[Story] Not For Nothing

[Venem 615]

Not For Nothing

Lady Trool sat absolutely still- or so she thought. Martha had to teach her ventriloquism to limit her movement at least when she spoke. You see, Lady Trool was extremely talkative and also quite expressive. Not an ideal model for an artist, you might agree. But the rosy red rubies and bright blue sapphires on her expensive necklace were suggestive of her wealth. And quite naturally, for a woman so rich, she was whimsical.

A fortnight ago, she had been complimented by Lady Nuvelle at a party-

“Oh, how pretty you look today, darling Amy!” Lady Nuvelle had said.

“Really?!” asked Lady Trool in mock surprise. She knew she was pretty that day. One didn’t work out for three months for nothing. She had lost half-an-inch of tummy.

“Of course, Amy!” said Lady Nuvelle, stealing a quick glance at the extravagant emerald ring on Lady Trool’s index finger.

And Lady Trool floated around the party in a dream-like state, immersing herself in the compliments pouring in. Finally, she had had enough. She decided that her portrait must be made. Tina was summoned immediately.

“Get the carriage ready, Tina,” she said to her maid.

“But the party isn’t over, Madame! Lady Nuvelle might feel bad if you leave so early!” said Tina, in a feeble attempt to dissuade her mistress from leaving; for Tina was greatly enjoying the dessert (way before it was supposed to be served) in the kitchen with the Nuvelle family’s cook.

“Get the carriage ready, dear. Don’t make me repeat myself! I don’t say something to you for nothing!” Lady Trool said.

 

Presently, Lady Trool was busy narrating how the waiter had spilled General Anthony’s wine on her pretty dress the other day.

“So you see, Martha, I was very upset. The General was kind enough to offer his handkerchief, but I declined; who knew how much mucus that filthy cloth had? And then I-“

Martha cut across, clearly exasperated- “Please Madame, if you may sit still; the portrait is only halfway done.”

“Of course, dear! You haven’t taught me ventriloquism for nothing…” said Lady Trool, moving her lips apart by an inch.

“You aren’t supposed to move your lips at all…” said Martha in an undertone, her lips barely moving.

“What’s that you say?” cried Lady Trool sharply.

Martha quickly replied, “Oh nothing, Madame. Just practicing saying ‘my marvelous brother’ using ventriloquism.”

“Ah, you’d better not, Martha. Absolutely no compromises. I haven’t paid you seven hundred pounds for nothing.”

“Of course, Madame, I’m sorry.”

And fortunately, Lady Trool sat still for the next eight minutes. Her heavily jeweled rings glistened in the sunlight streaming in through the French window. As Lady Trool sat majestically on the antique mahogany armchair, Martha was busy painting the intricate design on her pearl earrings.

Martha liked the earrings very much. She was about to compliment Lady Trool, when her rational mind stopped her just in time- a tiny compliment might trigger a flood of memories which, in the case of Lady Trool, was never meant to remain inside. She had to speak them out.

At the end of the eighth minute of her silence (and silence-induced stillness), Lady Trool raised her voice and said shrilly, “Tina, get me some water! I’m thirsty!”

The shrill cry woke poor Tina up. She was dozing away at the dining table a few feet behind Lady Trool’s armchair. Luckily, she was in the shadows.

“Yes Milady!” she said automatically. She guessed her mistress needed water as it had been an hour since her last water-break.

After drinking water, Lady Trool’s hand went on her flat(ter) tummy, about five inches away from the armrest.

“Oh no, Madame! The hand must be on the armrest!” cried Martha.

It took ten minutes to get Lady Trool’s hand back on the armrest, in the original position.

Martha sighed. Just the face would’ve done fine, she thought. But Lady Trool had insisted on a complete 'portrait'- from head to toe. A nice photograph would have let the artist work from home. However, surprisingly, Lady Trool didn’t own a camera. Well, one doesn’t not own a camera for nothing. Lady Trool hated the sudden flash of light and hence had never bought a camera. You can’t convince whimsical and rich ladies to do something once they have convinced themselves otherwise.

Tired and irritated at this assignment, Martha vowed to never accept portrait requests from rich and whimsical ladies in the future. And she further vowed to never break this particular vow.

Finally, after another hour of toiling, the painting was complete.

A few days later, it was in the news. “Lady Trool pays £700 for her portrait!” read one of the headlines. "Martha Wilson paints a £700 portrait of Lady Trool" read another. Of course, it made Lady Nuvelle uneasy. A letter was sent to Martha immediately, stating that Lady Nuvelle was willing to pay £950 to get her portrait made.

Martha saw the Nuvelle coat of arms on the seal of the envelope that arrived next morning. As she opened the letter with trembling hands, she gasped. £950!!! She was overjoyed.

She immediately sent a reply, accepting the request.

And all vows forgotten, Martha went to sleep late that night.

Vows are not broken for nothing. In this case, they were broken for £950.

Edited October 1, 2020 by SHREYA88
Punctuation edits

[Person_Random 4,991]

Approved.

Sorry I took so long - procrastination seems to have struck, and badly. I'm glad I put aside the time to read this story, because it was definitely one of the best pieces I've read in a while! The plot is very well crafted with just the right amount of description thrown in, and of course, topped off with a good sprinkle of humor. As of right now, the only issue I have is maybe adding just a bit more description to the dialogue; other than that, I would just say to follow your thoughts and surprise us with an even better story!

Edits: added a few commas

[Venem 615]

12 hours ago, Person_Random said:

Approved.

Sorry I took so long - procrastination seems to have struck, and badly. I'm glad I put aside the time to read this story, because it was definitely one of the best pieces I've read in a while! The plot is very well crafted with just the right amount of description thrown in, and of course, topped off with a good sprinkle of humor. As of right now, the only issue I have is maybe adding just a bit more description to the dialogue; other than that, I would just say to follow your thoughts and surprise us with an even better story!

Edits: added a few commas

Thanks for approving! 

I'm glad you had time to read this story lol...

More description to the dialogue? Hmm.. I'll try!

12 hours ago, At_Shin said:

I gave a like to your story, not for nothing, but because you deserve it.

Wow, this story reminds me of 'Mrs Packletide's Tiger'. It was alo themed on the whimsical competition between two rich women.

I can't deny that "Mrs Packletide's Tiger" wasn't at the back of my mind.... I guess the inspiration came from that story. Saki is indeed an awesome author.

Glad you liked my story for something... XD