Free An Unlikely Suitor by Nancy Moser Page A

elbow, padded with eiderdown, yet tight to the wrist. Just as the bustles of the eighties had grown ridiculous, these sleeves and the overt attention to the upper torso often went too far with layers of lace, festoons, and flounces threatening to choke. . . . Would fashion ever leave women alone and let them be comfortable in their clothes instead of making them look like some overwrought gewgaw? Did fashion designers ever ask women what they’d prefer? Who made these decisions?
    Men, most likely.
    Men or no men, comfort or no comfort, it was not in Lucy’s power to make such changes in the status quo. Nor did she have the time.
    Which was ticking by . . .
    She held the dress before her, seeing how the buttons lined up perfectly. It was made for someone with a conventional figure, not someone with physical issues.
    Lucy looked at the pinning Mrs. Flynn had ordered in her attempt to solve the problem. It would only pull the fabric off grain. Lucy’s solution was the best solution.
    And so, she set to work.

    The clock in the workroom read four. In the morning. The early morning.
    Lucy had finished Rowena’s dress and was pleased with the results. The true test would come when Rowena tried it on. Somehow, Lucy had to arrange to be in the room when that happened. She had to see.
    And take credit. Although she knew a truly humble person would let Mrs. Flynn accept the glory, Lucy also knew if she ever wanted to rise in her profession, she had to prove she could do more than hem other people’s work.
    Lucy set the workroom to rights again, and was about to extinguish the lamps when she decided to use the shop’s facilities. It would be better not to risk waking up Mamma and Sofia.
    Before she lit a lamp in the tiny room, she noticed something odd. Light was coming in through the wall. Lucy kept the light off and moved toward it. There was a small hole in the wall the size of a coin. She peered through it and saw the storeroom, where she’d left a lamp burning.
    She stood upright, her thoughts rushing to uncomfortable places. Was Bonwitter spying on them while they were using the necessary? She shuddered. And looked through the hole again. Directly in view was their stock of muslin.
    Then she got an idea.
    Perhaps a great idea.

    “Shh. Let your sister sleep.”
    Lucy was vaguely aware of her mother and sister moving about the apartment, but sleep was a demanding master.
    She dozed until she felt her mother put a hand upon her shoulder. “You must get up, Lucia. Sofia told me you worked through the night, but Mrs. Flynn will not accept tardiness, for any reason.”
    Memories of her nocturnal busyness won out over sleep. She had to get to work to be there when Rowena and her mother came back for more fittings.
    And then there was her plan regarding Bonwitter . . .
    Lucy sped through her morning ritual and bested her mother and Sofia to the stairs.
    “Maybe you should get less sleep more often,” Mamma said. “I do wish you’d tell us what you were doing.”
    “You’ll see soon enough.”
    When they entered the shop, the workroom was already abuzz. The beige dress was displayed on the cutting table, and Mrs. Flynn and Dorothy were examining it. “If you didn’t do this, who did?” Mrs. Flynn asked Dorothy.
    “I did.” Lucy stepped forward.
    Her boss looked skeptical. “When?”
    “Last night.”
    “All night,” Mamma added.
    “How did you get in?” Dorothy asked.
    Lucy produced the key. “We have a key so we can clean.”
    Mrs. Flynn held the dress by the shoulders. “It doesn’t hang straight at all. Look at this, the bodice is off center.”
    Lucy shook her head. “So is Miss Langdon. The dress will hang straight on her.”
    Mrs. Flynn lowered the dress and eyed Lucy. “You ignored my wishes; you ignored the alterations we were set to make. You have no right to risk our customer’s patronage, not to mention the expense of the fabric and other materials.”
    “It will work,” Lucy