Page 58 of Night's Fall
ThoughIalready knew.I’dseen the pics thousands of times.
But to see it, live and in person…
Divine.
His hand glided to the side of my waist, his fingers pressing in, and he moved us to the next box.
“My grandmother and grandfather’s.Andthen there’s my great grandmother and grandfather’s.Ithink you can take it from there.”
I stared at the extraordinary garments fastidiously exhibited on custom-made, headless mannequins.
AndIknew he knew.
He knew before he brought me here, he was giving me this remarkable gift.
He knew.
My eyes started to tingle as he murmured, “Come.”
I would have gone anywhere with him at that juncture.
He took my hand and led me down the line of wedding apparel that ranged fromYoD2080s to…
He stopped us at a glass case.
“PrincessMathilde.MarriedtoPrinceAtlas.Yearof theDragon1319, five years before the trolls invaded,” he said. “Ourclan wasStarknightthen, and that was the name of the land we ruled.”
Oh yes.
He knew.
I tore my gaze from the flame-red velvet gown with its cameo neckline, stunning gold silk-braid edging, pearls and ambers stitched into intricate gold embroidery, the deep fall of the bell sleeves that nearly brushed the floor, the intricate gold lace of the undersleeve embellishment and the sumptuous sable cape that flooded down the back of the gown and flowed across the dais the mannequins were standing on.
AndIlooked up at him.
A million words filled my mouth, but before a single one could escape, he tugged my hand again.
He guided me from the display cases into the long rows of cabinets sporting wide, shallow drawers.Alongthe way, he nabbed a pair of white gloves from one of the many cannisters of the same that were readily available.
We stopped in front of some drawers that started at ground level and went up to my neck.
Aleksei called, “OpenDRdashSKthirteen, twenty-five dash seventy-eightM.”
He pulled me back as a drawer around calf height slid out and up to hover at waist height in front of us, whereupon the top slid away, folding into the back panel.
I expected to see troll skin.
It wasn’t troll skin.
It was a gold gown with a gossamer white tucked shawl at the square bodice.Thefall of the bell sleeves were prettily scalloped.Itwas folded over itself precisely to fit in the flat, wide drawer, but still in a manner that exhibited the features of the garment.
And it was so painstakingly conserved, it looked brand new.
I’d never seen a garment of this age so well presented.
“You can touch this one,”Alekseisaid. “Withthe gloves.”
I tipped my head back to look at him in surprise.
