Lady Impossible

# LADY IMPOSSIBLE

A short story by Eleanor M. Ingram appearing in The Cavalier. Everett Van Hale, a well-to-do New York gentleman, encounters Amethyst St. Clare, a young woman from Nevada staying unchaperoned at an exclusive hotel while awaiting her father. Socially ostracized for her exaggerated copper-gold hair and preposterous diamonds—fashions six months outdated—she sits neglected at a formal ball. Hale takes pity and asks her to dance, discovering her innocent charm and genuine nature. They develop a deepening friendship through tennis lessons and garden conversations. When Hale suggests she alter her hair to conform to society's preferences, she reveals her helplessness: a New York hairdresser created the style specifically to match fashionable standards. Hale recognizes his own love for her and abandons concern for social convention, contemplating marriage despite financial sacrifice. The narrative concludes as Hale speaks her name with changed emotion.