Mrs. Van Rijdtock stepped back a little from the mirror and sighed. "Anyway, let it be," she murmured. "What do you think, Jane?" Miss Marple looked appreciatively at Lanvaneli's creation. "The dress looks beautiful on me," she said. "The dress is fine," said Mrs. Van Rijdtock, sighing. "Come and take it off for me, Stephanie," she added. She raised her arms, and the elderly, gray-haired maid with thin, pursed lips gently and carefully pulled the dress off. Mrs. Van Rijdtock stood in front of the mirror in her peach satin underwear. She wore a wonderful corset. Her shapely legs were hugged by thin nylon stockings. Her face, beneath a layer of cosmetics and constantly emphasized by massage, looked almost girlish from a distance. The color of her hair was not so much gray as hydrangea blue, and the hairstyle was perfect. When one looked at Mrs. Van Rijdtock, it was almost impossible to imagine how she would be if left to the natural wear of time. Everything money could do for her had been done – with enhanced nutrition, massage, and constant exercises.
Ruth Van Rijdtock looked at her friend cheerfully. "What do you say, Jane, would anyone guess that the two of us are almost the same age?" Miss Marple responded devotedly. "Absolutely no one," she assured her. "Unfortunately, for me, not only the years but also the wrinkles show!" Miss Marple had white hair, a soft pale pink face full of wrinkles, and innocent blue eyes. She looked like a very sweet elderly lady. Mrs. Van Rijdtock would not be called a sweet elderly lady. "I guess that's how it is, Jane," said Mrs. Van Rijdtock. Suddenly she smiled broadly. "Me too. Just not in the same way. 'How nicely the old lady keeps her figure.' That's what they say. But they know I'm an old lady! And that's how I feel, God is my witness!" She fell heavily onto the satin chair cover. "Thank you, Stephanie," she said. "You may go." Stephanie gathered the dress and left.