Ethan turned them back toward the direction Sophie had come from.
“Isn’t the Crystal Palace the other way?” she asked.
Ethan smiled. “I don’t think you realize how large Hyde Park is. It’s over a mile walk to the Crystal Palace from here.”
They walked to the street and he hailed a hansom cab. For a moment, Sophie wondered if it was wise to go off with a strange man, even in an open carriage on a public street. She placed her hand in her pocket and touched her reaming tool—she could defend herself if need be. Sophie looked at Ethan Miller’s handsome face and he smiled back at her. She felt unaccountably warm and entirely safe in his company.
When the horse and hansom cab came to a stop at their destination, Ethan jumped out of it and then offered his hand to her.
The Crystal Palace was even more beautiful up close than she had imagined it would be. It was an enormous building made entirely out of iron and glass. In the middle there was a semicircular transept facade, and below it were three levels of crystal arches.
“It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen!” Sophie exclaimed. “It’s like a magical palace from a fairy tale.”
“Wait until you see what’s inside,” Ethan said, offering his arm again. Sophie eagerly took it, and they wove through people and carriages.
Ethan purchased them each a ticket for five shillings, and as they entered the Crystal Palace, again Sophie’s breath was taken away. In the center, there was a pink crystal fountain that was as tall as four grown men standing on each other’s shoulders. Sculptures surrounded the fountain, including one of Queen Victoria in all her majesty, and two more sculptures of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert on horseback. All around there were flowers and planted palm trees. Sophie felt like she’d stepped into a different world. In all directions, there was so much to see. So much to explore.
“They say there are over a hundred thousand objects on display,” Ethan whispered in her ear.
“How could you possibly see them all in one afternoon?” Sophie exclaimed.
“I don’t think you could,” Ethan said, opening his official catalogue from Messrs. Spicer and Clowes. “The exhibits are in four main categories: raw materials, machinery, manufacturers, and fine arts. Which should we visit first?”
“Machinery!” Sophie said eagerly. She tugged on his arm, pulling him toward the biggest exhibit of all, a massive hydraulic press, designed by engineer Robert Stevenson.
There was a man standing by it, and Sophie lost not a moment in asking how it worked. The man explained that the hydraulic press was used to lift the heavy iron tubes for Stephenson’s Britannia Tubular Bridge. She was dumbstruck when he told her that each metal tube weighed 1,144 tons and yet the press could be operated by only one person.
Sophie and Ethan also saw Nasmyth’s steam hammer, which was so delicate it could lightly crack an eggshell; steam-driven plows; adding machines; astronomical clocks; electric clocks; marine chronometers—clocks for ships; machines that could mass-produce nails and pens; a machine that could print five thousand paper copies an hour; textile machines; and every possible type of steam engine.
Ethan led her to a refreshments area that was separated from the exhibits by an ornately scrolled wrought iron fence. He helped her into a seat at a small round table near the statue of an angel and underneath a sprawling tree. A waiter with a shiny, round face and wearing a blue jacket came to take their order.
“I never dreamed so much of this was already possible in 1851,” she said, awestruck. They sipped lemonade and ate Bath buns purchased from Messrs. Schweppes. “It seems like something out of my imagination … My old neighbors in Lyme Regis would never believe me if I tried to tell them.”
“You’re from Lyme Regis?” Ethan asked.
“Yes,” Sophie said. “But before then I lived in Sidmouth.”
“You must like the sea.”
Sophie sipped her lemonade and nodded.
“Is your family still in Lyme Regis?”
“No—I mean, I’m an orphan. My father died before I was born, and my mother died in childbed. My sister and I have been living with Mr. and Mrs. Ellis. He was my father’s friend in the navy,” Sophie said. “But hopefully, we won’t need to impose on them any longer.”
“Then you’ll be staying with your aunt in London permanently?” Ethan asked.
“Only for the season,” Sophie replied. “My aunt is Lady Bentley, and she means to find me a suitable husband. But I have other plans.”
“What plans?”
“Promise me that you won’t laugh.”
“I could never laugh at you,” Ethan said.
She took a breath. “I want to be an inventor.”
“Of what?”
“I’m not sure,” Sophie admitted with a slight shrug. “I just like to see how things work, and I think with the proper training and materials I could create new inventions. I’m hoping to find a master inventor at the exhibition to apprentice myself to.”
“I don’t know of any inventor who apprentices ladies.”
“You’re probably right,” Sophie said with a sigh. She set her glass down on the table, folded her arms, and scowled. “They only apprentice females for sewing or haberdashery. I doubt if even a clockmaker would take me on, though I know everything there is to know about clocks.”
“My grandfather owns several factories,” Ethan said with a shy smile. “I could ask him if he knows of anyone looking for an apprentice.”
Sophie found herself softening despite her frustration. “Do you work at one of the factories?”
“Yes and no,” Ethan said. “I don’t work at any of the factories, but I handle all the finances associated with them.”
“You must be quite clever,” Sophie said. “What type of factories?”
“All sorts—cotton, wool, paper, machine tools, rolling mills, foundries, and locomotive works.”
“Maybe I could see one of the factories someday,” Sophie said wistfully. Then, realizing she’d rudely invited herself, she hurried to add, “I’m afraid today that I keep speaking without thinking. You don’t have to take me anywhere else. Who knows, we may never see each other again after today. London is such a large city.”
“I hope that is not the case,” Ethan said. “In fact, I’m sure it will not be.”
“How so?” Sophie asked, and found herself leaning toward him.
“My cousin Charles was your aunt’s ward,” Ethan said.
“You don’t say,” Sophie said. “Then I suppose you know where I live, too. I’m glad one of us does. With all the turning around we did, I wasn’t sure I could find it again.”
“It’s getting late,” Ethan said, looking at his now perfectly working pocket watch. “I should probably escort you home.”
“Can we see the Koh-i-noor diamond first?” Sophie asked. “I don’t know if I’ll get to come back, and I’m simply agog to see it.”
She stood up and Ethan offered his arm. He led her away from the refreshments area to the pavilion where the largest diamond in the world was on display, guarded by a clutch of navy-clad policemen. The diamond lay in a case that looked like a birdcage. It didn’t sparkle, even though it was lit by a dozen gas jets.