Leonie Read Free Page A

many years in the chorus, too much drink—and too many men!
    “Bella, get the makeup box and a hairbrush,” instructed Loulou. “We’re going to transform Léonie.”
    “Sit down here, Cinderella,” said Loulou, offering her a chocolate from the large box given her by her latest admirer. She was a tall, fleshy girl with a wide crimson mouth and an easy laugh, and she was popular in the cabaret, well known for her audacious songs. She was more than a little “risqué,” yet she looked wholesome, a perverse combination that was very attractive. And she was generous—she liked Léonie, felt sorry for her, really, she supposed. They all did; she was like the kid sister they had left behind at home, or maybe the innocent they had once been. Loulou applied the rouge with a light hand, sweeping it across the cheekbones, adding a touch on the chin, a little on the temples. Bella studied the result carefully and then added a slick of gleaming bronze along the curve of Léonie’s eyelids while Jolie wielded the hairbrush relentlessly, pulling her hair up and back until Léonie howled in protest. “Beauty is painful,” misquoted Jolie severely. “But it’s always worth it!” she added with a laugh.
    “There, Madame Artois, what do you think?” asked Loulou as they stood back to admire their handiwork.
    It was extraordinary how different Léonie looked, thought Madame Artois. “I think it’s a little flashy,” she said finally.
    “Flashy! It’s discreet—a nun could get away with that makeup.”
    “A nun would not want to, my dear. However, you do look very pretty, Léonie.” Léonie put up a tentative hand to feel her hair.
    “You see, it’s already coming down,” she protested.
    “No, no, Léonie, that’s the way it should be,” Jolie reassured her. “It’s meant to tumble a little.”
    “Why don’t you take a look in the mirror,” suggested Loulou.
    “No, not yet, wait a minute.” Bella sped up the stairs, returning a few minutes later carrying a woolen dress in a soft apricot color, high-necked and deceptively demure. “Here, this might fit you,” she offered. “It never suited me, but it’s just the right color for you.”
    “Oh, Bella!” Léonie was overwhelmed. “Do you really mean it?”
    “Of course,” said Bella, pleased that Léonie liked it so much. “It should fit you quite well, although it may be a bit big on the bosom … and, of course, it’s going to be a bit short.”
    “Hurry, Léonie, try it on,” said Jolie impatiently.
    They helped her off with her layers of clothing until she stoodin her woolen chemise and drawers, shrinking from embarrassment under their collective gaze.
    “You know, you have a good shape,” said Loulou, “it’s just hidden under all those layers of wool!”
    Bella lowered the dress over Léonie’s head, careful not to disturb her hair, and buttoned it up the back, swinging her around to inspect the result.
    Léonie faced them anxiously, hoping that she looked all right—their silence was unnerving.
    Finally Loulou raised her glass in a toast. “I salute you, Léonie,” she said. “You are beautiful. And I have the feeling that after tonight, you will be a different person.”
    It was the second time someone had called her beautiful. Could it be true, or was Loulou joking, too? Léonie walked across the salon and stared in the gilded mirror that covered one wall. She looked just the same, or did she? The new hairdo emphasized the firm line of her jaw, baring her pretty ears and cascading down her back. The rouge hollowed out her cheeks. Her eyes looked larger, their amber gleam deepened by the color of the dress, but it was just her, still her own face. But the dress was wonderful! Even though it was too big, it seemed to cling in the proper places, making her look taller, curvier, pinching in prettily at her waist. Yes, it made her look quite different. She didn’t mind that it was a little short, it was the most beautiful dress she