Chapter Seven
Something About Us
“Gracious me, sir! Are you sure?”
“As sure as along as the sky continues to be grey in London” said the charming gentleman as he gave a charming positive smile as he leaned slightly closer over the polished wooden counter.
“But sir, it is unheard of!”
“A man buying a bag of sweets?” he questioned amusingly as he gave the shopkeeper a playful quizzical look as he arched his brow.
The shopkeeper looked quite nervous and mistook his playful sarcasm for seriousness’, as his broad forehead began to gleam as nervous sweat run down the side of his head. As he spoke with panic in voice as he looked into the eyes of the most richest powerful man in London and perhaps the whole of England. “Oh, no sir. I mean that particular brand,” as he pointed at the small brown paper bag between them, he looked back into the gentleman’s eyes once more “are you truly sure sire?”
He could see the look of a nervous breakdown in the old shopkeeper and wanted to spare him further panic; he must not get many richly engrossed customers such as he and certainly did not know how to take him. He gave the poor man a friendly charming smile hoping it would put him at ease as he said reassuringly “as sure as I can be my dear man, now how much it that be?”
The shopkeeper could not help himself but nod if the customer was sure then he did not wish to oblige further to change the man’s mind. “A tupence sir” replied as he worked his sum to register on his counter as he pressed the large typewriting mechanism as it appeared to the customer of the sum he declared.
He waited patiently awaiting payment as his purchase stayed between them on the counter as he watched his most powerful customer dwelled into his pockets of long black coat fiddling about for loose change that he was unaccustomed of having. Until the look of luck spread over the gentleman’s face as if he found hidden treasure in his pocket as he pulled out a single tupence and handed it over. As the shopkeeper smiled at him as he put the coin into the counter and closed it he asked after taking a glimpse at the bag of sweets one more, “sir are you sure you wish to carry such a troublesome quantity sir? Surely a gentleman such as yourself wishes to roam and look in and around London? I can get my lad to personally deliver it to you so it does not become a nuisance.”
The gentleman’s smile never wavered from the kind shopkeeper as he gently moved his hand to the small bag of sweets, until his hand laid gentle over as he said ready to proclaim his purchase “it is no trouble at all my good man, and now I must bid you a good day my fellow man for I must take my leave. I hope business continues to prosper.”
He then gracefully took the bag of sweets and made his leave but as he reached the door, the shopkeeper called out in politeness as the gentleman stood still as he turned round with his hand still fast on the door handle “and to you too sir.” With that he smiled at the shopkeeper once more tipped his long shiny black top hat and made his leave with his purchase in hand.
Exiting the Confectionary as the door slowly began to shut behind him as the twinkle of the shop bell rang once more; he was again exposed to the grim conflicting weather of London. He found March to be a particularly disturbed time of the year as was always an undecided month whether it could not make its own mind what it wanted to be, if it was sunny it was cold, if it was like today all gloomy and chilly it did not know whether it wanted to rain as large black intimidating clouds began to cover the grey sky above and submerge London with plummeting pouring rain.
He looked up at the dark sky for a moment trying to analyse and observe its decided course and came to his own conclusion whether it would or not, either way he did not mind the rain or the chill. For he did not even feel the cold against his naked unprotected skin for he felt extremely warm with or without his average black long coat, in fact he wished not to wear one at all for he did not need its purpose. But he knew at times like these people would assume he was a madman walking around in such weather as they did when he spoke of his mad unethical ideas which continued to make him famous and continuously rich. How they would gawk at him when his ‘mad ideas’ as they would say became another worldwide accomplishments, their faces made him smile and smirk as he began to walk away from the shop with his bag of sweets in hand at his side.
आप पढ़ रहे हैं
Honeycombs and Bittersweets
काल्पनिकTwo ancient families have been at war for over a millennium their feud kept the two apart trying to out run each other with their businesses. Both families were cursed by their greed and strategies to ruin one another by a witch. Where the battle of...
