Half of Ruby

Chapter 40 (Part 1)

"Are you not attending the ball?" 

She shrugged. "No. I doubt any suitor would want me. Nobody would notice my absence. Into the bathroom we go." 

She led Ember down the hall, into the bathroom on the right side. A wooden washing tub stood against one wall, a mirror over a sink on the other, a toilet nestled in the corner. 

"Here," said Susannah, handing Ember a white silk garment. "Put this own." 

"What is it?" asked Ember, eyeing the heap of clothes in Susannah's arms nervously. 

Susannah stared at her. "Have you not heard of a chemise?" 

"I...no." 

A smile tugged at her lips. "It is an undergarment. One of many. Put that on, and I shall help you with the corset, the corset cover, the under petticoat, the hoop skirt, and the over petticoat." 

Ember stared at her. "I have never worn that many layers in my life." 

"You have never attended an evening ball either, I assume. It is all right." 

Susannah did not turn away as Ember undressed from her pink day gown, revealing her shamefully thin legs, her flat, rib-studded chest. Hurriedly, she slid into the chemise, marveling at the thin, silken fabric's protection as she tightened the drawstring around the neck. 

"Here," said Susannah, producing a triangle-shaped, pale yellow garment trailing long leather strings. "Your corset. Come here—I shall assist you with this...delicate device." 

Ember swallowed, then stepped towards her. Susannah slid the corset around her sleeves, closing the hard material behind her back as, with a violent tug, she laced it together. Ember gasped as Susannah continued tightening the corset, her chest constricting as she stumbled forwards. 

"Hold still," commanded Susannah, finishing the corset. "There. See—you have a rather lovely figure, if you present it correctly." 

Ember stared at it, struggling to breathe as the tightness around her waist, chest, and stomach suffocated her. "I—I cannot—breathe—"

"You will get used to it," said Susannah, sweeping over to the remaining heap of clothes. "I assume you will not need a stomacher, as you barely have a stomach to begin with. Here—the inner petticoat." 

Another silken layer, sliding over the corset but revealing her clavicles. Then Susannah lifted the hoop skirt from the washtub. 

"Here," she said. "Put this on." 

Ember stared at it. White fabric stretched over a skeleton of circular wires, no doubt meant to shape the gown. "Is this the last layer?" 

"The second-to-last." Susannah held up yet another silk petticoat. "You just have the outer petticoat, and the dress." 

Ember took a deep breath, the corset strangling her chest, as she reached for the hoop skirt. Susannah helped her slide it over her head as she stumbled backwards, surprised at the lightness. One more petticoat, and Susannah lifted the gown from the box, admiring the folds of silk. 

"Lift your arms," she ordered. Ember closed her eyes as Susannah slid the gown over her body, stumbling at the weight. 

She opened her eyes, staring at the gown. 

A low cut bodice, showcasing her prominent collarbones and the bare amount of cleavage the corset had managed to push up. The sleeves ended right at her shoulders, lace sweeping down from one side of the yoke to another. A slender yellow ribbon secured the waistline at the base of her breasts, the skirt of pale gold a waterfall of silk pooling around her feet while a cream-colored layer of translucent gauze trailed pearls and flowering, glittering embroidery to the ground.