The first floor smelled divine. All sorts of perfumes in wee colored bottles were on offer. The saleswoman was as attentive as the hotel staff. If all the Texans were like these ones, I’d be happy to stay. I bought a small bottle that had a beautiful scent, the sweetness of flowers with a hint of something more earthy. I told the saleswoman to hold it as I was going to look at dresses and hats. She scurried around from behind the counter and almost dragged me up the stairs to the second floor.

“This young lady wants to look at dresses and hats,” she told another saleswoman, who dropped everything and ran over to me. I smiled to myself. She must have smelled a rich lover.

After my time studying the wealthy, first on the Titanic, then at Mrs. Shaw’s, I’d have no trouble at all pretending to be a toff. I ignored the saleswoman and went over to the racks myself while she trailed along behind me. I couldn’t believe the prices, but I passed no remarks. I let her carry my choices into the dressing room and fuss over me as I tried them on.

In the end it was worth her while. Besides the perfume, I walked out with six new dresses, two hats, two pairs of shoes and matching bags, as well as stockings, petticoats and drawers, which she called “undergarments.” I announced that she should send everything, along with the bill, to the attention of Mr. James Sullivan at the Adolphus Hotel. Her eyebrows shot up when I said that, but I ignored her and sailed out of the shop as if I owned it. Ah, ’twas great craic altogether.

The next day, when I was expecting Mr. Kearney, I fussed over which dress and hat I would wear. I picked out a lovely pink one, which suited my complexion, and a matching hat and shoes. He’d told me to dress comfortably for the journey as the oil fields were very muddy and the town itself dusty, particularly when the wind was high. I ignored him. I was determined to make a good first impression on anyone I met. Ma had always told me how important this was. “Never set foot out the door unless ye are looking your best,” she always said. “Ye never know who ye’ll be after meeting.”

When Mr. Kearney arrived he looked me up and down but said nothing. Anyway, who was he to judge me when himself was wearing a white linen suit and fancy leather boots with a raised heel? Comfortable clothes indeed.