Chapter 25

Alek now led Celia out of the third store, but her mood got worse and worse. Lora had been right! He actually tried to apologize to her with expensive gifts. She was now the owner of 10 new ball gowns, valuable china and four pieces of jewelry set with diamonds and sapphires. It seemed to her almost as if he would buy more and more things the angrier she became. The purest vicious circle.

Therefore it was no surprise she didn't enjoy her stay in the city at all and insisted on going back to the carriage as soon as possible.

In her imagination, the two of them, arm in arm, would have wandered through the streets. He would have bought her a flower from a street vendor and then they would have sat down in a nice cafe and had a proper chat over some cake and tea. How could such an attractive man be so frustrating at the same time?

They were almost back to the carriage when she remembered that he had wanted to buy new shirts. Should she remind him? She would have preferred to say nothing, but if she thought about it longer... as a future Grand Duchess, Ramas had pointed out to her that she had to dress properly, too. So maybe the shopping was only so perfunctory so that she could live up to her new position. That was no excuse for the fact that he had not even asked her what she would like to see, but she could at least understand it.

Her anger faded easily, even though she hadn't forgiven him yet, and she cleared her throat. "We forgot the shirts," she reminded him.

Her fiancé looked at her in surprise. "I thought you wanted to go home?"

Embarrassed, she averted her eyes. "Well, a couple of shirts are hardly going to last all day. Besides, you said yourself you'd rather get them yourself."

Alek nodded and together they went to a tailor. Celia had never been to a men's tailor before, it was very different from the boutique they had visited earlier. The colors of the clothes were much more muted and the room was rather plain.

"Grand Duke! What a pleasure to see you here in person," an effusive man immediately greeted them. "And in the company of a lady, I see," he added, clearly surprised.

"My fiancée Celia Arinella Fleuret," Alek introduced her. "Celia, this is Gilles Ballard. A very talented tailor."

Somewhat shyly, she greeted the man, who was now all wide-eyed.

"Fiancée? But why didn't anyone let me know?" Mr. Ballard seemed honestly shocked by the news. "Just tell me that your engagement party hasn't happened yet, or I want to drop dead right now!"

While Celia was slightly startled at these words, Alek seemed completely relaxed. "Calm down Gilles, the engagement party is still to come and of course you will take care of my clothes."

That probably calmed the man down again whom Celia estimated to be in his mid-50s. "Well then, how can I help you today?"

From a nervous breakdown straight back to a capable businessman, very impressive.

"I'm afraid my shirts have become a little too tight for me. I guess we'd have to remeasure."

Mr. Ballard looked at the duke's chest and nodded slowly. "Indeed. You must have increased the training, the pectoral muscle and shoulder area have grown noticeably larger. But no problem at all, I'll take the new measurements quickly and then I can show you some more new models."

Alek shook his head. "That won't be necessary. Just send the finished shirts to my estate as usual."

Mr. Ballard looked at her fiancé in a snubbed manner. "But Your Grace! Now that you are engaged, surely Lady Fleuret will have something to say about the choice of your shirts!"

Celia hadn't thought about that at all, but the thought appealed to her. Alek probably noticed that too, as he now gave in with a sigh. "Very well then, I'll try on a few models."

The two men disappeared together behind a curtain to take measurements and Celia took a seat on a sofa in the middle of the room. Again, she noticed the difference from the women's Boutique. It was a dark leather sofa that felt quite smooth and cold. Presumably it was not at all customary for a wife to accompany her husband to the tailor. Alek had suggested it himself, but whether he was still uncomfortable that she not only came along but also insisted that he try something on?

She felt a guilty conscience spreading through her. She even almost thought about leaving the fitting, but then Mr. Ballard pulled the curtain aside and the Grand Duke could be seen in a plain black shirt. Well, he surely could handle trying on a few more.

Since he was still buttoning up the shirt, she could once again catch a glimpse of his muscular chest. Besides, he looked much more mysterious in the black shirt.

Without a word, Celia looked at Mr. Ballard and raised her thumb. There was no mistaking the flash in his eyes. He hurriedly picked up more shirts and showed them to Celia. From his selection, she immediately realized that she and the tailor would get along very well.

And so they tried different shirts in the different colors. One more attractive than the other. Even when she saw Alek slowly losing his energy, she blithely continued. That was also the moment when she realized that she was probably more resentful than she had thought.

Still, she didn't want to wear him out completely and was about to stop the shopping frenzy for the next shirts when Mr. Ballard returned with an extremely fancy object. "I don't display it in the store because no man would wear such a flashy color, but I can't help but show it to you. It always reminds me of the grand duke. There's even a matching vest to go with it."

The enthusiasm was clear on his face and Celia shared it with him. The shirt in question was very plain, but the vibrant pink would indeed match the Grand Duke's eyes beautifully. 

"Unfortunately, I'm afraid he won't even try it on," Mr. Ballard indicated, and he was probably right about that. However, there was no way she could leave the tailor shop without buying this shirt. "Add it to our order, with everything that goes with it. The Grand Duke does not need to know about it. It will be ... an engagement gift."

The idea pleased the tailor and he made a slight bow. "But of course, as you wish Lady Fleuret."