Knowledge about victorian dresses would come in handy right about now for those of you who don't know much about them. I'm not exactly an expert either, but I try.

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Mrs. Lovett had chased the girl around for about a good half hr. She gave her a bowl of fruit for lunch with her. She wished she had something else to give her, but the money
Albert had left her after he died had been running out. After lunch Nellie decided that it would be in Rose's best interest to give her some nicer clothes to wear. Of course, she would have
to go to the market. Her clothes would be too large for the girl's small frame

Rose sat quietly on the bed as Mrs. Lovett got ready and sucked the tip of her finger. (I don't know either, I just thought it would add to the character). Mrs. Lovett was the
name the strange woman had given herself, but she only managed to get out 'M'. She still wasn't exactly sure what was going on, but she understood that they were supposed to be going
somewhere. Mrs. Lovett, it seemed, hadn't stopped talking since she started calling her Rose. When she wasn't talking about the plans for the day she was narrating her thoughts and
actions

"Alright, dearie, let's go."
Rose hesitated. She still wasn't sure if she liked this woman.
"C'm on," she held out her hand "nothin' to be afraid of, luv."
Rose wasn't sure what that meant, but she rose (no pun intended) from the bed and quickly followed.

The trip to the market was a bit nerve wracking for Rose. There were so many people, too many people for her to handle. Her only comfort was that no one seemed to pay
her any mind. She was free to walk around with them. This was a new experience for her. Mrs. Lovett took her to a shop and bought her a new dress and a few unfamiliar objects. The
dress was beautiful, at least compared to the one she had been wearing. The new dress was a dark prussian blue. The bottom was pulled up to reveal a bit of yellow underneath. The
neck line and the pulled up part were lined with tassels (or whatever you'd call them) taupe in color. The neckline was cut low and wide to reveal a bit of shoulder and it had puff sleaves.
(If you need a help go to the link at the bottom of my page. I did a little... a lot of editing or whatever.) Her old dress was a horrid thing. Black and grey vertical striped house dress with
a lace collar. (I know they're both ugly, but I have yet to see an attractive looking Victorian style dress. The houses are cool though.) She soon found out that the other objects were under-
garments such as a corset and bloomers and whatever other crap they wore back then. Mrs. Lovett took her out to stock up on groceries.

"Mrs. Lovett!" A large woman shouted from somewhere in the crowd.

"Mrs. Mooney! How nice to see you again." Mrs. Lovett greeted her with false enthusiasm.

"Business is still going well, I see."



"Marvelously."
They talked pleasantly, but it was obvious they detested one another.
"Getting better and better every day."
The two laughed. It was then that the larger woman noticed the girl peeking out from behind Mrs. Lovett's skirts. Her laugh transformed into almost disgusted curiosity.
"What is that?" She pointed.
Mrs. Lovett looked back to find Rose clutching shyly to her dress.

"She's me new assistant, Rose."

"Your assistant?"

"Yeah."

"Oh." She muttered thoughtfully.

"What is it?" Mrs. put a hand on Rose's back defensively. (Defensively? Does that make sense?)

"Well, maybe its not my place to say, but..." she spoke a bit unsurely at first.
"Well, from one business woman to another, don't you think you should actually have business before you hire anyone to assist you?"
Mrs. Lovett was angry now.

"I'll have you know that my business is doing just fine, thank you. At least I haven't sunken so low as to steal my neighbors' pets and pop them into pies!" She pounded her
fists into her hips. By this time Rose had been watching a group of cats that had made themselves at home nearby a booth which held crates of fish and crabs and other seafood of the like.

"Oh!" Mrs. Mooney gasped. "You're just too proud to admit that you don't have the skill to catch one!"
Mrs. Lovett opened her mouth to yell back, but suddenly she heard an unusual 'meow' at her feet. The two women looked down to see Rose kneeling on the ground trying to
imitate the cats.

"Meow...meow."
One of the cats heard her call and took a curious step towards the strange girl.
"Meow."
The cat, feeling more confident, pranced forward and Rose offered a hand to the yellow tabby who sniffed at it obligingly. She picked up the cat and cradled it to her chest.
Mrs. Lovett crossed her arms and grinned mockingly at her rival.

"Hmph!" She gleamed with delight.



"You're just lucky. What are you going to do with it? You said yourself: stealing your neighbors' pets is beneath you."

"That one's a stray." She said nonchalantly still smiling. Mrs. Mooney stalked off in a huff. Nellie put an arm around her shoulder.
"That's my girl."

"Meow." Rose said holding the cat up higher to show Mrs. Lovett. Her smile only brightened as she gave the girl a squeeze.

"That's right. Meow meow." Mrs. Lovett happily patted the cats nose in return.

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"Come on now, love. You want to look pretty in your new dress, don't you?" Mrs. Lovett helped Rose out of her old dress. She was trying to get her into the bath, but the
stubborn girl held the towel tightly around her body. She did not want to get into the small tub filled with water.
"Come on, Rosey. What are you afraid of?" No response. Instead the girl just stared blanly at the tub. "I'll be right here." Nellie crooned as she crossed the room to get closer
to Rose who merely pulled the towel tighter.
"You're not afraid of me are you?" Rose looked up at Mrs. Lovett's pale face. Nellie sighed. "Oh, what must I do to get you to trust me?" she asked more to herself as she
plopped down onto a stool and dropped her head into her hand. She studied the girl's face. She wondered what her skin would look like under all that dirt? Would she have pale skin to
match her fragile figure to give her a porcelain doll appearance? Suddenly she had an idea. "I'll be right back to you, Rosey. Alright?"
Rose looked up and watched Mrs. Lovett carefully walk out of the room.

Nellie stepped slowly, looking around her bedroom. 'The trunk', she thought as she hurried towards the old green trunk at the foot of her bed. 'It must be in the trunk.' There
it was, right at the top. It was a little plush doll. She had no idea where the doll came from, nor could she remember a time when she had thought about it, but something about the girl had
stirred her memory just enough to remind her that she had it.

"Here we are!" She said cheerily as she entered the room again. "Look, Rosey! What's this?" She cooed. She smiled and slowly brought the doll to Rose just close enough
for her to touch it. "Isn't it a pretty dolly?" Rose put a finger tip to her mouth and reached out with the other hand to stroke the doll. "Would you like to play with her? Hm? You can
have it if you get in the bath for Mrs. Lovett. Can you do that for me?" Nellie guided her to the tub.

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Nellie lay on the sofa watching the fire burn out. It was difficult trying to get Rose into the bath, but once she got in she found that she rather enjoyed the water. Perhaps a bit


too much. After dinner Nellie put her to bed. As soon as she pulled the blanket over her the yellow tabby cat jumped up and curled up next to her. Tomorrow she would see if she could
use the black cat that followed them home in some of her pies. Rose seemed too attached to the yellow cat.

"I suppose I best be getting myself to bed." Nellie yawned deeply, but she couldn't bring herself to stand up. She just stared at the dim embers until she drifted off into sleep.

"That's what the Dr. said." Nellie Lovett beamed up at her husband.

"I just can't believe it! You're really... we're really?" Mr. Lovett was edging on breathless. Mrs. Lovett let out a giddy laugh.

"That's right... daddy." Nellie smiled. Mr. Lovett gave out a heave of breath which turned into hearty laughter. He lifted his wife off of her chair and spun her around. He set
her back on her feet and studied her features. He brushed strands of hair from her face. His smile had gone, but his eyes glistened.

"She's going to look just like you." He whispered. Nellie laughed.

"What makes you so sure it will be a girl?"

"Because you're a girl."

"If that logic really worked there would be no men in the world"

We're mutants." He smiled, Nellie laughed. "It will be a girl; I promise."

Nellie's smile sofened to a grin.

"She'll have your eyes." She whispered back. They shared a kiss more passionate than words could describe.

A few months had passed and Mr. Lovett brought home a gift for his expectant wife and child.

Mrs. Lovett jerked awake at the sight of the gift.
"The doll."