The Bad Luck Wedding Dress Read Online Free PDF

it out of hand.”
    Jenny knew she’d hurt her mother, and she felt guilty because of it. Adopting a conciliatory tone, she said, “You’re right, Mother. I’m sorry.” She worked the buttons on the left sleeve. “I’ll admit your idea has some merit, but I’m afraid it’s a moot point. I don’t have a beau.”
    “Oh, dear.” Her mother groaned. “Not one?”
    Jenny lifted her shoulders in reply.
    Monique laid her hand against her chest. “I am scandalized. Simply scandalized. My heavens, you may have my features, but you certainly have more of your father in you than what is healthy. It’s bad enough that you disguise your beauty with that silly chignon and the dull colors you choose. You know I never have agreed with your idea that a modiste shouldn’t outshine her customers. It seems to me that you should be your own best advertisement.”
    She hooked her thumb over her shoulder toward the worktable where a pair of wire-rimmed spectacles lay beside the sketches. “And those eyeglasses! Perhaps they do help prevent eyestrain while doing stitch work, but you wear them in public. Like armor … unattractive armor at that.”
    She shook her head in wonder. “I don’t understand you, daughter, I simply don’t. It’s difficult enough to accept that you don’t have a husband, but how can you not at least have a beau? Didn’t you learn anything growing up? Why, you were raised at the petticoats of the best flirt in Texas!”
    That much was certainly true. It was also the reason Jenny had long ago chosen not to attract attention to herself by dress or manner. Something inside her rebelled against her mother’s flamboyant ways.
    “Men and I seem to want different things,” she said defensively in a soft voice as she unfastened the buttons on the right sleeve. “I’ve yet to meet a potential husband willing to allow me to keep Fortune’s Design. I see no reason to waste my time being squired about by a man when we have no future together.”
    Monique tisked. “See what I mean? If you were not still a virgin, you’d know better than that.”
    “Mother!”
    “I’m certain there must be at least one man in Fort Worth who would serve your purposes. Your business is at risk today. Unless you come up with a brilliant idea of your own, I think you must at least consider mine and identify the man you would target. Surely there’s someone in Fort Worth who interests you?”
    Jenny had a sudden vision of her landlord sweeping his youngest daughter into his arms, both their faces alight with laughter.
    Just because she found the man attractive didn’t mean she’d consider marrying him. And so what if she indulged in daydreams involving him from time to time? The man had never looked twice at her.
    “No, Mother.” She shook her head decisively. “I appreciate your help, but I don’t think this is the answer. Besides, I’m not certain wearing the dress myself would do the trick. Fort Worth would simply hold its collective breath waiting for ‘bad luck’ to happen to me. They’d probably publish odds on how and when it would happen in the Democrat , just like they do for the horse races.”
    While people all over the world had strange ideas about luck, Fort Worth, being a gambling town, seemed to have stranger ideas than most. Folks here made bets on everything from the weather to the length of the sermon at the Baptist church on Sunday. Jenny theorized that this practice contributed to a dedicated belief in the vagaries of luck, making it easy for many to lay the blame for the Baileys’ difficulties on the dress.
    Monique shrugged. “Well, I think you’re wrong. Give it a try, dear. It’s a perfect solution. And you needn’t be overly concerned with your lack of a beau. Despite your father’s influence, you are still my daughter. The slightest of efforts will offer you plenty of men from whom to choose. Now, I think you should start with this.”
    She pulled the pins from Jenny’s chignon,