Under Two Moons - Chapter 29
Chapter 29.
Morna's enthusiasm for her redesigned coverall was diminished by what I'd told her, but when we returned to the dormitory and the other women admired it, she perked up again.
She received even more compliments when we arrived at the refectory.
“I think all of the other women are jealous,” Morna said. “I bet you're going to get all sorts of requests from people to modify their coveralls.”
“Although I wish I could do that, I'm going to be too busy,” I objected. “Rani saw what I did. Maybe she could help anyone who asks.”
“Are you offering my services?” Rani asked with a smile.
“I'd never do that,” I replied. “It's up to you whether you help anyone or not.”
Her smile turned to a grin. “I'd never deny a request if I can help.”
After breakfast, I returned to Wert's office. He was ready for me. “Ah, Nissa. Ready to get to work?” he asked.
“I think so.” How could I commit before he explained further? I wasn't supposed to know a lot of the things I did, so I waited for him to tell me.
He led me to the sewing room next door, the one where they were assembling the yellow coveralls. There were two people there, besides the seamstresses: my brother and Holt.
“You will be making changes to the coveralls so that they will fit these two young men better than their usual ones, understand?” Wert said as if I was a child being given a simple command and he wasn't sure I followed it.
“Yes, of course,” I said, smiling at him.
“And any seams you sew will have to be coated with this waxy substance,” he said, handing me a small thin container which I assumed contained the wax he meant. With that, he left us to get to work.
I turned to Sura who'd been watching us. “Is there anywhere they can change into these coveralls?” I asked her.
“There's the cabinet,” she said, indicating a door on one side of the room. She opened it to reveal a huge storage cabinet that stood empty.
I nodded and smiled. That would do quite well. “Blane, you go first.”
My brother took one of the yellow garments and entered the cabinet. The doorway was just high enough that he didn't have to bend too much to go through it. He pulled the door closed.
While Blane was changing, Holt said, “I hope you're not going to make us look too much like girls.”
“Why would I do that?” I asked, but I knew he was asking because the only garments he'd seen that I'd modified were women's coveralls.
Blane finally emerged from the cabinet. I circled him thinking. He'd need enough room in his shoulders and legs to move around, but the coverall could fit him more snugly through his long torso. “Holt, why don't you put one of these coveralls on while I work on Blane's,” I suggested, and my brother's friend promptly complied.
As I planned how to change the seams on Blane's garment I asked him in a low voice, “You don't know how to swim, do you?” None of us had ever learned because there wasn't a large enough body of water near the Manor.
He shook his head, “Why do you ask?”
“Well, this fabric is made to be waterproof, so not much of an assumption that you'll be using it in water. In fact, Wert actually said 'underwater'.”
“The Dulno Lake expedition,” he guessed.
I nodded. “I think so. Why else would they need garments that keep water out, even the seams?” I asked.
The color drained from my brother's face. “Nissa, what should I do?”
“How hard could it be to swim underwater?” I asked. “Although, I'm surprised no one's asked you about your swimming ability before they chose you for this.” As we'd talked, I'd realized there wasn't enough fabric in the shoulders for Blane to reach out in various directions. “Lift your arms up,” I instructed him.
As he did, the seam under his arm strained and then opened up.
“Sura,” I called. “Is there any extra fabric left from cutting out the pieces for these?”
“Yes, of course. We always have scraps remaining.” She went to get a box under one of the tables and brought it over. “Is this what you need?” she asked.
“Exactly,” I told her. “I need to add a bit to the shoulders and back so that when Blane stretches his arms there's enough fabric.”
Holt had come out of the cabinet and I looked him over. He wasn't as tall or broad as my brother, and he had a slimmer waist. It was good I had them here so I could see what needed to be done for each of them.
“I heard they'll be selecting the others for this mission by tomorrow,” Holt said, as I took some measurements with a tape. There were lines on the tape every cenidul, which was one hundredth of a dulno.
“Thank you both very much,” I said. “I think I know what I have to do for your coveralls.”
“Is that a dismissal?” Blane asked with a smile. “You don't need us anymore?”
“Well, if you want to stay and watch me sew, I won't mind. But I expect you'll both be quite bored.”
“OK, I understand the message,” he said, grinning at me.
They took turns changing back into their green coveralls and brought me the yellow ones. “I should have these done by sometime tomorrow,” I said. There actually wasn't that much I'd have to do, but I wanted to alter two coveralls for each of them.
The fabric was quite different from any I'd ever worked on. It would have made a lovely dress, even in the yellowish color, but I was certain Wert would frown if I were to try to make one for my sister or Carys for the party. It was a pity.
Cutting the cloth wasn't easy, but sewing it went quickly. I wondered how many more Wert would want me to alter. I also wondered when they'd give Blane, Holt, and the others who were chosen, more information about the expedition.
Before I knew it, the bell rang for the morning break. There were so many things I could do for the short time but I decided the most pressing was to find Madoc. He hadn't been at breakfast. I wondered whether he had been able to think about a way for us to leave this place when we were ready. I also wondered if he knew who the other people were who would be wearing the new coveralls.
But where would he be? He'd said he might talk to Sobel about the language in his books, so I tried the library first. If he was there, I didn't see him.
I realized I didn't know where Madoc had been working the past days, nor where Col's work place was, but Gita would know. My next stop, therefore, was her animal nursery.
“Nissa! Come see the new baby lambs!” Morna said as soon as she saw me. Nothing would curb my sister's enthusiasm.
It wouldn't do to ignore her, so I found myself petting two tiny white lambs. Gita saw me and walked over with Wim. “Do they ever shear the sheep and use the wool for clothing?” I asked her. It was something I'd seen often at the Manor.
“They did when we first arrived,” she told me. “But more recently, they haven't. I suppose they have other sources for making cloth.”
“You don't know what those sources are?” I asked.
“One of the first machines that was made was one to weave fibers. I think they've been experimenting with different fibers recently,” she said. “By the way, I think you did an admirable job on your sister's coverall.”
I smiled. She'd also answered something I'd wondered about.
“But you didn't come here to see our latest additions or talk about weaving machines,” she guessed.
“Actually, I was looking for your husband and Madoc.”
“I'm afraid I can't help you there,” Gita said. “You must understand that Col does not have a fixed place where he works. He spends much of his day visiting the laboratories and inspecting what the scientists and engineers are doing there. I believe Madoc has been accompanying him the past two days.” She seemed to hesitate before saying, “Preparations are underway for an important project.”
“The laboratories. Where are they?” I asked, rather than let on I knew or even cared about the 'project'.
“The green corridors lead to them, just as the blue ones go mainly to living quarters, the yellow to the work rooms and the red ones to common rooms, such as the refectory and library.”
“That explains the different colors!” Still another mystery solved. “Well, thank you. I don't suppose I have enough time now to find them, but at least I'll know where to look in the future. And, truly, those baby lambs are precious!” I started for the doorway. “Good-bye Wim. See you at luncheon, Morna.”
I was surprised that, soon after I returned to the sewing room I was working in that morning, Wert returned with Eva. “You will alter two of these coveralls for her,” Wert ordered. He didn't introduce me to her, just as he hadn't introduced me to Blane and Holt. Did he know I knew them all, or didn't he care?
I repeated the routine I'd followed with the two men, having Eva change, then examining how the garment fit her, and taking several measurements.
“I've already started fixing some of these for Blane and Holt,” I told her when she changed back into her usual green coverall.
“Are they part of this mission, too?” she asked.
“Yes,” I replied. “What do you know about what you'll be doing?”
She shook her head. “Only that it involves water and a search for crystals for the machines.”
I nodded. “Have they told you when you'd be going?” I asked. “Or how many will be in the party?”
“Are you kidding? No, no one told me anything. But I assume it's important and we'll be told what we need to know, when we need to know it.” She picked up a piece of the yellow fabric. “This would make a smashing dress.”
I think when she said 'smashing' it meant it was a good thing. “Yes, I was thinking the same thing. Unfortunately, I doubt we can use the fabric for that. I wish I could make Carys a dress with it for the party this weekend.”
“Oh, don't you have party clothes with you that you can wear?” she asked.
“No. We only packed clothes that would be sturdy enough for riding and sleeping out of doors,” I explained.
“I might have something she could wear,” Eva said. She was about the same size as Carys. “And I'm sure someone would have something to fit you.” It was true that most of the women here were almost as tall as I am.
“What about my sister?” I asked. I know it was strange to be talking about a party with everything else going on, but I think by now everyone was looking forward to it as a change from the routine.
“We'll all look through our things for something for her tonight,” Eva promised. “Are you finished with me for now? Because I dying to see if I can find out more about this mission before luncheon.”
“So you're not going to wait until you're told?” I asked her. “Good for you! I'll see you later, then.”
She left and I went back to finishing the men's coveralls. I'd work on hers in the afternoon. I'd just finished adding extra fabric to various places on Blane's coverall when the bell for luncheon rang.
Satisfied with what I'd accomplished that morning, although still frustrated that I hadn't talked to Madoc, I headed for the refectory with a stop to clean my hands. The wax that I'd been using on the seams was messy and sticky.
Once my hands were clean, I was ready for luncheon. I scanned the tables as I entered the refectory, looking for people I knew. The number of those seemed to be increasing daily. Before I walked to a table where I saw Rani and Katya, I looked over the food. I was surprised to see something I hadn't eaten since I left home, a kind of vegetable and rice stew. I supposed that other cultures ate it too.
I took some of the stew, one of the ubiquitous meat pies, and a slice of bread, then joined my friends.
“This stew is delicious!” Rani said. “I've never had anything quite like it before.”
“What, never?” I asked in surprise. “We have it all the time in the spring. Cook makes it using the fresh vegetables straight out of the garden, and then she thickens it with rice from somewhere west of where we live.”
“Our cooks never made it before,” Katya said, but she looked like she was enjoying it too.
We all came to the same conclusion at the same time. “Carys!” we said in unison and laughed.
“She's already making her mark in the kitchen the way you are in the sewing room,” Katya said.
“How did it go this morning?” Rani asked between forkfuls of stew. She really was enjoying it.
“I think it's going well. It helped that the coveralls I'm fixing are for Blane, Holt and Eva.”
“Oh!” Katya said. “Are they the ones who've been selected to...” She stopped herself before she revealed too much. I wasn't surprised she knew about the expedition. Her father probably told her.
Morna's enthusiasm for her redesigned coverall was diminished by what I'd told her, but when we returned to the dormitory and the other women admired it, she perked up again.
She received even more compliments when we arrived at the refectory.
“I think all of the other women are jealous,” Morna said. “I bet you're going to get all sorts of requests from people to modify their coveralls.”
“Although I wish I could do that, I'm going to be too busy,” I objected. “Rani saw what I did. Maybe she could help anyone who asks.”
“Are you offering my services?” Rani asked with a smile.
“I'd never do that,” I replied. “It's up to you whether you help anyone or not.”
Her smile turned to a grin. “I'd never deny a request if I can help.”
After breakfast, I returned to Wert's office. He was ready for me. “Ah, Nissa. Ready to get to work?” he asked.
“I think so.” How could I commit before he explained further? I wasn't supposed to know a lot of the things I did, so I waited for him to tell me.
He led me to the sewing room next door, the one where they were assembling the yellow coveralls. There were two people there, besides the seamstresses: my brother and Holt.
“You will be making changes to the coveralls so that they will fit these two young men better than their usual ones, understand?” Wert said as if I was a child being given a simple command and he wasn't sure I followed it.
“Yes, of course,” I said, smiling at him.
“And any seams you sew will have to be coated with this waxy substance,” he said, handing me a small thin container which I assumed contained the wax he meant. With that, he left us to get to work.
I turned to Sura who'd been watching us. “Is there anywhere they can change into these coveralls?” I asked her.
“There's the cabinet,” she said, indicating a door on one side of the room. She opened it to reveal a huge storage cabinet that stood empty.
I nodded and smiled. That would do quite well. “Blane, you go first.”
My brother took one of the yellow garments and entered the cabinet. The doorway was just high enough that he didn't have to bend too much to go through it. He pulled the door closed.
While Blane was changing, Holt said, “I hope you're not going to make us look too much like girls.”
“Why would I do that?” I asked, but I knew he was asking because the only garments he'd seen that I'd modified were women's coveralls.
Blane finally emerged from the cabinet. I circled him thinking. He'd need enough room in his shoulders and legs to move around, but the coverall could fit him more snugly through his long torso. “Holt, why don't you put one of these coveralls on while I work on Blane's,” I suggested, and my brother's friend promptly complied.
As I planned how to change the seams on Blane's garment I asked him in a low voice, “You don't know how to swim, do you?” None of us had ever learned because there wasn't a large enough body of water near the Manor.
He shook his head, “Why do you ask?”
“Well, this fabric is made to be waterproof, so not much of an assumption that you'll be using it in water. In fact, Wert actually said 'underwater'.”
“The Dulno Lake expedition,” he guessed.
I nodded. “I think so. Why else would they need garments that keep water out, even the seams?” I asked.
The color drained from my brother's face. “Nissa, what should I do?”
“How hard could it be to swim underwater?” I asked. “Although, I'm surprised no one's asked you about your swimming ability before they chose you for this.” As we'd talked, I'd realized there wasn't enough fabric in the shoulders for Blane to reach out in various directions. “Lift your arms up,” I instructed him.
As he did, the seam under his arm strained and then opened up.
“Sura,” I called. “Is there any extra fabric left from cutting out the pieces for these?”
“Yes, of course. We always have scraps remaining.” She went to get a box under one of the tables and brought it over. “Is this what you need?” she asked.
“Exactly,” I told her. “I need to add a bit to the shoulders and back so that when Blane stretches his arms there's enough fabric.”
Holt had come out of the cabinet and I looked him over. He wasn't as tall or broad as my brother, and he had a slimmer waist. It was good I had them here so I could see what needed to be done for each of them.
“I heard they'll be selecting the others for this mission by tomorrow,” Holt said, as I took some measurements with a tape. There were lines on the tape every cenidul, which was one hundredth of a dulno.
“Thank you both very much,” I said. “I think I know what I have to do for your coveralls.”
“Is that a dismissal?” Blane asked with a smile. “You don't need us anymore?”
“Well, if you want to stay and watch me sew, I won't mind. But I expect you'll both be quite bored.”
“OK, I understand the message,” he said, grinning at me.
They took turns changing back into their green coveralls and brought me the yellow ones. “I should have these done by sometime tomorrow,” I said. There actually wasn't that much I'd have to do, but I wanted to alter two coveralls for each of them.
The fabric was quite different from any I'd ever worked on. It would have made a lovely dress, even in the yellowish color, but I was certain Wert would frown if I were to try to make one for my sister or Carys for the party. It was a pity.
Cutting the cloth wasn't easy, but sewing it went quickly. I wondered how many more Wert would want me to alter. I also wondered when they'd give Blane, Holt, and the others who were chosen, more information about the expedition.
Before I knew it, the bell rang for the morning break. There were so many things I could do for the short time but I decided the most pressing was to find Madoc. He hadn't been at breakfast. I wondered whether he had been able to think about a way for us to leave this place when we were ready. I also wondered if he knew who the other people were who would be wearing the new coveralls.
But where would he be? He'd said he might talk to Sobel about the language in his books, so I tried the library first. If he was there, I didn't see him.
I realized I didn't know where Madoc had been working the past days, nor where Col's work place was, but Gita would know. My next stop, therefore, was her animal nursery.
“Nissa! Come see the new baby lambs!” Morna said as soon as she saw me. Nothing would curb my sister's enthusiasm.
It wouldn't do to ignore her, so I found myself petting two tiny white lambs. Gita saw me and walked over with Wim. “Do they ever shear the sheep and use the wool for clothing?” I asked her. It was something I'd seen often at the Manor.
“They did when we first arrived,” she told me. “But more recently, they haven't. I suppose they have other sources for making cloth.”
“You don't know what those sources are?” I asked.
“One of the first machines that was made was one to weave fibers. I think they've been experimenting with different fibers recently,” she said. “By the way, I think you did an admirable job on your sister's coverall.”
I smiled. She'd also answered something I'd wondered about.
“But you didn't come here to see our latest additions or talk about weaving machines,” she guessed.
“Actually, I was looking for your husband and Madoc.”
“I'm afraid I can't help you there,” Gita said. “You must understand that Col does not have a fixed place where he works. He spends much of his day visiting the laboratories and inspecting what the scientists and engineers are doing there. I believe Madoc has been accompanying him the past two days.” She seemed to hesitate before saying, “Preparations are underway for an important project.”
“The laboratories. Where are they?” I asked, rather than let on I knew or even cared about the 'project'.
“The green corridors lead to them, just as the blue ones go mainly to living quarters, the yellow to the work rooms and the red ones to common rooms, such as the refectory and library.”
“That explains the different colors!” Still another mystery solved. “Well, thank you. I don't suppose I have enough time now to find them, but at least I'll know where to look in the future. And, truly, those baby lambs are precious!” I started for the doorway. “Good-bye Wim. See you at luncheon, Morna.”
I was surprised that, soon after I returned to the sewing room I was working in that morning, Wert returned with Eva. “You will alter two of these coveralls for her,” Wert ordered. He didn't introduce me to her, just as he hadn't introduced me to Blane and Holt. Did he know I knew them all, or didn't he care?
I repeated the routine I'd followed with the two men, having Eva change, then examining how the garment fit her, and taking several measurements.
“I've already started fixing some of these for Blane and Holt,” I told her when she changed back into her usual green coverall.
“Are they part of this mission, too?” she asked.
“Yes,” I replied. “What do you know about what you'll be doing?”
She shook her head. “Only that it involves water and a search for crystals for the machines.”
I nodded. “Have they told you when you'd be going?” I asked. “Or how many will be in the party?”
“Are you kidding? No, no one told me anything. But I assume it's important and we'll be told what we need to know, when we need to know it.” She picked up a piece of the yellow fabric. “This would make a smashing dress.”
I think when she said 'smashing' it meant it was a good thing. “Yes, I was thinking the same thing. Unfortunately, I doubt we can use the fabric for that. I wish I could make Carys a dress with it for the party this weekend.”
“Oh, don't you have party clothes with you that you can wear?” she asked.
“No. We only packed clothes that would be sturdy enough for riding and sleeping out of doors,” I explained.
“I might have something she could wear,” Eva said. She was about the same size as Carys. “And I'm sure someone would have something to fit you.” It was true that most of the women here were almost as tall as I am.
“What about my sister?” I asked. I know it was strange to be talking about a party with everything else going on, but I think by now everyone was looking forward to it as a change from the routine.
“We'll all look through our things for something for her tonight,” Eva promised. “Are you finished with me for now? Because I dying to see if I can find out more about this mission before luncheon.”
“So you're not going to wait until you're told?” I asked her. “Good for you! I'll see you later, then.”
She left and I went back to finishing the men's coveralls. I'd work on hers in the afternoon. I'd just finished adding extra fabric to various places on Blane's coverall when the bell for luncheon rang.
Satisfied with what I'd accomplished that morning, although still frustrated that I hadn't talked to Madoc, I headed for the refectory with a stop to clean my hands. The wax that I'd been using on the seams was messy and sticky.
Once my hands were clean, I was ready for luncheon. I scanned the tables as I entered the refectory, looking for people I knew. The number of those seemed to be increasing daily. Before I walked to a table where I saw Rani and Katya, I looked over the food. I was surprised to see something I hadn't eaten since I left home, a kind of vegetable and rice stew. I supposed that other cultures ate it too.
I took some of the stew, one of the ubiquitous meat pies, and a slice of bread, then joined my friends.
“This stew is delicious!” Rani said. “I've never had anything quite like it before.”
“What, never?” I asked in surprise. “We have it all the time in the spring. Cook makes it using the fresh vegetables straight out of the garden, and then she thickens it with rice from somewhere west of where we live.”
“Our cooks never made it before,” Katya said, but she looked like she was enjoying it too.
We all came to the same conclusion at the same time. “Carys!” we said in unison and laughed.
“She's already making her mark in the kitchen the way you are in the sewing room,” Katya said.
“How did it go this morning?” Rani asked between forkfuls of stew. She really was enjoying it.
“I think it's going well. It helped that the coveralls I'm fixing are for Blane, Holt and Eva.”
“Oh!” Katya said. “Are they the ones who've been selected to...” She stopped herself before she revealed too much. I wasn't surprised she knew about the expedition. Her father probably told her.