Ilil Arbel: Madame Koska and the Imperial Brooch

“Madame Koska, one moment… do you want me to leave? Do you want to sack me? I can understand if you do.”

“I would have loved to sack you and you certainly deserve it, but I cannot do so in good conscience; I might endanger your life if I let you go. When I told the inspector you are staying, I meant it, since I believe that if you were to be dismissed, our lives would be in danger. The gang might suspect we both know too much. Our only chance is to behave as if nothing happened. You can leave now, I’ll lock up.” Gretchen nodded faintly, said goodbye in a whisper, and left. Madame Koska stood in the middle of the room, trying to overcome her agitation and restore her calm demeanour. Suddenly she put her hand to her mouth in shock as a terrible thought crossed her mind. She realised that during the conversation with Gretchen, her anger got the better of her, and she did not use her Russian accent.

Madame Golitsyn openedthe door and stared at Madame Koska, who was half hidden behind several large boxes. “What are all these?”

“These boxes contain Natalya’s new personality,” said Madame Koska, and coming in, started arranging them neatly on the dining table. “Is she awake?”

“Yes. May I open one?”

“Yes, of course,” said Madame Koska. Madame Golitsyn opened a white and gold cardboard box and gasped. “Heaven have mercy… so that is why you needed the shoe size…” The two ladies were intent on the table, as Madame Koska started pulling some smaller boxes out of her handbag.

“Can I go in to see her?” she said, busily arranging the small boxes on top of the large ones.

“Yes, she will be glad to see you, but Vera, we have a problem. We are just the three of us here and she will wonder why we don’t speak Russian.”

“No, Auntie,” said a small voice behind them. “I know Madame Koska does not speak Russian.”

The two ladies turned around to look at Natalya, who was wrapped up in a dressing gown a few sizes too big for her thin body. “You know?” asked Madame Koska, taken aback.

“I have known for a while, Madame Koska. But you should never, ever worry about the possibility that I might betray your secrets. They will die with me, if necessary.”

“But how did you guess?” asked Madame Golitsyn. “No one else ever did.”

“Because I have heard the two of you talk on the phone. When you talk just between you, there is no reason not to talk Russian. So I understood. Besides, even though Madame Koska’s accent is perfect, I just sensed it.”

“You are a very clever young woman… I’ll explain the reasons for this charade some other time,” said Madame Koska. “Right now, we need to talk about you. I am sorry you were so upset, and we must prevent it from happening again.”

“I am afraid the police will want me again, Madame Koska,” said Natalya with a sigh.

“They most definitely will, but you are going to become confident, beautiful, and unflappable.”

“Like you, Madame Koska?” said Natalya, smiling faintly.

“If you think that is how I am, then yes, and thank you. Come to the table. You see, when you wore the lovely suit at our Christmas dinner, I noticed that you had natural elegance and that much can be done about it, but at the time, it was not terribly important. Now it is.”

She took a dress out of one of the boxes, and a pair of shoes out of another. “Put these on, dear,” she said. “And then, we are going to do some makeup magic. We are going to fix your nose so it is never red again, and put on rouge, so you are not so pale. The Rimmel for your lashes, that is only for the evenings, when you go out. You don’t want to put it on for work since it might hurt your eyes with the close work you do. You should not put on the kohl around your eyes, either, except at night. But this light rouge, and the coral salve, which is not really lipstick but only a touch of colour, you can wear all the time. And always, always have foundation and powder on your nose. The darker lipstick is for also for evenings, but I’ll have to show you how to put it so you have bow lips.”

“What about the hair?” asked Madame Golitsyn, entering into the spirit of the thing, “should she bob it?”

“Her hair is too beautiful to bob,” said Madame Koska. Natalya looked relieved. “Just look at these ash blonde curls… you have been hiding it all this time as you pull your hair so severely back… We’ll put it up in a soft chignon, with some curls escaping from it.”

Natalya took the dress and shoes and disappeared into the bedroom, coming back looking like a transformed being. The banana-coloured afternoon dress was made of light, delicate silk that flowed over Natalya’s body, complementing her figure and hiding its thinness. The shoes, made of soft brown leather, enhanced her height, adding about two more inches. Madame Koska was surprised to see that she walked very well in them.

“Now please sit down, Miss Saltykov,” said Madame Koska. “We will wrap your shoulders with a towel… would you please get me a towel, Annushka, or a pillowcase? I don’t want to stain her dress as I work.”

Natalya shut her eyes and submitted to the foundation, rouge, powder, kohl, and Rimmel with the obedience of a child. After about twenty minutes, Madame Koska looked at her finished creation, nodded, and started brushing Natalya’s hair with long, upsweep motions. She raised the long hair in her hands, braided it very loosely, and knotted it into a simple chignon that was placed low above the neck. It could be fixed with just three tortoiseshell long pins to be perfectly secure. She pulled a few curls out, arranging them around Natalya’s face in a style that seemed entirely natural and casual. Opening another small box, she pulled out a pair of pearl earrings and fixed them in Natalya’s pierced ears.

“Now,” she said, removing the towel, “please look at yourself, Miss Saltykov.” Natalya opened her eyes and looked at the mirror. She gasped in disbelief and could not speak.

“But this is incomprehensible,” said Madame Golitsyn. “She is a beauty; how did this happen? Where was it before?”

“Annushka, fashion and makeup create the woman,” said Madame Koska. “Half the world’s beauties are perfectly plain… it’s an art.”

“I want to look like that all the time…” said Natalya, holding tightly to the mirror and looking at herself. “It’s not me, it’s someone else. Who am I?”

“It’s you, my dear. Several women may use the same kohl or lipstick, but the result would look very different on each one. You give the face its character.”

“If I looked like that every day, I would not be so scared,” said Natalya.

“That’s my intention,” said Madame Koska. “Next time the Inspector calls, he will be talking to a confident, strong young lady, not a trembling little rabbit. Feeling good about yourself makes all the difference. And now, take a look at the other clothes I brought. When you sew at night, by the way, no more extra work for the atelier. The dresses I brought are only the core of an excellent collection that you will create with your good sewing skills. We have just begun your transformation, my dear.”

“I don’t know how to thank you, Madame Koska,” said Natalya humbly.

“No need to thank me at all. I am doing it for all of us. And tomorrow morning, come to the atelier about half an hour early, and I’ll show you how to apply a proper daytime look. But you always come so early anyway, we’ll have plenty of time. And another thing; when you take a clean smock tomorrow, choose the dark blue with cream stripe. Not the pink and white.”