Antoinette wasn’t surprised. Appleby must have hundreds of slights to repay.
So far the courtesan had listened to her politely but she’d said nothing about helping her, and Antoinette could see she had problems of her own. Antoinette wouldn’t blame her if she said so in her refreshingly blunt manner.
“You have somewhere to stay here in London?” Madame said.
“No.” Antoinette smiled bitterly. “I came to find my sister but he has her, you see. I think the only way I will be able to free her from Appleby is to return to him and agree to marry him. He knows that. He won’t let her go. I confess, Madame, that at the moment I am very desperate.”
Aphrodite stood up and came around the desk, holding out her hands. Startled, not knowing what to expect next, Antoinette rose and allowed the courtesan to grasp her fingers in her own heavily ringed ones.
“Be assured, Miss Dupre, you have come to the right place. You are safe here. I have sent a servant to prepare a room for you where you can rest and restore yourself.”
“Oh.” Antoinette blinked rapidly, touched and grateful. “Thank you.”
“I am your friend, Miss Dupre, believe me. No harm will befall you in my house, and when you are rested we will talk again. We will defeat this evil man, and all will be well again.”
Antoinette had thought to find an ally in her struggle, but Madame Aphrodite was offering more than that; she was offering her friendship.
“Thank you,” Antoinette said again, squeezing her fingers. “I don’t have the words to adequately…”
“There is no need. You are tired, child.”
“Yes, I am tired. I have not slept in…” She frowned. “A very long time.”
Aphrodite gave a little laugh. “If you cannot remember, then it is far too long. Come with me and I will see you comfortable.”
Antoinette followed along in the courtesan’s wake.
Chapter 28
Antoinette bought her ticket and entered that triumph of glass and iron, the Crystal Palace. Or to give the event its formal name: the Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations. She was as fascinated as she’d been when she was there last time, as a guest of Lord Appleby. Then a choir had sung Handel’s Hallelujah chorus, there had been speeches and congratulations, and visitors from all over the world pronounced it a great success.
Now crowds still swept through the grand building, amazed at what was on view, from a working spinning mill to a steamship couch that would float in the event of a marine disaster. There were objects from Britain and its Commonwealth, the United States, France, Germany, and Russia…and so many other places that Antoinette lost count.
It was truly a Victorian triumph, and the British people were justly proud of this view of a new world where anything was possible and anyone could aspire to own the objects on display, from Sevres porcelain to a family photograph to hang in their best sitting room.
As she made her way up the central aisle, the crystal fountain, twenty-seven feet high, grew larger and more amazing with her every step. It was formed of pale pink glass, and water jetted high into the air, creating rainbows from the light that filled the Crystal Palace. Antoinette, among all the other spectators, stood gazing at it, smiling at the splendid sight.
Madame Aphrodite had offered to send a servant with her, or even Jemmy Dobson, but Antoinette had declined. She wanted time alone, and she still chafed at her time as a prisoner in Mayfair and Wexmoor Manor, when she’d been followed everywhere. She was enjoying her independence and looking forward to meeting this person who was going to help her defeat the monster.
“I promise you will thank me for what I am doing. Do you trust me, Miss Dupre?”
Antoinette had known the courtesan for only a short while, but she knew that she did trust her. There was something so compelling in her gaze and the direct way she spoke, rather like Antoinette herself. Whatever this woman was or however she lived her life, Antoinette believed in her. If she had ever been inclined to take the view that a kept woman was far beneath her own social status, she’d learned her lesson. One’s position on society’s ladder was shaky indeed; that ladder could fall at any time and you would fall with it.
“All will be well,” Aphrodite assured her. “Go to the Indian exhibit and wait there. My friend will find you.”
“Can’t you give me a name?”
Aphrodite smiled. “Better not, my dear. It is safer for you, and my friend, if you meet as strangers.”
“But how will I know who it is?”
“You will know.”
Antoinette found her way to the Indian exhibit. This was one of the most beautiful rooms in the Crystal Palace, and everywhere she looked there were sights to make her gasp. Embroidered silks were resplendent with precious jewels and glittering gold. A stuffed elephant stared haughtily at the gawping crowds. In th
is exhibit, too, was the famous Koh-i-noor diamond, secure in a metal cage hanging from the ceiling.
She stood and waited. People passed through with cries of wonder, and children wore smiles on their faces or grizzled about the heat. Despite the calico coverings on the glass ceilings, the air inside the exhibit was close and Antoinette felt breathless.