Final answer:
The text suggesting the past tense is the use of 'she wore two dresses,' where the past tense 'wore' indicates that the events described are set in a time before the present.
Step-by-step explanation:
The text that suggests that the excerpt takes place in the past is option A, "she wore two dresses." This use of the past tense "wore" indicates that the actions described occurred at some point before the present. Furthermore, the narrative context provided by the excerpts, which includes references to historical details such as "a pair of slippers that had belonged to some gentleman's child" and the mention of giving a shilling, a form of currency not commonly used in modern times, reinforces the setting of these events in the past.
Additionally, phrases like "the Mother when we accosted her told us that her Husband had left her" and "I had seen from the air-car the Queen walking on a garden path with her little daughter" employ past tense verbs such as "had seen" and "had left," which clearly situate the narrative in a time that has already passed.