Chapter 3
Three
One week later
Bond Street
“Ishall miss you dreadfully,” said Jo as they walked along Bond. It was a cloudy day, but so far, they’d escaped a drenching. “I do promise to come visit. Bluebelle Manor is such a dear old place.”
“Old is a very good description, but portions are now tolerable,” said Dinah, still deciding which room would be her next project in the crumbling house.
“My brother almost didn’t show the estate to you because of the condition of the home.
He thought you would nitpick every cracked stone and each wall of faded wallpaper.
” Jo linked her arm through Dinah’s. “You have done wonders. It’s becoming an idyllic refuge.
I could almost hear children laughing and playing on the front lawn when I was there last.”
Dinah smiled but inwardly cringed. “I did see every flaw and dread the work still needed. But it’s the oddest thing.
It was as if the old walls were speaking to me, begging me to restore the house to its former beauty.
” It was true. She had seen its potential, though the amount of restoration needed was daunting.
“Neel so enjoys the country life, and you know I’d do anything to make him happy. ”
Jo smiled knowingly at the last statement and nodded, causing the ostrich feather on her jonquil bonnet to sway. Her gaze searched Dinah’s, as if she were waiting for more on the subject. When Dinah said nothing else, they continued down the busy thoroughfare in companionable silence.
The threat of rain had done nothing to quell the crowd.
Bond Street was humming with activity and shoppers, the street filled with hackneys, carriages, and wagons.
A boy ran past them, someone yelling at the child from behind.
He pushed between Jo and Dinah, sending Dinah flying against a brick wall.
“Are you all right?” asked Jo, coming to her side. She pulled Dinah off Bond, onto a side street, so they were no longer in the crush of shoppers.
“Yes, I think so.” Dinah straightened and mentally checked for any pain. Her shoulder was sore, and her forest-green spencer had a tiny rip.
“I wonder if someone was chasing the poor lad,” said Jo as she inspected her friend and tucked a stray lock of hair back under her bonnet. “There, good as new.”
“The little urchin had probably picked someone’s pocket,” muttered Dinah. London was full of footpads. “Children aren’t innocent simply because they are young.”
“Now, Dinah…” Jo’s usual gentle reproach faded, her soft brown eyes fixed on something behind them.
Dinah peered down the narrow lane and noticed a sign swaying in the breeze. She tried to read it as Jo pulled her toward the shop. As they neared, the letters came into focus.
Percival’s Providence
A Shop of Curiosities
From outside, the shop looked as worn and old as the country manor they’d been discussing. A light layer of dust covered the windows, so the interior appeared dark. A sign sitting at the bottom of the window, next to the door, read:
Curiosity did not kill the cat.
“I don’t think they are open. In fact, the place looks as if it’s been closed for years,” said Dinah, her fingers closing around Jo’s sleeve to pull her away.
“Nonsense, there’s a cat watching us. See?
” Jo pointed over the sign to a black cat with golden eyes.
Its tail swished back and forth as it stared at them.
“I’m going in. You know how I love oddities.
” She pushed open the door, dragging Dinah with her.
“Consider it our last adventure in London for 1820.”
Dinah rolled her eyes but followed her friend. The cat immediately rubbed against Jo’s skirts, and she bent to pet the feline. It lifted its hindquarters and began to purr as Jo stroked its back.
The shop itself was crammed with a collection of hodgepodge.
Floor-to-ceiling shelves covered two walls to their right.
One contained mostly millinery items: hats, bonnets, capes, gloves, along with blankets and various other cloth-related items. The other contained old tomes that probably held more dust than the British Museum Library collection.
Dinah imagined the cascade of filth from pulling one of the books from its place.
Tables stacked with curios and odds and ends were scattered about the main area.
There were dishes, opera glasses, shoes, and a gaming table covered with various tools.
There were parasols, a croquet game, and a set of battledores and shuttlecocks.
A children’s theater stood atop a stack of hatboxes.
Paintings filled every available bit of wall space the shelving did not cover.
Anyone who enjoyed organization and structure would have experience apoplexy in this room. Dinah wanted to leave, and reached for Jo’s arm to do so, when a high-pitched voice stopped her.
“Welcome to Percival’s Providence, London’s finest dealer of curiosities.”
She turned to the other side of the room. Standing behind a glass counter was a peculiar-looking man, mostly bald, with scruffy white hair sticking out around his ears and spectacles. His pale-blue eyes smiled at her from behind wire spectacles.
“Good day, sir,” replied Jo, instantly moving toward the counter.
Dinah sighed and followed once again.
“This is indeed a curious shop,” Jo said with a chortle. “We stumbled across it quite by accident.”
“There are no accidents, my lady,” quipped the old man. “Fate always has a plan.”
Dinah blinked and studied the shopkeeper. What a rummy thing to say.
“I’m Mr. Percival Peabody, proprietor of Providence. This is my associate, Cat,” he said, nodding at the animal sitting beside the ladies.
“We’ve met,” Jo told him, chuckling. “And a very handsome feline he is.”
The cat meowed loudly and rubbed against Jo’s skirts again. She wiggled her fingers at him, and he promptly rose on his hind legs, put his paws on her thighs, and leaned into her scratches.
“Well, I believe you’ve found a friend. He has an uncanny sense of character.” Mr. Peabody beamed at Josephine. “He doesn’t like most people.”
Dinah noticed behind the counter there were more shelves filled with odds and ends.
With so many items to take in, she gave up and studied the contents of the glass cabinet.
A lovely filigree pendant with a jade stone and a delicate chain showed promise.
She leaned closer just as the shopkeeper opened a sliding door and reached inside.
Oh, he’s getting it for me, thought Dinah, wondering how much coin she had in her reticule. But to her dismay, he picked up an oblong jewelry box, covered in an ivory shagreen.
“What kind of skin is this?” she asked, running her gloved finger over the bumpy texture of the cover.
“Shark, my lady,” said the eccentric little man, opening the lid. “I’ve been waiting for you to arrive. This is exactly what you need.”
Dinah frowned at the quizzing glass as she picked it up.
What did he mean by that? How did he know she had poor eyesight?
It had been designed in three sections: the top was the looking glass, the middle shaped like a heart, and then the holding ring at the bottom.
The lens didn’t swivel, so she assumed the piece was antique.
“Oh, it’s stunning,” Jo said, admiring the octagonal lens set in sterling silver with tiny sapphires.
The edging around the glass and the outer rim of the piece was surrounded by fine beading.
Connected to the bottom of the lens was the heart, the border made of beaded sterling rope with three small rubies nestled inside.
“The red rubies represent passion, do they not?” asked Jo, indicating the heart.
“Today, yes, my lady,” answered Mr. Peabody. “In ancient times, the stone also represented protection and strength. Warriors wore them in battle. Others wore the ruby as a shield against negative energy and to promote inner peace.”
Dinah rolled her eyes at such nonsense but didn’t set the quizzing glass down. It warmed her palm, and the sapphires and rubies winked at her. She smiled. “Are the gems paste?”
“Absolutely not, my lady. Please, try it out,” urged Mr. Peabody. “I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.”
She turned around, facing the cluttered room, and held the lens to her eye.
Dinah gasped. Instead of the chaos she was expecting, a kaleidoscope of pastel and jewel tones greeted her.
Porcelain and glass in rich hues of gold, green, and blue.
The landscapes hung so haphazardly at first glance shone with sunrises and sunsets of rose, orange, yellow, and purple.
Her chest filled with an unfamiliar giddy feeling…
delight! How long had it been since she’d felt such a childish emotion?
The room had changed from musty and drab into a pandemonium of gorgeous color.
She slowly rotated, taking in every detail she had missed upon entering.
After a full circle, Dinah found the shopkeeper within her vision.
His eyes now appeared a clear blue rather than pale or faded.
She recognized the wisdom behind his smile and realized he was a kind—and most clever—man.
But there was something else… almost an aura about him.
She directed her gaze lower, taking in the items in the case, and then the cat. “Oh,” she cried, returning the quizzing glass to its case, then staring at the feline with her mouth agape. “I swear the animal just winked at me.”
“Wouldn’t be surprised,” mumbled Mr. Peabody as he tossed a glare at Cat. “Behave yourself, or I’ll put you in the cellar.”
Cat challenged the old man with a drawn-out meow.
Jo laughed. “I’ve been telling her she needs spectacles, but she’s too vain to try them.”
“I’m not old enough,” Dinah snapped, her eyes drawn back to the quizzing glass.
“Horse feathers! I remember seeing the young ladies wearing them in the fashion prints.” Jo crossed her arms and gave Dinah a rare, stern gaze.
Jo’s brows drew together as she studied the jewelry. “What do sapphires symbolize?”
“Oh, the Greeks associated the gem with Apollo, their god of wisdom and light. It was worn by visitors to Delphi to clear the mind and attain clarity. Persians believed the sapphire held divine insight and enabled their leaders to think without bias and make fair judgments.”
“I’ll take it,” blurted Dinah, setting her reticule on the counter. “How much?”
“I prefer to barter,” said the man, a grin squeezing the wrinkles together on his small face. “That ring on your pinky.”
“This?” Dinah asked in surprise. She held up her hand, displaying the filigree ring her mother had given her on her wedding day.
A reminder we are kindred souls, my dear. Women must support one another in this wicked world where men have all the power.
Dinah had never cared for the jewelry. Each time she put it on, her mother’s scowling face appeared. She remembered the promise she’d made to Mother not to fall in love.
On a whim, she yanked the ring from her pinky and dropped it into the shopkeeper’s waiting palm. “Agreed.” She drew in a deep breath and blinked. Her heart suddenly felt lighter.
Back on Bond Street, they made their way to the Davenports’ carriage.
“How is your shoulder?”
Dinah shrugged. “I’d forgotten about it. It seems fine, though I’m not sure if the spencer will survive. We’ll see if the seamstress can mend it.”
They returned to the coach, both happy to be out of the crowded shopping thoroughfare.
Dinah and Neel would be leaving the next day, so they wanted to take in a final performance at Covent Garden and had invited Josephine.
“What did you think of Mr. Percival Peabody,” asked Josephine.
“At first I thought he was a bit dicked in the nob,” mused Dinah, “but after he brought out the quizzing glass…”
“I rather liked his eccentricity.” Jo glanced at her. “Did the cat really wink at you?”
“I swear he did. It was a most peculiar feeling.”
“Just like the man himself. Di, why did you trade the ring?”
Dinah chewed her bottom lip for a moment. “I don’t know. It seemed like a good idea at the time. I don’t think I’ll miss it since I rarely wear it. And it’s not like Mother is sentimental about things, so she’ll never notice.”
“Oh, I almost forgot,” said Jo, retrieving a folded broadsheet from her reticule. “I picked this up. I didn’t realize the Theatre Royal has also done some refurbishing since I last attended.”
She began reading from the paper as Dinah looked over her shoulder:
During the recess, the Theatre has been Entirely New Decorated and Embellished.
A SUPERB CENTRAL CHANDELIER On a Novel Principle, and completely Ventilated, has been constructed by Mr. WEST. ORNAMENTAL LUSTRES, For the Equestrian, Grand, and Dress Circle.
A NEW DROP CURTAIN, from an Original Design, has been painted by Mr. PUGH.
“Doesn’t that sound exciting?” asked Jo. “Didn’t West also create the chandelier for the Duke of Charlton’s townhouse?”
“I’m not sure.” Dinah pursed her lips, trying to remember. “Out of three performances, Neel wants to see The Antiquary. I’m interested in The Wedding, so I hope the ballet is scheduled last. I wouldn’t mind missing that if Neel decides to leave early.”
“Oh, I love the ballet,” gushed Jo.
“Of course you do!” Dinah said with a laugh. She hugged her dear friend and now sister. “If you want to stay for the ballet, then we shall since I won’t see you for at least a month.”
After dropping off Jo, Dinah took out her quizzing glass again.
Was her eyesight really so bad? When peering through the lens, she could see such detail, and colors were so much more vibrant.
The carriage had stopped at a hectic intersection as they entered her neighborhood, so she continued her perusal of Mayfair.
Dinah began laughing when she saw a squirrel stuffing something in its mouth, its cheeks puffing out like tiny balloons.
The carriage stopped before their townhouse, and Dinah returned the glass to its case in her reticule. She couldn’t wait to tell Neel about her extraordinary day.