“
Drat,” Pandora exclaimed, examining a handful of puzzle pieces, “I can’t find Luton.”
“Don’t concern yourself with it,” West told her. “We can leave out Luton entirely, and England will be none the worse for it. In fact, it’s an improvement.”
“They are said to make fine hats in Luton,” Cassandra said.
“I’ve heard that hat making drives people mad,” Pandora remarked. “Which I don’t understand, because it doesn’t seem tedious enough to do that.”
“It isn’t the job that drives them mad,” West said. “It’s the mercury solution they use to smooth the felt. After repeated exposure, it addles the brain. Hence the term ‘mad as a hatter.’”
“Then why is it used, if it is harmful to the workers?” Pandora asked.
“Because there are always more workers,” West said cynically.
“Pandora,” Cassandra exclaimed, “I do wish you wouldn’t force a puzzle piece into a space where it obviously does not fit.”
“It does fit,” her twin insisted stubbornly.
“Helen,” Cassandra called out to their older sister, “is the Isle of Man located in the North Sea?”
The music ceased briefly. Helen spoke from the corner, where she sat at a small cottage piano. Although the instrument was out of tune, the skill of her playing was obvious. “No, dear, in the Irish Sea.”
“Fiddlesticks.” Pandora tossed the piece aside. “This is frustraging.”
At Devon’s puzzled expression, Helen explained, “Pandora likes to invent words.”
“I don’t like to,” Pandora said irritably. “It’s only that sometimes an ordinary word doesn’t fit how I feel.
”
”