She had learned this from Peter and other girls at school, and
also from Lady MacMillan. When there were entertainments at the convent
for the pupils, as there were several times each year, the girls put on
their prettiest clothes. They had low-necked gowns for the dances, at
which their partners were, of course, invariably girls, and they said
that, when they "came out," they would have their dresses cut lower and
made more fashionably. Of this, the sisters quite approved for their
girls, whom they trusted never to do, never to wear, anything immodest.
At Lady MacMillan's, Mary had worn simple evening dress, before she
resolved to become a nun; and in London even Aunt Sara and Elinor, with
their thin necks, had considered it necessary to display more than their
collarbones each night at dinner.
Mary, having little money in her schoolgirl days, had never owned
anything very pretty, and now she thought it right and pleasant to make
up for lost time. The "Madame" of the shop in the Galerie Charles Trois
had earnestly recommended this gown and this hat for dinner and the
Casino; therefore Mary was sure that her costume must be as suitable as
it was beautiful, and that she was quite "in the picture," in this
magnificent room. She admired the lovely, perfumed ladies with wonderful
complexions and clothes, at neighbouring tables, and was thankful that
she looked not too unlike them. She hoped that she might become
acquainted with at least one or two of the prettiest before long,
because it must be pleasant to make friends in hotels with other people
who were alone like one's self.
Pages:
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94