An Unsinkable Love(7)
Bree was taken aback. She hadn't realized her every minute would belong to the company. Oh, well. It was only a few days. She wouldn't be any more under Mr. Thorpe's thumb than her father or Lady Rothberry.
* * * *
Mrs. Unger turned out to be the complete opposite of Mr.
Thorpe. A jolly, plump and red-cheeked Irishwoman, she couldn't complete a sentence without fitting in a laugh somewhere.
"Come on in, dearie, and let me have a gander at you.
Such a tiny thing you are. You say you're a seamstress?
That's a foin thing, as I'm thinkin' you'll be needin' to take in wotever I can find for you here." She flitted around the room, muttering to herself as she pulled articles of clothing off shelves and shook them out, nodding or shaking her head 29
An Unsinkable Love
by Terri Benson
depending on the suitability of the selection. A small pile accumulated on the table.
As she crossed the room to a row of cubbyholes, the heavyset woman called over her shoulder, "And wot size shoe are you wearin', dearie? I'd venture a size five, by the look of those foin boots you be sportin'."
Bree smiled in surprise. "Why, yes, that's right. How did you know?"
Mrs. Unger let out a brassy laugh and set chunky black shoes on the table next to the garments. She turned and put a thick arm around Bree's shoulders, and gave her a gentle hug.
"Ah, dearie, when you've been doin' this as long as I have, you get a feel for it. As I said, you'll be doin' some alterations on these uniforms. I haven't anything tiny enough for you, so I hope you don't mind stayin' up tonight to shorten the hems, and maybe takin' up the waist a wee bit."
Bree shook her head. "It won't be the first time I've whiled away the hours sewing into the night. At least this time it will be for me."
"You've got two dresses, and four aprons. Try to keep the dresses clean. You'll not be given any more and since we've no laundry on this ship, you'll have to wash them in the bath and dry them in your room. There are two pairs of stockings, two caps, and the shoes. You'd best try everything on now so I can pin the dresses for you, and we can change the shoes if they don't fit."
Bree removed her suit, leaving on her combination undergarments, and slipped on the black dresses one by one.
30
An Unsinkable Love
by Terri Benson
Mrs. Unger pinned up the hem and extra tucks on each side of the waist. While Bree removed her boots and picked up one of the heavy shoes, the woman ran her hand over the wool suit.
"This here's a foin piece of work. If it's yours, old Thorpe will be lucky to have you. His eyes are so bad, he don't dare do any of the fine work hisself."
The shoes had been worn previously, but showed only slight wear. With a shrug, Bree slid them on and pulled the laces tight. She took a few steps and found them clumsy and stiff, not at all like her soft, light boots. They would be serviceable, though and, once broken in, quite tolerable.
Mrs. Unger nodded her approval. "You're lucky Titanic is new. I've seen a few ships where the shoes and clothes were better suited for the rag picker than hard-workin' people."
She bundled the clothing up and tied it with twine. "Will you be takin' these with you, or shall I send them to your cabin?"
"Mr. Thorpe asked me to return to work as soon as you were finished with me, so if you could send them to my cabin, I'll deal with the alterations this evening."
"That old slave driver. As if it would hurt to allow you a few hours to get settled," Mrs. Unger grumbled. "You go on then.
I'll see to it. I expect I'll be seein' you by and by, dearie."
Bree went back to Mr. Thorpe and began work. As she finished one garment, Mr. Thorpe quickly filled her hands with another. The tedious chore didn't hold her attention. A button here, a few stitches there—her hands seemed to complete the tasks with no thought whatsoever. Her mind wandered to the near collision with the handsome and very upsetting man. His 31
An Unsinkable Love
by Terri Benson
behavior had been quite impertinent. If they met again she would certainly put him in his place, passenger or no passenger. But while she devised several cutting comments, her body followed a different tack altogether. She squirmed in the hard chair and felt heat on her face as her unrepentant imagination conjured a vision of blue eyes lowering to hers, his smirking smile replaced by a tender, love-filled gaze.