Page 15 (1/2)

"You wouldn’t have ti you toed impatiently on his arm "Oh, Kev, don’t say no"

As Merripen looked down at her, he was so handsome that she felt a pleasant little ache at the pit of her stomach "How could I say no to you?" he asked softly

As he took her to the towering arched entrance of the Crystal Palace, and paid a shilling each for their ad force behind the exhibition of industrial design had been Prince Albert, ato the tiny printeditself was constructed of over a thousand iron colulass Parts of it were tall enough to encorown elm trees All totaled, there were one hundred thousand exhibits from around the world

The exhibition was important in a social sense as well as a scientific one It provided an opportunity for all classes and regions, the high and low, to le freely beneath one roof in a way that seldom happened People of all

A fashionably dressed gathering waited at the transept, or central cross-section, of the Crystal Palace None of thes "What are those people waiting for?" she asked

"Nothing," Merripen replied "They’re only here to be seen There was a sio to any of the exhibits They hed "Well, should we stand nearby and pretend to ad?"

Merripen handed her the littlethe list of courts and displays, Win said decisively, "Fabrics and textiles"

He escorted her through a crowded glass hallway into a roo size and breadth The air chattered with the sounds of looed around the room and down the center Scents of wool and dye ent Goods from Kidderminster, America, Spain, France, the Orient, filled the room with a rainbow of hues and textures… natweave, knotted pile and cut pile, looped, hooked, eloves and ran her hands over the gorgeous offerings

"Merripen, look at this!" she exclaimed "It’s a Wilton carpet Similar to Brussels, but the pile is sheared It feels like velvet, doesn’t it?"

Thenearby, said, " Wilton is beco much more affordable, now that we are able to produce it on steam-powered loo a bare hand over the soft carpet pile " Kidderow"

As the men conversed about the production of carpet on the new loo the rows of sa in their size and complexity, some made to weave fabrics, some to print patterns, some to spin tufts of wool into yarn and worsted One of thein fascination, Win are of Merripen co in the world will eventually be done by htly "If we had tiroice as much food with a fraction of the time and labor it would take to do by hand We’ve already acquired a threshing machine for the Rao there"

"You approve of these technological advances?" Win asked with a touch of surprise

"Yes, ouldn’t I?"

"The Roardless of what the Roress that will improve life for every-one else Mechanization will , food, soap… even a caipet for the floor"

"But what about the men ill lose their livelihood when a machine takes their place?"

"New industries andmore?"

Win smiled "You speak like a refore is always accoe No one can stop that"

What an adept ht Her father would have been pleased by how his Gypsy foundling had turned out

"A large workforce will be required to support all this industry," she commented "Do you suppose a sufficient nu to move to London and the other places that-"

She was interrupted by an explosive puff and a few cries of surprise fro flurry of down filled the air in a choking gust It see eddies of feathers and down over everyone in sight

Reacting swiftly, Merripen stripped off his coat and pulled it over Win, and clah this," he h the roo, soreat volumes of fluffy white down settled over the scene There were cries of delight fro and hopping to try to catch the elusive floating clumps

Merripen didn’t stop until they had reached another nave that housed a fabric court Enorlass cases had been built for displays of fabric that flowed like rivers The walls were hung with velvets, brocades, silks, cotton, , upholstery, or drapery Towering bolts of fabric were arranged in vertical rolls affixed to more display walls that for from beneath Merripen’s coat, Win took one look at hihter White down had covered his black hair and clung to his clothes like new-fallen snow

Merripen’s expression of concern changed to a scowl "I was going to ask if you had breathed any of the feather dust," he said "But judging fros see too hard

As Merripen raked his hand through the ht locks of his hair, the down beca to restrain her laughter "You’ll never… Youit worse… and you s-said I was a pigeon to be plucked…" Still chortling, she snatched his hand and tugged him into one of the fabric corridors, where they were partially concealed froht and into the shadows "Here, before anyone sees us Oh, you’re too tall for ed him to the floor with her, where he lowered to his haunches Win knelt a her bonnet, she tossed it to the side

Merripen watched Win’s face as she went to work, brushing at his shoulders and hair "You can’t be enjoying this," he said