shut and moved away. How could they be her things, she wondered blankly? Clearly, they were expensive items and no doubt someone’s treasured possessions. Moving over to the sofa, she admired the delicate peach upholstery and then lifted the Chinese shawl to examine the exquisite patterning of pink blossom adorning the teal-colored silk. She had never seen one so pretty.
Absently, she draped it over her shoulders and walked back to the mirrored over-mantle. Was it merely her imagination or did the shawl immediately brighten her appearance? Not just the unalleviated black of her mourning, but also endowing her skin with an illusion of blooming. She shrugged it off quickly. It was a beautiful thing, but to imagine it could beautify her was just nonsense. She set it down carefully onto the sofa and sat down beside it.
Edna brought her hot water for her tea and seemed to cautiously approve of the new set up. “Silver teapot looks right at home,” she said, nodding with satisfaction. “It’s my half day tomorrow, Mrs. Nye,” she said, catching Mina off guard. “I mean to hitch a ride to St Ives to meet my aunt on the pier.”
For a moment, Mina had thought Edna was going to invite her to join her. She felt a stab of disappointment. “Oh, how nice. Is St Ives big town?”
Edna nodded. “It’s a fishing port,” she explained.
Mina nodded. “Does your aunt live there?”
Edna shook her head. “It’s halfway between us, so a good point to meet.”
“Well, I hope you have a lovely visit, Edna.”
“Would there be anything you wanted me to fetch you back, Mrs. Nye? From the shops, I mean.”
“Oh.” Mina thought a moment. “That’s very kind of you, Edna. Let me consider and I will let you know.”
Edna nodded. “I’ll make a seed cake this afternoon. If I have the time,” she added briskly before leaving the room.
Mina thought of her half-sovereign as she measured tea leaves into the pot and added the hot water. Would it be a good idea to break into it when it constituted her only wealth in the world? It might be a nice gesture to replace Ivy’s bottle of lotion and to buy Edna some scented soap after their kindness toward her.
She was still debating this when the small brass key in the latch of the workbox at her feet caught her attention. Deciding she would look inside while the tea brewed, she lifted the box onto her knee. Inside was a jumble of embroidery tools, sewing needles, silk threads, and fancy buttons. It was lined with blue silk and had lots of dividers for organizing things, so Mina could only imagine that someone had turned it upside down at some point for it have got into such a mess.
Impulsively, she upended it now on the sofa and determined to sort the contents that very minute. She spent an enjoyable twenty minutes reordering the box to her satisfaction and drinking two cups of tea during the process. Then she nipped upstairs to collect her own meagre sewing kit to add to the box. She had a silver thimble and a small pair of sewing scissors in a decorative sheath to add along with a quantity of cheap black darning wool she used for her stockings.
It was only after she had sat back down again that she recalled the matching pair of Staffordshire china dogs which she had not even unpacked from her trunk. They would look very well on the mantlepiece she thought, at either side. She would go and fetch them also. She was returning with this journey, with the dogs in her hands when she came across Nye in the passageway.
“I was just fetching these for the mantle,” she said hurriedly, forestalling any demands as to why she was not reclining by the fire. He glanced down at the red and white china dogs complete with collars. To her surprise, he followed her into the parlor room where she set them above the fire. “What do you think?” she asked, rather self-consciously as she stepped back to study the effect.
For a moment, she did not think he would answer. He seemed to be regarding her more than the ornaments. Then he seemed to stir himself. “What kind of dogs are they supposed to be?”
“Cavalier King Charles’s,” she answered promptly. “They were my mother’s.”
Again, his gaze, which had been wandering over the rearranged room, snapped back to meet hers. He nodded which she supposed meant he approved. Suddenly, it