Generally, when people mentioned cloth, they first thought of clothing. Pomona remembered Napoleon mentioning fine ramie cloth last time. That fabric was very cheap; it was fine if one dressed like Saint Louis to welcome the Crown of Thorns, but it was unsuitable for everyday wear.
But as medical bandages, it was a highly suitable material, provided its absorbency could be improved.
Mr. Jenner claimed that he had caught a chill at the reception and was unwell. He barely left his room for the following week. Pomona felt that preparations for the medical academy still needed to proceed, and the first thing she thought of was solving the bandage problem.
Bandages produced by a school-run factory could not only save money, but might even generate a surplus. Most of the servants remaining at the estate had been newly recruited. The vast majority of servants from the former dynasty had either gone into exile overseas with their masters or vanished without a trace.
This showed just how much effort Napoleon had put into finding that former chief steward of the court.
These nearby peasant women did not know how to bow or flatter people, but they knew how to weave. Before the Industrial Revolution, weaving had been an essential skill for working-class women in France. Besides, not far from Versailles lay Saint-Quentin, once an important center for producing fine ramie cloth. Two of these maids had once been textile workers.
They converted the old hunting dog shed into a weaving room, where nine looms worked at once. Fine ramie cloth was fairly absorbent, but still fell a little short of what she had expected. The women began discussing what plant fibers they could blend into it.
If only magical bandages could be used.
Yet the thought merely flickered through her mind