Everything Glittered by Robin Talley

Author:Robin Talley [Talley, Robin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Historical, Young Adult, Mystery, Thriller
ISBN: 9780316565318
Amazon: 0316565318
Goodreads: 204593537
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Published: 2024-09-23T22:00:00+00:00

From the moment the driver drops Milly and me off at the dim little tearoom on Pennsylvania Avenue, crammed with narrow tables and rickety chairs and ladies with pale, lined faces talking loudly to be heard over other ladies with pale, lined faces, it’s all I can do to meet the bare minimum of civility.

Mrs. Mayfield gives me polite smiles as she, Milly, and my mother discuss department store fashions and Mr. Lindbergh’s handsomest features. Just as I fear I might fall asleep over my bowl of clam broth, the conversation moves on to the Babcocks’ ball.

“Velvet would’ve been the traditional choice,” my mother is telling Mrs. Mayfield, “but for Gertrude’s gown we’ve ordered taffeta for the trim. What color is your gown, Milly?”

“I’m afraid I can’t recall, Mrs. Pound. It’s still with the dressmaker.”

“It’s so lovely to have a ball to look forward to, and in only a few days!” Mrs. Mayfield crows. “Alice said Secretary Davis will be in attendance. Will your friend Miss Blum and her father be coming?”

“I’m afraid the congressman will be out of town,” my mother says. “The ball is on a Saturday. The family is Jewish, you know.”

“Actually, they’ve decided to stay in the city,” Milly tells her. “They’ll come to the ball after sunset.”

“Naturally!” Mrs. Mayfield sounds happier talking about the ball than if she were talking about her children’s births. “The ball won’t start until half past nine at the earliest. In New York, no one would turn up until nearly eleven. We went to so many beautiful balls there, didn’t we, Edna? And your mother as well, Milly. The three of us were written up in the papers all the time. About our dresses, you know, and the names on our dance cards. They always filled up well in advance.”

“Secretary Davis might run for Senate,” Milly puts in. “It’ll be an opportunity for the president to name someone to the cabinet who’ll take a more progressive stance on immigration.”

“An excellent point, Millicent.” My mother smiles at her and turns to Mrs. Mayfield. “Did you know Miss Otis is the top student in her class? Please, Milly, do tell us where your mother found you this darling dress. Or was it part of the wardrobe she had made for you in Paris? Remind me of your shop’s name, please?”

Milly gamely tells my mother and Mrs. Mayfield everything they want to know about her French dressmaker, and goes on to carry enough conversation for both of us as the lunch proceeds.

Thanks to seventeen years of repeated lessons, I’m able to produce smiles at the right moments, and take appropriately sized forkfuls of cold roast beef with spiced tomato jelly and mashed turnips while I ignore my mother’s nudges under the table. Through it all, my thoughts never stop racing.

Victor walked Mrs. Rose back to the seminary that night. They said goodbye, and she went inside. The next person to see her was Lucy, who found her in her office, already dead.

No. No, it was the killer who saw her next.

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