’t places like this only do custom made?”
“Trust me.”
A woman wearing a hat adorned with beautiful green feathers glanced at them as she exited the shop.
“Welcome!”
As Louis boldly opened the door and entered, a shop assistant with a lively voice hurried over. Monica instinctively shrank back, but Louis smiled gently and whispered.
“Let me escort you, Moni.”
“Moni?”
“I can hardly call you my love just yet, can I?”
Monica wanted to protest, but Louis patted her shoulder lightly and turned his attention to the clerk.
“Do you have an appointment?”
“I’m afraid not. But surely you have something suitable for people like us?”
The clerk nodded.
“Our mistress is the swiftest tailor in La Spezia! Even the captain of the great Mermaid Ship brings his wife here.”
The reality of living in a port city became clear. Sailors who spent half the year at sea had no time for lengthy fittings. Louis smiled faintly.
“Show me something for my Moni.”
“With pleasure! Please, follow me to the second floor.”
As the clerk led the way, Monica hissed at Louis.
“This is too much, Louis. My old dress was just something from the market.”
“Technically, this is a market too.”
“Louis,” Monica sighed.
“I wasn't going to say this because I find Garcia so irritating.”
“So you’ll only tell me? Is it a confession of love?”
“Ugh! That dress was second-hand!”
Monica stamped her foot, heat flooding her cheeks. She didn’t want to admit it. At the orphanage, an eighteen-year-old girl didn't have the luxury of new clothes. She had spent an age rummaging through carts at the market, enduring disapproving stares, just to find the sturdiest dress available. Buying new clothes had never been an option.
She pressed the back of her hand against her face to cool her skin. But Louis paid no mind.
“To think I forced a lady to reveal such a secret. I truly am at fault.”
“Louis, please. Even if those sixty shillings was all I had, I have no intention of taking more than what’s reasonable.”
“Moni.”
As Monica practically pleaded, Louis raised one eyebrow. The corner of his right eye twitched slightly.
“Garcia was incredibly rude to you, wasn't he?”
“Well... he wasn't exactly polite.”
“When Garcia mentioned he had to meet a lady but called her a mad horse-tail, I knew he had committed another sin.”
A laugh escaped Monica despite the seriousness of the moment. Louis had a knack for making even the most earnest situations feel light, like a drifting feather.
“Consider this an apology for Garcia’s rudeness, Moni. Besides, I can afford it.”
Monica grew curious.
“What exactly is the relationship between you two?”
Louis winked.
“I told you. We’re inseparable.”
“Are you twins?”
“Something like that.”
Cousins, perhaps? But could relatives resemble each other that much? And those eyes.
Monica grew more confused, but the situation was too hectic to think any further. The clerk, who had gone up to the second floor first, had come back down the stairs.
“Aren’t you two coming up?”
Monica let out heavy sigh.
“...On one condition.”
“And that is?”
“Stop calling me Moni.”
Louis’s smile turned dazzling.
“Very well, my love.”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake!”
Monica smacked the wall as she climbed the stairs. Louis merely chuckled.
“My lovely tomboy. So full of spirit.”
“You flirt! I told you to stop with the nicknames!”
The two men were identical not just in face, but in their sheer stubbornness.
By the time they reached the second floor, Monica had regained her composure. In any case, the situation had already been done, and Louis’s attire looked refined enough that buying clothes here seemed natural to him. Besides he insisted on paying, and Monica sensed she wouldn't be able to escape him today without buying at least one dress.
“Something comfortable to move in. Durable, and moderately stylish.”
The clerk nodded. Louis standing behind her, draped an arm around her shoulders.
“Something beautiful and uncomfortable. So beautiful that my love gives up on trying to run away from me!”
“Louis!”
The clerk giggled at the joke. Several garments were soon displayed before them.
“These are what the gentleman requested, and these are for the lady.”
On the right lay practical, sturdy clothes suited for a sailor’s wife. On the left were dresses adorned with delicate, intricate lace. Monica ignored the lace and pointed to a charcoal-grey linen dress. Louis pouted.
“My love, I’ve seen enough rats on ships to last a lifetime.”
“Stop complaining. It's my taste.”
“Then try one of my tastes as well.”
Louis picked out a walking dress, a white with thin green stripes. The clerk clapped her hands in approval.
“A wonderful choice! It’s made from newly arrived machine-woven fabric, perfect even in midsummer. The lace is imported and machine-made as well…”
“It's alright, I'm not buying it.”
Monica waved her hand. Louis was faster.
“My love? Look at this. It suits you perfectly.”
He held the dress up against her. His long, steady arms practically swept her over to the mirror. Monica squeezed her eyes shut, but Louis whispered in her ear.
“My love, I have hundreds of ways to make you open your eyes.”
“Louis, no matter what you say, I won't open my eyes. Just let me buy the grey dress and leave. White doesn't suit me.”
“I absolutely won’t allow that. My love, just once. Please?”
“…Ah”
His voice was low and intimate. His warm breath tickled her ear with every syllable. When he whispered that final plea, Monica finally opened her eyes.
This flirt! Is he mad?
She intended to scold him, but the sight in the mirror silenced her. Frustratingly, Louis was right. The dress suited her remarkably well. She had always avoided white, believing her lightly tanned skin was too dark for it. But the fabric was actually a soft ivory, which complemented her complexion beautifully. The stripes were a warm, leafy green rather than a garish summer hue, giving the dress a simple, lovely charm.
“See? It matches your stunning black hair perfectly.”
“You... flirt.”
The words carried a wealth of hidden meaning, acknowledging how easily he could find exactly what a woman looked best in. Louis beamed, looking more excited than ever.
“Oh dear, not anymore, my love. From now on, I am devoted only to you.”
“What a charming couple! Are you not married yet?”
The clerk chimed in, and Louis flashed a grin at her.
“A wandering ship’s doctor, drifting with the wind, is finally looking for a place to anchor.”
Monica’s eyes widened.
A ship's doctor?
She wanted to ask if he had really worked as a physician at sea, but she held her tongue, she has to wait until they were alone. While she was distracted, the clerk began clapping at how well the dress fitted, and Monica found herself awkwardly clapping along.
That was only the beginning. Under Louis's expert direction, Monica was whisked through five more dresses. Her plan to buy only one had long since vanished.
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