Great Historical Novels by Fay Weldon Read Free Book Online

progress have you made with Mr Talbot’s mysterious potion? I admit that I am baffled by it, though it has captured the imagination of London as thoroughly as a scandal.’ He was looking at her as though her opinion on such things mattered.
    ‘It does seem to be the latest sensation, doesn’t it?’ Photogenic drawing had captivated her from the moment Laurence, Josiah’s cousin, showed her his experiments with the calotype process. After that, she begged Laurence to instruct her every time he visited. She still found it extraordinary that light could pass through a small brown box and form a picture on the wall opposite. But to now be able to transfer the light onto paper, as Fox Talbot’s famous innovation could, was simply wondrous. Laurence had been lodging in the house since the news of Josiah’s death, and the entire third floor was now their calo-type laboratory.
    ‘Speaking of photogenic drawing, what of our experiment?’ Mr Montgomery was smiling. He had no idea what he was asking of her. She was surprised, also, that he considered the experiment to be theirs . He had been merely one of her subjects.Mr Montgomery was conveniently distracted by a customer. How could he understand? Early in the spring, just before Josiah had sailed for Calcutta, Antonia had decided that she wanted to take her experimentation a step further; to capture a negative image via its exposure to light. On a bright day soon after, several of Josiah’s colleagues, including Mr Montgomery, gathered at Cloak Lane to discuss a joint venture. Antonia had, that day, not only asked the gentlemen gathered to donate cloth scraps and factory ends to the Convict Ship Committee, but also to be her subjects. In the spirit of supporting the new science (or perhaps to humour her), five gentlemen, including Josiah, allowed themselves to be arranged in a tableau in the garden.
    The negative was now carefully preserved in a silk wallet, as advised by Laurence. The paper looked no different at all after its exposure, though he said this was normal. And now, with the recent arrival of her licence, Antonia finally had permission to bring the image to paper. Or, to use the expression coined by Mr Talbot, to make a representation. How could she, though? How could she bear to see Josiah’s face gazing back at her, as though a ghostly portrait had been painted after his death . One day she would feel brave enough to expose the negative, and Josiah’s face, to the light. She would be exposing her heart to the truth in a more tangible way than her faith had ever done. Grief, Isaac said, eventually evolved from refutal to acceptance. He would know.
    Mr Beckwith returned from the storeroom lugging two bulging sacks. While he fastened them, Antonia noted that Mr Montgomery had donated some exceedingly high grade remainders. He had been more generous than usual since Josiah’s death. For this, Antonia liked him even more. Too much, perhaps. The pattern on a roll of jacquard caught herattention and she drew closer to examine it. When she looked up Mr Montgomery was watching her.
    ‘Wonderful, isn’t it? French of course, but one day I will have my very own collection.’ He was interrupted by another customer, so Antonia thanked Mr Beckwith and left hastily. She was not herself.
    When she was back in the quiet of her carriage, she ordered her thoughts. She might soon have another lodger. By Ryan’s description, his niece Rhia was an unconventional young woman. Had she been hasty in inviting a stranger and a foreigner into her house? Antonia sighed at her own fearfulness. She should be hopeful rather than anxious. It would be enjoyable to have a female companion with whom she could discuss the trade, rather than the quantities of vinegar and linseed oil required for furniture polish.
    Antonia delivered her cloth at the Meeting House and took weak tea with the sombre British Ladies Society, as the convict committee liked to call themselves. Quakerism had, at