Heart's Content

Part Eighteen

{'View of Vétheuil' by Claude Monet from Wikimedia Commons}

Watching Sabien and Genevieve as their relationship developed began to leave Lisette feeling increasingly anxious, a sensation which she attributed to her repulsion regarding her own pending nuptials even though the ceremony was still more than half a year away. Wilfred Therouche had not been a stranger to the Olivay household and while Sabien was receiving the benefit of getting to know his betrothed, their parents evidently determined that Lisette knew Wilfred well enough that such a concession was unnecessary. He wasn't a business partner of Mister Olivay's but was a close friend of his and had many a time been a guest in his household during Maurice's youth and had been known by Lisette since she was a child. If anything, the fact that she had known him since childhood made her feel worse about the whole situation rather than better that she actually knew him. The idea that he was already an adult when her parents were children was unnerving on its own, but the fact that she couldn't honestly say that she knew him better than as a passing acquaintance and nothing more only added to her agitation. The awkwardness she felt over her parent's choice for her future spouse made her feel as though she'd prefer marrying a complete stranger rather than the aged family friend, Wilfred Therouche.

It went without saying that Lisette spent a lot of time brooding over these points, but she thought she did a fairly decent job of only doing it when she was alone and didn't allow it to sour her moods, and in truth that was generally the case as it was at that moment while she was meticulously collecting flowers to weave flower crowns. Once she decided that she had collected a suitable number of the flowers, she returned to the oak tree and laid the bundle out on the blanket before gracelessly sitting down beside them, "here Genny, I have brought enough for each of us!"

On account of her careless movements, the shimmery fuchsia gown she wore with puffy sleeves that held right at her shoulders was allowed to ride up and expose the silken skin of her bare legs up to her knees and the velvety purple slippers that adorned her dainty feet. Genevieve's gaze slipped towards Lisette's exposed legs and her cheeks grew warm, the thought crossed her mind that she might never be able to understand how Lisette could simultaneously be so proper but improper at the same time and the notion brought a gentle smile to her face as she tugged Lisette's skirt down to cover her skin. Her gesture caused Lisette to laugh slightly, looking at Sabien who shrugged his shoulders.

"Genny, you need not fuss, 'tis only we three about and Sabien has seen me in the nude!"

"Lisette! Please!" Sabien laughed loudly and plucked a handful of the plush grass that they sat upon, throwing it at his sister, "we were children then and we are certainly children no more!"

"That may be, but we have certainly been swimming together in adulthood and that's close enough!"

Genevieve's lips pursed and she looked away shyly, her delicate though distinctly marked hand retreating from where it was still gently holding the hem of Lisette's soft gown and rising to the scarred side of her face. There was rarely a time when Genevieve didn't appear embarrassed or out of place and as much as she hated to admit her own humility, she was well aware of it. Their mention of the indecency of the swims the siblings had taken prior to knowing Genevieve as well as those taken while she was present only heightened her feelings of abashedness and made her cheeks feel warmer.

The silence Genevieve returned exposed her discomfort and, as her timid mannerisms always did, made Lisette smile warmly, "oh Genny!" Lisette laughed as she gently grasped Genevieve's left arm with both of her hands and shook it slightly, "I thought we were past this awkwardness! Let's get started – you too, Sabien! And don't try to pretend you don't know how!"

Sabien wrinkled his nose and stuck his tongue out at Lisette before he began to collect flowers to weave together. His action was one that was frequently exchanged between the two siblings but it still prompted a soft giggle from Genevieve and inspired her to remove herself from her state of discomposure as she gazed at them each from the corner of her eye. Lisette turned to their friend curiously, noticing that while she seemed to no longer be embarrassed, she had not collected her own flowers to weave even though she and Sabien had already begun, "Genny? Aren't you going to weave one too?"

Genevieve's lips flattened into a line and she shook her head slightly before following the gesture with a shrug, "I'm afraid that weaving flower crowns isn't something that I'm familiar with."

At her admission, Lisette and Sabien glanced at each other for a moment before they both looked back to Genevieve. It wasn't the first time that she had admitted to being unfamiliar with something that for them, and they suspected for most others when they were children, had been commonplace. Neither of them expected it to be the last time either and just as it was every other time, neither of them made a big deal out of the fact that things they knew were otherwise unknown to her. Lisette scooted closer to her and collected a small bundle of flowers from the larger pile, bringing it closer to them, "well then! Let's familiarize you!"

Lisette's soft hands collected Genevieve's as she placed a few flowers in her palm, she paid no mind to the fact that one of Genevieve's hands was scarred, that fact had been long forgotten for some time now even though it was something that was ever present. Any time Genevieve began having trouble with her weaving, Lisette dutifully guided her to fix it and at times just showed her the next bit of the process. Flower by flower, the ring of her crown grew until eventually she had a full wreath of flowers. When it was finished, Lisette smiled and turned it around in her hands for a moment before she placed it delicately on Genevieve's head, "Beautiful."

There was distinct sincerity in Lisette's tone that made Genevieve's chest tighten and the look on her face spoke to that sincerity. Genevieve found her gaze caught by Lisette's and was all at once joyful and unnerved, blinking rapidly before she turned her eyes away. Lisette had chosen a large selection of flowers for the group but when selecting blossoms for Genevieve, she specifically chose ones in different shades of pink with a few white ones tossed in. She always found the softer, more feminine shades to be most suitable for Genevieve's complexion and upon seeing the completed floral ring that was woven so meticulously as to keep the majority of the green from showing, she found herself quite captivated by her appearance and couldn't help but to smile. She supposed that her smile was what caused Genevieve to turn away, but that action made her even more lovely to Lisette who then turned her gaze on Sabien as she used her knees to wiggle backwards so that she wasn't obstructing his view of Genevieve, "well Sabien? Does the flower crown not suit her?"

Sabien was still fumbling with his crown, which actually wasn't quite that bad because he had the knowledge to make it, he only lacked the dexterity to weave it effectively and create one as nice as the one his sister had made with his fiancé. He smiled as he looked over when Lisette questioned him and without his words sounding as though he was just saying what his sister wanted to hear, he paid his compliment, "it is quite lovely and it suits her very much."

Genevieve only smiled and gazed down at the remainder of flowers that lay on their blanket as she lightly touched the crown atop her head, "thank you both very much."

With a gentle touch, Lisette squeezed her shoulder before settling down to make a new crown, happy to help someone who hadn't been able to delight in something that was such a simple thing to her, so simple that she was soon teasing Sabien about his own crown that he had not yet finished.

"Oh hush! My fingers are not as slender and small as yours and I keep tearing the stems!"

"Excuses excuses!" Lisette laughed, shaking her head as she went about the task of weaving her own wreath, "what would father say if he heard you making excuses about such a simple task?"

"Um... 'why are you playing with flowers?! That's women's work and child's play!" Sabien put on a deep and grumpy voice as he mimicked what their father may say if he saw his only son weaving flower crowns. Lisette laughed even more and nodded her head in agreement and the three continued to joke and tell stories until the evening.