She *is* distraught, very true. And in OUR world, she might babble, cuz she's distraught. But a woman has her pride, and she would never tell she thought she'd be proposed to, because... she *might* be wrong, and the humiliation potential is TREMENDOUS. She would never tell. Especially not a stranger. In this case, she could never be proven right nor wrong, and to speak of it would make her appear to be seeking pity, and again, would make her look bad. Pride was all she had in that moment, and it was a powerful motivator during the Victorian Era.
I did not realize you were working an alternate reality; your story is so very close to ours. That shifts things, complicates things. Either they need to be made clear that you are doing so, cuz it's not clear, or they need to be brought into line that with our reality, cuz for now, it's WAY not clear. You saying that shorted out some of my circuits. *grin/snort* If that is your choice, it must be obvious, or you confuse us.
When you said the party was taking place in the break room, and then the room you described was this incredibly huge, incredibly expensive room.... well! I've never experienced a break room as anything but a cramped little after-thought of a place, usually something less than clean, these days with a fridge and a microwave and a coffee-maker in it... A table and some beat-up chairs that aren't *quite* ready to be sent to Goodwill. *LOL* Justin, of course, thinks differently, but the room he provides is.... LAVISH. Wasteful, in fact, by the standards of the times, unless all his people take their breaks at the same time and/or he needs them to be able to come together at the same time in this room frequently. This sort of thing could help justify your alternate reality statement. If people HERE in our reality know when we defeated smallpox and rubella, and you have it going out some other time in your story, it makes them frown in confusion unless and until it becomes VERY clear that yours is not the same reality. You see what i'm saying?
The "best reward" thing... A party is a passing thing. Over and done in a single day (out of 365). Treating your people well, paying them well, giving them the sort of bennies they need and treating them fairly as their employer is what they want and need most. NOT being an ass, but rather being a genuine person with them... THOSE are far better rewards to the people. You might wave that away as not rewards, but the employers of the day were often not very humane, and the pay was not good, and certainly not reliable. An annual party is... *shrug* ..just to fleeting to be a solid reward in the face of the rest of the year in terms of practicality, and those people were VERY practical. They had to be. Life was still very hard. Answers were coming forth, tis true, but... well, you know what i mean. *grin* You follow your heart. I stand by what i said, but i'm not gonna argue with ya.
I absolutely agree with your sentiment that the party is a very visible effort on the part of the Foundation to show its appreciation.
As for Mary's gown.... She is not a rich lass. She may very well not *own* a ball gown. Not everyone had the means for such a luxury. But she would have had one dress among her few that was her best, her special occasion dress, her Sunday-goin'-to-meetin' dress. Her blue gown. You would merely call it a gown, in that case, and let it go at that. She might even have to borrow the gloves, maybe yes, maybe no, but there is no way the guys would have known that... They'd just see "white gloves". Mary would know to wear them, even if she didn't own a pair of her own.
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I did not realize you were working an alternate reality; your story is so very close to ours. That shifts things, complicates things. Either they need to be made clear that you are doing so, cuz it's not clear, or they need to be brought into line that with our reality, cuz for now, it's WAY not clear. You saying that shorted out some of my circuits. *grin/snort* If that is your choice, it must be obvious, or you confuse us.
When you said the party was taking place in the break room, and then the room you described was this incredibly huge, incredibly expensive room.... well! I've never experienced a break room as anything but a cramped little after-thought of a place, usually something less than clean, these days with a fridge and a microwave and a coffee-maker in it... A table and some beat-up chairs that aren't *quite* ready to be sent to Goodwill. *LOL* Justin, of course, thinks differently, but the room he provides is.... LAVISH. Wasteful, in fact, by the standards of the times, unless all his people take their breaks at the same time and/or he needs them to be able to come together at the same time in this room frequently. This sort of thing could help justify your alternate reality statement. If people HERE in our reality know when we defeated smallpox and rubella, and you have it going out some other time in your story, it makes them frown in confusion unless and until it becomes VERY clear that yours is not the same reality. You see what i'm saying?
The "best reward" thing... A party is a passing thing. Over and done in a single day (out of 365). Treating your people well, paying them well, giving them the sort of bennies they need and treating them fairly as their employer is what they want and need most. NOT being an ass, but rather being a genuine person with them... THOSE are far better rewards to the people. You might wave that away as not rewards, but the employers of the day were often not very humane, and the pay was not good, and certainly not reliable. An annual party is... *shrug* ..just to fleeting to be a solid reward in the face of the rest of the year in terms of practicality, and those people were VERY practical. They had to be. Life was still very hard. Answers were coming forth, tis true, but... well, you know what i mean. *grin* You follow your heart. I stand by what i said, but i'm not gonna argue with ya.
I absolutely agree with your sentiment that the party is a very visible effort on the part of the Foundation to show its appreciation.
As for Mary's gown.... She is not a rich lass. She may very well not *own* a ball gown. Not everyone had the means for such a luxury. But she would have had one dress among her few that was her best, her special occasion dress, her Sunday-goin'-to-meetin' dress. Her blue gown. You would merely call it a gown, in that case, and let it go at that. She might even have to borrow the gloves, maybe yes, maybe no, but there is no way the guys would have known that... They'd just see "white gloves". Mary would know to wear them, even if she didn't own a pair of her own.