Chapter 11
“The Hat Shop”
For several days, Summer persistently nagged Lily, and eventually Lily gave in to her request.
The two of them went to Petticoat Street and bought all sorts of cheap trinkets. Lily purchased a green secondhand dress and a magnifying glass for the nun.
They walked down Petticoat Street carrying paper bags full of their purchases.
Their hands were sticky from peeling oranges on the street, but their mouths were sweetened by the fruit.
“Summer, let’s go back now.”
“Lily, what are you talking about? We still have plenty of time. Do you think it’s common to come out like this?”
Summer pulled Lily in the opposite direction from the hotel.
“Where are we going?”
Summer led her to Leyton Street, near the grand mansions of the nobility.
Behind well-polished glass windows, there were luxurious hat shops and fashion boutiques, and the passersby were dressed elegantly.
“When a maid returns home, she should at least wear proper clothes. That’s a measure of success.”
Lily glanced at a large car parked in front of a beautiful hat shop.
It was the first time she had seen such a well-kept car up close in the middle of the city. She wondered who such an impressive person might be.
“Summer, a car!”
“Don’t stare too much. It could belong to someone important.”
Summer, indifferent, opened the door to a shop with a sign that read Madame Emilia’s Hat Shop.
Ding—
The small silver bell chimed, and the shopkeeper approached to greet them.
Seeing their attire, she asked in a businesslike tone:
“Which young lady left a hat here?”
“We’re here to buy hats. We’ll pay in florins, so you’d better count the change carefully.”
Summer nudged Lily and said arrogantly.
Lily hurriedly handed over the gold coins from her worn leather wallet.
A faint smirk appeared on Madame Emilia’s face, though she remained professional.
“Alright, young ladies, come in.”
The girls’ mouths dropped at the chance to try on as many hats as they wanted.
“Summer, everyone’s dressed so stylishly, aren’t they?”
“This is what real Londinium life is like, Puritan girl,” Summer said, shrugging as she tried on a fancy fascinator with lace and feathers. At that moment, Madame Emilia snatched the hat from her.
“Hey, that one already has an owner. Give it back.”
Summer whispered to Lily, glancing at the direction Madame Emilia had taken the hat:
“Lily, look at that woman. She’s the Prime Minister’s daughter.”
“The Prime Minister’s daughter?”
Summer leaned close to whisper in Lily’s ear:
“Don’t you know Prime Minister John Hobert? That’s his daughter, Cecile Hobert. Sometimes they host garden parties at the hotel. Huh… I wonder what her life is like.”
The newspaper often featured the Prime Minister, but Cecile bore no resemblance to him.
“Miss Cecile, how about this one?”
Madame Emilia cooed, hovering over Cecile.
Cecile had shiny, wavy brown hair, twisted neatly and tied with a sky-blue ribbon.
She wore an ornate lace shawl over her delicate shoulders and a large silk ribbon at her waist.
Sensing Lily’s gaze, she glanced briefly at her.
This elegant young lady was picking out not just the fascinator Summer had eyed, but a whole assortment of hats.
Lily watched her intently.
“This one, this one, this one… no, not this. Bring this. Oh, this one’s good too. And this.”
Cecile placed the hats on the arm of her maid, who staggered under the weight.
Sensing Lily’s eyes again, the young lady looked at her.
Lily smiled slightly, but Cecile quickly turned away, disappearing behind the folding screens into a private room.
“Nobles buy hats like they buy bread?”
Lily chuckled and picked up a straw hat decorated with a blue satin ribbon.
“Summer, we can just choose our hats like picking bread.”
The upper class didn’t usually shop mixed with commoners. Instead, they tried on hats in private rooms separated by folding screens.
Cecile tried on various hats, even asking Christopher for approval one by one.
“Does this hat not suit me?”
Rumors that Belmore was desperate for the Prime Minister’s donations pricked Cecile’s pride.
She needed gossip suggesting that Belmore was smitten with Cecile and showering her with gifts.
So Cecile would occasionally summon him through her father.
“Miss, if it pleases you…”
Choosing a hat for the Royal Ascot horse racing event was one such occasion.
If Lord Belmore chose a hat for her, Cecile would plan to give him a matching corsage.
The problem was, he seemed uninterested. Strictly speaking, he showed no interest in Cecile at all.
“Then how about this one? A bit simple, isn’t it? Or would a more elaborate hat suit better?”
The piles of hats in front of her indicated he had not reacted at all so far.
Cecile tried on countless feathered hats to catch his attention.
Her efforts were admirable, but his gaze was elsewhere. Christopher stared at a corner outside, visible through the silk screens.
‘Elizabeth.’
He swallowed her name silently.
Elizabeth, trying on a simple hat in front of a mirror, tilted her head and laughed. Her small mouth spread wide in a cheerful smile.
Repeatedly putting on and removing hats had loosened a few strands of her hair.
The slightly messy hair added a strange allure, giving the impression she had just woken up, defenseless.
Christopher took a cigar from his coat pocket and tapped it on the table, then returned it to his pocket. A strange thirst overcame him.
“Lord Belmore, what a beautiful folding screen, isn’t it? Used by Eastern nobility,” the shopkeeper said, trying to draw his attention from the other woman.
Madame Emilia placed a silver cigar rest before him.
He gave a faint smile. Normally, he never let such things show.
The hat the orphan had chosen was a plain straw hat, suitable for a private school girl.
To come to the most luxurious hat shop in Londinium and pick a hat that could be bought anywhere—it amused him.
The two girls’ youthful voices floated into the private room.
“You’ll wear this when you go back to the convent, right? You’ll look just like a student, Lily!”
“I’ve never even been near a school! Oh, I’ve seen schoolgirls wearing hats like this in a line before.”
Christopher lowered the gramophone by the table, and their voices became clearer.
“Try this on. You’re so pretty, someone might fall in love and propose. Then you pick a nice one and get married. How about that?”
“Summer!”
“Why? Am I wrong? Are you really going to become a nun?”
A near-scream rang out, followed by peals of laughter.
She was a girl who drew attention in many ways.
Having finally kept her at the hotel, she was already scheming to dash off elsewhere. If she were going to marry normally, he wouldn’t intervene.
“Who would marry me? I don’t even expect it.”
She had no idea how she looked or how her gaze affected people.
The men staying at the hotel had all glanced at her at least once.
Suddenly, Christopher realized he was acting just like those insignificant men. A strange irritation rose within him.
He loosened the tie around his neck.
“We’re late. Let’s go. I’m not buying this one. It’s flattering to look like a student, though.”
“Isn’t it good to look like a private school student?”
“Summer, I really want to be a student, not just look like one.”
“I hate books the most, but you’re amazing.”
“If you grew up with no toys and only reading the Bible, you’d probably find books fascinating too.”
Soon the small bell rang, and the shop fell silent.
Christopher finally straightened up from the sofa.
Cecile was still in front of the mirror. Sensing his gaze, she turned slightly and smiled.
“Do you like this one?”
He realized belatedly that he had smiled slightly.
Looking at the hats on the table, he told the shop assistant:
“Pack them all and load them into the car.”
Turning his gaze, he saw Lily and Summer chattering as they disappeared with their paper bags outside the window.
At last, he put a cigar to his lips. The pungent smoke veiled the woman’s retreating figure.
The hats, carefully packed in Christopher’s car, were loaded with care.
He drove as slowly as possible, enjoying the sport of handling the wheel.
Some criticized, saying he was no better than a coachman, but that was merely the unreasonable complaint of those who rejected new technology.
“Lord Belmore, I’ll wear the hats well. Should I use them at Royal Ascot?”
“……”
Christopher wasn’t listening to Cecile at all. Instead of answering, he reached out and adjusted the car mirror.
Cecile followed his gaze outside. The street was ordinary. Nothing could catch her interest.
“Sir, what’s wrong? Is something the matter?”
At Cecile’s prompting, he returned the mirror to its original position.
“Nothing. It’s nothing.”
The car slowly left Leyton Street.
The crowd that had split for the car merged again as it passed. Behind them, Lily and Summer, chattering, followed along with their paper bags.
