his sweater. That’s when he felt it. A small, waxy disc was stuck to his finger and when he pulled it out of the bag he stopped in his tracks. It was the wax seal from the message and it bore the imprint of Queen Elizabeth I. There, in his hand, he held the blood-red wax he had seen the sovereign seal just before she handed the message to her courtier who then handed it to Edward. It could not be. And yet it was. Thus began Edward’s journey to find the truth and ultimately, to become the concierge. He had learned about portals—places rich with history that opened up to times in their own past. TheWillard was one such portal. There were many hotel portals in various cities around the world, but there were also libraries, like the one he had found at Cambridge. There were also museums, historic homes, government buildings, trains, ships and just about anywhere else where people had gathered in times gone by. Through these portals, other guides like Chase came and went with their travelers, all of them looking for the tears in the fabric of the past.
C HAPTER 10
OLIVIA FORDHAM
1913
Very little ever rattled Olivia Fordham. Having spent nearly five decades navigating the worlds of both high society and high finance she could be counted on to react to almost anything with aplomb. That’s why she didn’t jump to any conclusions when she first saw the traffic jam of classic automobiles. She pulled a chair over to the window and watched the scene unfold on the street below her for some time. She saw the angry drivers get out of their cars and shake their fists at one another but even that anger seemed tempered. The men were dressed in dapper suits with hats and the women wore tailored dresses with wool coats and gloves. Most wore large hats with embellishments like flowers and feathers, much like what one would see today at the Kentucky Derby. Before long, the police showed up to untangle the mess and send everyone on their way. The officer looked like a character from a Charlie Chaplin movie, but he did his job effectively and traffic began to flow again, all of it cars and a few trucks of a bygone era. Olivia turned her attention to the pedestrians strolling the sidewalks and crossing the streets. There were more well-dressed patrons like those she had seen in the cars but there were also young boys that brought to mind the term
street urchins
. They were wearing ragged pants and overcoats and had flat, wool caps on their heads and dirt on their faces. Olivia didn’t know why but she found herself thinking they must be up to no good. There were governesseswalking their young charges and shooing away the urchins when they got too close to the young ladies in their lace finery. Some of the women had dresses that went all the way to the ground but many ladies had hemlines that ended at their ankles revealing delicate slipper heels.
Olivia watched for a while and noticed there were a few horse-drawn carriages mingling with the automobiles. When she had seen enough she went to straighten her bed and get dressed. She went to the closet where the maids had unpacked her things and was only slightly surprised to see that the clothes hanging in the closet were not the ones her New York maids had packed. Hanging there she saw long dresses like those on the street outside, some long enough to touch the floor when she walked and not a single pair of trousers. There were shoes with tiny buttons across the bridge and slippers with demure heels. She also noticed several hat boxes stacked on the shelf and when she examined their contents she found a collection of large, extravagant hats in a variety of colors. There were even a couple of fascinators with radiating plumes and simple combs for placing in the hair. These would look right at home at a royal wedding. There were beaded clutches and a couple of sensible pocketbooks and on the dressing vanity she noticed several pairs of white gloves in different lengths. She was delighted with
C HAPTER 10
OLIVIA FORDHAM
1913
Very little ever rattled Olivia Fordham. Having spent nearly five decades navigating the worlds of both high society and high finance she could be counted on to react to almost anything with aplomb. That’s why she didn’t jump to any conclusions when she first saw the traffic jam of classic automobiles. She pulled a chair over to the window and watched the scene unfold on the street below her for some time. She saw the angry drivers get out of their cars and shake their fists at one another but even that anger seemed tempered. The men were dressed in dapper suits with hats and the women wore tailored dresses with wool coats and gloves. Most wore large hats with embellishments like flowers and feathers, much like what one would see today at the Kentucky Derby. Before long, the police showed up to untangle the mess and send everyone on their way. The officer looked like a character from a Charlie Chaplin movie, but he did his job effectively and traffic began to flow again, all of it cars and a few trucks of a bygone era. Olivia turned her attention to the pedestrians strolling the sidewalks and crossing the streets. There were more well-dressed patrons like those she had seen in the cars but there were also young boys that brought to mind the term
street urchins
. They were wearing ragged pants and overcoats and had flat, wool caps on their heads and dirt on their faces. Olivia didn’t know why but she found herself thinking they must be up to no good. There were governesseswalking their young charges and shooing away the urchins when they got too close to the young ladies in their lace finery. Some of the women had dresses that went all the way to the ground but many ladies had hemlines that ended at their ankles revealing delicate slipper heels.
Olivia watched for a while and noticed there were a few horse-drawn carriages mingling with the automobiles. When she had seen enough she went to straighten her bed and get dressed. She went to the closet where the maids had unpacked her things and was only slightly surprised to see that the clothes hanging in the closet were not the ones her New York maids had packed. Hanging there she saw long dresses like those on the street outside, some long enough to touch the floor when she walked and not a single pair of trousers. There were shoes with tiny buttons across the bridge and slippers with demure heels. She also noticed several hat boxes stacked on the shelf and when she examined their contents she found a collection of large, extravagant hats in a variety of colors. There were even a couple of fascinators with radiating plumes and simple combs for placing in the hair. These would look right at home at a royal wedding. There were beaded clutches and a couple of sensible pocketbooks and on the dressing vanity she noticed several pairs of white gloves in different lengths. She was delighted with
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