The Gilded Lily by Irina Shapiro EPUB & PDF – eBook Details Online
- Status: Available for Free Download
- Author: Irina Shapiro
- Language: English
- Genre: Historical Mysteries
- Format: PDF / EPUB
- Size: 2 MB
- Price: Free
Nicole
November 2022
I breathed a sigh of relief when the workmen finally finished. As
with any project, it had taken longer than was strictly necessary to complete
the job, but here I was at last, in my very own study. The past few months
had been a whirlwind with the release of my latest book, The Lost Tower,
the promotional interviews and appearances, and the purchase of the house
that had enabled us to finally move out of my cramped flat and into our own
home. Kyle and I now each had our own workspace, Ava had her own
bedroom, and we even had a sizable garden where we could set up a swing
for Ava and have drinks on summer evenings.
Sitting at my newly delivered desk, I leaned back in the ergonomic
chair and surveyed my little kingdom. According to the specs we had
found, this room had been the library at one time, but in its last incarnation,
it had been the owner’s gym, complete with a Peloton bike and a rowing
machine. Even though the room had been repurposed and modernized over
time, it had retained something of its Victorian opulence, evident in the
crown moldings, walnut wainscot that the previous owner clearly hadn’t
been able to bring himself to rip out, and the fussy mantel hewn from pale
green Italian marble, which turned out to have a long, deep crack down the
side. I would have gladly replaced the mantel with an identical piece, but
the quote had been astronomical, so Kyle and I had decided to go with
something a bit more practical and less ostentatious. I had to admit that
although the fireplace didn’t look as grand as the original, it fit the room
perfectly and reflected something of its new owners.
I turned back to my laptop, and that was when I saw it. The mason
had mentioned that he had found something wedged between the wall and
the mantel when he’d taken off the cracked piece and had left the item on
my desk. I picked up the object and examined it carefully, turning it over in
my hands. It was a small leather folder. Although old and cracked, it was
easy to see that it must have been beautiful in its day. The black leather was
embossed with a silver pattern, the ends protected by metal fittings. Even
before I opened it, I knew exactly what I was looking at. It was a
photograph frame, the kind popular in the late nineteenth and early
twentieth centuries and, although not valuable in itself, usually of great
sentimental value to its owner.
I gingerly opened the cover. The inside was as elaborate as the
outside, the leather tooled and embossed on one side and the oval
photograph framed by a pattern of delicate filigreed silver. Perhaps because
the case had been wedged behind the mantel and remained shut for decades,
the interior had remained well preserved. The silver wasn’t tarnished, and
the glass covering the photograph was clear and clean. I couldn’t help but
smile at the young woman that looked back at me.
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