] "Thank you, Helen, but I think not. There isn't anything I can do either. We'll just have to wait and see what happens. Maybe I'll hear from Dad again."
[510] Nancy looked so downcast that Helen searched her mind to find something which would cheer her friend. Suddenly Helen had an idea and went to speak to Miss Flora and Aunt Rosemary about it.
[511] "I think it's a wonderful plan if Nancy will do it," Aunt Rosemary said.
[512] Helen called Nancy from the hall and proposed that they all go to the attic to look in the big trunk containing the old costumes.
[513] "We might even put them on," Miss Flora proposed, smiling girlishly.
[514] "And you girls could dance the minuet," said Aunt Rosemary enthusiastically. "Mother plays the old spinet very well. Maybe she would play a minuet for you."
[515] "I love your idea," said Nancy. She knew that the three were trying to boost her spirits and she appreciated it. Besides, what they had proposed sounded like fun.
[516] All of them trooped up the creaky attic stairs. In their haste, none of the group had remembered to bring flashlights.
[517] "I'll go downstairs and get a couple," Nancy offered.
"Never mind," Aunt Rosemary spoke up.
"There are some candles and holders right here. We keep them for emergencies."
[518] She lighted two white candles which stood in old-fashioned, saucer-type brass holders and led the way to the costume trunk.
[519] As Helen lifted the heavy lid, Nancy exclaimed in delight, "How beautiful the clothes are!"
[520] She could see silks, satins, and laces at one side. At the other was a folded-up rose velvet robe. She and Helen lifted out the garments and held them up.
[521] "They're really lovelier than our formal dance clothes today," Helen remarked. "Especially the men's!"
[522] Miss Flora smiled. "And a lot more flattering!"
[523] The entire trunk was unpacked, before the group selected what they would wear.
[524] "This pale-green silk gown with the panniers would look lovely on you, Nancy," Miss Flora said. "And I'm sure it's just the right size, too."
[525] Nancy surveyed the tiny waist of the ball gown. "I'll try it on," she said. Then laughingly she added, "But I'll probably have to hold my breath to close it in the middle. My, but the women in olden times certainly had slim waistlines!"
[526] Helen was holding up a man's purple velvet suit. It had knee breeches and the waistcoat had a lace-ruffled front. There were a tricorn hat, long white stockings, and buckled slippers to complete the costume.
[527] "I think I'll wear this and be your partner, Nancy," Helen said.
[528] Taking off her pumps, she slid her feet into the buckled slippers. The others laughed aloud. A man with a foot twice the size of Helen's had once worn the slippers!
[529] "Never mind. I'll stuff the empty space with paper," Helen announced gaily.
[530] Miss Flora and Aunt Rosemary selected gowns for themselves, then opened a good-sized box at the bottom of the trunk. It contained various kinds of wigs worn in Colonial times. All were pure white and fluffy.
[531] Carrying the costumes and wigs, the group descended to their bedrooms, where they changed into the fancy clothes, then went to the first floor. Miss Flora led the way into the room across the hall from the parlor. She said it once had been the drawing room. Later it had become a library, but the old spinet still stood in a corner.
[532] Miss Flora sat down at the instrument and began to play Beethoven's "Minuet." Aunt Rosemary sat down beside her.
[533] Nancy and Helen, dubbed by the latter, Master and Mistress Colonial America, began to dance. They clasped their right hands high in the air, then took two steps backward and made little bows. They circled, then strutted, and even put in a few steps with which no dancers in Colonial times would have been familiar.
[534] Aunt Rosemary giggled and clapped. "I wish President Washington would come to see you," she said, acting out her part in the entertainment. "Mistress Nancy, prithee do an encore and Master Corning, wilt thou accompany thy fair lady?"
