Livvy adjusted the strings of her purse, then lifted her head high and arranged a smile on her lips. "Gilly, I'm relying on you to select the trim we discussed." Stepping forward, she opened the door to the emporium. "Louise, you'll come with me. I want to hold the fabric near your face before we make any purchase. Gold may be as wonderful as I think, or it may make you look sallow. Of course, we won't know for certain until your tan fades. I suspect we'll have to take our chances."
A cheerful hum of voices greeted them when Livvy opened the door. As they stepped inside, however, a wave of silence began at the front aisles and rolled backward toward the bolts of material stacked up the far wall.
Had it not been for the silence, Louise doubted she would have noticed the tapping of their heels against a wooden floor. To her ears, their steps sounded like two deer and a horse clomping across a hard surface. Livvy managed to look stately and even a bit imposing as she moved toward the back. Gilly seemed delicate, and circles of pink burned on her cheeks, imparting an impression of fragility. Louise felt anything but stately or delicate. She felt tall and clumsy, big-handed, big-footed, a fit object for ridicule and scorn. When Gilly turned toward the trim department, Louise moved up next to Livvy.
"Get your chin off your chest and hold your head up," Livvy whispered from the side of her mouth. She smiled as she approached a woman standing behind a counter wearing a tape measure around her neck.
"Mrs. McConigle, I hope you aren't too busy today, as we require your assistance for a rather large order." Withdrawing a list from her purse, she drew a breath and began. "If we put a ruffle around the hem of your everyday skirts, I think they'll do nicely," she said to Louise. To Mrs. McConigle, she added, "We'll need wash poplin and black broadcloth, enough for a half dozen ruffles."
Louise stood like a dolt, clutching her purse in front of her waist, gazing at the wide bolts of material. She recognized the serge and broadcloth, and velvet and cotton prints and gingham. There were lightweight wools that she hadn't seen before and many fabrics she didn't recognize.
"Whipcord serge in golden brown. That will do nicely for a suit." Livvy's pencil made a scratching noise against her list. "We'll want French taffeta for the holidays, I think." She eyed Louise as if seeing her for the first time. "Not a plaid, a solid. Green. Now how many yards, I wonder?"
"Do I have a say in any of this?" Louise inquired uneasily, shifting from one foot to the next.
"It's all been decided," Livvy answered in a frosty tone, indicating her list.
Mrs. McConigle pulled down a flat bolt of green taffeta and began to roll out the yardage. With a sly look she picked a newspaper off the counter and handed it to Louise. "Would you hold this for a moment? It's in the way, and we wouldn't want to smudge newsprint on the fabric now, would we?"
Louise glanced at the newspaper and sucked in a breath. It was folded back to a headline that read: Granddaughter of Founder Weds Rancher. Philadelphia 's name jumped off the page. So did Wally's.
"When you've finished measuring out the taffeta, we'll need some chambray for shirtwaists in both plain and print, if you please." Livvy glanced at the newspaper in Louise's hands then made another checkmark on her list. "I hope Gilly can find bead trim for the taffeta. And I do hope dress stays are on her list." Only the crimson climbing her throat indicated she had read the headline.
And then the whispering began. Or perhaps it had begun earlier but only now moved close enough that Louise and Livvy could overheard a few words and phrases. As they were intended to overhear.
"… his own brother's bride. Indecent is what …"
"She must have been carrying on with one brother while she was betrothed to… "
"Well, I think the oldest McCord jilted her and she ran off with the other one for spite. Look at the dates. The oldest one married first."
"That's her over there… the one who married Max McCord days before he was supposed to marry…
what kind of hussy would…"
"… don't know how they can show their faces as if nothing … "
It seemed to go on and on and on until Gilly appeared at the fabric counter, her cheeks pulsing with high color. "I believe I have everything. It's loaded in the wagon. Are you ready?" Her eyes pleaded with them to say yes.
"It will take all of us to carry these packages," Livvy said, hastily loading a multitude of string-tied parcels into Louise's and Gilly's arms.
She lifted a similar number of packages and started down the long aisle toward the street door. This time she didn't march silently. "Good morning, Mrs. Howard. Miss Greene." The ladies did not return her cool-eyed greeting. "A lovely day, Mrs. Peabody. Mrs. Johnson." Near the door she stopped suddenly and Louise almost ran into her. "Mrs. Halston, I haven't seen you in ages. May I present my dear daughter-in-law, Mrs. Max McCord." There was nothing warm in Livvy's voice. Her tone was steely and stubborn.
"Howdy do," Louise murmured, pasting a smile on her lips. She couldn't shake hands because of the parcels stacked nearly to her chin, and didn't know if women shook hands in any case.
Mrs. Halston pointedly ignored her. Cool, condemning eyes remained on Livvy. "Am I to assume there will be no wedding on Sunday, Mrs. McCord?"
"I believe today'sGazette answers that question, Mrs. Halston." Livvy's gaze was equally cool and unapologetic. "If you'll excuse us …"After nodding curtly, she swept out the door with Gilly and Louise trailing behind.
Silently they dropped their packages in the wagon bed, then climbed up on the seat. "Spines straight, heads high." Livvy released the brake and flicked the reins across the backs of the team.
When they reached the outskirts of town, Gilly raised a shaking hand to her forehead. "I've never heard you make an improper introduction before."
Livvy kept her gaze on the road and didn't answer.
"They kept whispering loud enough that I finally realized I was meant to overhear. I'm so glad I decided to leave Sunshine with Mrs. Radowitz. Glad she didn't hear any of this."
"What are the gossips saying?"
