London. Oh, London! There truly is a reason this city is the capital of the world. It may not be as clean as New York, but the bustling, teeming streets are just so enchanting.
Annie, Violet and I have been completely successful in our shopping endeavors. New dresses for all, of course. I have outfitted Annie with good quality outfits for all occasions. She should now be able to pass in society once I brush up her manners.
While I have been enjoying playing the older sister to Annie, I am wondering if she is a bit of a liability. Our purpose here in England is rather specific, and not always in the best taste or good sense. I worry slightly that I may have brought her into trouble that she does not deserve. Her presense has also provided tricky as we have had to juggle her slightly to keep her out of the loop. Fortunately, I believe she has been too excited about everything to notice.
Sotherby's was somewhat of a bust. Most of the books were not worth anything, although the Pnakotic Manuscript is apparently quite valuable and Life as a God is bound in actual human skin. That last detail was quite unsettling and I was quite pleased not to have been the one of us reading that.
The Penhew Foundation turns out to be actually run by the very man we were looking for, Mr Gavigan. My suspicions are that he is a dubious character, and I promise that is not purely predicated on his order to kill us. (I did mention that before didn't I?) Once we had this information then Lord Covington and I went to meet him.
I know, I know, your father would tell me never to walk into the enemy's den. I could hear him saying it in my ear even as we did it. But he had extended an invitation to Lord Covington, who couldn't possibly go see him alone, and so I went.
It is surprising the Penhew Foundation has not become a museum in its own right. The amount of Egyptian and other foreign antiquities there was staggering. While waiting, I perused some of their books and was impressed.
Mr Gavigan was surprisingly polite. Certainly he gave no hint that he had ordered our death. He did slightly seem uncomfortable every time I mentioned Jackson Elias. I suspect he ordered his death as well, sadly. He was less helpful than one could have hoped, but he did say he would try to pass on details so that Erica Carlysle can find closure on her brother's death.
We had arranged for Violet and Louis to trail anyone who might have followed us out of the Penhew Foundation to reduce the possibility of our death. They did follow someone, although I never had any wind of him, and got some information out of him which they planned on acting on last night. I want to have nothing to do with those plans so shan't recount them to you here.
Annie and I did have a mostly lovely evening last night, though. The concierge found us last minute tickets to the West End, so we used it as an excuse to wear all our new pretty dresses and have a girl's night out. I spent our preparations explaining how to tell the high class men from the lower and eventually made it to the Gargoyle Club- a wonderfully artistic and decadent club. I highly recommend it for your next trip.
Unfortunately, before we hit the club, Anne's former beaux Joe found us after the theater. He was very apologetic and made a good plea to win Annie's affections back. I do believe I was able to talk her out of it again, but his appearance did slightly marr the evening.
The Gargoyle Club, though, was a real delight. I met a Bertrand Russell, who was fascinating to talk to. He was perfectly charming, if a tad rogueish. Never have I been in a place quite so wonderful. Most of the clubs in New York are enjoyable, but the conversation is of a much lower caliber. Here, there was intellectual stimulation in so many ways that I wish I could stay here and return every night. It had some eclectic and risque parts, but really, don't all the best clubs these days? I can't tell you how much I enjoyed it.
Today we plan on attending the Blue Pyramid Club tonight (although I do wish I could talk them into returning to the Gargoyle Club) and I am hoping to entice my compatriots to Madame Toussard's Waxwork Museum this afternoon. I remember how eerily lifelike the mannequins were on my honeymoon and have no doubt that the others would enjoy it.
Yours wistfully,
Rose
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