The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle: A Novel

Cressida and Grace head to the Sewing Circle meeting, and Cressida explains that she suspects Hugh only proposed to Astrid because he believed he should move on when he thought Grace was going to marry Lawrence. Grace has lost much of her recovered life and vigor, saddened by Hugh’s engagement.

Violet shows off the parachute silk she and Grace found, offering it for more wedding dresses, and the women discuss the Wedding Dress Exchange. They already have more demand than dresses, and some of them worry that they’re taking on too much work, especially with their regular wartime duties. Cressida reassures them and suggests they put out an ad in a ladies’ magazine so they can get more dresses in good condition. This gives them more dresses to lend while saving the labor of repairing older dresses.

Violet invites Grace to the manor before a dance at Canterbury with officers, where a couple of other Sewing Circle girls will join them. She has enlisted MacCauley to flirt with Grace to help her feel better, but at the dance, Grace shocks them by downing several cocktails and dancing exuberantly, first with MacCauley and then with a marine.