The Trousseau (7 page)

‘
CLOTILDE
. Have you a minute to spend with me?'

‘Come in. What can I do for you, Henriette?'

‘First let me congratulate you on your coming wedding. Madame LeBlanc told me this wonderful news and everyone is so happy for you both. I've just spoken with Vivienne who mentioned that this school will be closing at the end of the year. I asked her if there were any sets of watercolours available and if so, could I have one. She was in agreement.'

‘I have several of these just sitting in the storeroom because I don't use them with my botanical art classes. I can even give you two sets if you'd like, with an extra brush for each.'

‘I'm really grateful for this and in exchange I'd like to offer you two more lessons. I will meet you on Wednesdays after school.'

‘Henriette, have you time now to take a quick look at these two drawings. I feel confident about layering and blending several colours.'

‘Clotilde, these are beautiful. You have become so skilful at working with soft pastels. One day you could become a genuine botanical illustrator.'

‘There is one final technique I need to acquire. I can't use a pastel to add a detail or do fine shading, as the line is too coarse.'

‘What you want for fine work is a hard pastel pencil. You can sharpen this and get a very delicate line that can be left as it is, or blended in. I have several of these pencils in brown, dark green and a deep red colour. You can have two of each in exchange for the painting sets. Never use black as it creates too high a contrast. Brown is more subtle.'

‘I'll take up your offer of two classes as I may have an occasion to use my botanical drawing skills with Jacques' future work. We'll visit the store room now to collect your water colour sets and brushes. Near the end of the year many items will have to be moved to the new School of Saint Joan. I've been told to take another full box of pastels and a good supply of drawing paper for myself and I plan to do just that. Oh, Henriette, my life will change completely after this year is over. I'm looking forward so much to my marriage and to a happy future with Jacques.'

‘You will both have a wonderful life together,' Henriette replied, putting her arms around Clotilde and hugging her.

At last, Easter Sunday arrived. During the week before the wedding, Clotilde was free from teaching as all school children celebrated an Easter holiday. They would not be returning again for two full weeks. She and Yvonne put the final touches to the new home, bringing in food supplies and their clothing. All was in readiness for the newlyweds.

The nuptial mass would be celebrated on Saturday morning. All the invitations had been sent and Clotilde envisaged a very full church. On Friday afternoon she took her wedding dress and veil out of the trousseau, shook out a few wrinkles and hung the dress on a satin padded hanger. This, together with a small bottle of scented hair wash, was a surprise gift from Madame LeBlanc. She filled a bath and washed her hair, drying it in the sun and brushing it until it shone. Tomorrow morning Blandine and Yvonne would arrive to dress her hair and help her into her gown and veil. All three of them would walk to the church where Jacques would meet her at the church door and present her with the wedding bouquet. He wanted to arrange this himself and would select only the most beautiful seasonal flowers. She wouldn't sleep well tonight as her excitement grew by the minute.

A morning filled with sunlight greeted Clotilde as she awoke. Today would be her wedding day. After a light breakfast, her last meal in this little cottage, she waited for Blandine and Yvonne. Soon they arrived, she was dressed and then her hair was styled. Finally they turned her toward her mirror. She looked lovely in her bridal dress.

‘You are a beautiful bride,' they both told her. Then off they walked to the Church of Saint Joan where Jacques, looking handsome in a new suit and shirt, was waiting. The church was filled with well-wishers.

‘Come my beautiful bride, Clotilde. Everyone awaits us.' He kissed her and pressed an exquisite bouquet of scented flowers into her hands. Slowly they entered the church, took part in the mass and exchanged their vows. ‘With Clotilde at my side I can achieve anything,' Jacques thought to himself. And Clotilde happily mused, ‘Jacques, you have given me your love and you have also given me a name. Before today I was only Clotilde, nothing more, but now I am Madame Vallon.'

Tables and benches had been set up under the trees in the Government garden by Clotilde's pupils. All were thanked for making their wedding day so special, as everyone feasted and toasted the bride and groom. Later Jacques and Clotilde finally made their way toward their new home. At last they could celebrate their first night together on this, the happiest day of their lives.

TIME
passed quickly for Clotilde through the demands of work, teaching and maintaining a home. In late July she experienced strange bouts of sickness in the morning. She could teach without this problem if she skipped her breakfast and only in September was Clotilde's first pregnancy fully confirmed. Her sickness passed and she was told a new baby would arrive in March of the following year.

‘Jacques, what we had suspected is now certain. I am carrying our first child.'

‘What wonderful news, that our first baby will arrive after Christmas. I had always hoped to have a family to care for.'

‘I am looking forward to becoming a mother. I love children and now we will have one of our very own.'

Vivienne was also overcome with joy. ‘It is so fortunate for us all that this school will close at the end of the year. Are you well enough to carry on with your teaching, Clotilde?'

‘I can continue to teach until the end of October, but after that I would like to spend the last months of my pregnancy at home. By then I will need more rest and I must take time to prepare a room for the baby. There are so many things to finish in our new home and I could also spend more time in our garden if I wasn't teaching.'

‘Clotilde, your wishes will be respected. An early end to the school year will give us a chance to unpack all the supplies here and move them into the new church school. By then the building will be finished and the nuns will have arrived. They also will need time to settle in and prepare for their new teaching year.'

Speaking later to Jacques, all agreed that this was a perfect solution to their situation. ‘I won't miss teaching at all if I have a new baby to care for. I want to continue my work as a botanical artist and also help you develop the seed bank.'

The year soon reached its end as Clotilde said a final farewell to her pupils. In late March of the following year she and Jacques became the proud parents of a beautiful baby girl. During her christening, they named their first little daughter, Celeste.

With mother and baby settled at home, Jacques' life continued in many new directions. His hard work in the Government Garden was made much easier by the training he offered to his two apprentices. Their assistance eased his burden. Both were strong, capable young men, eager to work and learn all he could teach them. Jacques had also begun to catalogue the many varieties of seed plants that grew throughout Nouvelle-Caledonie. He set up contacts as far afield in the island as he could. These field workers brought him plant materials, with their roots intact, on a flowering stem.

‘Clotilde, I have five packets of fresh seeds that need your helping hand. Will you wash them in plain water and spread them out in the sun to dry? Be sure to keep them carefully separated from each other.'

‘I'll prepare them one at a time so none can be mixed with the others. Shall I label the envelopes for the dry seeds as well?'

‘This would be such a help to me as the collection is steadily growing. We won't know their correct botanical name, as others will determine this, but I'll provide you with their indigenous plant names for the envelope identification.'

They ran out of storage space so quickly that a large shed had to be built in the far corner of their land. This included an office and many shelves to hold their collection. A long table and several chairs were also needed on the back veranda, where Clotilde could work as the baby slept. A railing was added too, so when Celeste could finally move around, she wouldn't stray into the garden and beyond. Within six months, Jacques had accumulated enough seed packets to send on to France, aboard a departing ship.

‘I am also expecting several unusual flowers to arrive from Tahiti. These are plants that grow only on that island. I'm told they are members of the orchid family and are all very beautiful.'

Later Jacques excitedly brought back a sample of several flowers to show Clotilde. ‘Here is a temple flower, the Tamanu, a white frangipani. It has a wonderful scent. Just look at this brilliant orange hibiscus and smell the Tiari Tahiti, a rare gardenia. I also particularly like this lovely white lily.'

‘What is the orchid called?' Clotilde asked. ‘It has glowing white petals with a deep purple lip.'

‘You are holding a rare Tahitian vanilla orchid that grows nowhere else in the world.'

‘Jacques, place it in water until I can complete a drawing of it. I've never seen anything before quite like this blossom.'

The drawing she finished was one of her best, as she skilfully shaded the white petals with their slight blue tinge and contrasted this with a deep purple lip and labia.

‘Insects are drawn to the protruding lip of every orchid where they rest and leave pollen. Without the bees, no orchids would reproduce themselves,' Jacques told her.

‘I have an idea,' said Clotilde. ‘There are so many different orchids, why don't I make a series of drawings featuring these flowers. It could become our
Florilegium
- a special collection of exotic orchids from Tahiti and Nouvelle-Caledonie. What do you think?'

‘Clotilde, this is a wonderful project for us both to undertake! I'll bring you any orchid that reaches me, then you can draw and colour the botanical illustration for each. Be sure to leave a space in the lower left hand corner of each drawing where you will enter the flower's name, location and date in your fine handwriting.' And so the
Florilegium
project was begun.

As the years passed the Vallon family grew. Two boys arrived followed by another daughter. In addition to his work as Chief Gardener of the Government Garden, Jacques continued to receive many new horticultural commissions. By 1875 Noumea had grown into a thriving port with over a thousand residents. Some of the former convicts, who had received pardons and a piece of land, chose to remain on the island. As a steady stream of free settlers also continued to arrive by ship, the Governor and City Council Fathers decided that a Town Hall should now be built.

Jacques was commissioned to landscape the surrounds of the attractive white timber building. Flowering shrubs were planted within decorative flower beds around three sides of the Noumea Town Hall. In the large space behind the building, Jacques created an unusual concept in horticulture – that of the perfumed garden. Benches were scattered along its two free flowing pathways where the people of Noumea could stroll and inhale the fragrances of heavily scented flowers and herbs.

Clotilde's life too, was a full and busy one, caring for her home and family, assisting Jacques with the seed bank and now teaching the art of botanical illustration to several young women. Her
Florilegium
continued to grow as more and more art works found their place between its leather tooled covers and ever expanding binding. Life for Clotilde, Jacques and their four children was good. Every moment had been a happy adventure.

Clotilde sent fewer letters to Mater Dei, as the sisters she had known and loved slowly aged and died. Only Mother Germain was left. Now ninety seven years of age and nearly blind, she required others to read her correspondence aloud to her. In Clotilde's final letter, her happy life filled with stories about her children and Jacques' success, was shared with all. At its end she thanked Mother Germain for offering her the opportunity to sail to Grande Terre many years ago. But it was Mother Germain, as always, who had the last word.

‘Yes, we always knew that Clotilde was a special young woman. It brings me so much joy to learn that during those many years, spent far away from us at Mater Dei, Clotilde has truly fulfilled her promise.'

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Located in the heart of the South Pacific, New Caledonia lies east of Australia and northwest of New Zealand. A large archipelago over 500kms in length, New Caledonia is composed of the mainland, the Isle of Pines and the Loyalty Islands. Like a pearl nestled in its shell, it is surrounded by an immense coral reef protecting it from the depths and swells of the sea. With its profusion of native flora, fauna, and a richly diverse marine environment, it still remains one of the most beautiful sites in the world.

Apart from the historical figures and well known places mentioned in the text, all of the characters and locations are fictional.

THE AUTHOR

Mary Mageau is the author of
In the Eye of a Storm
,
The Trousseau
, and
An Antique Brooch
. She also is an award-winning composer and writer. Born and educated in the United States, she has lived in Australia since 1974.

Her writings in the Japanese verse forms of haiku, tanka and haibun are published in the United States by Red Moon Press and MET Press. Mary's poetry also appears in American, Canadian and Australian anthologies and literary journals. Her haibun poems were published in Triptych Poets, Volume I (Blemish Books, 2010).