Page 20 of Don’t Wake a Sleeping Lyon (The Lyon’s Den Connected)
B ack on the street, Alfred waved for a hack. He loaded the parcels with a dizzying number of new dresses and more accessories than Ada had ever owned into the cabin.
“Are we not getting on?” Ada asked when Alfred gave the coachman his address and sent him away to deliver the parcels.
“My brother can let him in. He should be home by now. We have another stop to make.” Alfred reached his arm out and Ada hooked her hand into the lovely spot she’d come to admire as a symbol of strength and support.
They walked down Oxford Street toward Piccadilly, but Ada was afraid to speak. In limbo between love and luck, she didn’t want to spill any of the good fortune that Alfred’s attentions bestowed upon her.
When they reached a spot with fewer people, Alfred said, “I’ve been thinking. This is blackmail, entrapment, theft, fraud…These people—Silvers and his daughter—deserve to be…”
“It’s why I work as a puffer. And why Aunt Bessie is looking for a match for me. I want to break away.”
That gave Alfred pause. “You’re not going back there.” He grabbed her hand with a tight grip and interlaced their fingers, trying to find the least scandalous way to press a part of her to his heart while nodding at the passers-by.
Ada cherished the leisurely walk along Oxford Street. They turned left soon and strolled along Regent Street. What Alfred had said lingered in her mind. She should have asked. She rarely shied away from questions, even difficult ones. Yet, she’d simply accepted her fate. She’d been naive to think that the Silvers would look after her when her father died. She let emotion destroy her good sense and allowed the Silvers to take advantage of her state. There hadn’t even been a proper funeral.
In her sadness, she’d been initially grateful to focus on housework, plus, she wanted to help earn her keep. But when Charlotte had pushed the routine toward more menial chores, Ada bristled and fumed, but never questioned Charlotte’s motives. By then, Dylan and the other servants had befriended and helped her. Out of appreciation for their support, Ada formed new friendships. They’d gambled for fun and kept her company. As time had passed, though, mourning turned into frustration.
“You should play poker professionally!” Dylan had once joked. “You’re more skilled than all the men.”
That was when Ada first sought Aunt Bessie out. Ada always tried to look to the future. It was in her nature to defy complacency. She saw that now. She’d allowed Charlotte’s bitter moroseness to distract her. Walking alongside Alfred, Ada mulled over her shortcomings and found a new resolve. She had to do something about her situation. Defeat was not an option.
But before she could ponder a path forward, they arrived at a lovely series of jewelry shops, the facades framing sparkling window displays. They stopped at a tall corner store on Regent Street. “I have to go in for a moment, do you want to come? Or do you want to be surprised?”
“No surprises, please. I’ve had enough for today, I think.” She looked up at him and tried to smile.
He shrugged. “You think? All right then. Let’s go.” He led her into the shop. Ada’s jaw dropped. So many sparkling pieces! She moved to stand beside Alfred at a glass-enclosed counter.
At 35 Regent Street, as soon as she and Alfred walked in, Ada forgot everything in her past and let hope for the future fill her heart.
“Is Arnold here?” Alfred asked the clerk behind the glass counter.
“Alfred, good day! Who have you brought?” A good-looking man appeared from a side door; he was, dark-haired and handsome. He bowed to Ada, took her hand, and placed a kiss on her knuckles. She gave him a slight smile and he gently let her hand go. Then he led them to an area in the back of the store bustling with activity.
“What is this place?” Ada asked.
“Our workshop,” the man said. “Would you like some rugelach?” His eyes darted to Alfred’s as if he’d misspoken.
“It’s all right, Arnold. Zi iz eyne fun aundz.” She’s one of us.
They were all Jews?
“In fact, that’s why I am here.”
“I thought so as soon as I saw you,” Arnold said.
Alfred put his hand on Ada’s waist in a manner that was both protective and proud.
“ Mazal tov!” Arnold congratulated them and waved to a younger man. “Ben, bring us some diamond settings, please. The ones from the vault.”
Ada let out a small yelp and clasped both hands over her chest.
“You said you didn’t want to be surprised.” Alfred brought his other hand to her waist and blinked in a boyish mischievous way that made her heart leap. “Help me choose an engagement ring for you? Please?”
“But Alfred, are you quite certain?” Was she dreaming? “What about your down payment?”
He took both of her hands in his and peered down at her. “I’ve decided. I don’t want a practice without you in my life, Ada.”
Her heart soared. How could yesterday have been such a nightmare and today…
Before she could even finish the thought, a young man with an understated dark kippah on the back of his head appeared. If she didn’t know what the small, round covering meant, she wouldn’t have noticed it. What really caught her attention, however, was the dark-green velvet tray he held up and then carried to a small workbench at a window.
“Try them and take your time,” he said warmly. “My heartfelt congratulations.” Then he crossed his arms behind his back. “Alfred, let me know if you require any alterations in size or settings.”
“You made these?” Ada’s eyes were glued to the diamond rings.
“Some, but not all. The trays get mixed sometimes.” He bent over the table. “These two rows are about a carat each, two in this one, and the baguettes make up no more than three in these.” He glanced up at Alfred, “I believe you may need something spectacular. Would you like to see a 3.2 caret with a higher six-prong setting that I set with pavé to the side rather than at the top of the shank?”
Alfred blushed but before he could answer, Arnold returned. “It would be our pleasure to consider the difference in the cost as a wedding gift if you allow us the honor.”
Did everyone in town owe Alfred?
Even though he flushed with embarrassment, Alfred nodded. And before Ada knew what was happening, the jewelers had measured her left ring finger and fitted her with a dazzling round solitaire that rose nearly a centimeter above the band. The side stones formed a halo around the central diamond with another row of smaller stones adorning the prongs.
“Will you need a box for that?” Arnold asked with a knowing smile. He was a little older than Alfred but spoke with the experience of a jeweler who’d seen many happy couples exchange vows and bands.
Alfred took Ada’s hand and placed a kiss on the knuckle of her ring finger. “I hope she won’t ever take it off again.”
Unable to speak, she burst into a wide smile.
“Ada,” Alfred started. “Will you…”
The bustling people around them stilled. Whatever he said after that, Ada couldn’t hear for the spinning in her head. There was only one answer to the question. When she nodded, Alfred pulled her into his arms and kissed her quickly but strongly on the mouth.
The room erupted in cheering and Ada couldn’t help but cry with joy. She was still busy wiping the tears from her face when someone—Ada didn’t catch the name in the flurry of congratulations—sent them off in their private carriage. If she didn’t have the proof of the magical morning resting on her finger, Ada would have thought she’d been hallucinating.
How Alfred had changed her life since that night at the rouge et noir table. How marvelously aflutter her heart had become since he’d promised to spend a lifetime by her side.
She couldn’t have refused a man so handsome and kind. Every time he looked at her, his eyes softened with love. But could she live up to the bride a man like him deserved? Even the finest shops and jewelers held Alfred in the highest esteem.
“Please come home with me,” he said in the carriage. “Don’t go back there. We’ll marry as soon as possible and live with Seth until I can afford a house.”
Ada swallowed and looked through the window. She wanted to stay. Alfred was all she’d ever dreamed of in a man, but so many unexpected variables tugged at her bliss.
“I need to make another stop.”
“Is that a yes?”