by Beth Byers
“Oh, yes, darling. I’m going to tell her that you finally got the nerve to kiss me, and then we’ll definitely talk about that for the remainder of the drive. Prepare to blush, Jacob, because I’ll be singing your praises with more passion than our beloved tenor. She may even forget about the opera entirely with this little bit of news. I’ve been whining about getting you to kiss me for three months. Don’t be surprised if I take an ad in the paper announcing it. It’s front page news.”
He squeezed her hand. “I’m delighted that you’re delighted, but I hardly think the rest of London gives two hoots about the blossoming love affair between a Scotland Yard inspector and an investigative journalist from The Daily News.”
“The residents of London care about what the newspapers tell them to care about. I’m simply going to inform them that they should definitely care about us. I’m certain ours will be a love affair that is held in high esteem like that of Queen Victoria and her beloved Prince Albert.”
He laughed out loud at that. “You do have a fanciful imagination, Julia Barlow. By the way, did you know that the word Barlow, in some circles, is a colloquialism used to describe a dowdy girl who is obsessed with purity?”
It was Julia’s turn to laugh. “Whoever came up with that definition has never met me. Perhaps it is my mother and her wishful thinking that brought about that particular association.” She watched him, disturbed by a thought. “I don’t suppose it bothers you very much that I’m not particularly conservative?”
“Not even a little bit, love. You are a force to be reckoned with, that is for certain, but I wouldn’t change a bit about you. Well, perhaps your tendency to steal files from the Yard and your insistence upon disregarding my council. Your rebellion for the sake of rebellion is quite enchanting, when it isn’t driving me mad. I want you to remain as you are, especially alive. Simply stay alive and out of too much trouble, and I’ll be a happy man. I daresay happier than even Frankie will be at the end of this evening.”
Jacob pulled her hand up to his lips and kissed the back of it, then released his grip to steer into the long drive at Mattie’s residence.
“You’ll love me just as long as I stay alive,” Julia said with a smile. “Very good, then, I’ll give it my best shot, Inspector. Now, you wait here. I’ll run up and collect Mattie. I am beside myself with anticipation. When you see the details Frankie’s considered in this, you’ll be utterly amazed. It’s all the more fascinating that he was able to pull this off without any family money.”
She raced up the steps to Mattie’s front door, feeling practically like she was flying. Tonight was going to be simply perfect, not only for Mattie and Frankie, but for her and Jacob.
Chapter Two
February 14, 1921
South Kensington, London
During the drive, Julia filled Mattie’s ear with every detail of her and Jacob’s new, official courtship and the two women practically vibrated with enthusiasm. They’d parked the auto and walked toward their destination, one woman on each of Jacob’s arms. Julia assumed that he wasn’t at all unhappy with the arrangement. After all, two beautiful women by his side couldn’t be the worst way to spend an evening.
“Inspector, I’m so happy that you finally found the courage to declare yourself to our lovely Julia. And on Valentine’s Day, no less. What a lovely story you’ll have to tell your children.”
Jacob smiled at Mattie’s formal congratulations and leap to their eventual parenthood. “Thank you, Mattie. Call me Jacob, please.”
Julia noticed he didn’t so much as acknowledge Mattie’s hint at parenting. It was so like Mattie to want to wrap everything up in a tidy little bow.
“Yes, Inspector, er, I mean, Jacob. It’s strange to call the police by their first name.”
“Today, I’m not the police. I’m nothing more than a lucky man escorting two beautiful women to see the opera.”
Julia chimed in. “Mattie, don’t put ideas of children into his head. I don’t even want to get married. Children are a consideration for a different day, perhaps in a decade or two, if at all.”
“A decade or two?” Mattie exclaimed. “Why, that’s ridiculous. You’d be in your forties, Julia. Women are finishing having their babies at that age, not starting.”
“Perhaps I’ll not have any children, then.”
Jacob gave her a sideways glance that told her they might not be in agreement on this topic, but that they’d discuss it later. Certainly, they’d not had a chance to discuss the issue yet. They’d only officially begun courting about an hour ago. Neither of them wanted to argue yet, so they both let it rest.
Mattie seemed to pick up on the cue that they were done talking about that particular topic because she changed the subject abruptly.
“Why aren’t we going to the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden, anyway? I’d imagined that’s where Enrico would be performing.”
Jacob glanced at Julia, and she grinned at the traces of panic she saw in his eyes. He could hunt down serial killers without so much as a wince, but ask him to keep a secret about a proposal and he was like a frightened child. Julia answered before Mattie could see the hesitancy in Jacob’s expression.
“I don’t know, Mattie. Perhaps we’ll make our way to Enrico’s dressing room this evening before the show and demand to know why he booked this venue instead of the other.”
Julia winked at Mattie, and her friend picked up on her sarcasm. She rolled her eyes dramatically.
“Oh, bother, Julia. You know what I mean. I know they hold concerts here at the Royal Albert Hall. I was expecting—since he’s so famous—that this would be at a larger venue. I’m actually quite pleased this will be in such an intimate setting. I can’t think of a more romantic Valentine’s Day, can you?”
“I can’t. Especially now that the Dock Murders have been solved. Frankie was quite helpful, you know. He and I work together rather well. There’s even been some mention of him being my sidekick.”
Mattie raised an eyebrow. “Frankie? Your sidekick? He doesn’t seem like the sidekick type to me.”
“I use sidekick in the loosest of possible meanings. More like my business partner. I’m considering my own private detective agency.”
Julia hadn’t had a chance to fill Jacob in on her and Frankie’s scheme quite yet, and she knew he’d have thoughts about it. She didn’t want to get into a heavy conversation about it right now, though. She was simply chattering to keep Mattie distracted for a few moments longer. Once they met with the rest of their group, including Frankie, Julia’s duties were done for the evening.
“Don’t worry, darling. We’ll talk about it later,” Julia said to Jacob before he had a chance to object.
Mattie smiled. “Well, I think it’s a wonderful idea. My best friend and my boyfriend working together to solve crime. He can be your bodyguard and you can keep the ladies off of him when I’m not around to do it myself.”
Julia laughed. “Frankie only has eyes for you, Mattie. You should hear him blather on about how wonderful you are. Sometimes, I wonder if the wonderful person he’s describing is actually you. He clearly doesn’t know you like I do.”
Mattie stuck her tongue out at Julia.
“He loves me better than you do, darling. Unlike you, he thinks my quirks are charming.”
“Oh yes, they are. You are—quite charming, indeed. Forgive me for teasing you, Mattie. I’m feeling a little ornery, I suppose. Can’t you just feel love in the air tonight?”
Mattie smiled. “Nothing to forgive, friend. If we can’t toy with each other, who can we toy with?”
Her blonde curls bounced as she walked, her excitement building as they neared the venue.
“Did I ever tell you how much I love this hall?”
Julia smiled at Mattie’s question. “Only about a million times. Your obsession with Prince Albert and Queen Victoria’s love affair is one for the ages, darling.”
Jacob, learning to hold his own with Julia and her chatty friends, interjected. “What is
it you find so fascinating about them, Mattie, if you don’t mind my asking?”
“I don’t mind at all. It’s one of my favorite things to talk about. Prepare yourself for the most beautiful love story in the history of Britain.”
Julia’s eyebrow’s rose. “In the history of Britain? That’s quite a statement.”
“It’s my story and I say it’s the best. Now, be quiet, Julia. I believe the Inspector was talking to me, not you.” She winked at Julia, softening the playful blow of her harsh words.
“Fine, then.” Julia winked back.
“He was her first cousin, you know,” Mattie began, “which is strange for us commoners but quite common for the royal family to marry their cousins. Anyway, they met on her seventeenth birthday. He traveled from his home in Germany. They wrote back and forth for nearly three years before she would propose to him. It had to be her to ask, of course, since nobody can legally propose to a sitting monarch. Oh, the love letters they wrote back and forth to each other are truly some of the most beautiful works of literature I’ve ever seen.” Mattie sighed. “He wrote things like ‘Even in my dreams I never imagined that I should find so much love on earth’. Of course she was mad about him. They were together for nearly twenty years before typhoid fever took his life. After he died, she retreated to Osborne House and wore black for the rest of her life. It’s said that every night she had the servants turn down his side of the bed and every morning, they were ordered to prepare his shaving supplies. She lived forty years after his death. It’s the most beautiful, tragic, and heartwarming love story in the history of the world.”
“First it was Britain and now it’s the whole world? Your impression of their situation grows more dramatic by the telling, Mattie.” Julia was playful in her banter, though. It was a touching story.
Watching Mattie’s excitement about their love story was especially thrilling because Frankie knew all of this and planned many of the details of his surprise proposal to include a nod to the royal couple.
“You were born on the day she died, weren’t you, Mattie?” Julia asked, more for Jacob’s benefit than hers.
“Yes. Same day, same year. January 22, 1901. I like to pretend sometimes—and don’t you mock me for this, Julia Barlow—that I’m Queen Victoria reincarnated. My mother even gave me Victoria as a middle name.”
“That is a truly beautiful telling,” Jacob said. “I am familiar with their story, but the way you tell it, I feel as though maybe I knew them and my heart does grieve a bit for her. What a long forty years that must have been for her. And Julia shall not make fun of you, my dear Mattie, or else I’ll put her over my knee and paddle her.”
“I’m not certain that she’d consider that much of a punishment, Jacob.”
Their conversation came to an end at that point as they turned the corner and saw the rest of their friends standing in front of the massive, gold Albert Memorial to the north of Royal Albert Hall.
Mattie’s eyes lit up, and Julia knew this was about to become the most exciting day of her life to date.
Chapter Three
February 14, 1921
Albert Memorial
Kensington Gardens, London
Mattie raced ahead of Julia and Jacob to embrace Frankie, who swept her up in his arms and spun her around. Once her feet were firmly back on the ground, he kissed her quite thoroughly, then handed her a bouquet of white and purple flowers.
“Violets and snowdrops!” Mattie exclaimed. “It’s beautiful!”
Julia knew that violets were one of Queen Victoria’s favorite flowers, often mentioned in her journals, which Mattie had spent a lifetime obsessing over, and the snowdrop was what the queen carried in her wedding bouquet because they were a favorite of Prince Albert’s. Julia wondered if Mattie had noted those details, thus beginning to guess the surprise, but she seemed to be engrossed with Frankie more than the queen at the present moment.
She watched Mattie kiss him again before they turned their focus to the rest of the group. Julia had never seen Mattie so happy, and the night hadn’t even begun yet.
Edith, Julia’s childhood best friend and the group instigator, hugged Mattie next.
“Glad you could make it, Mattie. Don’t forget you have friends, in addition to your boyfriend.”
Mattie pinched Edith’s cheeks affectionately. “You are quite welcome. Although, I dare say if you kissed me as well as Frankie does, you’d not have to remind me of your presence.”
Julia loved the way their group loved and teased each other. She was feeling especially sentimental, maybe because she knew what was coming for Mattie, and maybe because she was so enamored with Jacob, but regardless of the reason, she felt she needed to acknowledge her gratitude for her friends.
“Aren’t we just the luckiest people in the whole world? I’m so happy to be here celebrating Valentine’s Day with my best friends in all the world.”
“Hear, hear,” Jimmie responded. He pulled Julia close into an embrace and whispered in her ear. “I see you’ve made up with your Inspector friend.”
Julia kissed his cheek and nodded. Opal was next, her beautiful auburn locks shimmering in the rising moonlight. Daylight was fading and this twilight hour felt magical.
Julia lived with Opal and her brother Oscar, but they’d not seen each other all day. “What have you been up to, Opal? I looked for you earlier.”
“Edith and I had errands that took most of the day, so we readied ourselves at her house. We came together and only arrived before you.”
Errands was probably a code word for “things to surprise Mattie,” so Julia didn’t press her any further for details.
“Oscar, it’s lovely to see you, darling. I didn’t know you and Cecil were back from your latest adventure.”
“We arrived this afternoon. We couldn’t miss a chance to see Mattie’s favorite tenor, now could we? I do think Cecil might be more excited about this performance than even Mattie. He’s been chattering about it incessantly all day.”
After she hugged Oscar, she hugged Cecil. “You do love the arts in all its form, don’t you?”
Cecil laughed and took a bow. “This is certainly more refined than our usual happenings in Soho, but a lovely art form, nonetheless, even if it is restrained.”
Mattie pretended to pout. “Cecil, the opera is far from restrained. The music, the lyrics, even if can’t understand them half the time, the feeling in your body as it understands the story being told even before your mind does—that is exquisite, Cecil, and the absolute opposite of restrained. Refined, maybe, compared to your cabaret, but restrained? Definitely not.”
“Fine, fine, Mattie. You are fun to tease about opera. Perhaps you were a trained soprano in a former life. Now, shall we? We mustn’t keep Enrico waiting!”
Cecil looped his arm through Mattie’s and led her off in the direction of the hall. Julia looked at Frankie, who quickly nodded. This was part of the plan, then.
Everyone fell in line behind Cecil and Mattie, and Julia and Jacob slipped in at the back of the friendly procession next to Frankie.
“Is everything set, Frankie?” She kept her voice low. “I’m not sure if she put together the significance of the flowers. Are you?”
He shrugged. “If she did, she didn’t let on, but eventually, she’ll put all the pieces together. And yes, everything is set. I picked up the ring this morning. Do you want to see?”
Julia nodded. This was the icing on the cake of today’s surprise.
Frankie looked around and, once certain that Mattie was well out of range, he opened the small ring box.
A gleaming gold ring fashioned into the shape of a serpent with an emerald setting shone up at her. Julia gasped quietly.
“Oh, Frankie. This is simply incredible. Mattie is going to love it. It looks so similar to the Queens’s wedding ring.”
“It certainly cost much less than Victoria’s, but my father’s cousin is a jeweler, so he was able to fashion this for me. I do think it turned out
well, for an imitation, don’t you?”
Julia nodded. “You know what this feels like, Frankie? It feels a bit like we are solving a mystery, except in reverse. We’re creating the mystery. Well, you are. Clues placed everywhere for Mattie to notice and a race to see if you can get to the actual proposal before she puts the clues together and solves the mystery. This is the best party you’ve ever held. Thank you for doing this for her. She will never forget this day as long as she lives, I don’t think.”
“I hope not. The way she looks at me, even though my family has no money or status, like I’m the most beautiful thing she’s ever seen…I want her to feel the way I feel every day when I look into her eyes.”
“You are such a hopeless romantic, Frankie. I couldn’t be happier for the two of you.”
“Thank you, Julia. That means so much coming from you.”
He kissed her cheek then skipped ahead to catch up to Mattie.
Jacob and Julia followed the group, the magical feeling of love and romance prodding their every step.
Chapter Four
February 14, 1921
Royal Albert Hall
Kensington Gardens, London
When they arrived at the grand doors that were the entrance to Royal Albert Hall, the small group was greeted by a full staff who took their coats, offered champagne, and led them to their seats. Frankie told Julia earlier that he had pre-assigned the seats to maximize the experience.
Mattie was sitting in the very center of the front row with Frankie to her right. On her left sat Opal, prepared to assist with each phase of the surprise. Oscar sat next to Opal, then Cecil. On Frankie’s right was Jimmie and then Edith, and finally Julia and Jacob.
They were the only attendees in the venue, and once shown to their seats they all chatted about the lovely evening, the beauty of the venue, and the fame of Enrico Caruso.
“Front row!” Mattie exclaimed. “How did you pull this off, Frankie?”