Alice looked up suddenly at the sound of the female voice. She was thoroughly surprised that the voice belonged to Miss Arabella Mudd, of the nude actress fame. If it could be called that."Why, hello, Arabella. I think we were just about to finish up here, not too sure that I actually accomplished anything, really." She explained.
"I am after a wedding gown, and just having a dickens of a time trying to explain what it is I want." She continued, "Mister Pettigrew here even suggested I see some of those that he made for you, but here you are. How fortuitous for me that you are here. Now, what I was telling Mister Pettigrew, rather poorly, I'm afraid, was that I want a dress that a mine owner's bride would be married in. We're doing quite well, and he has another mine that will be coming online soon enough.
"Now I had thought that I'd need dresses as a professional man's wife as well, and probably conveyed that all wrong as well. This is not something I am accustomed to doing." She looked a bit lost.
"Everybody can feather their nest, but it's not just anybody that can lay an egg!"
"Why, hello, Arabella. I think we were just about to finish up here, not too sure that I actually accomplished anything, really." She explained.
"Whatever is the problem, Miss Fletcher?" asked the Mudd girl tipping her head enquiringly.
"I am after a wedding gown, and just having a dickens of a time trying to explain what it is I want" she continued.
"Awwww" Arabella gave the other woman a sympathetic pout.
"Mister Pettigrew here even suggested I see some of those that he made for you, but here you are. How fortuitous for me that you are here. Now, what I was telling Mister Pettigrew, rather poorly, I'm afraid, was that I want a dress that a mine owner's bride would be married in. We're doing quite well, and he has another mine that will be coming online soon enough."
Arabella wondered if, before very long, there wouldn't be not just another little mine on the way, but something else, too.
"So, you think these designs are a little too froo-froo?" she asked, indicating the fashion plates on the tale. Not a professional dressmaking term, to be sure, but one that got her meaning across. "Kinda too fussy?"
"Now I had thought that I'd need dresses as a professional man's wife as well, and probably conveyed that all wrong as well. This is not something I am accustomed to doing." She looked a bit lost.
"Stay there!" Arabella beamed and ran out the door; she could be heard calling down the stairs to Jemima to come and help her change.
A little later, the door cracked open again and the little actress walked in with the plainest possible slim white sheath of a dress wrapped around her lithe form and the clumsy looking Jemima following behind, like a sorry excuse for a bridesmaid.
Worcester Pettigrew spluttered "But that's not even a full dress! That's just the base which I build the dress on top of!" he cried, the whole idea of wearing such a simple affair as a wedding dress blowing his Mid-Victorian mind!
On orders from Arabella, Alice remained where she was, unsure of how all of this was going to work out. But she decided she would trust Arabella, who did seem to have good fashion sense, not that she believed she did not, but for a stylish wedding gown, which would be virgin ground for her, as her last wedding gown had been a sack dress.
Now, the idea of proper attire for business meetings? Again, there were not many professional women in Kalispell to model herself after. She did want to look presentable for her husband in that regard. She was just about to say something to Wus when the door creaked open again, and in tromped Arabellea in a white sheath dress
Worcester Pettigrew spluttered "But that's not even a full dress! That's just the base which I build the dress on top of!" he cried, the whole idea of wearing such a simple affair as a wedding dress blowing his Mid-Victorian mind!
"It is so beautiful, the way it flows!" Alice gushed, "And you would build a dress onto this as the base?" Again, this was a trade term that she had never heard of before. "Tell me, Mister Pettigrew, what could it look like?" She asked, ideas already forming in her head, whatever it was called, it had caught hold of her!
"Everybody can feather their nest, but it's not just anybody that can lay an egg!"
"It is so beautiful, the way it flows!" Alice gushed, "And you would build a dress onto this as the base?" Again, this was a trade term that she had never heard of before. "Tell me, Mister Pettigrew, what could it look like?" She asked, ideas already forming in her head, whatever it was called, it had caught hold of her!
But Arabella just gave a tinkling laugh.
"No, no, no, Miss Fletcher, this IS the dress! It's simplicity itself - so plain that it serves merely as a frame for your beauty!" It was not so much a suggestion as a dictat. She caught sight of herself in a mirror and yelped "Oh!! And maybe something around the head - a simple garland of daisies or..." she deftly grabbed a white table cloth that covered a side table upon which were various knickknacks and curios and did the old conjuror's trick of whipping it off while the objects remained on the table.
Well, most of them.
She swiftly wrapped the cloth around her bonce and balanced a ringlet of ceramicflowers on top to hold it down, so that one side dangled down: the effect was rather good, in an eastern, arabesque sort of way.
"See?!" she drawled, quite pleased with herself.
"Oh yes, yes I do. I had seen veils on women at other weddings; my wedding was rather plain. No gown or new dress for the occasion. My husband didn't even have a suit, rest his soul." She admitted. "Times were hard back then, not so long ago, today? It is completely different. You know, Speed saved my father during the war, and we remained friends afterward."
"Yes, I could see a dress like this for my wedding, with a veil and a flowered whatever you call it. Mister Perttigrew, how can you make this gown special? How can you 'build' something just for me?" She was quick to ask of the M
aster dressmaker. The whole idea of a wedding gown had engulfed her. Thanks to Arabellea's timely intrusion, the whole world of fashion was about to engulf Alice Fletcher as it had engulfed women since the beginning of time.
"This will be so special, and the dresses that I will need in the future." Yes, fully engulfed!
"Everybody can feather their nest, but it's not just anybody that can lay an egg!"
They talked fashion for a while but then Arabella asked
"Now, the dress will cause a big sensation, but Miss Fletcher, there are so many other things to consider. The ceremony itself is of the utmost importance. Are you and Mr Guyer of the same religious persuasion? And what of the Wedding Breakfast? And will there be further celebrations beyond, A wedding dance perhaps?"
They were facets of the big day which Alice had touched on with Mr Pettigrew but, although she, like him, would never know a wedding day herself, she enquired about with a frisson of excitement running through her skinny body. Yes, she would never wed, but her whole life she enjoyed the vicarious excitement of other people's nuptials.
Alice was enjoying the fashion talk, something of a rarity for her and most every other woman who was not well to do. That would certainly include her due to the success of the Copper Queen Mine, as well as Wood & Guyer Mining Company, New York's Kalispell Office. Then came the question of religious persuasion.
Alice stopped for only a moment before she responded, "With only the one church here in town, we attend as we are able, but yes, we are both like-minded Christians, although I cannot say which denomination would be the best fit for us, but Reverend Evans suits us just fine."
"Now, about this breakfast, you'll have to explain that to me, the number of people invited, and who they would be. Speed has no family out here, unless you consider the Pikes as his family, I'm sure he will, but I have no idea who else would be invited." She added. It was a bit much for her, though, to decide which ladies she would invite for this breakfast off-handedly. "That might take a little time to put together." Then she laughed,
"Everybody can feather their nest, but it's not just anybody that can lay an egg!"
Alice stopped for only a moment before she responded, "With only the one church here in town, we attend as we are able, but yes, we are both like-minded Christians, although I cannot say which denomination would be the best fit for us, but Reverend Evans suits us just fine."
"Well, although we are both of the Connexion, Pastor Evans is a Northern Methodist and I, of course, am a Southern Methodist, but he welcomes just about everyone, you are right. Even Baptists." The little actress seemed warm on this subject. "I think as long as neither of you are complete Heathens, you should be all right."
"Now, about this breakfast, you'll have to explain that to me, the number of people invited, and who they would be. Speed has no family out here, unless you consider the Pikes as his family, I'm sure he will, but I have no idea who else would be invited." She added.
"I'd make it pretty intimate." the girl gave her opinion freely and which the conviction of someone who had been brought up in the finest of society, rather than a tumbledown, sidegogglin' Clinch Mountain shack. "Then have a larger party for hanger's-on later."
"That might take a little time to put together." Then she laughed.
The Virginian girl nodded. "Well, let's start with the close family and friends. Obviously Mr Guyer will want Mr and Mrs Pike there... hmmm, what about that girl who everybody is saying is his natural daughter? The giantess?"
Mr Pettigrew burst out then "Really, Miss Mudd, I do believe that is just groundless gossip, put about by the likes of Mrs Miggins!" He didn't like to add ... and Mrs Patterson Forde as he had business connections with that family.
Alice was stunned by the statement about the girl claiming to be Barnabas' daughter. And just how did this news get to everybody? She wondered, Speed had heard from one of the hands who had come to town for supplies.
Mr Pettigrew burst out then "Really, Miss Mudd, I do believe that is just groundless gossip, put about by the likes of Mrs Miggins!"
"Excuse me?" She said, "Just who would everybody be? All of those who are saying this, this, Giantress, as you call her, is Barnabas' natural daughter. I mean, Speed barely heard about it, and only because of his friendship with Barnabas." She did not care to reveal what Speed had told her about the shooting, which was the reason Speed was told, and she was positive he had said nothing to anyone.
"Everybody can feather their nest, but it's not just anybody that can lay an egg!"
"Excuse me?" She said, "Just who would everybody be? All of those who are saying this, this, Giantess, as you call her, is Barnabas' natural daughter."
"Ahhh, Dame Rumour hath always her informants!" Arabella declared loftily, aping something she had once heard her pompous co-actor, Mr Darling, say.
"I mean, Speed barely heard about it, and only because of his friendship with Barnabas."
"Ohhhh! So Mr Guyer knows about Cicely Pike toooo?" a wide eyed Arabella cooed, drawing herself closer to Alice as a suddenly interesting source of further gossip. "Say, does that mean that the other kid, the one that Mrs Pike shot, is actually his son, too? Oh, poor Mr Pike! And how awful to have a secret daughter that's so big and fat? If she'd been normal sized and pretty, the whole thing might have rather a romantic air to it, don't you think? I mean, young men always must sow their wild oats, and..."
"Ahem!!!" Mr Pettigrew interrupted this flow of conjecture "I think that you are rather jumping to conclusions, Miss Mudd. I am sure that this girl is nothing more than a flim-flam artiste, a legacy hunter, come to stir up trouble for a completely innocent man!"