Waiting for Spring by Amanda Cabot Page A

notice much about women’s clothing. Barrett’s different.”
    As Miriam nodded, Charlotte said, “There’s only one answer. We have to make your green gown look like a new one. Here’s what I thought I’d do.” She handed Miriam the sketch she’d made the previous night. “It’s the same dress with a few changes. I’ll use the fabric in the overskirt to make long sleeves and a fichu, and I’ll add a new overskirt of lemon yellow. It won’t be as elaborate as the original, which means it’ll be more suited for dinner.” Charlotte looked at her friend. “What do you think?”
    A smile as broad as the prairie was her answer. “Oh, Charlotte, it’ll be beautiful. You’re a genius.”
    Charlotte shook her head. “Hardly a genius. While I was growing up, my family didn’t have much money, so I learned how to make simple changes that would make an old dress look almost new.”
    â€œI still say you’re a genius.” Miriam flung her arms around Charlotte and hugged her. “I’m so glad you’re my friend.”

    â€œI never thought I’d have another chance to wear this gown.” Gwen settled back in the carriage, her smile radiant. Unlike Miriam, she felt no need for a new dress and was delighted to have another occasion to wear her blue silk. “I still can’t believe we were invited.”
    â€œI don’t think Barrett knows too many unmarried women,” Charlotte had told Gwen when the official invitation arrived. “He probably wanted to balance the numbers.” She was certain Messieurs Duncan and Eberhardt would be there, along with Harrison. That meant Barrett had needed to find at least three single women in addition to Miriam.
    According to Miriam, there would be fifteen guests, including four married couples, one of which was her parents. “I won’t tell Mama that you’ve been invited, but I’ll make certain she has her smelling salts.” Though both Charlotte and Miriam knew that Mrs. Taggert was unlikely to be pleased by the presence of someone she considered little more than a servant, Charlotte did not regret having accepted the invitation, for it brought Gwen great pleasure.
    â€œI don’t care what the reason was,” Gwen said, her face rosy with happiness. “I’m just glad we’re going. And in this beautiful carriage too.” Ever the gentleman, Barrett had insisted on sending his carriage for Charlotte and Gwen. Though it was only six days since the October 24 snowstorm and most of the snow had melted, Barrett had declared that the women must not walk the two and a half blocks from their home to his. “Mr. Bradley would be horrified,” he had told Charlotte. And though Charlotte suspected the butler’s disapproval was a figment of Barrett’s imagination, she had agreed. Even though she’d taken long walks both at home in Vermont and at Fort Laramie, it was one thing to stroll during the daylight, quite another to walk at night in an evening gown. That was why she had hired a carriage the night she and Gwen had gone to the opera house.
    â€œOh, my.” Though she’d been silent as they covered the short distance from the carriage to the double front doors,Gwen let out a deep sigh as they entered Barrett’s house. Charlotte understood the feeling. The imposing foyer with its parquet floor was as large as the room she and David shared, and yet it served as nothing more than an entry hall. To the right, she saw a spacious parlor, to the left an elegant dining room. Finely woven carpets, intricately carved mahogany furniture, and crystal chandeliers left no doubt that this was the residence of a wealthy man. Charlotte had known that from the exterior, and yet seeing the inside of Barrett’s home made her realize the width of the gulf that separated them.
    â€œThis way, madam.” The heavyset man who