Frederick takes Agnes shopping

The following is Agnes' point of view of when Frederick took her shopping and follows on from here:

Agnes enjoyed walking the streets of Paris with Frederick but she had to remind herself that she was not able to act autonomously any more. Captivated by the beauty she spied in the store windows she would have lingered longer at various locations if on her own and sometimes she would wander off to look at something, unaware that Frederick was not sure where she had gone. She was still inclined to think of herself as a sole entity. She sometimes had in her mind where she thought they were going and would proceed in that direction only to discover that Frederick was steering her the opposite way.

On this occasion, she was turning the corner to go left only to feel Frederick grab her elbow and turn her to the right to cross the street. It was an unusual sensation being grabbed by the elbow; much more controlling, she felt, than if he had simply put his hand in hers. She felt like a little girl being supervised by an adult when he did that and slightly embarrassed she looked back over her shoulder to see if anyone had been watching.

A few doors down the street Frederick turned into the entrance of a particular store and finding the window display instantly appealing she remarked on how lovely she found the dresses. She was pleased that Frederick suggested they go in and look more closely.

Once inside the store, Agnes found herself once again confronted by a situation where Frederick seemed to be well known and welcomed by other women. Although it had seemed to her serendipitous that Frederick and she had agreed to enter this particular store, it was now obvious that he was a regular customer here and a well known and popular customer at that. She suddenly felt a wave of insecurity and it was that sense of insecurity or even jealousy that had her tug on his arm.

Frederick, on the other hand, seemed to be in his element chatting with the sales women and graciously introduced Agnes to them and asked for their help in selecting a special dress. Before she knew what was happening they too had taken her by the elbows and whisked her away to show her racks of clothes. She looked back at Frederick for some guidance as to whether it was all right and he gestured to her to follow them along.

This was a brand new experience for Agnes and not wanting him to think that she was in any way pre-empting the situation or having any expectations of him, she returned to him with a few dresses and asked which he liked. But, he assured her that as pieces of cloth, the dresses mattered little to him. He wanted to see how Agnes brought them to life before he could make any decision. He wanted her to try them all on.

 It seemed so decadent to her. Agnes had to save carefully to be able to afford new pieces of clothing. She loved to look at beautiful things but her need for frugality meant that she was rarely tempted to try anything on in such an expensive store. Also, being the centre of attention was not comfortable for her. The whole situation had a surreal quality about it for her. 

Seeing that she was hesitant Frederick gestured to her to “go go go go” and on the strength of his determination, she tried to relax into her predicament. She even managed to giggle along with the girls as they prepared her to model the garments for Fredrick.

Agnes came out to where Frederick was sitting on a leather wing-backed chair. She was wearing a floral-patterned summer dress. She stood in front of him but she seemed self-conscious, her hands in front of her. “Stand on the balls of your feet. Turn around and show off the dress.” As Agnes turned and twirled about she began to take on the presence of a little girl. His direction and presence was giving her some confidence and he had her put the dress aside as a possibility. This routine was repeated for the next dress Agnes modelled. Frederick rejected that one and Agnes headed back to the dressing room to try on the next outfit.

This time, Agnes appeared in a blazer and skirt with no shirt underneath. She was more comfortable with showing herself off now and her comfort in the outfit was apparent. Agnes tended towards appreciating  classic clothing and this was an outfit she might have gravitated to herself if on her own. Frederick nodded his approval and off she went to the changing room, smiling broadly. This really was a lovely, indulgent experience with Frederick there, she had decided. She was thoroughly enjoying herself now, fully immersed in a sense of feeling pretty and feminine.

Agnes modelled several other outfits with her last one being a little black dress with a well defined waist and slightly flared at the hips. It was a very feminine dress and Agnes felt wonderful in it. She felt sophisticated and older than her age and she liked that feeling. She could see from Frederick’s expression that he liked the black dress very much as well, which pleased her. However, Agnes had already taken note of the price tag and although it was a dream dress, she definitely could not afford it and put it out of her mind.

Once Agnes told Fredrick that she had tried on everything she had picked out, he had her go change back into her own dress and asked Darlene, one of the assistants to put all the outfits Agnes had modelled on a rack. He wanted to know which one Agnes would choose. She pointed to a summer dress that she thought she would be able to wear often and which was a reasonable price. It was a sensible and affordable choice for her.

Frederick wanted to know if she liked the skirt and blazer and she said she said, but she preferred the dress. He also questioned her about the black dress. She was becoming concerned because she had already decided on the dress using her own criteria.

“I’m not trying to change your mind or make you pick something you don’t want,” he assured her and she relaxed again. He pulled Agnes closer to him and with his hand on the back of her neck he told the two girls that they were taking the two dresses and the blazer outfit.

This panicked Agnes and her response was immediate. “I can’t afford these dresses.” Frederick tried to calm her by telling her that it was his treat and that she could consider it an early birthday present. But, still Agnes was unconvinced. He told her that they were expensive and that she couldn’t let him do this.

Now, Frederick was more assertive with her. “It is not a matter of you letting me do this or not. It is what I am doing.”

It was these words that made Agnes realize that this situation was quite outside of her control. She was in no place to tell Frederick what he could do. She stopped such talk immediately and feeling a surge of warmth towards him she hugged him tightly. “You are so good to me,” she whispered into his ear.

She felt wonderfully indulged. It had never occurred to her that a man would be so generous to her and of course, the thought that he wanted her to have these outfits and that she would wear them when out with him, her heart was glowing with pride.

When Frederick instructed her to go with Darlene to gather some lingerie to go with the outfits she had the thought that this must be what it feels like to be a princess and be able to purchase whatever her heart desired. The experience was like a fairy tale to her. At that moment she thought herself the luckiest girl in the world.