Read Online A Royal Likeness by Christine Trent - Free Book Online

roof?
    Furthermore, what dishonor would it do Nicholas’s memory for her to go to their home under a cloud of suspicion, if she was pressured into an unwanted marriage with his twin?
    She shivered with distaste.
    “Is everything all right, Marguerite?” Claudette’s bright blue eyes peered at her in concern. “Are you having regrets?”
    “Not at all. I’m still just coming to terms with the past, I guess. Foolish notions. I’m fine, Aunt Claudette, I really am. And I promise to try very hard to move forward with my life.”
    “I know you’ll do very well under Marie’s tutelage. Just think, William. A renowned waxworker in the family. Why, she’ll be famous!”
    “More famous than you?” William’s voice was full of amusement.
    “Infinitely more famous. Waxworks have been fashionable in Paris for years and you know how you Englishmen are always years behind French styles. You’ll now be up-to-date in your smart entertainments.” Claudette gave William a sly look out of the corner of her eye.
    “Is that right, Lady Greycliffe? I believe we’ll have more discussion about
entertainment
after seeing Marguerite settled in.”
    They teased just like she and Nicholas once did. How muchshe admired this couple, still in adoration of one another after nearly a dozen years of marriage, childbearing, and the daily routines of life. Marguerite felt a sudden and sharp pang of longing for her husband. The grief churned and twisted for several moments, then was gone. William and Claudette had not appeared to notice her pain. Heavens, was she finally recovering?
    “Pay no mind to William, Marguerite. He gets more and more foolish the older he gets. Oh, we’re almost there. Would you just look at that!”
    The Lyceum Theatre, where Madame Tussaud had her wax exhibition, was located on Wellington Street, just off the Strand. As the carriage pulled to a stop in front of the building, Marguerite looked up in amazement. The theatre was built to resemble an ancient Greek temple. Six columns perched on black marble bases soared up into the air, supporting an overhang covering a large expanse of portico. Inside the great portico hung four enormous chandeliers, an outdoor extravagance. The building behind rose even higher than the entryway, gleaming from new sand-colored paint.
    What must the interior be like? she wondered.
    As if reading her mind Claudette said, “I hear that the inside is large enough to hold a circus. I certainly hope there isn’t one in there now. I don’t think the smell of animal droppings is quite fitting with Marie’s elegant creations.”
    The three of them climbed out of the carriage and smoothed the wrinkles out of their clothes. William instructed the driver to return in an hour, then they went in to find Madame Tussaud’s exhibition, still known as Curtius’s Cabinet of Wonders, even though Curtius had been dead for nine years.
    The interior was as glamorous as the entry suggested it might be. Crystal chandeliers dangled in resplendent brilliance from the lofty ceiling painted in various Greek allegories. The bright red carpet had a random pattern in it, done to look as though crystal baubles had dropped from the chandeliers and shattered on the floor. It was breathtaking.
    After several inquiries of passersby, they learned that Tussaud’s exhibition was located next to Philipsthal’s Fantastic PhantasmagoriaShow. They climbed a wide set of steps to another floor in a wing off the center of the building.
    Here they discovered the entrance to Philipsthal’s show. They were greeted by a large sign proclaiming:
    PHILIPSTHAL’S FANTASTIC PHANTASMAGORIA SHOW A GRAND CABINET OF OPTICAL AND MECHANICAL CURIOSITIES AMAZING INVENTIONS! WONDERS FROM AROUND THE WORLD! BE AMONG THE FIRST TO COMMUNICATE WITH SPIRITS FROM THE BEYOND. PAY A VISIT TO A SORCERER AT WORK. FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY! And in very tiny type beneath all of this: CABINET OF WONDERS IN GALLERY TO THE LEFT
    “Communicating with