The next day, one of the maids went over to the town closest to the Vanderbilt estate: Kingsbridge.
This was a sophisticated place made for those living above normal means. This was where royals, businessmen, and other such wealthy individuals stayed and lived their lives.
The maid named Castella walked over to an establishment that rich women frequently visited. This was a place where wives, their daughters, and their maids frequented to have tea and share some juicy gossip.
Since Castella was a maid of the Vanderbilt estate, she had access to these high-class establishments.
“Do you like it? My husband bought it from me overseas! It’s made from the pearl of the orient,” said one of the madames, showing off the pretty necklace on her neck to the rest of the women sitting at the table.
“How envious! I shall make my hubby buy one for me and my daughter here as well,” said the woman opposite her, fanning her handkerchief.
The group of women laughed to themselves. But even if there was a jovial atmosphere among them, there was a hidden competitiveness within them as well.
This wasn’t just a place to socialize, this was a place to brag.
They wanted to show off how wealthy they were, how much their husbands spent to pamper them, and how much better their lives were compared to others.
It was a vicious environment. If one wasn’t grossly wealthy, then they didn’t deserve to participate in these kinds of gatherings.
Just then, the door to the tea party opened, bringing with it the ringing of a bell.
Normally, the wealthy madames would have simply given one look at Castelle and immediately turned their heads away the moment they saw her maid uniform. However, there was a certain smell in the air that they couldn’t simply ignore.
Castelle walked inside and bowed to the madames, before taking her place among the maids in the next room.
The Madames and their rich daughters all turned their noses up as they smelled the fragrant scent of flowers in the air. It was strong, but it wasn’t imposing like perfume. It was subtle yet made its mark on their noses all the same.
“Do you smell that?” the madame wearing the pearl necklace asked.
“I smell it too, Auntie. It’s…it’s really good!” said one of the young daughters at the table.
“Be honest, ladies. Did any of you spray your perfume?”
The table shook their heads.
Just then, Castelle walked over to the table with a tray in her hand carrying tea and biscuits.
“I apologize, Madames. The Vanderbilt mistress cannot attend today’s meeting because she is currently out of town for the entire month. She has asked me to come in her stead and serve you the best biscuits and tea in our warehouse.”
Castelle didn’t notice that everyone at the table was looking at her with intense eyes. The scent intensified the moment she came near them, as if she was a bundle of flowers put together.
Even though the Madames immediately noticed her aromatic scent, Castelle herself thought that nobody noticed the difference.
The reason for that was because everyone in the Vanderbilt mansion smelled good. Ever since the young master gave them soap and shampoo, everyone washed themselves with it, no exceptions.
That was why Castelle’s nose was indifferent to her own scent.
It was only when the entire table went silent for an entire minute did Castelle realized something was different with them.
“Have I done something wrong?” she asked them.
Finally, the madame with the pearl necklace asked Castelle,
“What perfume do you use?”
Castelle was a bit flustered with the question. “Perfume? I’m sorry, madame, but I don’t use perfume.”
The rest of the women at the table shook their heads. “No need to lie. We’re all women here. Now, tell us which perfume you bought to make you smell this good.”
Castelle finally understood the situation.
“Oh, you must have been smelling my soap,” she said, with enthusiasm.
“That must not be it. Soaps don’t smell this good. Are you lying to us?” asked the madame.
“No, madame!” Castelle vehemently shook her head, causing her hair to whip back and forth. And each time, the scent of her shampoo wafted over to the table.
One of the daughters on the table immediately stood up and smelled Castelle’s hair. “Your hair smells so good! And your skin…it’s so soft as well!”
The rest of the women crowded Castelle and examined her. Certainly, her entire body was emanating a natural fragrance that simply could not be achieved by any perfume. It was as if her skin and hair themselves were the ones that smelled good.
“Ladies, mind your manners.” The madame with the pearl necklace stopped the ladies from crowding Castelle too much.
“Now, are you certain that you achieved this scent through nothing but soap?” she asked.
Castelle nodded her head obediently. “Yes, madam. I only used soap to clean my body and something called a ‘shampoo’ to clean my hair after every shower—I mean, bath.”
The rest of the women at the table slowly sat back down in their seats, completely bewildered by the thought of smelling this good with nothing but soap.
“Can you tell us the name of this soap and ‘shampoo’? Or better yet, will you sell me some of this material? I am willing to buy it at the price of one gold!”
“Me too! I’ll buy it for one gold too!”
“Reserve two for me! I want to buy one for my daughter as well.”
…
…
…
Before sundown, Castelle returned to the Vanderbilt mansion and immediately knocked on the young master’s door.
“Castelle? What’s wrong?”
Once she entered his room, she immediately told him about what happened to her in the tea establishment.
“I’m telling you, young master. Your product will certainly be devoured by a lot of women if you sell it at the market. Those women are not shy about spending money.”
Michael was intrigued. If a simple soap and shampoo was enough to make the wealthy women of Kingsbridge clamor to buy it at one gold a pop, then it might be a good idea to start selling it at the market.
Even though he would inherit the riches of the Vanderbilt family in the future, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to get some money for himself.
If he continued to rely on the Vanderbilt family money, he would have to ask his mother for money each time he needed to buy his materials.
But if he had money for himself, he could keep his projects a secret.