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So this is kind of a part one. We'll call it shopping
For the sixth time that day, Emma and Miss Morgan entered a shop full of ladies attire. Miss Morgan had decided that lessons could be put off for a day in favor of this trip. When she had spoken to Mr. Hopkins about getting Emma some decent clothing, he had given her enough to buy at least one store out of their entire stock. So they had been going from shop to shop trying to find something the women could agree on. At first Emma had thought it was exciting, but by the third shop she was rolling her eyes at Avery who was waiting outside in the cart to take them to the next shop. Emma didn’t know why they had brought it along, the streets were crowded and they could easily have walked from shop to shop. She turned back to Miss Morgan who was holding up another frilly dress. “I told you, I don’t like pink.”
“Do not. I know, but pink likes you dear. I think we need to get at least one and then we can find some other colors.” Miss Morgan was treating Emma more like a doll she could dress however she wanted than like a child who would not wear just anything on a whim.
Emma sighed and began exploring the shop. She had seen shops like these in Leighhigh, but they had never gone in, only looked through the window. Mother would remark how those dresses were a waste of fabric, and expensive lace, and then look at Emma and say “Someday we will be able to waste a little on you.” And then she would wink at Emma. It had always been their little secret plan, and now that Emma could get any of those dresses she wanted, and probably more than would ever wear, she couldn’t find herself really interested in them. She looked back at Miss Morgan who was completely caught up in her dialog with the sales lady, and then looked out the window to where she could see Avery sitting atop the cart waiting to load it down with the clothes they were supposed to be buying. The door opened, ringing a little bell to announce the arrival of a new costumer, and Emma looked over. It was a lady finely, but not to fancily dress, and a little girl about Emma’s own age. The lady walked right back to the sales counter where another clerk stepped out, and the girl began wandering around the shop much like Emma had. She wore a pretty green frock that was not overly lacey like the ones Miss Morgan insisted on pulling out for Emma. It matched her green eyes and complimented her red hair nicely. Emma watched curiously as she went to a shelf of children’s dresses and began sliding them around lazily viewing them. Emma noticed the rack for the first time, realizing that it had a nice set of dresses that were not to frilly and pink. She stepped up and began looking at the dresses too, and the redheaded girl noticed her for the first time. She leaned around the rack to look at Emma’s shoes and then continued all the way up the outfit Emma was wearing. It was one of her dresses, her nicest since Miss Morgan didn’t want to be seen with her wearing anything else, but it was still very plain. The girl then looked over at the group of ladies standing at the counter and then leaned in closer to Emma. “You might want to leave before they notice you and shoo you out, it wouldn’t be very nice.”
Emma clearly was shocked at the child’s notion. She looked down at her clothing and then said “We are here to get new dresses.” She pointed vaguely in the direction of the counter.
The other child stepped around the rack so she was looking directly at Emma, a small look of distain on her face. “I think you may have gone up the wrong street, there are no dresses here that you could afford.”
Emma saw an image of a roster, prancing around a yard, in her head. She smiled as another roster came running up and chased it out of the pen. She pushed the thought from her mind and reached for a light brown dress with red highlights. She smiled over her shoulder and walked up to Miss Morgan. “If you get me this one too, I won’t fuss about that one.” She pointed at the highly expensive, frilly, lacey pink one that Miss Morgan was still holding.
The look on Miss Morgan’s face was impossible to read, but it was clear she was pleased. The redhead had also followed Emma over, expecting to see her thrown to the curb for presuming to put her grubby hands on the dresses. Instead, her own mother smiled at the girl “You must be Emma, Sybil was just telling me you are going to be at the party in two days.” She waved to the child “Come here dear.” She placed her hands on the shoulders of the nicely dresses youngster. “This is my Clair; she will be at the party too. Clair, sweetie, this is Emma. She’s new in town and she’s going to be a Maude’s party, they are trying to find her some nice dresses to wear, do you want to help look?”
The girl seemed offended at the idea, but her mother shoved her in Emma’s direction, and resumed talking. The girls stared at each other for a moment, and before either of them could speak, one of the sales ladies grabbed Emma’s hand directing her to a back room to get changed. They started by putting the frilly dress on; it was difficult to manage, and Emma thought of the word ‘evil’ in reference to the pink lace. When Emma stepped out wearing it, both of the ladies exclaimed over how cute she was and how nice the dress fitted her. She was forced to turn around several times for them to ‘receive the full effect’ of the dress. When she was allowed to stop turning her eyes met Clair’s and she could see the humor at her own despair. The down look on her face turned into an outright scowl. The ladies had lost interest and she was send back to try on the other dress. It slipped on much easier and she smiled. It fit nicely and reminded her of a girl they had seen leaving the dress shop in Leighhigh. She spun around in front of the mirror, and then was pushed out to show off to the waiting women. Miss Morgan clearly liked frilly things because she was not impressed with this dress at all. The other lady was not of the same opinion. “Oh Sybil, it’s perfect for her. Look at how it shows she has class, I’d almost think it was made for her.” She was literally gushing praise.
“Oh I don’t know Clarisse, it seems a little to plain for her. The pink one fit her much nicer.”
“Nonsense; this is clearly the better of the two. If you do not buy it for her I will, she just cannot leave this shop without it.”
It was agreed that the two dresses would be purchased, and they sought out two more. They were more like the brown one without all the fluff and frills, but they were still the wrong colors. They had another pink one, and then they had found a little yellow dress because ‘every girl needs a yellow dress.’ They had three of the dresses packed up and loaded onto the cart outside while Emma was told to keep the brown one on. Her old dress was wrapped up in paper and even though Miss Morgan had said to burn it, Emma hid it under the seat next to Avery. It was the last dress her mother had made her, and she didn’t want to see it go. The ladies stood outside of the shop talking while the things were loaded and, once it was all done, Miss Morgan asked if they wanted to join the shopping. Clarisse jumped at the chance stating that before they went to look at anymore clothing they had to find Emma a fitting pair of shoes because hers were atrocious. Miss Morgan agreed to that and they set off to find the perfect pair of shoes with Miss Morgan and Clarisse sitting side by side talking and the girls sitting together behind them. Clair studied Emma’s new dress “Mother was right, that dress looks like it was made for you.” She looked at the ladies talking in front of them. “I will help you find something else like it when we stop again.” The next stop was the shoe shop. The entire place smelled of tannin and fresh cut leather. There was also a lingering scent of a tobacco pipe. The owner came out of a room in the back with the unlit pipe still in his mouth. He was a short rounded man that was just beginning to bald. He gave a slight glance at all the faces of the entering group, and then focused on their feet. He nodded at Miss Morgan and Clair, and then he pursed his lips at Clarisse. When his gaze finally rested on Emma, his jar dropped so far as to lose control and the pipe clattered to the floor, breaking the silence of the shop. Emma looked down self-conscious and Clair laughed in a most unladylike fashion. Miss Morgan and Clarisse alternated between shaking and nodding their heads at his reaction; while he bent down to retrieve his pipe. Emma was led to a little chair near his workbench and she sat there while he pulled off her ankle high semi-boots. They were one of the other things that had been handed down from Judah. Shoes were very expensive, and when Judah hit his growth spurt, he had gone through three pair of shoes in one year. The least worn pair had been saved and as soon as Emma could fit into them, she began wearing them. She had not worn them very long, and they were still in really good shape. The shoemaker turned them over in his hands, examining them. “These are very good quality, it is not often I see something this well made come in.” His words shocked the women, but he continued without any care for what they thought. “I have never seen them come in on a girl before. I will let you keep the shoes if you know a boy who can use them, but first we will get you shoes appropriate for a young lady to wear.” He left her sitting on the chair as he began rummaging through the shop for something more fitting. He returned a few minutes later with a brown pair of ladies lace up boots, and had her try them on while he went on looking. They fit perfectly coming up to the very bottom of the calf muscle on her leg, and they matched her dress. She looked to the ladies for approval with much the same result as the dress she now wore. Miss Morgan was only slightly impressed and Clarisse really liked them. Clair could not have cared less; she just stood there looking bored. The shoemaker returned with a pair of black Mary-Jane style shoes. He admired the boots for a moment before having her try them on. The reaction was reversed, Miss Morgan loved them and Clarisse was not impressed. They ended up leaving the shop with both the boots Emma had worn entering, and the other pair he had picked out. They also purchased the black shoes and duplicates of them in white and pink. Clarisse made a comment to Miss Morgan about how she wished she could get pink things for Clair, but they just did not work with her red hair. They headed to another clothes shop. Here the ladies went to the counter together and left the girls standing near the door. Clair looked Emma up and down “You look a lot better. Is it your birthday?”
“No, my birthday is in the spring. I have to get nice dresses to wear at the tea party.” Emma looked down at her skirt as she swished it back and forth. It was the fullest dress she had ever worn, and it flowed around her legs so nicely. “I wish Judah could see me in this.”
“Who is Judah?” She perked up at the mention of someone else.
“He is my brother. He had to stay in Davenport when Mr. Hopkins brought me here.” Emma seemed to lose interest in her new dress when she began talking about Judah. She wandered over to a dress rack and gazed up at the gowns hanging there. “We are going back to see him in less than a year.”
“Hey, I know where Davenport is! My brother, Kyle, goes to a school there.” Clair skipped over to Emma and pulled her to the children’s dresses. “I am going to go to a girl’s school near there this fall.”
“The Becksleigh Ladies Finishing School? I have not seen the building, but I know what it looks like and where it is.” Emma pulled a dress off of the rack and at the same time Miss Morgan called her to the counter. Clarisse must have been talking some sense to her because she did not have another frilly or pink dress. It was a beautiful light grey, with highlights in both light and dark blue, and Emma was impressed. She held up the green dress she had picked out. Miss Morgan nodded and Emma went to the back room to change. The green dress was nice, with just a fine lace trim around the bottom. It was the grey and blue dress that stole the day. Emma came out with it on and Clair gasped. They bought both dresses and decided that they had enough for now. Avery drove them to a huge house where they dropped off the mother and daughter, and then they continued home. Emma kept the brown dress on until dinner when Mr. Hopkins had seen it. He liked the way it softened her more into a young lady. Miss Morgan also informed them at dinner that since Emma had not had lessons today, she would return tomorrow instead of taking the day off. Emma shot Avery a desperate look, and he just nodded to her. The following day around midmorning, two of the three boys came to the door looking for Emma, and Avery met them telling them that the young lady was at her lessons and could not come out this time. He encouraged them to call again.
For the sixth time that day, Emma and Miss Morgan entered a shop full of ladies attire. Miss Morgan had decided that lessons could be put off for a day in favor of this trip. When she had spoken to Mr. Hopkins about getting Emma some decent clothing, he had given her enough to buy at least one store out of their entire stock. So they had been going from shop to shop trying to find something the women could agree on. At first Emma had thought it was exciting, but by the third shop she was rolling her eyes at Avery who was waiting outside in the cart to take them to the next shop. Emma didn’t know why they had brought it along, the streets were crowded and they could easily have walked from shop to shop. She turned back to Miss Morgan who was holding up another frilly dress. “I told you, I don’t like pink.”
“Do not. I know, but pink likes you dear. I think we need to get at least one and then we can find some other colors.” Miss Morgan was treating Emma more like a doll she could dress however she wanted than like a child who would not wear just anything on a whim.
Emma sighed and began exploring the shop. She had seen shops like these in Leighhigh, but they had never gone in, only looked through the window. Mother would remark how those dresses were a waste of fabric, and expensive lace, and then look at Emma and say “Someday we will be able to waste a little on you.” And then she would wink at Emma. It had always been their little secret plan, and now that Emma could get any of those dresses she wanted, and probably more than would ever wear, she couldn’t find herself really interested in them. She looked back at Miss Morgan who was completely caught up in her dialog with the sales lady, and then looked out the window to where she could see Avery sitting atop the cart waiting to load it down with the clothes they were supposed to be buying. The door opened, ringing a little bell to announce the arrival of a new costumer, and Emma looked over. It was a lady finely, but not to fancily dress, and a little girl about Emma’s own age. The lady walked right back to the sales counter where another clerk stepped out, and the girl began wandering around the shop much like Emma had. She wore a pretty green frock that was not overly lacey like the ones Miss Morgan insisted on pulling out for Emma. It matched her green eyes and complimented her red hair nicely. Emma watched curiously as she went to a shelf of children’s dresses and began sliding them around lazily viewing them. Emma noticed the rack for the first time, realizing that it had a nice set of dresses that were not to frilly and pink. She stepped up and began looking at the dresses too, and the redheaded girl noticed her for the first time. She leaned around the rack to look at Emma’s shoes and then continued all the way up the outfit Emma was wearing. It was one of her dresses, her nicest since Miss Morgan didn’t want to be seen with her wearing anything else, but it was still very plain. The girl then looked over at the group of ladies standing at the counter and then leaned in closer to Emma. “You might want to leave before they notice you and shoo you out, it wouldn’t be very nice.”
Emma clearly was shocked at the child’s notion. She looked down at her clothing and then said “We are here to get new dresses.” She pointed vaguely in the direction of the counter.
The other child stepped around the rack so she was looking directly at Emma, a small look of distain on her face. “I think you may have gone up the wrong street, there are no dresses here that you could afford.”
Emma saw an image of a roster, prancing around a yard, in her head. She smiled as another roster came running up and chased it out of the pen. She pushed the thought from her mind and reached for a light brown dress with red highlights. She smiled over her shoulder and walked up to Miss Morgan. “If you get me this one too, I won’t fuss about that one.” She pointed at the highly expensive, frilly, lacey pink one that Miss Morgan was still holding.
The look on Miss Morgan’s face was impossible to read, but it was clear she was pleased. The redhead had also followed Emma over, expecting to see her thrown to the curb for presuming to put her grubby hands on the dresses. Instead, her own mother smiled at the girl “You must be Emma, Sybil was just telling me you are going to be at the party in two days.” She waved to the child “Come here dear.” She placed her hands on the shoulders of the nicely dresses youngster. “This is my Clair; she will be at the party too. Clair, sweetie, this is Emma. She’s new in town and she’s going to be a Maude’s party, they are trying to find her some nice dresses to wear, do you want to help look?”
The girl seemed offended at the idea, but her mother shoved her in Emma’s direction, and resumed talking. The girls stared at each other for a moment, and before either of them could speak, one of the sales ladies grabbed Emma’s hand directing her to a back room to get changed. They started by putting the frilly dress on; it was difficult to manage, and Emma thought of the word ‘evil’ in reference to the pink lace. When Emma stepped out wearing it, both of the ladies exclaimed over how cute she was and how nice the dress fitted her. She was forced to turn around several times for them to ‘receive the full effect’ of the dress. When she was allowed to stop turning her eyes met Clair’s and she could see the humor at her own despair. The down look on her face turned into an outright scowl. The ladies had lost interest and she was send back to try on the other dress. It slipped on much easier and she smiled. It fit nicely and reminded her of a girl they had seen leaving the dress shop in Leighhigh. She spun around in front of the mirror, and then was pushed out to show off to the waiting women. Miss Morgan clearly liked frilly things because she was not impressed with this dress at all. The other lady was not of the same opinion. “Oh Sybil, it’s perfect for her. Look at how it shows she has class, I’d almost think it was made for her.” She was literally gushing praise.
“Oh I don’t know Clarisse, it seems a little to plain for her. The pink one fit her much nicer.”
“Nonsense; this is clearly the better of the two. If you do not buy it for her I will, she just cannot leave this shop without it.”
It was agreed that the two dresses would be purchased, and they sought out two more. They were more like the brown one without all the fluff and frills, but they were still the wrong colors. They had another pink one, and then they had found a little yellow dress because ‘every girl needs a yellow dress.’ They had three of the dresses packed up and loaded onto the cart outside while Emma was told to keep the brown one on. Her old dress was wrapped up in paper and even though Miss Morgan had said to burn it, Emma hid it under the seat next to Avery. It was the last dress her mother had made her, and she didn’t want to see it go. The ladies stood outside of the shop talking while the things were loaded and, once it was all done, Miss Morgan asked if they wanted to join the shopping. Clarisse jumped at the chance stating that before they went to look at anymore clothing they had to find Emma a fitting pair of shoes because hers were atrocious. Miss Morgan agreed to that and they set off to find the perfect pair of shoes with Miss Morgan and Clarisse sitting side by side talking and the girls sitting together behind them. Clair studied Emma’s new dress “Mother was right, that dress looks like it was made for you.” She looked at the ladies talking in front of them. “I will help you find something else like it when we stop again.” The next stop was the shoe shop. The entire place smelled of tannin and fresh cut leather. There was also a lingering scent of a tobacco pipe. The owner came out of a room in the back with the unlit pipe still in his mouth. He was a short rounded man that was just beginning to bald. He gave a slight glance at all the faces of the entering group, and then focused on their feet. He nodded at Miss Morgan and Clair, and then he pursed his lips at Clarisse. When his gaze finally rested on Emma, his jar dropped so far as to lose control and the pipe clattered to the floor, breaking the silence of the shop. Emma looked down self-conscious and Clair laughed in a most unladylike fashion. Miss Morgan and Clarisse alternated between shaking and nodding their heads at his reaction; while he bent down to retrieve his pipe. Emma was led to a little chair near his workbench and she sat there while he pulled off her ankle high semi-boots. They were one of the other things that had been handed down from Judah. Shoes were very expensive, and when Judah hit his growth spurt, he had gone through three pair of shoes in one year. The least worn pair had been saved and as soon as Emma could fit into them, she began wearing them. She had not worn them very long, and they were still in really good shape. The shoemaker turned them over in his hands, examining them. “These are very good quality, it is not often I see something this well made come in.” His words shocked the women, but he continued without any care for what they thought. “I have never seen them come in on a girl before. I will let you keep the shoes if you know a boy who can use them, but first we will get you shoes appropriate for a young lady to wear.” He left her sitting on the chair as he began rummaging through the shop for something more fitting. He returned a few minutes later with a brown pair of ladies lace up boots, and had her try them on while he went on looking. They fit perfectly coming up to the very bottom of the calf muscle on her leg, and they matched her dress. She looked to the ladies for approval with much the same result as the dress she now wore. Miss Morgan was only slightly impressed and Clarisse really liked them. Clair could not have cared less; she just stood there looking bored. The shoemaker returned with a pair of black Mary-Jane style shoes. He admired the boots for a moment before having her try them on. The reaction was reversed, Miss Morgan loved them and Clarisse was not impressed. They ended up leaving the shop with both the boots Emma had worn entering, and the other pair he had picked out. They also purchased the black shoes and duplicates of them in white and pink. Clarisse made a comment to Miss Morgan about how she wished she could get pink things for Clair, but they just did not work with her red hair. They headed to another clothes shop. Here the ladies went to the counter together and left the girls standing near the door. Clair looked Emma up and down “You look a lot better. Is it your birthday?”
“No, my birthday is in the spring. I have to get nice dresses to wear at the tea party.” Emma looked down at her skirt as she swished it back and forth. It was the fullest dress she had ever worn, and it flowed around her legs so nicely. “I wish Judah could see me in this.”
“Who is Judah?” She perked up at the mention of someone else.
“He is my brother. He had to stay in Davenport when Mr. Hopkins brought me here.” Emma seemed to lose interest in her new dress when she began talking about Judah. She wandered over to a dress rack and gazed up at the gowns hanging there. “We are going back to see him in less than a year.”
“Hey, I know where Davenport is! My brother, Kyle, goes to a school there.” Clair skipped over to Emma and pulled her to the children’s dresses. “I am going to go to a girl’s school near there this fall.”
“The Becksleigh Ladies Finishing School? I have not seen the building, but I know what it looks like and where it is.” Emma pulled a dress off of the rack and at the same time Miss Morgan called her to the counter. Clarisse must have been talking some sense to her because she did not have another frilly or pink dress. It was a beautiful light grey, with highlights in both light and dark blue, and Emma was impressed. She held up the green dress she had picked out. Miss Morgan nodded and Emma went to the back room to change. The green dress was nice, with just a fine lace trim around the bottom. It was the grey and blue dress that stole the day. Emma came out with it on and Clair gasped. They bought both dresses and decided that they had enough for now. Avery drove them to a huge house where they dropped off the mother and daughter, and then they continued home. Emma kept the brown dress on until dinner when Mr. Hopkins had seen it. He liked the way it softened her more into a young lady. Miss Morgan also informed them at dinner that since Emma had not had lessons today, she would return tomorrow instead of taking the day off. Emma shot Avery a desperate look, and he just nodded to her. The following day around midmorning, two of the three boys came to the door looking for Emma, and Avery met them telling them that the young lady was at her lessons and could not come out this time. He encouraged them to call again.