Chapter 43: Dressed for Dinner

“Okay, let’s make this quick,” Miss Santer said sourly.

They were surrounded by the sumptuous atmosphere of Giamattoni, one of the city’s finest clothing stores. Hallie had actually never set foot in the place, knowing that she could not afford any of the dresses and handbags artfully displayed in its showcase windows.

“Excuse me,” Miss Santer said snappily to one of the store employees. “We need to pick out a dress for her. Could you give us a few options?”

“What’s the occasion?” the young woman asked.

“Fancy dinner,” Miss Santer replied, “not that putting a fancy dress on you is going to make you look any more of a lady,” she muttered to Hallie.

“I guess we’ll see about that,” Hallie said cheerfully. She liked how irritated Miss Santer was with the task of finding her a dress. It went even further to confirm her theory about a love-lorn Santer.

The assistant promptly gathered some dresses and showed Hallie to a change room.

“I’ll be right outside,” Miss Santer said glumly.