The Richest Heart

Chapter 32

"Emma, what are you doing way over there?" she asked. Emiline blushed.

"Well, I...don't know how to make myself look any better," she answered. "All I have to wear is this." She fingered her white skirt with embarrassment, but she hated the note of discontentment in her voice. "Not that it's a bad dress, though," she added, trying to make up for her attitude. "It's the best dress I have." Anastasia gave a quiet laugh and a welcoming motion with her dainty hand.

"Dear, poor Emiline," she began, "You needn't stand aloof. I have been dying to make a silk purse out of you since the moment I saw you!" By this time, the maid had fixed Anna's curly locks just so and the young woman was wearing a very stylish dress with gorgeous, puffed sleeves. Anastasia gave the woman a nod of thanks and rose from her seat. "As for that dress of yours," she said, reaching out a hand and drawing Emiline toward the vanity. "It is...decent. But, I must say, it won't do here in the city. Let me show you just how gorgeous you can look, My Dear. You will be my masterpiece." Emma's eyes sparkled. Without a hesitation, she gave herself into Anna's hands, watching herself in the mirror as Anastasia worked.

"Whoever says that young girls can't wear their hair up must be very old fashioned," Anna said, combing Emiline's hair up and curling it around in her hands. "Because I can't think of anything more becoming. See how nice that looks!" Emma's heart fluttered. Her friend was placing several silk rosettes in her pinned up hair and already she looked several years older. Emma caught an amused smile from Susan as the girl watched her. Susan was sorting through her own clothes, searching for the perfect gown. She had packed more dresses than she needed, and they were all very pretty, but the girl was being very picky about her choice. At last, she pulled out a very simple dress. To Emma's country eyes, it looked quite elegant. It had slender, black stripes, a high collar and little, silver buttons on the sleeve cuffs. She put it on with a satisfied smile and then looked at herself in the mirror. Anna glanced at her with one eyebrow raised.

"Susanna, Susanna, must I play doll with you as well?" the lady laughed. "Are you really going to wear that? To a dress shop? The seamstress will think that you're a poor girl coming to beg her for something!" Susan looked over at her cousin with a pretty but fiery smile.

"I don't see anything wrong with it," she said with contentment. "I think it's quite respectable."

"Respectable maybe," Anna said. "But fashionable?" She let out a laugh that was meant to shame the girl. Susan drew in an irritated breath and allowed her cousin to go on criticizing. "Only paupers dress like that, My Dear. But, if that's how you like to look, I won't say another word. You may choose to dress like a beggar if you want to." Susan gave her cousin a dignified nod and that was the end of it.

Listening to the ladylike argument, Emma didn't know how to feel. If Susan's lovely dress looked beggarly, she couldn't imagine what Anastasia thought about her country garb. She took off her Sunday dress in a hurry, feeling more and more shabby by the minute. Then, Anna gave her a pink gown that stunned the girl's eyes. It had a huge bustle in the back and It was much too long for the girl. But, Anastasia fixed that with a pair of high heeled shoes that made Emiline look far too tall.

Emma gazed at her reflection in shock. She already looked like a different person. It was like a dream come true. She had never felt so beautiful or seen anything quite as lovely. And yet, there was something about her new clothes that pained her conscience. They were almost too nice, too flouncy, too showing. Her decent, long sleeves had been replaced with gauzy fabric that lay ruffling across her shoulders. The bustle seemed too bold.

"Oh goodness!" she exclaimed inside. "What would Grandma say? What would Dotty say? What would anyone back home say?" Her cheeks turned red and hot, but she couldn't speak a word. If she told Anastasia that the dress wasn't decent, her friend would be angry and would think that she was silly. Besides, she couldn't embarrass Anna by wearing her Sunday dress; not after hearing the lady criticizing Susan. If Emma didn't wear this fashionable gown, she would be an eye sore in town. All of the young women in the city dressed like this. Besides, even though her heart tugged at her to slip back into her simple clothes, she really adored the pink gown she was wearing. Now, she could truly feel like a lady, like a princess, like Juliette or one of the other maidens she had read about.