A Day Out at the Market by T E Kinsey

Author:T E Kinsey [Kinsey, T E]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Mystery, Historical
ISBN: 9781503938298
Goodreads: 30848595
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Published: 2015-07-24T00:00:00+00:00

I returned home and tried to settle to some chores, but by lunchtime I grew too bored to continue. I went out into the garden and let myself into the orangery. Lady Hardcastle was hard at work.

‘What ho, Flo dear,’ she said, looking up from the table. ‘How’s Daisy?’

‘Very well indeed,’ I said. ‘She was putting up a poster for a séance at the pub.’

‘Was she, was she?’ she said distractedly as she fiddled with a model on the table beneath her enormous moving picture camera. ‘What do you think?’

The model was of a woodland scene. She was putting the finishing touches to a lifelike figure of a mouse. Lifelike, that is, apart from the fact that it was standing on its hind legs and wearing a waistcoat.

‘It looks adorable, my lady. I love his little cane.’

‘He’s Town Mouse. He’s visiting his friend in the country.’

‘He’s quite the dandy,’ I said.

‘He’s a fiddly little beggar is what he is,’ she said. ‘I think it’ll be worth it, though.’

‘One photograph at a time, did you say?’

‘One blessed frame at a time,’ she confirmed. ‘I think I have about forty-three seconds’ worth now. Let’s hope nothing happens to the camera, eh.’ She touched the tripod affectionately.

‘This “animation” is quite the thing, is it?’ I asked.

‘No,’ she said. ‘In fact I’m not sure it’ll catch on at all. Monsieur Méliès has made some marvellous films but he’s a genius and I’m just an old dabbler. Still, it keeps the natives gossiping. I’d rather they were talking about “that strange lady and her moving pictures” than “that dangerous lady and her spying shenanigans”.’

‘Nothing wrong with a bit of dabbling, my lady,’ I said as she shooed me out of the way and clicked the button on the camera. ‘The Empire was built by dabblers. And by spying shenanigans, come to that. You’re a—’

I was cut short by a distant clap of thunder.

‘Bother!’ she said as the skies began to darken. ‘There goes my light. Help me pack up, would you, dear. I may as well retire to the study if there’s going to be a storm.’

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