"That's what it says."
Gaya smiled. "He must like you!"
"Oh?" said Trigger. She hesitated. Gaya's face grew questioning. She asked, "Is something the matter?"
"Probably not," said Trigger. She considered. "If you laugh," she warned, "I'll hate you." She indicated the ribbons again. "What is that Beldon really?"
Gaya blinked. "You haven't been around our decadent circles long enough," she said soberly. Then she did laugh. "Don't hate me, Trigger! Anyway, it's very high fashion. It's also"—her glance went quickly over Trigger—"in excellent taste, in this case. It's a Beldon gown."
A gown!
Some of the beautiful ribbons were wider than others. None of them looked as wide as they should have been. Not for a gown.
Dubiously, Trigger wriggled and fitted herself into the high fashion item. Even before she went over to the mirror in it, she knew it wouldn't do. Not possibly! Styles on many Hub worlds were rather bold of course, but she was sure this effect wasn't what the Beldon's designers had intended.
She stepped in front of the mirror. Her eyes widened. "Brother!" she breathed.
That Beldon did go with a woman like stripes went with a tiger! After one look, you couldn't quite understand why nature hadn't arranged for it first. But just as obviously there wasn't nearly enough Beldon around at the moment.