Belle - Lesley Pearse [165]
The shopkeeper was looking at her questioningly, and Belle pointed to her shoes, lifted her skirt to show she had no petticoat, and finally touched one of the day dresses. She took twenty-five francs out of her reticule and showed it to the woman.
She certainly understood what Belle was trying to tell her, but she didn’t like it. She muttered and rolled her eyes, and paced up and down looking angry, but Belle held her ground and just looked crestfallen. Finally the woman calmed down and walked to the back of the shop where she had shoes, returning with several pairs, all in excellent condition. The little side-buttoned black ankle boots fitted Belle perfectly; they had a small heel and looked very elegant.
Next the woman pulled out a light grey wool dress. The bodice was buttoned down the front and it had appliquéd darker grey flowers on one side. Belle liked it because it would be warm, and suitable for almost any occasion. She indicated she would like to try it on. At that the woman went to a basket and brought out some petticoats, drawers and camisoles, which she shoved at Belle, as if saying she was to sort through them and pick what she wanted.
It was nearly an hour later when Belle walked gleefully out of the shop in the grey dress and her new shoes. The underwear she’d selected, the red costume and her evening dress and shoes were tied up in brown paper. She had got everything for twenty-five francs, but she felt a little guilty about the poor shopkeeper.
Further down the same street she noticed a shop selling feathers, beads, veiling and flowers for hats. She stood for some time looking at the window display and reminded herself that she was going to be a milliner when she got back to England. Focusing on that made her feel stronger and more determined. She wasn’t just going to make enough money to get back to England, but a nest egg too, so she could hold up her head when she got home.
Along with a toothbrush and a tiny pot of face cream, Belle also bought a second-hand hat, a black fur one which was as close as she could get to the one that had matched her coat which she’d had to leave in Marseille. The previous day she’d felt only half dressed without a hat, but now once again she felt complete.
Madame Herrison was in the hall when Belle got back.
‘You find something nice?’ she asked.
Belle was so delighted with her purchases that she was only too happy to show them off, and as she showed them to the hotel owner, she could feel the woman growing warmer. She held the red costume to Belle’s shoulders and smiled.
‘It is your colour,’ she said. ‘I think it will bring you good luck.’
‘Merci, madame,’ Belle said, and she was rewarded by a smile which lit up the woman’s face and took ten years off her.
Everything Belle knew about working hotels came from one of the girls back in New Orleans who claimed to have lived this way for several months in Washington and made a great deal of money. But however brilliant a plan it was in theory, Belle found the prospect of it terrifying. She was well aware that prostitution was illegal in Paris, even if the city did have a reputation for tolerance. She had visions of a couple of gendarmes frogmarching her off and throwing her in a cell. Obviously there were thousands of whores in Paris, whether walking the streets, in brothels or working hotels, and she just wished she knew some of them to find out how it all worked.
On her second day in Paris Belle bought a street map and checked out some of the hotels near the Champs-Elysées, assuming this would be where the best ones were. Some turned out to be seedy-looking, others she dismissed because they had very alert-looking doormen and she felt she’d never be able to pull her plan off there. Other hotels looked smart on the outside, but while watching people coming and going she found the guests were very ordinary, and she needed a hotel