Her bosom was fuller and her middle thickened, but there was so much fabric in the skirts of her fashionable suits that once she let out their waists and moved the buttons of the short fitted jackets that had always flattered her, the sort Harper’s Bazaar referred to as a cuirass basque, she was still presentable. This despite the fact that Dr. Thomas had made a point about not lacing her corsets too tightly, even suggested she dispense with the garment entirely until after the child was delivered.He discussed such things through a woman called Miss Palmer, a nurse who was always present when Mollie went to his office. Miss Palmer, please tell Mrs. Turner about not wearing restrictive clothing whilst expecting. Looking at the nurse all the while, though Mollie was right there in the room with the two of them. Miss Palmer duly repeated the instructions after the doctor left the room. As if, Mollie thought, she herself had been stricken with temporary deafness while he was present.Mollie was quite willing to forgo her corset, but she had not expected to be getting herself up in party finery when that final three months was just beginning.
