Mail Order Roslyn by Zina Abbott

Author:Zina Abbott [Abbott, Zina]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-05-01T05:00:00+00:00

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Chapter 12

~o0o~

May 3-6, 1866

F ortunately, in spite of her reluctance to have Roslyn work in the corral, Caroline did share her idea about a better way to dress when she worked out of doors.

After they were alone the night of the argument with Eustace, Caroline had asked Roslyn to find her gray skirt before she and Emmy joined her in her bedroom. Once she shut the door, Caroline pointed to the open rafters above them. She then leaned close to Roslyn so she could be heard, even while speaking softly. “With this open ceiling, don’t doubt for a minute that sound travels from one end of the building to the other.”

“Yes, I noticed.” Roslyn scrunched her face as she wondered at what she might have said since she arrived that had been overheard.

“Do you hear how quiet it is, even with four men in one small room? They’re listening. If you don’t want them to know what we’re up to and comment on it before we finish, we must speak in quiet tones.”

“Fine with me. What are we up to?”

Caroline softly laughed. “Have you heard of Amelia Bloomer and her dress reform?”

Roslyn looked at her askance. “You mean those…” She remembered to lower her voice. “those silly, frilly dresses with short skirts over those—what did they call them? Turkish trousers?” After Caroline nodded, Roslyn rolled her eyes. “They looked rather ridiculous to me. Then again, it hasn’t been that long since I could hardly wait until I was old enough to be out of short skirts. Little did I realize what a frustration long skirts and corsets could be.”

“Hear me out, Roslyn.” Caroline spread the gray wool skirt like a fan on top of her bed. She pointed out how they could cut the fabric like trousers, but leave the legs extra full. “They’ll be loose like the Turkish pants, but we won’t put a drawstring in the bottom hems. We’ll let it drape over your natural shape so it looks like a narrow skirt when you stand or sit. Yet, you will be able to sit a horse astride or pull a hoof between your knees without hiking up a skirt. Your legs will stay covered without revealing their shape.”

Roslyn bit her lip while she considered. “I’ll still have to wear Ross’s old shirt when I’m out working. Just in case I can afford a new skirt someday, I really hate to ruin the one shirtwaist I have with underarm stains and dirt from the corral.”

“There should be no objection to that. Wear it with the tails hanging outside, like the bloomer dresses over the trousers. As for the corset, instead of one with bone stays in it, I have a soft one that doesn’t fit me anymore. It’s more like a form-fitting camisole. With you still nursing Emmy, you do need some support, but I don’t think it’s good to bind yourself like you did today.”

Roslyn shifted her eyes side to side as she considered the suggestion, and then she nodded.

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