Madame Askew and The Grand Arbiter

Originally posted to our Patreon

How happy I am to introduce the most elegant Annabel Prissypaws! As a young city kitten, Annabel found her way into Mademoiselle Eloise’s Haberdashery where she quickly made herself indispensable and entirely at home. Mademoiselle Eloise, at first a trifle concerned about inviting a street kitten into her beloved shop full of ribbons and tassels, was entirely smitten by dear Annabel in the space of ten minutes.  Although Annabel was indeed tempted by the tassels and ribbons, she managed to sort them by colour and style rather than to simply pounce upon them, winning the love of her mistress forever.

Annabel was beloved for her impeccable hat sense and her ability to discover the best gloves for every occasion. Young persons, before their first season, would often visit Mademoiselle Eloise’s simply to consult with Annabel on the perfect gloves and hair ribbons for their debut ball.

She grew to be a grand old lady of the shop and enjoyed her final days on her special velvet tuffet.  It was only the untimely avalanche of glove boxes that finally slowed her down. Mademoiselle Eloise, who had become Madame by then, closed up the shop and retired after Annabel departed the mortal coil. Eloise spent the rest of her days in half mourning, sponsoring a small shelter for city kittens in want of a shop, and she never wore gloves again.

Annabel has gone onto her forever haunt where she continues to demonstrate her opinions on the perfect accessories as well as to abscond with gloves she finds particularly pleasing. No doubt but that she has claimed her favourite spot from which to watch over her humans and nap.

A raise of the tea cup and a tip of the hat to dear Annabel!