The Prairie Princess

by Lisa Prysock

  Soon, they’d selected seven new patterns, one for each day of the week, none with high neck collars. This made them laugh because Ambrosia wrinkled her nose up about some of the patterns.

  “And she’ll likely need a corset.” Tillie opened a catalog to a page showing various styles of those. “Ours are ordered because we can take measurements for a better fit. You’ll need to choose whalebone or metal framing. However, the general store carries a few if you need one until these arrive.”

  “Oh, no! I won’t wear one of those!” Ambrosia looked aghast.

  “We’ll need two,” Mia said firmly, cracking a smile.

  Tillie laughed. “Miss Stanton, every proper young lady of about your age wears one of these beneath her garments.”

  The eye rolls she gave about corsets were even funnier than those about high neck collars, and soon Ambrosia was laughing with Matilda and Lady Mia.

  “It’s all part of growing up, Miss Stanton,” Tillie said as she brought them fabric rolls in various colors to choose from. That was even more fun as they felt the fabrics for texture and weight, discovering Ambrosia was quite picky and didn’t like cumbersome fabrics, either.

  They also selected some other needed items, including a fall weather cape, and two pair of spectator ankle boots with low heels. Miss Stanton would be properly outfitted in little time, as many of the items could be made by the seamstresses and ready in about ten days. Some items were even in stock. They laughed together so much that Matilda’s sister, Mavis, appeared from the back room to introduce herself, joining them for a few moments.

  “I can hear all the fun you’re having selecting a new wardrobe for the young lady. I’m Tillie’s younger sister, Mavis. It’s so nice to meet you.” Mavis shook their hands. “Tillie and I opened our little shop here in Belle about a month ago.”

  “I hope you are quickly becoming a thriving business here in the lovely wilds of Wyoming.” Lady Mia smiled at the two sisters. They looked to be in their late twenties. “I’m sure it’s different from the busy city of New York.”

  Mavis nodded. “Oh yes, it’s a much different pace, but that’s exactly what we were hoping. We’re delighted to be away from the big city to serve a small, growing community here in the rural west. We’ve been accepting new orders every week from the ladies around the area, and they’re all so weary of placing orders from catalogs. They can pick up their garments in a few days now instead of waiting for a month or more.”

  “I can see why you’d prefer it here. Do you live above stairs?” Lady Mia felt a roll of blue chintz Tillie handed her and nodded. “This will do nicely, Ambrosia. It’s a luscious floral with a glazed finish. What do you think? Wouldn’t it make a beautiful Sunday dress for church?”

  Ambrosia nodded vigorously. “Oh yes please, and may I have a hat with long, wide ribbons of the same chintz to stream down the back?”

  Matilda chuckled and turned to her sister and Mia. “Miss Stanton knows exactly what she wants. Yes, Lady Mia, we do live above stairs. We complete much of our work in the evenings, so it’s very convenient.”

  Mia nodded. “Ambrosia certainly does seem to know what she wants.” She paused to inspect another fabric and shake her head no because it was too heavy. “We’ve had no trouble spending her father’s funds on beautiful new dresses.”

  They laughed and Mavis smiled. “Enjoy your shopping. I’d better return to my work so we’ll be able to begin working on your order on time. It was nice meeting you. I’m sure we’ll see you around Belle from time to time.”

  Mia nodded. “Nice meeting you, too. We can be new in town together. I arrived only yesterday. I’m tremendously happy about your dress shop being here in Belle. A lady can never have too many dresses, shoes, or hats.”

  Ambrosia declined an orange fabric Tillie held out as Mavis returned to her work behind the curtains.

  Matilda continued chatting. “Of course, we only cater to the needs of women and children. We aren’t tailors, but we can make men’s shirts and many other men’s items, too. Though we also are not milliners, we certainly enjoy being able to offer a few custom hats and a selection of shoes. We decided to offer an all-encompassing service to our customers since certain items are hard to obtain here in Wyoming.” She placed another fabric selection before them. “How about this dusty rose fabric for one of the dresses?”

  Ambrosia nodded. “Yes, I like it, perhaps with something floral for the overlay bustle?” Each time she confirmed a new selection, Matilda faithfully wrote down notes about their order in neat handwriting and placed the chosen fabric rolls in a separate pile.

  When they finished choosing items, Matilda read them a brief summary. “Wonderful! We have the blue chintz for Sunday, the dusty rose dress, a yellow dress, a peach dress, the pink dress, the plaid navy blue and dark green dress, the white dress with the blue sash for formal occasions, one navy blue and one black skirt for winter and fall, two white blouses, the white linen nightgowns, pantaloons, petticoats, the nutmeg brown cape, the pink shawl, and the pale green shawl. One lace parasol, the coordinating hats, gloves, and the two pair of shoes. All I need to do now is take her measurements. Would you like me to put it on Mr. Stanton’s account, Lady Mia? Most of the order will be ready in about ten days, but some items you may take home with you today.”

  “Mr. Stanton said that would be fine, thank you,” Lady Mia nodded approvingly as Matilda Pettigrew whisked Ambrosia off to one of the two recessed dressing rooms with a measuring tape.

  Chapter 8

  “TEACH LOVE, GENEROSITY, good manners and some of that will drift from the classroom to the home and who knows, the children will be educating the parents.”—Roger Moore, British Actor (1927-2017).

  AFTER SPENDING NEARLY two hours at the Pettigrew Dress Shop, noticing some fashionable hats in the window and intending to purchase some yard goods, they stopped outside the mercantile. “You’ll like Olivia, but watch out for Lucy Mae Jackson. I can see her at the counter talking to Livvy. Lucy is kind of a town gossip,” Ambrosia warned in a low voice. “Olivia and Henry Stewart own the mercantile.”

  “Thank you for the warning about Lucy.” Lady Mia chuckled as they entered the establishment.

  Lucy Mae began speaking to them as soon as they entered the store. Ambrosia exchanged a knowing look with Mia as they stepped toward the counter to speak with Olivia. If only they could get past Lucy Mae, perhaps they could make their selections and be on their way.

  “Hello, Ambrosia! What a surprise to see you here. I don’t think I’ve seen you around town since that incident in the...where was it now? A creek, perhaps?” Lucy Mae offered what appeared to be a kind of sneer. “Please introduce me to your new...uh, friend.” The statement included the intonation of a question on the word friend, accompanied by a raised eyebrow.

  Ambrosia stared at her feet, her cheeks burning a bright shade of deep pink. Lady Mia was sorry they’d stopped by. The only thing she knew to do was what her father had taught her. Kill them with kindness, he always said. Mia drew in a deep breath and quickly introduced herself. “Hello, ma’am. I’m Lady Mia Morley from Somerset, England. I’m Miss Stanton’s new governess. It’s very nice to meet you.”

  “England? How nice to meet you, Lady Morley. I’m Olivia Stewart.” Livvy quickly shook hands across the counter with Mia, ignoring and bypassing Lucy Mae and her remarks entirely.

  “You may call me Lady Mia. I’m sure we’ll become good friends.” Lady Mia smiled warmly at Olivia and Lucy Mae, whose mouth snapped shut as she realized Mia was of the English peerage. This rendered Lucy Mae Jackson speechless, and she no longer spoke with any trace of condescension to Ambrosia.

  “Call me Livvy, Lady Mia. Mia is such a beautiful name,” Olivia said as she attempted to smooth a few tendrils of hair in place. “Are you teaching Miss Stanton during the summer?”

  “Yes, thank you, and we’ve quite a lot to learn this summer. French lessons, etiquette, fashion, in addition to literature, history, and more.” Mia’s
attention traveled to a blue denim dress trimmed in white eyelet lace displayed on a mannequin near the sewing corner of the mercantile.

  She studied the blue dress, moving beyond Lucy Mae to observe it more closely. It featured a long row of red bows running the length of the gathered bustle, each bow sweeping into a tuft before emerging into another tuft. It appeared to be Ambrosia’s size and the perfect style for a young lady. “Livvy, would you mind if Miss Stanton tried on the blue dress while I call upon your assistance in selecting some ribbon and material?”

  “Your lesson plans sound so nice. The blue denim dress? We don’t carry many ready-made dresses, but we happen to have that one. I believe it would be perfect for a young lady of her age.” Nodding, Livvy stepped closer to the dress and began taking it off the mannequin so Ambrosia could try it on. “It has a nice contrast with the blue and the red, plus this summery red and white checked inset around the bodice. It would look lovely on her, I’m sure of it. However, I agree with you. It’s always a good idea to try items on in the store to be sure they fit.”

  Ambrosia joined them at the mannequin, admiring the dress from at Mia’s side.

  “Do you happen to have...?” Mia looked uncomfortable in case anyone happened to hear them. She leaned close and whispered her request in Livvy’s ear.

  Livvy chuckled and nodded. “Yes, we have a few in stock, depending on...” She leaned toward Mia and whispered something in her ear.

  Mia whispered a reply, and a few moments later, Livvy produced a box. She beckoned Ambrosia forward and directed her into a curtained changing room. Lowering her voice a tad, she said, “You’ll need to wear this corset under the dress, Miss Stanton, or it won’t fit properly.” She handed her the box and the dress. Ambrosia rolled her eyes to no one in particular and closed the curtains to the little dressing room, disappearing from their view.

  Turning to Lady Mia, admiring the ribbon and bolts of fabric, Livvy added, “I think it’d make a nice garment for her to wear to the Annual Independence Day Picnic with those colors.”

  “There’s a town picnic coming up? I’m sure we’d like to attend.” Mia surveyed some material and a few moments later, she placed three rolls of fabric on the sewing counter along with her selection of spools of ribbon. “We’ll take two yards each of these fabrics, four yards of this roll of fabric, and a yard each of these ribbons. Oh, and if you’d be so kind as to add some thread to our order.”

  “Lovely selections, Lady Mia. Yes, I do hope you can join us for the event. It’s festive and patriotic.” She quickly began spreading out each roll of fabric on the sewing counter, measuring, and then cutting them with shears into the desired amounts. “Now, tell me, how do you like the beautiful cabin at Silver Aspen Ranch?”

  “Beautiful indeed,” Mia replied as she stepped to the window to observe the hats more closely. She chose one for herself and another for Ambrosia, hoping her charge might be able to wear it with the new denim dress.

  Miss Stanton emerged from the changing room wearing the denim dress. She wore a grin a mile wide, turning this way and that for Mia to see how it fit. Lucy Mae observed them quietly from the canned goods area of the store.

  “Judging by that smile, I’d say you love it. It looks splendid on you. What do you say to this straw hat with the red and white ribbons?” Mia handed her the hat. Ambrosia tried the hat on and leaned toward a nearby mirror to peer at her reflection. “Oh yes, this is perfect. What do you think, Mrs. Stewart?”

  The doorbell rang as someone came into the store, but Henry Stewart emerged from the storage room and they could hear him speaking to the customer.

  “Ambrosia Stanton, you’ll be the prettiest girl at our Independence Day celebration, and certainly dressed in the most patriotic outfit.” Livvy nodded and smiled. “Now be sure to stop at Pettigrew’s Dress Shop. Have you met Matilda and Mavis yet? They’re from New York, sisters you know.”

  Lucy Mae joined them near the window. Lowering her voice a bit, she added, “I think they’re nearing the age of spinsters, if you ask me.”

  Ignoring Lucy’s comment, Mia turned to Ambrosia. “You can wear the denim dress home, so please leave it on. Your father will be so pleased.” Turning back to Mrs. Stewart, she added, “We met the sisters this morning and ordered some other garments for Miss Stanton. A lovely shop and two of the nicest ladies in the whole world. Would you ring this hat up and the four yards of the peach floral print separately, Livvy? I’d like to pay for it myself, but the other hat and the rest of the fabric are on Mr. Stanton’s account per his instruction.”

  “Certainly.” Olivia nodded and they turned to move toward the register. However, they stopped short when they ran into Lucy Mae standing face-to-face with Tillie Pettigrew, momentarily blocking their path to the register.

  Tillie gave Lucy Mae one of the longest stares, directly in the eyes. Then, clutching her purchase wrapped in a piece of brown paper tied with twine, in a calm voice, she said, “Good day, Olivia.” She tilted her chin and smiled at Lady Mia, briefly taking her eyes off Lucy Mae. “See you soon, Lady Mia, Ambrosia.” Then she gave one last look at Lucy Mae who laughed. Tillie turned away and quickly left the store as Mia gave her a sympathetic look.

  Mia’s heart was breaking on the inside for Matilda Pettigrew. However, there wasn’t a thing she could do about what Lucy Mae Jackson had said.

  Ambrosia and Lady Mia followed Livvy to the register, hoping Henry would finish ringing up Lucy’s items quickly. When he was done, Olivia stepped up to the register to ring up their selections as Miss Jackson left the establishment. Soon they were done with the shopping portion of their day and decided to stop in at the café for lunch.

  A WAITRESS SEATED THEM, offered menus, and brought them both a glass of sweet tea. “My name’s Charity and I’ll be your waitress. What else can I get for you ladies, today?”

  “I’ll have the roast beef salad and a slice of cherry pie.” Lady Mia closed the menu and gave it to Charity.

  “I’ll have the same order as my new governess.” Ambrosia handed her the menu.

  “Aw, this is your new governess?” Charity smiled at Mia, accepting both of the menus. “Welcome to Belle, Wyoming ma’am. I’m pleased to meet you.”

  “Thank you,” Mia returned a warm and friendly nod.

  “She’s from England,” Ambrosia explained.

  “Well, I hope you feel at home here in Belle,” Charity replied. “I’ll just be a moment and I’ll bring your orders out to you.” Then she refilled some coffee cups for another table and turned toward the kitchen, disappearing. However, it wasn’t long before she returned with two delicious salads heaped with slices of roast beef. She placed a small pitcher of buttermilk dressing on the table, a small crock of butter, and a plate of cornbread muffins.

  “Now, tell me about this creek incident,” Mia said to Ambrosia after they’d blessed the food. “There must have been someone else involved for Lucy Mae Jackson to know all about it.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” Ambrosia sighed and toyed with her fork. “I was wrestling in the creek with Adelaide Hornsby.”

  “Why do you suppose this happened? It sounds absolutely awful.” Mia tasted some of her roast beef and sighed with joy. “This is absolutely delicious.”

  “Adelaide made fun of my clothing. She’s always dressed nice, and I’ve always been kind of a tomboy. Dresses never really mattered to me. She lives in town, and I live out on a ranch where ain’t nobody who cares what I look like. Oh, and I ripped her dress. I guess I lost my temper, but to be clear, she ripped the pocket on my pinafore, too.”

  “I see. Well, in any case, don’t say ain’t. Say, where there isn’t anyone who cares what I look like,” Lady Mia corrected. She observed her pupil for a moment. “Well, now you’ll look as nice as Adelaide, maybe even better. You have an entirely new wardrobe, and we should be able to pick up the rest of it in about ten days. At least you have the pretty blue denim dress for now.”

  Miss Stanton nodded, pouring some but
termilk dressing on her salad. Then she tasted some of her lettuce and roast beef as Charity reappeared with two slices of cherry pie.

  “Thank you, Charity.” Mia continued the discussion when the waitress disappeared again, busy with taking orders at another table. “When you do go outside to play or fish, which won’t be for a long time since we have so much work to do, you may wear your blue calico or perhaps one of your other nicer dresses, but there is little need to keep anything you no longer like or want. A young lady of your age should always dress her best, look her best, and dress for the activity.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Ambrosia nodded and tried some more of the roast beef.

  “It’s good, isn’t it?” Mia asked.

  “It’s wonderful.” Ambrosia smiled and used her knife to cut another bite of the tender roast beef.

  Mia smiled back at her, nodding as she tasted some more from her plate. “Who do you suppose those gentlemen over there are? Two of them have badges. Is that a real western sheriff, like the ones I’ve read about in books?”

  Ambrosia looked up from her plate and chuckled, nodding. “Yes, that’s Sheriff Knight, Deputy Will, and the Mayor, Jason Shepherd. They eat lunch here together sometimes.”

  Mia smiled, studying the gentlemen without staring too much. She had to pinch herself. She felt as though she was inside one of the western books she’d read about the westward expansion and small towns growing up in America.

  “Lady Mia...” Ambrosia Stanton’s voice interrupted her dreamy thoughts.

  “Yes?” she answered, somewhat distracted with the food the men ordered. Charity brought them huge plates of steaming chicken pot pie, the special of the day according to the message written on the chalkboard near the front entrance. She couldn’t help but overhear the gentlemen speaking about a notorious train robbery gang who might be causing trouble in a town some distance away. Now she really felt as though she was inside a book about the Wild West. Goodness! Were there really train robbers as far north as Wyoming? Then she heard Ambrosia say more than she had since meeting her. This grabbed her attention at once.