The Misses Moffet Mend A Marriage: A Victorian San Francisco Story
Page 3
Millie sighed as she looked at Lydia Porter, radiant with happiness, holding her newborn son in her arms. Young master Augustus, named after his grandfather, looked smug. Thinking perhaps of his grandfather’s carriage business that he would no doubt inherit at some future date, carriages being one of the products that would continue to be built for as long as people needed to be conveyed from one place to another. Mr. Porter stood behind his wife’s chair, his hand resting on her shoulder, his grey eyes wary as her sister Minnie approached.
They had come to deliver a new dress for Mrs. Porter to wear at the christening. They had designed the bodice so that it would not require tight corseting yet would still hide the fact that Mrs. Porter had not yet regained her previous tiny waist.
“Dear Mr. and Mrs. Porter, we are so pleased to see you all looking in such good health,” Millie’s sister said, moving up to the young mother to take a closer look at the child. “What a big boy he is. Oh my, I do believe he is going to have his mother’s lovely brown eyes. And his wee little hands. So cunning. We were honored that you asked us to attend the christening, and if you would accept this gown and cap we have made for the occasion, we would be truly grateful.”
Minnie turned to Millie, who walked over to the couple, unwrapping tissue to reveal the white cotton gown covered with Ayrshire lace and delicately embroidered flowers, which they had been working on in their spare moments for most of Mrs. Porter’s confinement. Minnie picked up and handed the mother a small white embroidered cap that Millie had made to go with the christening gown. “Mrs. Porter, I know how you appreciate my sister’s needlework. See how she has cleverly worked the young man’s initials in amongst the flowers.”
Mrs. Porter beamed and then said, “Miss Minnie and Miss Millie, you shouldn’t have. Such exquisite work! I will treasure this, and I can assure you that every child I have will get their chance to wear it. Look, Richard, she has worked his initials into the cap, right there among the flowers.”
Millie was glad to see the fond look on Richard Porter’s face when his wife mentioned future children and the polite way he examined the cap that looked so tiny in his large hands. He returned the cap to his wife and indicated that she and her sister move a little away from his wife, who was busy trying the cap on Master Augustus, who managed to look even more self-satisfied.
“Miss Minnie and Miss Millie,” Mr. Porter said, taking an envelope out of the inner pocket of his suit coat, “I just wanted to settle our accounts today. You will notice that there is a little extra as my token of appreciation for all the support you have given my wife during these last difficult months. I know that she sorely felt the lack of company at the end of her confinement, and your visits cheered her up so. The last time I saw you, I was struck by your admonition that I spend more time with my wife. I wanted to assure you that I took your words to heart and that I have changed my ways.”
With a graceful bow, he handed the envelope over to Minnie, who smiled up at him and said, “That is excellent. You know I gave Mr. Andrew Roberts a bit of a scold as well when I returned his missing handkerchief. I was pleased to hear he was planning to take his charming wife on an extended European tour. We spinsters are used to fending for ourselves, but you gentlemen must be careful of your wives. My goodness, me, I don’t mean to chatter on about all of this. As I always say, ‘The least said, the soonest mended.’”
The End
About the Author
M. Louisa Locke, a retired professor of U.S. and Women’s history at San Diego Mesa College, has taken her historical story telling in a new direction with her best-selling Victorian San Francisco Mystery series, Maids of Misfortune, the first in this series, features women's occupations in the late 19th century and is based on Dr. Locke's doctoral research Uneasy Spirits, the sequel, explores women and 19th Spiritualism, and her third book, Bloody Lessons, focuses on teachers working in the San Francisco public schools in 1880.
Go to http://mlouisalocke.com/ for more about M. Louisa Locke and her work, including information about her short stories, Dandy Detects and The Misses Moffet Mend a Marriage, which are based on characters from the novels. If you are interested in the historical research behind these books, Locke writes about this here.
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