She would have neither it nor the silk made up now . She put them both away and instead brought out an ugly pattern of snuff-brown stuff , bought years before and never used . `` But where is your lovely pink , Bessy ? '' asked the dressmaker . `` Are n't you going to have it for the party ? '' `` No , I 'm not going to have it made up at all , '' said Bessy listlessly . `` It 's too gay for me . I was foolish to think it would ever suit me . This brown will do for a spring suit . It does n't make much difference what I wear . '' Maggie Hatfield , who had not been at prayer meeting the night beforehand knew nothing of what had occurred , looked at her curiously , wondering what Lawrence Eastman could see in her to be as crazy about her as some people said he was . Bessy was looking her oldest and plainest just then , with her hair combed severely back from her pale , dispirited face . `` It must be her money he is after , '' thought the dressmaker . `` She looks over thirty , and she ca n't pretend to be pretty . I believe she thinks a lot of him , though . '' For the most part , Lynnfield people believed that Bessy had thrown Lawrence over . This opinion was borne out by his woebegone appearance . He was thin and pale ; his face had lost its youthful curves and looked hard and mature . He was moody and taciturn and his speech and manner were marked by a new cynicism . * * * * * In April a well-to-do storekeeper from an adjacent village began to court Bessy Houghton .
He was over fifty , and had never been a handsome man in his best days , but Lynnfield oracles opined XXXXX Bessy would take him .
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