The Sweetgum Knit Lit Society Read Online Free Page B

her lips and carried on pontificating about Charlotte Brontë’s use of imagery. Camille slid into the chair on Esther’s left, but she offered no apology for the phone call or her disappearance. Esther thought highly of Camille’s mother. Nancy St. Clair had worked hard as the owner of Maxine’s Dress Shop until her illness had forced her to retire. She had always been able to order what Esther needed when she couldn’t get to Nashville or Memphis or New York. But Nancy, unlike her daughter, knew that a small town like Sweetgum thrived on order. On people knowing their purpose. And their place.
    As Esther turned to watch Merry effortlessly produce a cable knit baby blanket, she idly wondered if she should pack an overnight bag for tomorrow in case Frank had to have an emergency bypass operation. She would hate to be caught in Nashville without the essentials.

    After thirty minutes, Eugenie gave up on the discussion. It was clear that Ruthie and Merry were the only ones who had actually finished the book, and she doubted whether Esther and Camille had even cracked the spine on their copies.
    “So shall we display our shawls?” Eugenie asked. Theywould all have much more to say about their knitting than they ever did about their book selections.
    “The silk turned out very well,” Esther said, spreading the gorgeous shawl she’d created across the table. All the women made admiring noises, but Eugenie knew their unspoken thoughts almost as if she could read their minds. The yarn for the shawl must have cost in the high hundreds of dollars.
    “I made a heavy wrap for Jane Eyre,” Merry said, once Esther’s work had been sufficiently praised. “When she flees Thornfield, I always feel like she’s not warm enough.” She withdrew the item from her bag and laid it on the table for the other women to see. The thick eggplant-colored wool formed a large triangle.
    “Very nice,” Eugenie said, reaching over to finger the piece. “Anyone else?”
    Camille spread her work out on the table, a black angora concoction worked in a difficult lace stitch. While Eugenie could admire the intricacy of Camille’s work, the shawl was hardly appropriate for a Victorian heroine. “Also very nice,” she said though, keeping her judgments to herself. “Ruthie?”
    “I’m in love with this soy silk.” Ruthie spread out what she’d finished of the cherry red triangle. “I thought Jane could use a little something daring to attract Mr. Rochester’s notice. Plus it’s organic. They make it out of the by-products from processing tofu.”
    Eugenie paused before replying. “It’s very … natural, isn’t it?”
    “You’ve got to be kidding.”
    Eugenie’s head snapped up in surprise at Hannah’s scornful tone. The teenager slapped her yarn and needles down on the table and leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms over her budding chest. “How lame can you be?”
    Eugenie knew a challenge to authority when she saw one.
    Hannah was most unhappy about the punishment Eugenie had meted out. But learning to knit and reading a few decent books—instead of tearing pages out of them—seemed pretty light as far as sentences went.
    The other women looked to Eugenie for her response to Hannah’s challenge.
    “Hannah, as long as you are a part of the Sweetgum Knit Lit Society, you will conduct yourself with dignity.” She shot her a warning look.
    The girl rolled her eyes but picked up her yarn and needles, heaved a sigh, and resumed stitching. Eugenie ignored the evil looks the teenager shot her way. Conversion took time, and today was only the first step in what would surely be a long and lively process with Hannah.
    “Now,” Eugenie said, “does anyone have any questions about next month’s assignment?”
    Having handled Hannah’s rebellion easily, she turned her attention back to the group. She had no intention of letting the Sweetgum Knit Lit Society, the library, or anything else in her life get out of