Victorian San Francisco Stories (10 page)

As if she had read her mind, Miss Minnie said, “Mrs. Fuller, I am sorry if I have shocked you. My sister and I have supported ourselves with our sewing for well over half a century, and you would be amazed at what a dressmaker learns about the families she sews for. We are often the first to know when a child has been conceived, when there is an illness, when there are financial problems, and, unfortunately, when there are difficulties in a marriage. My sister and I long ago decided that if we were unwilling to work for families where there were moral transgressions, we would starve. And we have prided ourselves in our discretion.” Miss Minnie looked directly at Annie.

“This is why we have come to you for advice. We are afraid that the natural distance that comes between a husband and wife as the woman comes close to the time of her confinement, when she is thinking of little more than the coming child, may have made an essentially good man vulnerable to the lures of a very beautiful and charming woman. My sister and I agree that something should be done, but we disagree over what we should do.”

Annie nodded, thinking about a number of the women who had come to Madam Sibyl with similar stories. But what could these two women do that wouldn’t simply make things worse? She certainly didn’t want to advise anything that would damage their livelihood. But giving advice was what she did daily as Madam Sibyl, so she started with what she felt they shouldn’t do.

“Miss Minnie, I am afraid that I must agree with your sister. Telling your young client, pa
rticularly now as she nears the birth of her child, would not only be cruel but could actually endanger her health and that of the baby.”

Annie had personal experience with the devastating effects an emotional upheaval could have on a woman’s pregnancy, but she pushed this thought away and continued. “There is the chance he may not have consummated the affair yet, but once his wife learns that he has even been tempted to stray, this could permanently ruin their future together. Have the young couple known each other long?”

Miss Minnie said, “From what our young client has said, they have known each other since childhood, and they are both no more than their early twenties. In my experience, a woman will find comfort in marrying a man she has known for most of her life. For a man, this may produce a negative impression, that he has been too quickly confined into the strict boundaries of married life. As they say, ‘Marry in haste, repent at leisure.’”

Annie noticed that Miss Millie stirred at her sister’s words and smiled sadly. Again, she felt that she was seeing unsuspected depths in these two women. Nodding, Annie then asked another question. “Do you think that letting your other client know that this young man has a young wife at home might stir her conscience at all? Could she be persuaded to break off the liaison he
rself?”

Miss Minnie shook her head emphatically. “I am quite sure she already knows the partic
ulars, and I cannot see her forgoing her own pleasure. She plays the lady, all charm and sweetness, but there is an underlying selfishness that betrays her. She acts as if the world owes her. My sister, who I confess has a softer heart than mine, thinks that something that happened in her past might explain this attitude.”

Annie then said, “Well, it seems to me that there are then only two possible paths for you to take. One is to say nothing, hoping that the young husband will come to his senses on his own and break off the liaison before it irrevocably destroys his marriage. The second path would be to speak to the young man himself, who, if your judgment of his essential goodness is correct, will find the idea that someone else is aware of his transgressions enough to cause him to do the right thing.”

Miss Minnie said, “Oh dear, Mrs. Fuller, we could never speak directly to the young man. Goodness, how could we? A lady should never mention such things to a member of the opposite sex, not even to their male relatives. Oh my, no, that simply is impossible.”

Annie was bemused by Miss Minnie’s sudden switch back to wide-eyed innocent, and she started to apologize for upsetting her so when the younger sister leaned over to Miss Minnie and again placed her hand on her arm and gave her a speaking look.

Miss Minnie nodded and then said, as if her sister had actually spoken to her, “Millicent wondered if you thought it might help if we could find a way to indicate indirectly to the young man that we worked for Mrs. J. It might make him realize how easy it would be for his indiscretions to be discovered.”

Annie nodded and said, “It is possible that this might work, if you can figure out how to do this discreetly.”

Miss Minnie looked over at her sister and then back to Annie, smiled, and said, “I’m sure Millicent will come up with a plan. She always does.”

*****

“Dear Mrs. Porter, we are so grateful you were able to accommodate our request to see you at seven. A terrible imposition, I know, so early in the morning. But one of our other clients has rather an emergency, and she needs our services at nine. We did want to get these outfits to you for their final fittings. I can assure you, you will be much more comfortable in the navy cashmere now that we have taken out the seams again.”

“Dear Miss Minnie,” said Lydia Porter, “no need to apologize. I don’t sleep at all well of late; I just can’t get comfortable. I was glad to have you come this early. At least I had something to anticipate with pleasure; I get so bored with myself. I am sure my husband…oh, listen to me complain. I am confident the cashmere is fine; you have done such a clever job adapting my dresses to my changing state. Although at this point, there is no hiding my condition so I won’t be out in public very much. I suppose it will be good to have the navy for church. Thank heavens the high bustle isn’t in fashion this year. You wouldn’t know whether I was coming or going!” The young woman’s laughter wobbled into a teary smile.

Miss Minnie patted her shoulder consolingly and said in her most cheerful tones, “Sister Millicent, come see how beautiful our Mrs. Porter looks with the pink lace you put around the collar of the dressing gown.” She gently moved the young woman so she could see herself in the mirror over the mantle. She was wearing a wrapper the Moffets had made for her of deep-rose satin, overlaid by pale-pink lace, whose front and back panels fell smoothly from a high yoke to the floor, like a feminine version of a minister’s vestments.

“My dear, you look lovely. Doesn’t she, Millicent? I do declare it is a shame that only your husband is going to see you in it. Oh my, I hope we haven’t disturbed him by coming at this ea
rly hour. My dear papa just hated when his morning routine was interrupted. Don’t you remember, Millicent? How he would huff and puff so. Has your husband left for work already?”

“Oh no, I don’t think so. I believe he must have gone down to breakfast before I…I am sure he will come to say goodbye before he leaves.”

Millie noticed the hesitation in Mrs. Porter’s voice and felt quite a sharp stab of anger at the young man. She did hope that they would be able to show him the error of his ways. Just because her long ago fiancé, Percival, had proven himself unworthy of her esteem, abandoning her when she lost her fortune, didn’t mean that Minnie was correct to say that all men were as frail.

As if summoned by his wife’s words, the door to the sitting room opened and Mr. Porter walked in. He was a tall, wide-shouldered young man, whose glossy black hair was swept back from his forehead, revealing clear gray eyes. He had a well-trimmed mustache and beard, stylis
hly long side-burns, and the clear complexion of youth. Certainly handsome enough to attract Mrs. Roberts’s fancy.

He looked slightly startled not to find his wife alone and said, “Pardon me, I didn’t know you were engaged. Miss Minnie and Miss Millie, I hope you are well.”

Millie noted that he wasn’t able to look at his wife, and he continued to stand near the door as if to make a quick exit.

Her sister said, “Mr. Porter, how wonderful to see you. You have become quite a stranger, never here when we visit. The other day when we were fitting your mother for a day gown, she told us she had scolded your father for keeping you at the office so long, neglecting your family. I quite agreed with her. My mother always said about a young married couple that it was i
mportant that they start out cherishing each other because, ‘Well begun is half done.’”

At this point, Millie judged it time to interrupt her sister by handing her a folded white handkerchief. 

Minnie took the handkerchief and walked rapidly over to Mr. Porter, saying, “This is fortuitous. Somehow, last week, this handkerchief made it into our sewing bag. Millicent has reminded me that we are trying to find its rightful owner. The embroidered initials are so intricate; we were having difficulty determining what they are. I think the initials are
R. T.
and
P
, and I said to myself, surely this must belong to Mr. Richard Porter, remembering that your middle name is Thomas. Was I right; is this yours?” Minnie then thrust the square of linen under the young man’s nose, pointing to the initials.

Mr. Porter glanced obligingly down to where Minnie pointed, and then he reared back as if he had just seen a poisonous spider hiding in the folds of white linen. He stuttered out, “No, that’s not mine. I am afraid you are wrong; it belongs to someone else.”

Minnie put the handkerchief up close to her eyes, as if she had grown suddenly nearsighted, and she said, “Oh dear, are you sure? Well, you know Millicent said that she thought I had mistaken the first and last initials. Could that first letter be an A instead of an R? What do you think, Mr. Porter?”

Minnie thrust the offending square in the young man’s face as he again backed away.  Looking closely at the embroidered letters again, she said, “Dear me, if Millicent is correct, and now I see that the initial for the last name could be an R, and the first initial is an A, this must belong to Mr. Andrew Roberts. I do believe his middle name is also Thomas. Surely you must have met him. Mr. Roberts is the owner of the Union Iron Works, and it was my understanding that Mr. Robert’s company supplies most of the iron pieces for the carriages you make in your father’s factory.”

When Mr. Porter made an inarticulate sound, Minnie continued, saying, “And have you made the acquaintance of his charming wife? A woman with such an interesting past. Mr. Roberts just dotes on his lovely wife, nothing but the best for her. Yes, I do believe we must have picked this handkerchief up when we were at their suite at the Palace Hotel last Wednesday. We are there every Wednesday, rain or shine, working on something or another for Mrs. Roberts, one of our best customers. I do believe that new dresses, like new people, are a kind of hobby with her. Although she quickly loses interest, lets one enthusiasm go when she picks up another. Well, well, you have been so helpful, Mr. Porter. We will certainly return this handkerchief to its proper owner. I always say, ‘A stitch in time saves nine.’ Isn’t that right, Mr. Porter?”

With a look that Millie could only characterize as knowing, her sister nodded to Mr. Porter and moved back to hover around Mrs. Porter, who was looking confused by the interchange. Mr. Porter didn’t look confused; he looked stunned, as if he couldn’t quite believe what had just ha
ppened. He then glanced her way, and Millie shook her head gently and gave him a sad smile. She saw a blush stain his cheeks.

He said gruffly, “Miss Minnie, Miss Millie, your servant. My dear, I must be off. Have a good day,” and then he bowed sharply and left the room.

*****

Millie sighed as she looked at Lydia Porter, radiant with happiness, holding her newborn son in her arms. Young master Augustus, named after his grandfather, looked smug. Thinking perhaps of his grandfather’s carriage business that he would no doubt inherit at some future date, carriages being one of the products that would continue to be built for as long as people needed to be conveyed from one place to another. Mr. Porter stood behind his wife’s chair, his hand res
ting on her shoulder, his grey eyes wary as her sister Minnie approached.

They had come to deliver a new dress for Mrs. Porter to wear at the christening. They had designed the bodice so that it would not require tight corseting yet would still hide the fact that Mrs. Porter had not yet regained her previous tiny waist.

“Dear Mr. and Mrs. Porter, we are so pleased to see you all looking in such good health,” Millie’s sister said, moving up to the young mother to take a closer look at the child. “What a big boy he is. Oh my, I do believe he is going to have his mother’s lovely brown eyes. And his wee little hands. So cunning. We were honored that you asked us to attend the christening, and if you would accept this gown and cap we have made for the occasion, we would be truly grateful.”

Minnie turned to Millie, who walked over to the couple, unwrapping tissue to reveal the white cotton gown covered with Ayrshire lace and delicately embroidered flowers, which they had been working on in their spare moments for most of Mrs. Porter’s confinement. Minnie picked up and handed the mother a small white embroidered cap that Millie had made to go with the christening gown. “Mrs. Porter, I know how you appreciate my sister’s needlework. See how she has cleverly worked the young man’s initials in amongst the flowers.”

Mrs. Porter beamed and then said, “Miss Minnie and Miss Millie, you shouldn’t have. Such exquisite work! I will treasure this, and I can assure you that every child I have will get their chance to wear it. Look, Richard, she has worked his initials into the cap, right there among the flowers.”