Ella's induction into the back of the store: a place of cutting tables, stock rooms, ledgers and the new fangled sewing machine, left Leonora alone with Miriam, who, she could not help but notice, was really tiny, not much over five feet high, she reckoned.

"Well, this is a little embarrassing, having a whole person to 'attend to my needs' when all I really want is just to look at some gloves." she laughed nervously, for Miss Lutz was the sort of person who didn't really like to be the centre of anyone's attention: her natural tendencies in that direction having been deepened by her recent illness. Being 'shut in' for a year had left her nervous and agoraphobic, and given to fainting fits.

"Are you new around here, Miss Kaufmann?" she asked, to draw attention away from herself "You have a most intriguing accent, if it's not rude to mention it." she added in a stumbling sort of way: she really did feel that she had forgotten how to speak, sometimes.

Miriam had told the customers she would go in back once more after notifying Mr. Pettigrew of the need to come out front and see them. But now her employer instructed her to tend to the remaining woman while he talked business with the other.  So that left the young seamstress to stand there then with this customer. She gave her best smile.

"Well, this is a little embarrassing, having a whole person to 'attend to my needs' when all I really want is just to look at some gloves." the lady laughed nervously.

"Oh, well they are right over on that shelf, ma'am," Miriam helpfully pointed out.

"Are you new around here, Miss Kaufmann?" the customer asked, "You have a most intriguing accent, if it's not rude to mention it."

"It isn't rude, ma'am, it's fine. I have only been here for a few weeks, close to a month now. It is probably because I come from New York. I was born in New York and lived there with my family until Papa decided to move out west and set up his own business. "

She decided not to bring up the Jewish part of the accent, some people did not like Jews at all.

"Oh, well they are right over on that shelf, ma'am," Miriam helpfully pointed out.

"Oh! Yes! Would you get them... er, oh, no, don't worry, I'll get them!" Leonora realised that the girl was so short that she would probably have to get the steps to reach them. 

"Are you new around here, Miss Kaufmann?" the customer asked, "You have a most intriguing accent, if it's not rude to mention it."

"It isn't rude, ma'am, it's fine. I have only been here for a few weeks, close to a month now. It is probably because I come from New York. I was born in New York and lived there with my family until Papa decided to move out west and set up his own business. "

"Really? It sounds almost German." replied Leonora, tipping her head curiously. "How brave of your Papa, and your whole family, to come out here, how do you like it?" she smiled, looking at one of the gloves and gauging whether it would fit. 

"Have you made any friends, yet?"

Ahh...we get our wool from a number of suppliers.  You know people back east who we've meet over the years,"  Ella said in a matter-of-fact way.

"That so, that so?" muttered Pettigrew, sounding utterly convinced by Ella's lies. But he had to wonder: there was that slight, not unpleasant, air of lanolin about the finely made products which indicated the wool might have been shorn, cleaned and spun more locally: and they were clearly all of the same type of wool from the same type of sheep.

Still, that was no concern of his, as long as the young lady could supply what she promised.

Turning back to the point of all this, she continued, "I'm glad you like them.  It takes a while to make things so we like to get an early start in order to have things ready to sell by late fall when people are starting to need them."

"Well, sure, I'll take a dozen of each and see how they go." he decided. It was a gamble, but only a minor one. Then he had an idea.

"You know, Miss Albrecht, a little town like this doesn't have much idea of fashion. Oh, I do my best in my own little way to introduce the more modish patterns and cuts, you know. But there are a few Ladies around here who rather set the trends. I can't see Miss Steelgrave wearing wool, but if you were to give, say, Miss Orr a gift of something from your range and she wore it out and about, you can bet I'd have every little girl with any pocket money to her name banging my door down to try and buy the very same thing."

The canny Worchester Pettigrew knew that Anaesthesia Orr might be a difficult customer, and an unbearable small-town snob, but she made an excellent shop-window dummy! 

"All right, I can give her this one," she picked the most stylish shawl she could out of the three she had bought in, "however, I will reserve the right to ask for the item back if this doesn't work.  Even used a good shawl like this can still sell."

Ah, an 'Indian giver!' Pettigrew could not but help chuckle out loud at this reticence on Ella's part to invest in advertising, even if it was of a most unusual variety.

"I can see, Miss, that you are unconvinced at the efficacy of my suggestion. Well, you may call me vain, but I am willing to put my hand in my pocket to prove myself right!" he said good humouredly, holding up a telling finger. "I myself will buy the sample piece, as well as the rest of the order, and present Miss Orr with the piece, for I have as much faith in my business methods as I have in the quality of your wares!"

In Pettigrew's world-view, you definitely had to speculate to accumulate!

Really? It sounds almost German." replied Leonora, tipping her head curiously. "How brave of your Papa, and your whole family, to come out here, how do you like it?" she smiled, looking at one of the gloves and gauging whether it would fit. 

"Oh it is. My grandparents came from Germany," Miriam informed her.

"Yes, we do....thus far. It was a hard journey but Papa believes it was for the best. This town is very....peaceful," Miriam nodded.

"Have you made any friends, yet?"

"Oh yes, I have indeed. One girl in particular, my own age too," Miriam beamed, "She is teaching me so much about the town and the people. We spend all our free time together, she works at the saloon you see. She is an orphan and the saloon owner agreed to take her in."

Now that is what out there aloud, Miriam wondered if perhaps she should not have included that part?

"Oh it is. My grandparents came from Germany," Miriam informed her.

"Do you know whereabout they came from?" asked Lee with interest "My Pa came from Karlsruhe after the revolutions. He was involved." she sighed wistfully as she pulled on the gloves, which were far too tight. "Poor Papa, he was probably the reason they failed." She then asked Miriam if she liked the Town.

"Yes, we do....thus far. It was a hard journey but Papa believes it was for the best. This town is very....peaceful," Miriam nodded.

"Peaceful and prosperous, and becoming more civilised every day." she agreed. Apart form the odd shoot out and bank robbery. 

"Have you made any friends, yet?"

"Oh yes, I have indeed. One girl in particular, my own age too," Miriam beamed, "She is teaching me so much about the town and the people. We spend all our free time together, she works at the saloon you see. She is an orphan and the saloon owner agreed to take her in."

Leonora frowned for a second and then realised of whom Miriam spoke. "Oh, you mean Miss Mudd!" Leonora considered for a moment: the child was somewhat loud and garrulous and ran helter-skelter like a mad thing around the place, but Jacob spoke well of her, in a wry sort of way, and she decided that if Miriam was her friend, then she should be charitable about her.

"Yes, you are lucky to have a friend who is such a paragon of the Church." was about the only creditable thing to say about her that came to mind. "I have not seen you at Church with her, though, Miss Kaufmann, perhaps you follow another denomination" she said it as a statement, but it was really a question. Apart from the Baptists and Mrs Orr's nutty Spiritualists, most other denominations lumped in with the Reverends Evans and Reed's Methodists. It was too horrible to think for a minute that the girl might not attend any church.

Miriam shook her head in the negative, "No, I am afraid I do not. Papa would probably know of course."  Not that she could ask him at that moment, the customer would have to make due with a nonanswer.

As to her answer about making friends, of course Miriam immediately gushed about Arabella, full of youthful enthusiasm and indeed, rose-colored glasses.

"Oh, you mean Miss Mudd!" the woman knew immediately.

"Why, yes I do," Miriam smiled.

"Yes, you are lucky to have a friend who is such a paragon of the Church," Miss Lutz stated then added,  "I have not seen you at Church with her, though, Miss Kaufmann, perhaps you follow another denomination"

No sense lying about it, Miriam thought, eventually such things were bound to get out.

"Oh I...well my family have not gone to church here in Kalispell. You see we are Jewish and there is no synagogue around here of course," she could leave out her family also were not exactly fervent Jews.