Chapter 76 - Seventy Six
Delia began to feel a strange sort of peace in the Duke’s private residence, a home that was beginning to feel more like her own than the Ellington manor ever had.
To keep her mind from spiraling into anxiety about the future, she sought refuge in the one thing she truly understood, the one skill that was undeniably hers.
Dye making.
She went to the back of the house, where a small, detached room was located amongst the gardens. It was Eric’s private dye laboratory. He often frequents it when he wants to experiment. The moment she stepped inside, she felt a sense of calm. The room was organized and clean, but it was also a space of creation. Jars filled with powdered pigments in every color imaginable lined the shelves—deep indigos, rich madder reds, and sunny saffron yellows. A large workbench held mortars and pestles, glass containers, and small scales for precise measurements. It was a craftsman’s paradise.
She found one of his work aprons hanging on a hook and tied it around her waist. It was far too large for her, but she didn’t mind. She sat down at the workbench and began her work. She was trying to achieve a specific, difficult color—a soft, ethereal lavender that shimmered with hints of silver. It was a color she had dreamed of, one that would be unique in all of Albion.
She started by grinding dried lavender flowers and a secret mixture of minerals into a fine, pale powder using a heavy stone mortar and pestle. The rhythmic, grinding sound was a comfort and peace with no one hurrying her. She then carefully measured the powder and mixed it with warm water in a glass container, stirring until it became a smooth, fragrant paste.
The next step was the most difficult: the mordant. This was the chemical that would bind the color to fabric, and the balance had to be perfect. Too much alum, and the color would be dull and grey. Too little, and it would wash out completely.
She added a pinch of the white alum powder, stirred again, and then dipped a small strip of white silk into the mixture. She held her breath as she pulled it out. The color was wrong. It was a flat, disappointing greyish-purple, with no life and no shimmer.
With a frustrated sigh, she discarded the strip and started again, adjusting the ratios. She tried again, and again, and again. Each time, the result was a failure.