Promises in Moonlight

Part 43

Seth went over to the house farm the next day when Evie took the two children into town to school.

"She was serious." He muttered to himself, as he looked at the machine and the material she had in sealed packets. There were some half finished dresses, on dummies, and fabrics on the huge table.  He ambled over and his glance roved over material, and could see that she was experimenting with the fabric. He realised his wife was an expert seamstress and a creative designer. The patterns were unique.  Exquisite, he mumbled. 

His heart plummeted when he realised he had not supported his wife. The fact that Evie was here, working here, secretly creating dresses and selling them, all because of him.

Sam had seen Seth drive up, seen him get out and head for the shed. The only reason Sam had followed Seth was to tell him that Evie wasn't here.

For several seconds Sam did not alert Seth that he was there. Sam watched him and suddenly he felt sorry for him. "You didn't know." Sam stood in the door way and watched Seth's reaction: Seth looked shellshocked.

Seth sank into a battered looking wooden chair. He put his elbow on his thigh and looked at the table, a muscle ticking at his jaw.  "She told me yesterday that she made her wedding dress." Seth looked across at Sam as he came in, "And she sold it." Seth shifted uncomfortably. Guilt swamped every single cell in his body. "Why didn't she just tell me she didn't have any money, at all?" Seth rubbed at his face then ran his fingers through his hair. 

"She did." The old man stated bluntly and came forward.

He raised his head and looked at Sam, "What? When?"

Sam decided he was going to tell him straight. "Remember, she couldn't go with you to your fancy party because she didn't have anything to wear!"

He held his hands up, "Wait a second..."

Sam continued,  "She didn't want to show you up in front of your friends by wearing something inappropriate. So she set aside her pride and she told you she didn't have anything to wear."
Seth winced as he remembered.

Sam could see his statement landed like a bullet. So he continued, "But you didn't offer to buy her a dress. Lend her the money even. You are a bloody fool! You could have. But you didn't." Sam waited a beat, then glared and growled, "You took someone else, and you bought your date an expensive present. An expensive present your date couldn't wait to show Evangeline."

"I didn't buy Jane the bracelet." Seth huffed in exasperation. What is wrong with people, surely Sam and Elsie knew he bought jewellery for Evie, "That ring was just me making a stupid point, that backfired. You saw the real ring I gave her at the wedding. She won't wear it!" Seth paced and picked up remnants and put it back when he realised he was causing havoc. He paced away, he looked over at Sam, "Did she tell you, I set up a charge account for her? And she hasn't used it."

"Why would she?" Sam snorted.

"If she doesn't have any money, she'd....."

Sam snapped. "Be beholden to you. She doesn't want to be in debt again. Or as she said, become a prostitute!"

Seth growled at that statement. "What?" Seth dropped his hands. "That is silly."

"Actually it is clever. It's your money. Not her's. You gave her a cheap ring. And gave your lady friend an expensive present. What does that tell her about how long you plan to keep her in your life? How much you value her?" Sam had stored up a lifetime of railing against the injustice of it all. "Your charge account is temporary credit. She grew up on temporary credit. I don't think she'll be going back to that. "

"It isn't temporary credit." Seth snapped.

Sam ignored Seth's out burst. "They were always poor as church mice. All profits the farm made went to his other family. Not once did Evangeline get anything from her father. Not clothes, not food, not love." Sam ranted, "Miracle how she's so cheerful. Me, I'd be bitter as hell." Sam turned, made sure he had eye contact with Seth and added "First her father doesn't give a shit about her and spends his money on his other family then the man she marries doesn't give a shit about her and spends his money on his other woman!"

"Sam!" Elsie stood in the doorway.

"I'm just...."

"You're going to make Evangeline cross."Elsie narrowed her eyes and her husband recognised the warning. She knew Evie was proud. And while she knew everyone in town knew she was poor and were ignored by father.

"He needs to know." Sam muttered and mumbled, "That girl is due some happiness!"

Seth fingered a two inch strip of water mark silk remnant that lay on the small table in front of him. The watermark on it reminded him of the silk straps of her wedding gown. "Where'd she get the machine?"

"It's mine." Elsie told him quietly. "She rents it from me." She added with a deprecating smile. Of course she and Sam knew what Evie was doing by 'renting' the shed and the machine. With her change in finances she could have easily bought herself a state of the art machine, and she had heaps of room at home, but instead, Evie had chosen to rent the shed and the machine.

"Where'd she learn to sew?" It was sad and odd that a husband had to ask someone else because his wife would not share personal information.

"Self taught. You learn quick when you have to fix your own clothes to make them last." Sam told him.

"Sam!" Elsie scolded again, then said, "Mr Thomson, Evangeline wouldn't want anyone feeling sorry for her. Least of all you." Elsie kept her eyes on her husband in warning as she carried on, "She's always loved sewing. If she hadn't been hogtied to the farm she would have probably become a seamstress. Or something. She's always drawn stuff, posh dresses, lots of fancy clothes. When she was a child I thought they were her way of coping with not having much. She imagined and created fantasy clothes."

"She's always been someone who looks on the positive." Sam muttered.

Elsie nodded, "Now she is following her dream. She's probably very grateful that you gave her an opportunity to do what she always wanted to do. Mr Thomson, don't feel sorry for her. She won't thank you for it."

"I bought her dress." Seth mumbled quietly.

"Sorry?"

"Her wedding dress." He looked over at Elsie to see if she knew that Evie had sold her dress. "I bought it at the second hand shop she'd sold it to."

"Oh." Elsie and Sam shared a look. "Oh dear. That is sad. It was a beautiful dress. And suited her."

"I know. She floored me when I saw her in her wedding dress." He sighed. "It's her perfect wedding dress. She shouldn't have sold it."

"You told her it probably cost thousands. She only took it to the shop to see what would happen. She figured a few hundred. For the material." Elsie chuckled, "She was so pleased and shocked, when she came back. She said she'd made five thousand seven hundred in profit!"

"What?"

"She'd been collecting those remnants for years, the haberdashery in town used to keep bits that were left over, for her, nothing big. But too small to be of interest or use to anyone else. She has a bag of remnants."

"Remnants?" His eyes went wide.  "She made her dress from them."

Elsie nodded. "Said she'd probably used about two hundred dollars worth, and that with her time, she thought her dress would cost about three hundred dollars, and she sold it for six thousand!" 

"She looked like a fairytale princess in that dress." Seth got to his feet, put the strip of silk in his pocket. "I'd better get back." He stopped, and looked at Sam and Elsie. "I never meant to be so stupid. And thank you, for looking out for her. I thought I was a good husband."

Sam was less easily swayed. "Then you shouldn't have bought that bloody bracelet for that bloody woman!" Elsie smacked her husband's arm.

Seth grimaced. "I didn't. I bid at the auction for it. For Evie. But Jane put it on when it was delivered to our table. Rather than make a scene I just let it go. Stupid. I know. Hindsight and all that."

"So what now?"

"Now I show Evie that our relationship is permanent. My grandmother was right."

"About?" 

"That I would fall for Evie." And he was pleased to see both Sam and Elsie's jaws' drop. He was going to go away to think about his plan.