Ill Repute

by Nanette Kinslow

  “You want me to be happy, don’t you? I’d be completely miserable without a nice home to show my friends. Don’t you understand how important that is to me?” Yvonne looked up at him coyly and lowered her lashes.

  He reached up and ran his finger along her jawline. “If you sleep in my room I won’t need to knock to wake you up in the morning,” he said softly.

  “And ruin me for my wedding night? Joseph, you are simply terrible.”

  “We’ll be married soon anyway.”

  Yvonne could see he was getting very impatient and she reached up and kissed his cheek lightly. When he took her in his arms and kissed her full on the lips she pushed against his chest with her palms angrily.

  “Joseph,” she huffed. “We agreed.”

  “We’ll be married soon,” he said with frustration.

  “You need to understand, Joseph Southers. I am a lady. I will remain a lady even after we are married and I don’t care for that kind of thing. Goodnight.” Yvonne turned, entered her room and closed the door behind her.

  Joseph leaned on the doorway and sighed deeply. He couldn’t imagine why but Yvonne’s lips were ice cold.

  Yvonne sat alone on the bed gulping in deep breaths of air.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked herself out loud. “Why do I feel so aggravated by him? Is it because he left for so long?” Yvonne took a deep breath. Nothing felt right and she didn’t know why.

  Chapter Fifty-Two

  The millinery shop began to take shape and, although it was not yet due to open, it already had created a buzz in the city and in the surrounding areas as well. Alice and her two assistants had made a large number of hats for their inventory, and they never ventured from the shop without wearing one well-designed bonnet or another. The constant gawking into the wide shop’s windows soon motivated Alice to drape a covering inside the panes to keep people from peering in the shop all day and late into the evening. Everyone in town knew her now and many gossiped about where she had come from. There was talk that she had come from Europe where she had several such shops. Another story said she was royalty, fed up with bureaucracy and yearning to be a free spirit. One rumor had her married to an extremely rich man she had left behind her. All of the men and many of the women wondered why someone with Alice’s unusual beauty had no man in her life. The men that did approach her were declined sweetly. No one knew if she had been involved with anyone before coming to Philadelphia. Her sales girls had a theory that there was a man somewhere, looking for her.

  With only days left before the opening Alice sat down with her employees and asked them if they felt comfortable with the approaching work. Both Melissa and Stephanie were attractive and capable. They were both tall, slender girls with thick shiny hair and beautiful, intelligent faces. They assured her they were more than ready.

  “I have the window washer scheduled to come in the day before we open. The drape will come down that morning. I think everything is in place. Take the weekend for yourselves. I’m sure we are going to be very busy.”

  “Everyone is asking about the shop, Ma’am. I think we’re going to need a lot more hats!”

  Alice smiled. She was ready.

  When the girls left the shop Alice remained inside and slipped the key into the lock. She turned to survey her business and smiled with pleasure.

  Against the pale blue of the walls were rows of shelves filled with hat stands, each with a different bonnet of every imaginable design. She had spent all of her evenings fending off her loneliness making the hats and accessories. On the counters were mannequin heads, elegant, with beautiful faces and long slender necks. Each face was hand painted with soft lashes and aloof expressions and they all wore spectacular bonnets. Amid the lovely heads were elaborate mirrors in filigree stands, as well as taller mirrors where customers could admire themselves in a full-body view. Antique teacups were stuffed with pretty pincushions with ornate hatpins made with unusual pearls and sparkling beads. Alice’s girls were trained to use only certain lengths of pins for certain hats, but the customers could purchase any pins or cushions they liked. Beneath the counters were many more cushions. White brocade drapes hung on either side of the wide windows, trimmed in braids of gold with fat tassels tying them back. Alice had placed bowls of potpourri and fresh flowers around the room and it smelled of roses and spiced oranges. The floor shone in a polished black marble softened with plush rugs.

  When she heard a tap on the door she saw the sign makers ready with their ladders. They had designed her new shop sign and were ready to hang it discreetly behind a covering that would be taken down in the morning just before the shop opened.

  They installed it on the store front as a small crowd gathered and then entered the shop to hang the indoor signs.

  “This is the fanciest place I’ve ever been in,” one of the men said. “My missus says she’s coming in to get herself a hat as soon as you open. I hope she can afford it.”

  “Have her tell me who she is and I’ll take care of her,” Alice smiled.

  Alice stepped back and admired their work.

  The Millinery Madam, the sign read, and, on a plaque hanging below in smaller print, A Bordello of Bonnets. It was finely carved and accented with gold leaf.

  Alice was very pleased. It was the perfect final touch to her dreams. She tipped the men and locked the door behind them.

  She looked around and smiled and then walked to the back. Her small office sat to one side with a white, French provincial desk with vases of fresh flowers. Alice walked through the back room where the bonnets were made and sized. There were racks of ribbons that could be easily accessed and netting for veils and boxes of adornments. On a large counter was a simple mannequin head with a long neck, without any sort of face. On top sat the Amish hat, now freshly steamed and shaped. She thought it looked honest and sweet and she picked it up and set it on her own head.

  In the mirror she saw a different woman than the one that had looked back at her in Alaska. She looked like a rich woman, she thought, her hair perfectly arranged, her skin pampered. Alice set aside the hat and pulled all the pins from her hair, letting it fall over her shoulders. She braided it efficiently down either side and put the hat back on her head.

  Alice thought she looked pretty, but perhaps not pretty enough. Was she as fancy as Yvonne? She still missed Joseph. She put the hat back on the stand and took it to her office. There she set it on the desk.

  Alice closed up her shop and let herself into her home. Now she would wait until the opening. She decided to spend that weekend indoors and she prepared her supper. She sat with her soup on the little balcony outside of her third-story bedroom and looked up at the stars. She’d nearly accomplished everything she had set out to do. Alice had no doubt in her mind that her shop opening would be very successful and her business would thrive. Everyone was so excited. Her sales girls had been nearly beside themselves as they hurried from the shop.

  “I have everything,” she said aloud. “Why am I not happy?”

  Chapter Fifty-Three

  Joseph rapped his knuckle against the door again and heard Yvonne’s tart reply. After nearly thirty minutes of waiting for her to appear he insisted that Yvonne let him into the room. Finally he heard the key click in the lock and he stepped inside.

  The room was in complete disarray and he could not imagine why there were gowns and clothing scattered everywhere when they had only planned to spend the night.

  Yvonne sat back down at the vanity pulling a comb through her tangled hair angrily. When he approached her she snapped at him loudly.

  “I told you last night that we didn’t have to be in a hurry today!”

  “It’s nearly eleven and we have a long ride back.”

  “Now I’m going to be exhausted all day!”

  Joseph looked at his fiancée and frowned. He had never seen her in any way other than very carefully dressed. Now her hair was matted and her face was puffy and angry. He knew she had enjoyed several glasses of champ
agne the night before and wondered if she might be hung over.

  “What would you like me to do?” Joseph asked calmly.

  “I don’t care,” she snapped. “Just leave me be until I get ready.”

  Joseph went downstairs for breakfast. At the table his mind wandered to Alice and how pretty and fresh she always looked in the morning and the dandelion coffee. He chuckled to himself. Weed coffee, he thought.

  At one o’clock Yvonne appeared, her hair perfectly arranged and her dress stylish and expensive. Joseph noticed that she touched her forehead gently every time there was a loud noise in the restaurant.

  “Would you like to eat something?” he asked. “It will probably help you feel better.”

  “I’m fine,” she said curtly. “Let’s go.”

  Joseph settled the bill and walked her to the coach.

  “Tell me more about Alaska.” Yvonne arranged her bonnet to keep the sun out of her eyes as they began their trip. “Was it exciting when you found the gold?”

  Joseph looked at her and smiled. “I didn’t think I would ever find gold. I had nearly given up and then…,” his voice trailed off.

  He shook his head almost imperceptibly.

  “Weren’t you lonely?” she asked.

  “At first I was,” he replied, slipping back into his thoughts again.

  All Joseph’s memories of his time in Alaska seemed to revolve around Alice. Recollections of her flashed through his mind, her smiling or laughing or caring for him. He had to admit that he missed her. When he was with Yvonne he always wanted to behave well but with Alice he always felt he could just be himself.

  After a while Yvonne gave up trying to keep up a conversation and they rode along in silence.

  Joseph paced inside his hardware store with the afternoon sun filtering through the dusty windows. It suddenly looked like a shattered dream to him. He remembered installing the shelves himself and the day the shiny new cash register had been delivered. He’d been so enthusiastic when the bell rung on his first sale that his customer bought another item just to see how excited he was when he rang that up as well. Now Joseph felt just like his store looked - dusty and forlorn. He decided that once they were through the evening’s party he would sit Yvonne down and have an honest talk with her. He needed them to get on with their lives. He needed to know how she felt.

  Joseph returned to the Lambert home and waited for Yvonne in the parlor. Then he paced the porch. Then he returned to the parlor. Nearly two hours later she appeared.

  She was elaborately dressed, her gown a deep shade of emerald adorned with braids of pumpkin with large puffed sleeves. Her hair was arranged high on her head and Joseph thought for a moment that she looked like she was attending her coronation. He doubted the other women would be dressed as elaborately.

  In complete contrast to their earlier ride, now Yvonne was bubbly, happy and quite animated. Her excitement over the party was very apparent and, by the time they reached the rental hall, Joseph was certain she was once again quite herself.

  The building was filled with partiers. The women were in colorful summery gowns, their hair shining in tumbles of curls and the men were all dressed very handsomely. A quartet played a lively tune and many of the couples spun around the floor dancing merrily.

  “We must hire a larger band for the wedding,” Yvonne leaned to Joseph and whispered loudly.

  She crossed the room to greet a couple in the corner and Joseph noticed that, while nearly all of the women wore gowns with open necklines, Yvonne’s was high, to her throat. It occurred to him that she always wore her collars very high. It seemed odd that he had never noticed it before. He rather enjoyed a bit of cleavage here and there, especially at a celebration and thought he might suggest Yvonne purchase some gowns that were a bit more provocative. She would be his wife soon and perhaps not need to cover herself so completely. He recalled that in her hotel room even her dressing gown had a very high collar.

  Throughout the evening Yvonne came back to him often with some comment about what else they might add to their wedding plans and then hurried off again to socialize. Joseph knew many of the guests, but there were many more that he did not. He decided to mingle on his own. Joseph noticed a large number of guests were stag men.

  He walked up to a small group and offered his hand.

  “Hello, I’m Joseph Southers, Yvonne’s fiancé,” he said.

  The man shook Joseph’s hand, looking at him oddly.

  “Oh, hello,” a woman next to him said. “I’m Barbara Lee and this is Jefferson Curry. I had no idea that Yvonne was engaged.”

  “Nor I,” Curry remarked curtly and released Joseph’s hand.

  “That’s odd,” Joseph said. “I thought the purpose of this party was to celebrate our engagement.”

  Curry excused himself and strode across the room towards Yvonne. Joseph and Barbara watched him speak to her angrily while she grew flustered attempting to placate him.

  “Who is he?” Joseph turned to Barbara looking at her resolutely.

  “I’m sorry, Mr. Southers. I believe that Mr. Curry thought he was engaged to Yvonne.”

  “Were they to be married?” Joseph asked, growing agitated.

  “To hear Jefferson tell it, yes. Her father suggested that he go look for gold in Alaska. Imagine that.”

  “Imagine that,” Joseph said and crossed the room toward Yvonne and Curry. As he neared them he overheard part of their conversation.

  “Joseph is back and he had asked me earlier. What was I to do?” Yvonne was saying to Jefferson who was visibly angry.

  Curry turned to Joseph as he approached. “Well, sir. It appears that I’ve not enough money to have won her favor. The best of luck to you.” He shook Joseph’s hand and left the party.

  “We need to talk,” Joseph said. He took Yvonne by the elbow and led her outside.

  “Joseph, please. Don’t be upset.”

  “You told that man you would consider his proposal?”

  “I did, but you must understand. I wasn’t sure you were ever coming back. You were gone so terribly long.”

  “I wrote to you. You knew it would take time.”

  “Well, I was terribly lonely and Mr. Curry was so sweet to me. I was afraid you wouldn’t come back.”

  “I am back. Why didn’t you let him know then? You invited him to a party like this without saying a word. You strung him along, Yvonne. Why?”

  “I didn’t have the heart to tell him. Please, Joseph.”

  “I thought you cared for me. I thought you loved me.”

  “I do, I care very much for you. Please don’t be angry. Something has changed, Joseph. I’m trying, I really am. I want it to be like it was before.”

  “What is it you want, Yvonne?”

  “I don’t know. You made me happy, before. You did, you always did. ” She stood up on her toes and kissed his cheek then hurried back inside.

  Joseph watched her choose a gentlemen from the crowd and pull him to the dance floor. Several people clapped with delight as they began their waltz. Yvonne looked beautiful, if somewhat overdone, Joseph thought. That was the thing that was most important to her. Her beauty. He’d never forgotten it while he was gone. How perfect she always was. Everything about her was about her beauty.

  Joseph decided to get himself a drink.

  “They say it’s going to be the most exclusive shop in Philadelphia,” the young woman told Yvonne. “You really should consider going there for your bridal veil.”

  “I’ve heard that too. Darcie said she wanted to go there but her fiancé told her they couldn’t afford it.”

  “I can afford it,” Yvonne said, watching Joseph from across the room. “I can definitely afford it. I think I’m going to Philadelphia for my veil, ladies.”

  Chapter Fifty-Four

  Stephanie smiled at Melissa behind the counter of the millinery shop. The opening had been a huge success and they had sold nearly two hundred hats that first day alone. They had also been tip
ped generously by many of the customers who were thrilled with how helpful and talented they were.

  “I’m very proud of both of you,” Alice said as they finished restocking the shelves. “We’ll need at least a dozen more hats tomorrow. If you’re in by ten we should be able to turn them out.”

  “I have several ideas for those new feathers you have. I’ll be here at nine if that’s okay,” Stephanie said.

  Alice opened the register drawer and handed each of them their own keys. “You can come in whenever it’s good for you. Just keep us in lovely bonnets.” She began to count the day’s receipts on the counter. When she was finished she was shocked by how much they had brought in. It occurred to her that, although she didn’t need the money, the proceeds from the day’s sales were what really proved her success. She had even opened on a weekday. Alice wondered what their first Saturday would be like.

  The sales girls left the shop talking incessantly and Alice was glad to see they had become good friends and planned activities outside of the shop. She could see a partnership growing between them.

  She wandered the store casually. She had done it. She had opened her hat shop and it had gone very well. “Now what?” Alice thought. The accomplishment seemed hollow somehow.

  Chapter Fifty-Five

  Joseph helped Yvonne into the carriage outside of the Broad Street Station in Philadelphia. It seemed an awfully long way to go to shop for a bridal veil. But at least she was now actively planning the wedding, although she would not set an actual date. She’d shopped at several places for gowns and visited two different dressmakers. Yvonne had not been happy with anything and had spoken to him several times about this shop in Philadelphia she had heard about. He eventually resigned himself to at least taking her to see the place.