Who: Mary Crawley and Kate Kane When: Early January Where: A high-end boutique What: Bumping into each other, shopping Rating/Warning: G Status: Complete
Shopping was Mary’s go-to method to unwind, de-stress, and otherwise clear her head; and seeing as she seemed to be constantly shopping… Well, you do the math. Speaking of which, since there were a lot of high-end shopping districts close to where she lived in Laguna Beach, it was a good thing she was ridiculously wealthy.
With one fashionable bag already hanging from her elbow, she leafed through a rack of blouses the way some avid readers thumb through a book they might purchase. The shirts had to romance her a bit, before she made any decisions.
Kate walked with the manner of a woman who really didn’t care what others thought about her. She had on a red blouse that matched her hair and looked like it had been taken off of a movie star. Her jeans were new but comfortable and she wore a black trench coat with red faux fur lining. Her back was killing her, but otherwise she was in a great mood. She just needed the perfect top for her next date with Elsa…
When Mary saw people like this woman walk into a shop, she knew she happened upon the right sort of place. Anyone wearing sweatpants and she’d turn on her heel and never look back. Quietly, she admired the way the woman had found the right kind of red for her coloring. Gingers were notoriously difficult to dress. Her sister Edith routinely failed at it.
She could play up the socialite role. She’d been doing so since she got out of the army. Some days she was a movie star, and other days she was walking around in a suit. Today was a sort of inbetween day. Her hair was meticulously cut to the length of her chin, and her eyeshadow was dark, and her lips very, very red. She nodded at Mary. “Love your coat.”
“Oh, thank you,” Mary said, playing it off her well-trained modesty. Even though the snow was gone, it was still wintery enough to get away with a smart jacket. Mary’s was a deep purple that made her pale skin look like it was glowing. “I love your blouse. I was admiring the color.”
“Thanks. It’s hard to find the right shade to go with my hair, especially as red is my favorite color. I make do.” She winked, unable to help herself to a little flirtation. “If I’m going to go with it I might as well go stylish.”
“It’s not easy.” Mary placed the blouse she’d been holding back on the rack. It was black silk, but she already had something just like it. “My sister can never seem to get it right, but her coloring isn’t as good as yours.” Edith and Mary weren’t, hm, exactly close.
“Few people are,” Kate replied. “Fortunately my sister is my twin so we’re double fabulous.”
Mary smiled. She picked up the next item on the rack that caught her eye, which was a sheer, daring purple top. “What do you think of this? I’d rather ask you than a shopgirl.”
“That screams ‘I want to turn heads but if you look at me I’ll kill you’,” Kate said, laughing softly. “The color would bring out your skin.”
“Oh good,” Mary said, giving one of her broader, very rare smiles. “That’s just the sort of message I’d like to send people. Especially around the office… though I probably shouldn’t wear this around the office.” And definitely not with her Uncle about.
“Why don’t you wear it around the office?” Kate asked, raising her eyebrow. “It’s not inappropriate with something underneath, and with the right compliment you’ll turn heads.”
“I don’t think my boss would approve. My boss is also my uncle.” Mary’s smile began to pinch her lips. Uncle Frodo was old-fashioned. So was Mary, at heart, but she was trying to crack that mold a bit. Living in America was helping.
“You just need to accessorize it in such a way that you can get away with it without him noticing,” Kate said. “He can suspect but he can’t complain if it’s technically proper.”
Hm. Mary hummed to herself, stepping away from the rack with the blouse still in-hand, which more than suggested she was taking the woman’s advice to heart. Her eyes scanned the other hangers before going back to the redhead. “I’m Mary. You are?”
“Kate.” She nodded her head towards the pants rack. “I think I see a few things that’ll go well with that blouse.”
Mary followed, the smile lingering on her lips. Sybil wasn’t a shopper. This was the first time, since moving to America, that anything like this had happened. And she had lived here for several months. “Yes. Do lead on.”
Kate’s red lips quirked up, and she turned towards the other rack. She hadn’t had a shopping partner in forever. This might just be fun!