AtD translation: Bria had gone cakewalking

[Michael Bailey]

Thanks David for the references, do I have a prurient mind or is the
intended sense that  Bria is toying skillfully with the affections of
numerous (even all) of the lower fare passengers, satisfying all three
meanings of “cakewalking” - it’s easy for her, she is skillful at it, and
it’s almost like a stage performance for her to cut a certain femme fatale
figure to wile away the hours on the voyage?

Like that cruise that Maxine takes in BE near the beginning, where hookups
are expected and uncomplicated but also graded and commented on,

Now for a controversial notion:
Could there possibly be a copy editing fault here?

>* P523.34-38   Dally had expected Bria would be the first one to put her
*>* through this, except that somehow, quietly and with no effort her mother
*>* could see, Bria had gone cakewalking quite beyond any sound advice she
*>* might once have offered, playing not only Root Tubsmith but a good part of
*>* the fourth-class passenger list like fish in an ornamental pond.
*>>* What does "cakewalking" mean here?
*>* --*

I think that first word should be “Erlys” not “Dally”

Why would Dally expect Bria to put her through anything? She’s not
responsible for Bria.

Erlys as the mom of Dally & stepmom of Bria is at least nominally supposed
to be looking out for the 2 girls.

For her to be surprised that Dally’s romantic difficulties with Kit
(alluded to just previously) would be something for her to sympathize with
and consider intervening,

(Although Erlys is rather laissez-faire, not an uptight guardian of
morality or habitual interferer with affairs, considering her own history)

while Bria’s romantic cakewalking is such a smooth performance that
presumably Erlys can only admire it —-

When she was expecting Bria to be the one having difficulties, is mildly
surprising to her.

Anyway, that’s my .02 on that: Erlys not Dally.
Makes so much more sense that way.