Free Web NovelChapter 446: Chapter 446: Let It Slip Again
"Could I really pull something like that off with my figure?"
Phoebe Huxley was tempted. ’Could I really look good in a dress?’
What woman doesn’t want to be beautiful? She was no different. Especially when she saw Phoenix Golding dressed to the nines every day, looking so good in even the most ordinary clothes that men couldn’t help but stare. Phoebe Huxley despised Phoenix Golding for it, but at the same time, she was envious. She also wished that one day she could dress up beautifully and make Felix Thorne’s eyes pop.
But it was just a fantasy. Phoebe Huxley knew her place. ’Better to just focus on working hard and earning money.’
Lana Steiner smiled, her tone full of certainty. "It’ll absolutely work. I’ll take your measurements, and when it’s finished, I’ll have Frederick bring it back. Phoebe, you don’t have to make it. I have a bit more free time than you."
"Then I’m happy to take it easy. My sister-in-law’s skills are much better than mine anyway," Phoebe Thorne said with a smile. Lana Steiner had been the one to teach her how to sew.
When Lana Steiner married into the family, Phoebe Thorne hadn’t married yet and was still living at home. Lana Steiner’s dowry included a sewing machine, so Phoebe Thorne learned how to sew from her. She also learned to knit and crochet, though her hands weren’t as nimble as Lana’s.
Phoebe Huxley’s desire for a floral dress grew more intense, but she still lacked confidence. Forty-odd years of low self-esteem were etched into her very bones; it wasn’t something that could change so quickly.
"Maybe we shouldn’t make it after all. The amount of fabric for one outfit for me is enough to make one for each of you. Let’s not waste the cloth."
Phoebe Huxley lost her usual decisiveness, becoming conflicted. She was afraid it wouldn’t look good, and it would be a terrible waste of fabric.
"Sister-in-law, you have to trust Lana. If she says it’ll look good, it’ll definitely look good," Frederick Thorne chimed in. "I’m not just bragging—my Lana’s craftsmanship is absolutely the best in all of Clearspring Township."
Lana Steiner gave him a playful glare, but her heart fluttered with sweetness. Frederick Thorne smiled back at her, their affection clear without a word. Raina pursed her lips, a sour feeling welling up inside her. ’Once they get a wife, they forget their mother,’ she thought. ’That second son of mine has no conscience.’
Phoebe Thorne and Phoebe Huxley felt completely different, however. They envied Lana Steiner. Their own husbands, Brian Chapman and Felix Thorne, would never praise them in public the way Frederick Thorne did. Frederick was genuinely attentive and considerate toward Lana. Even though Lana couldn’t have children, Frederick seemed to cherish her all the more for it, treating her better and better.
If they could marry a man like that, they would be willing to eat pickled vegetables and bran every day.
They would even willingly give their lives for such a man.
"Stop arguing, all of you!" Jim Thorne shouted loudly, unable to stand seeing his family pass the fabric back and forth. "There’ll be plenty of cloth later, as much as you want! Grandma, Aunt Lana, Aunt Phoebe, Mom—you’ll all get some! When I’m rich, everyone in the family will wear new clothes. I’ll even get a floral dress made for Dollar!"
Everyone froze. Frederick Thorne was the first to react, demanding in a stern voice, "What were you doing in Capria? Tell the truth!"
Goldie Thorne flinched. He wanted to kick his idiot nephew to death. ’The kid has such a big mouth.’
"We just went to have some fun," Goldie Thorne said. "Adrian Hawthorne has relatives there, so we hung out with him for a few days."
"Then what’s with all this cloth? How could relatives of the Hawthorne family have so much of it?" Frederick Thorne demanded, pointing at the bolts of fabric with a severe expression.
Fabric purchases were rationed; this was more than a person’s entire yearly allotment. ’What kind of relative would be so generous?’
Besides, he’d heard that Capria was full of smuggled goods. If this cloth had a questionable origin and they got into trouble, it would be a huge mess.
Goldie Thorne felt a pang of guilt. Not wanting to lie to his family, he said, "His relatives are just that resourceful. Anyway, just use the cloth. Nothing bad will happen. Mr. Tate is using it, too. He even said that there are going to be major reforms by next year at the latest. If you don’t believe me, you have to believe Mr. Tate, right?"
