Thank you all for the continued love and support for these two. My team is amazing! LaMomo with her red pen as my beta for this one and Maplestyle, DrivingEdward, BitterHarpy all along as pre-readers. We get to see Bella make a new friend and some plans. Hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Chapter 7
Bella was pacing in front of her display the next morning, debating what to do. She wanted to go to the wedding with Edward, but there were so many things she wasn't sure of. Among them, where she would get a dress on such short notice, if Edward's cousin and his wife agreed to act as chaperone.
The bell above the door rang. Bella turned to see Mrs. Cullen walk in with a stunning blonde cradling an infant in her arms.
"Mrs. Black, how are you this morning?"
"I'm fine, Mrs. Cullen, but I've told you, you can call me Bella."
"Only if you'll call me Esme. Now, I would like to introduce my niece, Rosalie McCarty. Rosalie, this is Mrs. Bella Black."
Rosalie stepped forward and extended her hand to Bella, which she eagerly took. "I hear we'll be traveling together in just under two weeks. What I'd love is to get to know you a little better, if you have the time."
"Yes, I'd like that too. I have a few questions for you."
"Well, is there somewhere we can speak or should we go over to my house?"
"Actually, if you wouldn't mind coming up to my apartment above the store, it will make my questions easier."
Esme stepped forward, holding out her hands to Rosalie. "You enjoy some adult conversation while I do some shopping with my little man."
"Thank you, Aunt Esme." Rosalie handed her son off to her husband's aunt, then she and Bella walked towards the back of the store where the stairs to her apartment were.
Once they were seated in her sitting room, and Bella had a kettle on for tea, she turned to her guest. "I'm afraid I'm woefully unprepared to attend a society event. The clothes I do have are years out of fashion or black. This is the sheriff's wedding to the daughter of a man I assume to be of means, from Edward's comment last night to Sheriff Whitlock."
"Bella, fashion out west is well behind New York. I'm sure whatever you wear will be the height of fashion here. But, if you would like my opinion of what you could possibly wear, I would be happy to sort through what I'm sure will be the most elegant frocks I've ever seen."
"Thank you, Rosalie. I've been trying to organize my gowns since opening the last of my trunks, but in all honesty all I can think about is the excess of it all. Some of these are from my first season."
After Bella fixed tea for them, they walked into a small room Rosalie expected to be her bedchamber, but she was shocked to see there was a rod affixed along the wall. From it hung dozens of dresses.
Rosalie understood Bella's point as she took in some of the colors and patterns. "I think I can help with this."
Bella was pleasantly surprised by the easy conversation that flowed between them as they went through the wall of dresses. Some were kept to be reworked, a project Rosalie promised to help Bella with, while her collection of mourning clothes were packed away in trunks. From there they picked out a few of the dresses that felt too young for a woman of twenty to be wearing, but Rosalie had a plan for those as well.
"These you could bring to Golden City and sell to the tailor. They have ready-made dresses there and I'm sure someone would get use out of these dresses. They're just a little too frilly for you," Rosalie explained.
"I agree. But I'm surprised you didn't add this one to that pile," Bella motioned to a cream dress with red, black, and gold accents.
"That gown still serves a purpose. You said you wore it to your debut, but not after?"
"Yes. Which is why I would think six years later it would not be something I should wear again."
"On the contrary, I think it would make the perfect wedding dress someday."
Bella froze, her fingers wrapped around the fabric. "I think you're right, but I should put it up for now, either way."
With all the sorting done, they had six great gowns wrapped in linen to be sold at the tailor's shop in Golden City, two trunks of mourning clothes, a selection of gowns that were fine as they were, and five more that could be remade into something more appropriate for a woman of Bella's experience.
"When we're in Golden City, we can pick up some odds and ends for these dresses, but you have a large variety that will last a long time."
"The odd thing is I have so few occasions to wear them here. I have my sturdy day dresses and outfits and those get far more use."
"We don't have great balls like New York, but you'll find chances to wear these. I think the gold-brown dress would be perfect for the wedding."
"That is a favorite of mine. Thank you, Rosalie, for all your assistance."
"The pleasure was all mine. And we'll have to make plans before the wedding. Maybe we can begin to work on one of your dresses and use it as an excuse for us to get to know one another better. I promise to share all of the best stories of Edward's youthful foolishness."
"That would be wonderful."
That evening, Edward was pleased to learn that Rosalie was taken with Bella and had even offered to help her with a project.
"You two truly hit it off?" Edward asked.
"What with her being from New York City, I'd been worried that she would have her nose in the air like the Kings', but she is a wonderful girl. And resourceful, considering she came from the kind of money to have a room full of frocks. I don't think the dress store has that much selection. But she is eager to rework some pieces and sell a few others, the rest she can dole out when appropriate."
"And is one of these projects needed for the wedding?"
"No, she had a lovely gown for that. And she even dug out a quilt she'd been gifted to present to the Whitlocks'. It had been a gift she'd received, but didn't feel she should use in the future. The newlyweds will appreciate it, though."
Edward smiled, "So there's another person who is vying to divide her attention and make her time more scarce?"
"Edward Cullen, you will be marshaling when she and I work on these things, and I would think having your sweetheart close with your family would be a good thing. I promise not to take her away from you during dining hours and when you go riding. She is very eager to master the new style."
"We're going for a ride tomorrow, so she won't have long to wait," Edward admitted.
The following day when he went to collect Bella, Edward found a frazzled Angela in the store. "Is everything all right, Mrs. Yorkie?"
"Yes, Marshal Cullen, I'm just having a bad day. My sister is in the back room if you'd like to go back and get her."
Edward nodded and walked through the door to the back room, where he was stunned by what he saw. Bella sat on her saddle in a riding habit, the saddle affixed to a barrel.
"Bella?" He asked, bemused.
"Oh, Edward," Bella quickly dismounted the barrel and smoothed the front of her outfit.
"Is that your new saddle?"
"It is. When I first learned to ride, my instructor had me use this method to get myself used to the posture of being in the saddle before I got on my horse. Since it is a different way to carry myself, I thought I should do the same working on riding astride."
Edward nodded as he approached the barrel. "Would you mind doing that again? I can make sure you aren't doing anything minorly incorrect that will be painful after a while at it."
Bella nodded and got herself situated in the saddle again.
Edward approached and thoroughly checked how her feet were seated in the stirrups, her overall posture and her position in the saddle itself. It was then that he noticed she was sitting too far back to maintain any level of comfort.
"You need to sit farther up in the saddle." His hands found her hips as he helped her find the right position and adjusted her posture slightly. "I know you feel being farther back will be safer, but you'll fatigue faster. Being a little forward means you'll be able to react faster when needed. How does that feel?"
"Good," Bella said on an exhale.
"Are you ready to try this on Gotham?"
"Yes."
Edward unhooked the saddle from the barrel and carried it to the livery where it was quickly put on Gotham; Shadow was already prepared for their ride. After a tense moment when Bella mounted the horse for her first time in a western saddle, Edward took his seat on his own horse and then gently rode out.
Bella focused too much on what she'd been told, so Edward began to ask her questions about New York to ease her mind as they kept an easy pace.
She told him about the sight of the ocean and how magical the new skyscrapers they'd been building looked. Bella had stood in some of the same places where the fathers of the nation had eaten, or where they'd stayed, and was related to Elizabeth Schuyler on her mother's side.
"My father would love to hear those stories. His second passion after medicine is history, and to know that he's met a daughter of the American Revolution would thrill him."
"I don't know that I would go that far, but we have been in New York since colonial times. Generations of my family have watched the city rise around them. I remember when she passed away. I was young, but it was a blow to the city to lose her influence."
"It sounds like that fierce independence runs in the family."
Edward watched Bella for signs of fatigue as they rode past Mill Row on Sixth Street, then continued past the hotel to turn towards the mountains and onto Fifth Avenue. After they passed the cemetery, Bella sighed.
"Is the house up on the mountain still part of Rosewood?"
"It is. That's the Stanley House. They had it built here fifteen years ago when the town was just starting up. Mrs. Newton is one of the daughters, but she's the only one to remain close. Their son and two other daughters all live farther south now."
"It is a beautiful home, it reminds me of some of the houses back in New York. Is the unowned land here owned by the county or the state?"
"The county controls the land within it. Are you planning to rebel against Eric's wish that you not live alone?"
"Just thinking about the future. I bet the view of the town is beautiful up there."
"Another time we can ride one of the trails through the foothills, once we know you're sure of yourself on uneven paths. But we've been riding for a while; I'm sure you have plenty to do before we travel for the wedding."
"I do have a few chores to complete."
"Then I'll leave you to your afternoon," Edward told her as they arrived at the stables.
Bella and Edward had a similar conversation the evening before their trip, while they rode back onto Main Street after another successful day working on her horsemanship.
"When do you think we'll depart?" Bella asked.
"No later than mid-morning. It all depends on Rosalie's ability to say goodbye to Hale for a few days. This will be her first time away from him."
"Well, I'll be ready when you all are. You said we're taking the McCartys' carriage?"
"Yes, it's large enough for the four of us and our belongings."
"Good, then we can leave on our own schedule."
They returned to the livery and while letting the men tend to the horses, Edward escorted her back to the General Store, a smirk firmly in place.
"I'm impressed by your stamina riding today. I had expected the need to turn back much earlier. You'll be an expert in this riding style in no time, if you continue to improve like this."
"Well, I appreciate you taking the time to teach me. I'll see you tomorrow, Edward."
Edward took her hand and kissed the back of it before letting it fall between them. "It was an honor to ride with you. Until tomorrow."
He watched as she entered the store, before he walked back to his office to make sure all was set for the next few days.