It was an autumn wedding; a quiet affair in which it was possible for old differences to be settled and new connections forged. The bride had never looked so well, and the groom was happier than he had been in many a year. Frances was glad to see Lionel Antrobus shake hands with her uncle and genuine good wishes exchanged. Sarah was a witness, as was Mr Luckhurst, who arrived with a handsome new ring sparkling on his finger and a merry twinkle in his eye. Dr Goodwin stood in place of the bride’s father, while Isaac, all smiles, was the perfect usher.
Nothing was said of what had recently passed, and no mention was made of those who perforce were absent.
The ceremony over, Frances embraced her aunt, the former Miss Charlotte Pearce, now Mrs Cornelius Martin. Her uncle was kind and forgiving, and had not allowed the youthful error of his intended bride to affect his love for her. ‘Who amongst us is without fault?’ was all he had said to Frances when telling her that the wedding would take place as planned. ‘We all make mistakes when we are young, and why should we suffer for them our whole lives? In my dear Charlotte’s case I am inclined to think that the man was a scoundrel and, as a man of the world, far more to blame than she.’
After the wedding breakfast the happy couple were due to depart for a week’s honeymoon at a quiet hotel on the south coast, and they would then take up residence in Craven Hill. Though the house held many unhappy memories both seemed determined to populate it with new and better ones.
‘So,’ smiled Cornelius to Frances and Sarah as the carriage arrived to bear the newlyweds away, ‘which one of you will be the next to marry?’
‘Not me!’ said Sarah, robustly. ‘It wouldn’t suit at all.’
‘And you, Frances, do you not have a sweetheart?’
Frances smiled and assured him that she did not. There was a sudden laugh and an exclamation, and she saw a posy of flowers, the bride’s bouquet, flying high into the air. Without effort, she reached out and caught it.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
The author has suffered from both hyperacusis and tinnitus for many years and is the founder of a support group on Facebook for people with hyperacusis. The main symptom of tinnitus is a constant noise in the ears that comes from no external source. Hyperacusis is a reduced tolerance to sound, which means that the noises of everyday life, especially if high pitched, cause pain. The earliest reference to the term hyperacusis the author has traced so far dates to a medical volume published in 1873.
For more information see:
www.tinnitus.org.uk
www.hyperacusisresearch.org
The Facebook support group is Hyperacusis Sufferers at
www.facebook.com/groups/2414964219/
The Paddington Canal Basin was drained in November 1880 following complaints about pollution and smell, and some human bones were found. The event is recorded in the Bayswater Chronicle.
In 1880 Mr William Whiteley purchased properties in Queens Road (nowadays Queensway) in order to erect new warehouses. More details about Mr Whiteley’s character and career are in the author’s Whiteley’s Folly: The Life and Death of a Salesman.
Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic opera Patience opened at the Opéra Comique in April 1881 and played there until October.
Ignatius ‘Paddington’ Pollaky was a private detective known for his keen questioning. He retired in 1882. For more information see Paddington’ Pollaky, Private Detective: The Mysterious Life and Times of the Real Sherlock Holmes, by Bryan Kesselman. (The History Press, 2015)
In 1881 American inventor James Bonsack patented a machine for the mass production of cigarettes. It was introduced into the UK in 1883.
Following the Milan conference of 1880 many schools for the teaching of deaf children converted to the German ‘pure oral’ system, banning the use of sign language. Children sometimes had their hands tied together to prevent them signing. More information can be found at http://deafness.about.com/cs/featurearticles/a/milan1880.htm.
This pivotal event in deaf history is thought to have set back the education of deaf children by about 100 years.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Linda Stratmann is a former chemist’s dispenser and civil servant who now writes full time. She lives in Walthamstow, London.
ALSO BY THE AUTHOR
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The Crooks Who Conned Millions: True Stories of Fraudsters and Charlatans
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The Poisonous Seed: A Frances Doughty Mystery
The Daughters of Gentlemen: A Frances Doughty Mystery
A Case of Doubtful Death: A Frances Doughty Mystery
An Appetite for Murder: A Frances Doughty Mystery
COPYRIGHT
First published in 2015
The History Press
The Mill, Brimscombe Port
Stroud, Gloucestershire, GL5 2QG
www.thehistorypress.co.uk
This ebook edition first published in 2015
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© Linda Stratmann, 2015
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