“Rose DeWitt Bukater. Hair as red as a rose, skin like porcelain, eyes as blue as the sea, full, rich lips, and a body to die for.” The whole image took over his brain like he was drugged. He felt like he was about to be taken to heaven, and he couldn’t wait to indulge in his fantasies, the ones he’d had for months. Taking a puff on his cigar, he accepted the brandy Mademoiselle Satine handed to him.
“So, then, Mr. Hockley, are you at all interested in this beauty?” Satine grinned to Caledon, raising her eyebrows. She already knew full well what his answer would be.
“Of course, madam. I won’t let any other man touch her. You keep her pure until I can touch her. I don’t want any man near her.”
“But Mr. Hockley, we have had some very good prices. Can you afford to beat off your rivals with a brilliant price tag?”
Cal placed his brandy on the mantelpiece of Satine’s boudoir and stubbed out his cigar, his eyes sparkling with mischief. “Madam, I am in fact one of the richest men in the United States. I can have anything.”
Satine smirked, knowing she would get a good deal on this DeWitt Bukater girl. It was a good thing Maria brought her to Satine’s attention when she did. She couldn’t let the young girl slip from her when she was bringing the sort of attention she had. Men had been throwing their money around all day in a bidding war to take her virginity, and Satine was enjoying every moment of it, lapping up every male to pick a suitor for young Rose’s first time. She was sure Mr. Hockley was the right one. He was smooth, suave, handsome, and oh-so-filthy rich—just Satine’s ideal business partner.
“So, let’s talk numbers.”
*****
“Ouch!” Rose squealed as Maria ran a brush through her shoulder-length red locks. Rose glanced up at her reflection in the vanity.
“Sorry, but this has to be done. Paris rats have neater fur than you have hair,” Maria complained, brushing through the knots once again.
Rose kept her eyes on the mirror in front of her, watching as Maria transformed her into one of them. She had promised to polish her up and make her appear sexier to men. “All right. I’m going to trim your ends. They’re a little split,” Maria pointed out. Rose threw a worried look at Maria, but she smiled a soft smile, seeing Rose’s worry. “Don’t worry, Rosie. My mother taught me how to cut hair when I was a young girl.”
Rose watched as Maria snipped away at the ends of her hair. She had to admit that she had appeared a little disheveled since she had gone to live with Jack, but that was because she had grown to not be so interested in her looks. Jack had told her how beautiful she was—Jack. How much she missed him! After only one night away from him, she felt lonely, but she would have to grow used to it. This was her life now.
“Perfect.” Maria placed the scissors on the table. “Now a little makeup.” Maria pulled out a bag of makeup from her vanity drawer. It was large and rattled as she pulled it out.
“Makeup? I only really wear lipstick on fancy occasions,” Rose protested, but Maria smiled.
“Shh. Don’t worry. I won’t make you look like the other girls. They look like melted wax.” Maria giggled and Rose smiled a little. The other girls wore so much makeup they looked hideous, almost like clowns. “I just want to highlight how naturally lovely you really are.”
Rose smiled and began to loosen up slightly. She trusted Maria more now. “I want to put some powder on you to take away any blemishes or freckles. It makes your skin look perfect.” Maria opened a small jar, took a brush, and dusted it over Rose’s face. The powder stank like dirt and made Rose wanted to sneeze as she applied it over her nose. Afterward, she peered at her complexion in the mirror. She didn’t appear any different, but her face felt like dust. “Next is some rouge. This is like powder but red. It gives you a little color because you are so pale.”
“I know what rouge is! My mother wore it!” Rose snapped a little. She was not a child. She might be new to this way of living, but she knew some things.
“All right. Well, now there is lipstick. I think you need a ruby red to match your hair. Stand in front of me while I apply it.” Rose stood and came face-to-face with Maria, who instructed her to close her mouth while she applied her lipstick. Rose watched as she applied it skillfully. Maria carefully smudged the lipstick across Rose’s lips before looking upwards to Rose’s eyes and thinking for a minute—her eyebrows needed shaping. “I’m going to pluck your eyebrows.”
Rose frowned, not knowing exactly what the term meant. Maria pulled out some tweezers and instructed Rose to sit down in the chair. “Now, this may sting, but it’s just to get rid of the odd long eyebrow hairs. They need shaping.”
Rose’s eyes traveled to Maria’s eyebrows, which were perfectly arched, although slightly thin. She looked permanently surprised. As Maria plucked a few fine hairs, the sting made Rose twitch. Did all women go through this pain to look good? Who looked at someone’s eyebrows anyway? “Ouch.” She felt the sting again.
“Right. All done,” Maria announced, clearing away her cosmetics. “Now we need to do your eyelashes, but this will take a while. Stay here. I will go find some coal.”
Coal? What on earth for? Rose watched as Maria disappeared. She sat herself in the chair at the vanity and stared at her own reflection. Her eyebrows had been arched a little more and she appeared to be like one of the women on the front of the fashion pages.
Maria returned a few minutes later with a small piece of coal, a brush, and a jar of petroleum jelly called Vaseline. “Right. Now, this is going to color your lashes. Close your eyes.” Maria opened the jar of petroleum jelly and dipped her small brush into the jar before brushing it along the small piece of dark coal and brushing it against Rose’s eyelashes. This was supposed to darken and make lashes appear thicker. After doing both eyes, Rose opened her eyes, feeling how heavy they felt. She almost appeared to be a different woman altogether.
The door opened and Satine sashayed in, wearing a dark blue evening gown and a large smile on her face. She glanced at Rose. She looked perfect. “My dear Rose, you look beautiful.” Rose smiled, unsure of what to say, still nervous about the entire evening. “I have picked a dress which is perfect for you to wear this evening. It is beige in color and will suit you well.”
“Thank you,” Rose said simply.
Satine ventured further into the room and sat on Maria’s bed. “I have also discussed matters of your first time, and I have managed to pick an excellent gentleman who has offered to pay one thousand francs.”
Rose’s eyes widened and her heart beat faster. So much money? Who was this man? She couldn’t believe that tonight she would be losing her virginity to a man she didn’t know. The entire event seemed a blur.
“He is very handsome and will be very attentive to your needs,” Satine continued. “He will be coming by tonight at eight sharp. You have your own room to entertain the gentleman.”
Rose nodded, taking in the information. She didn’t know what to say. She felt like running, but knew she couldn’t. She only needed to do this for a few days, or a week at most, just enough clients to make some money so she could run away and start afresh, just as she had planned to do with Jack, although she would be alone. “And his name?”
“Caledon Hockley.” Satine smiled.
What? No. Had she misheard? Cal was there? He wanted to pay a large sum of money for her virginity? Rose felt like crying, but knew she couldn’t after Maria had applied so much makeup to her face. Closing her eyes, she took a large, deep breath to attempt to cleanse herself and clear her mind. She reminded herself that this would be a temporary thing and, of course, it was a good thing, would give her more experience in the bedroom department. Rose remembered all of the etiquette she had learned from her mother and at school and knew she must use it right now, to stay calm and to appear grateful to Satine, even though inside she felt like screaming. “Good. I shall be ready, then.”
Satine stood and clapped her hands together twice, a large grin playing at her lips. “Excellent. I shall have the dress brought to you shortly. Now, Maria, I want you to teach this girl everything.”
Maria nodded, although she knew it was going to be a challenge to teach Rose the tricks of the trade—she was so innocent. It was as though she had been wrapped in cotton wool since birth. Satine left the room, leaving Maria with Rose once again. Rose felt like crying, but she knew she couldn’t. Maria knew how she felt with just a single look at her face.
“Don’t worry, Rose,” she reassured her. “It’s just one night. After tonight, you say when, you say who, you say how much.”
“It’s not that.” Rose sighed heavily. “I never wanted to see him again, let alone let him…near me.”
“I understand. First times are hard. I cried all the way through mine. It was painful and I bled so much I thought I was dying.”
Rose felt a wave of sickness overcome her. She hadn’t thought about the fact that she was going to be in pain, that she could bleed. She placed her head in her hands and fought back tears. Maria came behind her and touched her shoulder gently. “Don’t make the same mistake I did, Rosie. Just stay calm, and remember to never show any emotion towards them. You have to be cold. Just do your job and then leave.”
Rose nodded, taking the information in. A knock sounded at the door, and Rose jumped, thinking it could be Cal, but then realized it was not yet eight. Maria answered it and a young woman stepped forward, holding a beautiful beige dress. “This is for Miss DeWitt Bukater, I believe.”
Rose stood, feeling her body shake. She looked at the dress. It was almost like a wedding dress, hanging from a coat hanger. She touched the material. It was soft.
“That’s lovely.” Maria smiled, taking the dress from the young girl. “Rose, this will suit you perfectly.”
Rose remained silent, taking in the dress. She felt as though she was at home in Philadelphia again, being told what to wear and maids bringing her that evening’s clothing. It was surreal. “I guess I had better see if it fits.”
“Yes, you should. First, we need a corset.” Maria rummaged around in her dresser in an attempt to find something that would suit Rose. “Now, we don’t want it to be too tight on you.”
“Aren’t they all tight?” Rose asked, almost knowing the answer to the question. In fact, corsets were her biggest peeve, one of the things she had been glad to be rid of in recent months.
“Oh, Rose. This one will do.” Maria pulled out something that resembled a straitjacket without long sleeves. “This one was made in Australia. It’s a Jenyn’s style corset for working women. It gives increased ease in every position.” Maria winked at her and attempted to unlace some of the back.
After dressing Rose in the corset and the beige dress, Maria retouched a little of Rose’s makeup. Looking in the mirror, Rose thought she resembled a different woman. Her breasts were uplifted by the corset and she felt she was showing almost everything. The dress was long, but pretty, and her heels were higher than she had worn before and dark brown in color. Her curls tumbled over her shoulders, her chest rose and fell quickly, and she felt her nerves kicking in. “I feel different,” she confessed, running her hands over the material of the dress around her stomach. She was sucked in from every angle and she had the perfect hourglass figure, plus a tiny waist. Maria felt a slight pang of jealousy looking at Rose’s beauty, but she knew that she had a long way to go before she could reach Maria’s popularity.
“Now, Rose, when you walk into that room, I want you to think that you own everything,” Maria told her, walking around her in circles. “You own Cal. He is there for your pleasure, not you for his. Never think you have to please a man if he doesn’t please you. Sex is a two way business.”
Standing behind Rose, she moved her right hand to her hip. “Now, when you walk into that room, stand tall and proud. Do not let him bother you. Everything he says is pure bullshit, but make him think you believe him.”
“But what if he isn’t lying?” Rose piped up.
Maria placed her finger on Rose’s lips and stood right in front of her. “It’s bullshit. Never fall for the man’s charms.” Rose nodded. There was so much to take in. It was like a school, and Maria was her tutor. “Especially Cal Hockley.”
“I never will fall for Caledon Hockley. Uh…he’s like poison. I cannot wait to get this whole thing over with,” Rose confessed, looking down at her attire and still feeling nauseated.
“Maybe not. But for now, we have to concentrate on him, and his needs. He’s paying a lot of money tonight and will want to be fulfilled.”