Once the young man, Bern, had gone, Leonora immediately felt bad that she had been, perhaps a little brusque in her manner. She considered the fact that perhaps she was just a little antisocial after her long confinement, rather than the man having overstepped any marks. But soon she was in too deep a conversation about the blue material with Ella to give it any further thought.

"Nice, isn't it?" she asked rhetorically and then glanced up to make sure the store keeper wasn't listening "But they have some finer over at Pettigrew's, and about the same price, too."  Well, she needn't feel guilty about losing the Storekeeper a sale, after he'd hiked the price on flour!

"Does this Pettigrew have a large range?  I'm looking for something to suit my sister and my mother as well as myself."

"Oh, much better than here!" Lee half whispered to Ella. "And he's much more likely cut you a deal if you're buying in bulk." 

She paused for a moment as she wondered if this Pettigrew would be interested in buying some of their woollen items, "Now that I think about it, maybe a visit to this Pettigrew might be worthwhile.  Would you mind showing me the way?"

"Well, I have to go there myself for some buttons" she eyed the small haberdashery section of the General Store with what could only be termed 'cold distain' "They've got a much finer selection  than this place." she said in a hushed voice.

As they exited the store and headed across the street to Pettigrew's, Leonora felt courageous enough to pipe up about Ella's brther.

"I hope I wasn't short with your brother. I... I've been ill this last year, bedridden for much of it and I fear I have lost some of the niceties of society while I've been shut in. He seems... very engaging." She felt herself coloring, not too sure why she had blurted all that out. 

Miriam was working in the back but heard the little tinkling of the tiny bell above the front entrance, someone had entered. She immediately stopped midtask and got up to attend to whoever it might be. Dealing with customers was part of her job requirements, one she did not mind. She liked the seamstress work too. It had only been that one dreadful modeling session which was the sole unpleasant part of her employment thus far.

Emerging from the interior she instantly saw two women she did not know. Hardly surprising being she and her family were only recent arrivals themselves. She had been fortunate her father had managed to secure her any employment at all really.

"Good day, ladies, may I help you with anything?" she greeted them with a genuine smile , spoken in a rather distinct mix of Yiddish and New York accent.

"Hello, are you new?" one of the women asked, rather redundantly but with a friendly enough smile.

"Umm, yes, I am. But I assure you I can assist you with your needs, ma'am," Miriam nodded. Technically she was a seamstress but she could do clerking on the floor or .......even modeling though less said about that the better.

"I've just been telling Miss, er, Miss Albrecht here about your stock of blue fabrics, but I don't see any to hand. Do you have some stock in back?"

"Blue, oh yes we do. We have so much stock we can't keep it all out here in the shop. Any particular shade of blue? I can bring some of it out should you wish, ma'am," Miriam answered pleasantly.

Placing the package the she had bought with her on the counter, Ella looked at the girl, "I would like to speak to the owner if he or she is here."

"Why yes he is. I can get him for you. His name is Mr. Pettigrew, he knows anything and everything about fabrics . I will go get him for you then fish thru the back for some blues," Miriam was more than willing.

She practically bounced out of the store front and disappeared into the interior of the place. It didn't take long and she reappeared, still smiling away.

"Mr. Pettigrew will be right with you, ladies!"

Mr. Pettigrew had been working on the accounts in the back and had heard everything. The more the little Jewish girl worked for him, the more pleased he was with her. He had even let her father know how well she was doing, even at the risk of the old man asking for a raise on her behalf: for her wages went straight into his pocket. Pettigrew, it had to be said, surreptitiously countered this by giving the girl cash in hand for any extra bits of piece work, beyond her normal duties, that she managed to complete.

He was still putting on his jacket as he came through the curtains.

"Thank you Miss Kaufmann." He remained formal with his employees, but the warmth in his voice shone through. "Now ladies, er, Miss Lutz isn't it? How well you do look!" Mrs Miggins' granddaughter had been ill for some time, he knew, and he figured that this compliment was the one that might put her in a happy, money spending, mood. "... and , I don't believe I've had the pleasure...Miss?" he beamed ingratiatingly toward Ella.

"Miss Ella Albrecht," she answered as she stepped forward and placed her parcel on the counter.  "I do wish to buy some cloth but I was also wondering if you were interested in purchasing some items I have."

"Oh, I never discuss business front of house, Miss Albrecht" Pettigrew informed the woman "Please to come through to the back and we can have a little talk." he opened the velvet curtains to indicate that she might come around the counter and through. 

"Miss Kaufmann, please attend to Miss Lutz, if you please." he instructed the short assistant. His manner was business-like, but never brusque, toward his star seamstress when they were 'on' in front of the customers.

The big cutting table in back of the Millner's was free at the moment so Pettigrew invited the delicate featured woman to use that to show off her wares.

As she opened the parcel, she smiled at Pettigrew, "I hope you don't mind me approaching you in this way.  My family are new to the area, and we've been looking for somewhere to sell some of the goods we make."

"Oh I am always open to new suppliers and new types of stock, if they are items I can sell at a profit, Miss Albrecht: 'never stand still', that's my motto. Has to be in this trade, I assure you." he said seriously. The young woman was no longer a customer, to be fawned over and persuaded: she was a fellow businessman, or rather businesswoman, to be spoken to straight and dealt with fairly.

After opening the parcel, she picked up crochet shawl to the show the owner.  She then pointed to the other items, "There's a scarf and some mittens as well.  We make a variety of woollen garments.  This is just an example of some of them."

Pettigrew picked up the items one by one and, humming and hawing as he did so, examined them minutely,: not only looking at them, but feeling them carefully, noting the lustre of the nap, tugging at them, even, as if he wished to rip the woollen items apart at the seems. Finally he seemed satisfied with his examination. 

"Fine work, Miss Albrecht, very fine work indeed. Of course, June-time isn't really the time to be selling winter woollens, but still there are those that feel the cold even in this weather: older folks, you know. Hmmm, I guess I can take a dozen of each and see how they go, if we can agree a wholesale price. Do you have a stock of these or would you need time to supply that many?" 

Pettigrew was doing a fine balancing act in his mind between profit and loss and overheads: an infinitesimally fine series of calculations which included such odd factors as possible advertising drives to 'buy your winter woollies early!' and the possibilities of moths getting in amongst the stock if he had to store it too long. 

He was looking at the mittens again. "Hmm, yes, very fine work." his watery old eyes looked up at her sparking young hazel orbs. "Where do you get your supply of wool from?" he asked with professional interest.