A Black Beaded Dress ( VILLAGE TILES EP. 27 )

What possible harm can there be in a dress? Especially a classic, and one that fits perfectly. 

Could it be a little tight round the neck, a little too tight? 

A charity shop purchase and you might buy more than you bargained for.

I have mentioned Constance, my horticultural neighbour before, but what I haven’t told you is that her husband, Henry Wimshurst before he died had a small antique and bric-a-brac shop in Shaftesbury during the seventies. As you know I used to deal in antiques so it was something Constance and I would chat about. 

Henry’s brother George ran a successful house clearance business which provided most of Henry’s stock. Brown furniture was getting hard to shift so Henry was on the lookout to diversify. George picked up good quality clothing that was seldom wanted by the relatives so he suggested to Henry it might be ‘a nice little earner’. Henry went ahead and constructed a clothes-rail in his shop window on which he would display the pick of what his brother might find. Customers finding clothing amongst Henry’s furniture and object d’art were not there to buy cloth but if their curiosity was aroused it was over a black beaded dress decorated with silver trimmings around a high collar. It reminded Henry of something worn by flappers in the twenties. Even if they were smitten, it proved too slim a fit for any of his regulars and it remained on the rail until nearly Christmas when Amber Harding called in. It was when she was making out the cheque that Henry remarked on her name being unusual however it would be one that he would never forget. 

Early in the New Year Henry was reading the local paper when the name ‘Amber’ jumped out at him. A local journalist had interviewed ‘Amber Harding’ regarding a friend of hers called Emily Grainger who had suffered a fatal accident in mysterious circumstances the morning after a New Years Party in the centre of Shaftesbury. The services had been called to Emily’s home where she had been found suffocated in her bedroom.

Emily’s death caused much lurid speculation and for some time a shadow hung over the town and the surrounding area. Only after the funeral did things begin to return to normal though Emily Grainger’s death remained a mystery.

Through all of this Henry’s routine had never changed. Each morning seated amongst his brown furniture and his collection of second hand clothes, and now shoes, he surveyed the paper and drank strong sweet tea. His concentration was interrupted one Saturday morning when a girl entered his shop carrying a bag. Her face was familiar but only when the contents of the bag were revealed did Henry recall his customer, Amber Harding, 

‘I need to get rid of this dress,’ she said to Henry’s astonishment, ‘I don’t want it, can’t have it.’

Henry affected an expression the implication of which was that there was to be no refund.

‘It’s okay,’ Amber told him, ‘I don’t want any money back, you can have it. There . .’ And she pushed the black beaded dress into his folded arms and left his shop, and left Henry with a puzzled expression. 

Henry put the dress back onto the rail wondering if anyone else might like to ‘hire’ it. He was about to close up for lunch when he noticed Amber Harding had returned and was looking through the window at the clothes rail. She seemed very concerned and then entered the shop in a rather agitated state, 

‘Please,’ she pleaded with Henry, ‘please don’t sell it. You mustn’t.’ 

It was understandable that Henry should ask her why, but Amber’s explanation made no sense. All he could gather was that the dress had to ‘go back’ and that it was, ‘not good’ but she, ‘couldn’t do it, not knowing where it came from’ and someone has to do it.’ 

‘Do what?’ Henry asked.

‘I can’t explain, I just know it has to go back.’

Amber was about to leave but hesitated at the door before returning and asking Henry if he had any coffee.

Seated together in the midst of his brown furniture, antiques and bric-a-brac, clothing and shoes, Amber explained that she loved the dress immediately, it was perfect for any party, and it was just her style. As much as she could tell it was a good fit, and if not it was worth altering, it was a classic. Trying it on at home at first it seemed to fit perfectly but as she admired herself in the mirror the dress felt a bit tighter. As she moved around her bedroom she decided it might be too tight to dance in, the collar in particular began to feel uncomfortable. She decided some alterations would have to be made before she could wear it out for an evening. A last look in the mirror before removing the dress was confusing. The dress appeared to be so much tighter than when she put it on. She started to remove the dress but the collar had become so tight the fastenings were impossible to undo. Amber was tearing at the fastenings when the front door bell rang. She was just able to get downstairs to let a girlfriend in who was able to release the fastenings just as Amber was on the brink of fainting.

When Amber recovered, together they examined the dress. There was nothing unusual about it so they both decided it must have been an allergic reaction due to where the dress had been kept, maybe some soap or cleaning agent that had been used. They took the dress to the dry-cleaners and when it was returned just after Christmas, Amber hung the dress in her wardrobe where it could stay until she had time to alter it. 

The following morning Amber was awoken by her friend Emily Grainger knocking on her bedroom door with a mug of coffee. Whilst chatting Emily noticed the black dress draped over the foot of Amber’s bed. Amber was convinced she had hung it in the wardrobe but perhaps she pulled it by accident when changing the night before. They were often borrowing each other’s clothes and Emily asked Amber if she could borrow it for the New Year’s party they were both going to. She was half a size smaller than Amber, so she guessed it would fit easily. Amber said it had just been dry-cleaned, so the deal would be if Emily could do the same she could have the dress for the evening. That was the last Amber saw of Emily. 

Amber waited with some anticipation at the hotel to see Emily in the black beaded dress that she had lent her, but she did not appear. It was a while before Amber found out what had happened.

No sooner had Emily got into the taxi that she had begun to feel unwell and asked the driver to return home. Her mother met her as she nearly fainted getting out of the car. In the house they both struggled to remove the dress, the clasps could not be undone and the collar seemed to be getting tighter and tighter, so much so that Emily was fighting for breath. Using a kitchen knife her mother cut off the clasps. Emily collapsed to the floor but soon recovered and was put to bed.

In the morning Emily was dead. 

It was some time before Emily’s mother was able to recall accurately what had happened on New Year’s Eve. She explained Emily had returned soon after leaving for the party having found the dress she had borrowed from her friend Amber had become a bit tight round the neck and was making her feel ill. She said that she had to cut the clasps off because Emily had got into a bit of a state, but she was alright and decided to got to bed. Her mother said she had popped into her bedroom just to check she was alright and she was sleeping peacefully.

Asked what had happened to the dress, Emily’s mother said she had hung it over a chair by Emily’s bed. She could not explain how it had come to be wrapped round her daughter’s neck when she was found the following morning. 

After the post-mortem and an extensive investigation, the authorities had to conclude that somehow Emily had become entangled in her black beaded dress.There was no other explanation than it was a tragic accident. Amber Harding knew otherwise, but who would believe her? 

Henry took all the clothing back to his brother with instructions to either return them to their previous owners, as Amber had asked, or if that were not possible to ‘burn them all, every piece’. George however, couldn’t remember where the clothing came from, so he left them outside a local charity shop. When he told his brother, Henry was horrified and tried to retrieved them all, and did so, all except for a black beaded dress decorated with silver trimmings round a high collar. 

If you’re ever with a friend in a charity shop and they see a black beaded dress with silver trimmings round a high collar, maybe it would be best if you suggested they didn’t try it on.

Listen to Village Tales and other short stories from the HONKEYMOON CAFE

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Written and read by Barkley Johnson.