Chapter 39
Snow fell gently past Tessie's reflection in the window. She stood in a turquoise ball gown with rich taffeta cascading over a hoop skirt with lavish splashes of gold and billowing silk. It was a stunning dress. Her auburn curls glistened, pinned at her neck with a delicate net of pearls and a small jewel rested on her chest. She looked every bit a portrait of opulence, but for the gnarled leather band at her wrist, and the heavy concern at her brow.
Beneath her petticoats the pepperbox revolver pressed against her thigh, her knife tucked safely into her stockings — a reminder that tonight was far more than a winter celebration. With only a few days of practicing and rehearsing her movements, her voice, her posture and manners, the pressure of it rose in her chest. Everything
