Free Healing Montana Sky by Debra Holland

compared to the leather she’d worn for so long.
    “Are you finished, Mrs. Valleau?”
    “Yes.”
    Mrs. Cobb pulled aside the screen. “Raise your arms.” She whisked the corset around Antonia’s waist.
    The garment was one she’d never worn before, and her initial curiosity lasted until Mrs. Cobb pulled the strings so tight Antonia couldn’t breathe. Then the woman gave a yank that made Antonia’s eyes bulge out.
    “There.” Mrs. Cobb’s voice oozed satisfaction. “You do have a nice waist, after all, and no need of padding for your hips.”
    Antonia had no breath to protest as the woman hurried her into a petticoat, followed by a shirtwaist and skirt made of golden calico with little rose buds. She wished she could examine the material, far prettier than anything she’d ever worn.
    Mrs. Cobb pinched the cloth at Antonia’s waist and pursed her lips. “Too loose. This will have to be taken in.”
    Antonia drew breath to argue, only to find her ribs constricted by the corset, so just a tiny gulp of air made it into her lungs. “I’m dizzy. I need to sit down.” She took a few steps and tried to collapse on a wooden chair in the corner, but with her body imprisoned, she found that all she could do was lower herself to the edge of the seat.
    Mrs. Cobb didn’t seem to notice Antonia’s distress. The woman walked back and forth, her gaze narrowed on the dress’s shape.
    “We don’t have a tailor or dressmaker in town. More’s the pity. All the women do their own sewing and mending. So you’ll have to take in the dress yourself.”
    I’m not about to take in this dress. Antonia rose, careful to not fall over. If she collapsed wearing the contraption, she’d never be able to get off the floor. Without a word, she glided toward the screen.
    “Mrs. Valleau. What are you doing?” Mrs. Cobb tried to wave her back. “I didn’t bring another dress for you to try on. I have a green one, though, that might suit you. Wait right here, and I’ll bring it in.”
    Antonia stepped behind the screen and pulled it closed. Moving as best she could with her waist locked up, she shed the dress, and then fumbled at the strings of the corset. Once they’d loosened, she took a deep inhale, grateful to breathe, and worked off the offending garment, letting it drop to the rug.
    Then she put the dress back on. This time, the waist was still loose, but not so much. She’d lost weight in the last few days. Hopefully, when her stomach wasn’t so knotted, and she could eat again, she’d regain her figure. The dress would fit just perfect then. She smoothed down the creases and stepped out from behind the screen.
    An oval mirror stood in the corner of the room, and Antonia moved toward it. She’d seen her face in a smaller one before when she lived at the fort with her father. Since then, pools of clear water had sufficed, providing a blurry reflection. So the woman staring back was almost a stranger.
    The gold in the dress made her eyes stand out and burnished her complexion. The sight moved Antonia in some strange way she had experienced only once as a child, when an officer’s wife had given her a hand-me-down dress. Usually, she’d run around in cut-down boy’s clothing.
    As a girl, Antonia had dreamed of wearing a gown like this. Regardless of the compliments her husband had lavished on her, she’d never considered herself pretty, for her features were too strong.
    With a surge of feminine pleasure, Antonia thought of the stunned look on Jean-Claude’s face when he caught sight of her in the dress. As soon as the boys slept, he’d release her from the gown, and they’d make energetic love. Another reason not to wear that corset.
    Realization hit her as hard as a blow to the stomach, and she almost collapsed. Jean-Claude would never see her in the gold dress. Her lip quivered, and she bit down to avoid screaming. Her future stretched out, devoid of husbandly warmth and caresses.
    How can I possibly bear it?
    Only