A Second Chance by Shayne Parkinson

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the effect of some, which were then returned to their places, while
others received an approving nod. She sought both Amy’s and Sarah’s
opinions of each of her selections, sometimes offering a choice
between two or three fabrics; when this happened, Amy insisted that
Sarah choose for her, not trusting herself to make a proper job of
it. If she had been able to find a price tag on any of the fabrics
her choice would have been made easy, but none of them seemed to
carry any indication of their cost. Amy decided that they must all
be worryingly expensive.
    Even her so-called tea gowns, which, as
Sarah had to explain to her, were intended for casual wear around
the house, were to be silk; one in pale mauve, and the other a
light green with white flowers. The fabrics chosen for the walking
costumes were both of wool, but it was woollen fabric of a finer
quality than Amy had ever worn, one rust-coloured and the other
pale grey. Her gowns for visiting were to be silk as well, a heavy
bronze satin for one and a dark green taffeta for the other. A
silvery-grey woollen cloak would go with the walking costumes as
well as the visiting gowns.
    Mrs Stevenson spread out engravings from
magazines on a table for Amy to study the dresses illustrated.
‘Which styles appeal most?’ she asked, but Amy shook her head
helplessly.
    ‘They’re all lovely. My head just goes round
and round when I try and pick one. I don’t know which ones would go
with which material,’ she added, casting an awed glance at the
growing pile of fabrics chosen for her.
    ‘It’s up to you again, Mrs Stevenson,’ said
Sarah. ‘What do you suggest?’
    ‘Well, I do think that simple styles might
be best, with Mrs Stewart not being very tall. What about something
like this for the mauve?’ she asked, turning unerringly to the
correct page of a particular magazine.
    They went through the whole range of Amy’s
day dresses, and Amy gradually gained the confidence to make some
selections of her own when offered a choice of styles.
    ‘Those should all be most satisfactory,’
Sarah said when they had decided on the last of them. ‘Shall we go
on to the evening dresses now?’
    ‘We do need to choose the trims for these
dresses as well,’ said Mrs Stevenson. ‘Perhaps we should do that
first? I thought this lace would be perfect with the green and
white gown.’
    Amy felt pleasantly wearied from helping
choose the styles, and she let the trims be chosen for her, taking
pleasure enough in handling the frothy laces placed before her and
admiring the soft colours of the braids. The room seemed something
a genie had conjured up in answer to a girl’s wish for magically
beautiful clothes, and Amy would not have been completely
astonished if the whole scene had vanished to be replaced by her
own plain little parlour.
    ‘Oh, Amy, you must show Mrs Stevenson your
blue dress,’ Sarah said. ‘I suggested to Mrs Stewart that she might
like to have one of her dresses remodelled,’ she explained to the
dressmaker. ‘It’s several years old, but perhaps worth
keeping.’
    ‘It’s too good to throw away,’ Amy said,
carefully unwrapping the neat parcel of tissue paper the maids had
fashioned around the dress. ‘I know it’s old-fashioned,
though.’
    Mrs Stevenson spread the dress out on a
table and examined it. ‘It’s good quality fabric. Quite well made,
too. Yes, I think I could make something of this. Does it fit you
comfortably, Mrs Stewart? It’s a very close-fitting style.’
    ‘I let it out a little bit a few years ago.
I’ve had it since I was fifteen, and it was snug on me even
then.’
    ‘Yes, the styles were tighter in the bodice
when this was made. Now, perhaps if I were to add a panel in the
front, and side panels to the skirt… here, I’ll show you what I
mean.’
    She took up a sheet of paper and sketched
rapidly, showing a full-bodiced dress with a patterned panel down
the centre of the bodice, and matching panels on either side of