Liberty Island, where she saw the statueâs original torch up close, and as she looked back over New Yorkâs spectacular harbour, she felt as though she was the luckiest girl in the world.
Chapter Ten
AFTER A FULL day of sightseeing they stopped for a smoothie and a muffin and then returned to the hotel for a team meeting. It was time to get to work on their show. The first job was to call Clara to check that everything was still OK for their slot. Once Bryony had the official thumbs-up, she started to make a list of what had to be done.
âWhat is the main idea behind thesedesigns going to be?â asked Saffron sensibly.
âWe want to theme it around New York â that was Poppyâs idea,â explained Berry.
âGreat idea, Poppy,â said Saffron. âI love it! But what aspect of the city are you going to emphasize?â
Poppy thought for a moment. âFreedom. The freedom there is here to be what you want to be and dress how you want to dress.â
âWhat a brilliant idea, girls,â said Tallulah. âItâs so refreshing. Weâre all puppets for the big designers â I only realized it yesterday when Ned dropped me from his show. I think we should show wearable designs which real people might actually wear for every day things.â
Everyone agreed that they were ontosomething here. Their show had to be different from the big shows in order to stand out, and after their experience of the obsessive control of Ned Carew, and some of the ludicrous outfits they had seen during the week â including Saffronâs short-lived new look â they all wanted to do a show for real people. So, with the concept firmly in place, they set about designing, cutting, pinning, stitching and assembling the outfits.
Saffron showed them all the fashion goodies she had brought from Honeypot Hill. There was an adorable knitted daisy-shape hat made by Poppyâs mum, plus other cute hats and head-dresses; there were several pieces of exquisite jewellery made by Holly Mallow; there were pretty coloured silk scarves made by Saffron herself, and a wonderful crocheted poncho made for Poppy by Granny Bumble (Poppyâs best friend, Honey, had one too).As everyone wanted an early night, with such a big preparation day ahead of them, they ordered roomservice, then snuggled down for the night.
The next morning they all met back in Bryonyâs room and got to work straight away. As Berry, Poppy and Saffron sketched, Bryony and Tallulah cut and sewed. After about an hour there was a knock at the door. Orlando, who was at a bit of a loose end but was trying to be helpful, offered to play butler and went to see who was there.
âHi, Iâm Delia,â said the pleasant-faced lady standing in the corridor. âI work for Clara Hughson as a seamstress. She thought you might need some help with your show, so here I am.â
âCome in, come in,â said Bryony as she rushed over to the door. âHow wonderful to see you, and how kind of Clara to spare you. Oh, and youâve got a sewing machine too!â
Orlando helped Delia carry everything into the room and she set about helping the girls immediately.
The rest of the day passed in a haze of fittings, cuttings, sewing and laughing. There was hardly any time to get excited or admire their creations but Poppy was sure everything was going to look splendid in time for the show. As they worked, they planned the running order. It was decided that Saffron, Bryony, Orlando and Delia would help backstage, while Poppy and Berry would do the modelling â along with Tallulah, of course.
âTallulah?â said Berry as they satsewing buttons onto the dresses. âAny chance you can show Poppy and me how we should walk on the runway?â
Poppy looked up from her sketchbook. This sounded like fun. Bryony put on some pop music and they all followed Tallulah around the room, trying to walk like supermodels, with