Mr. Uddington was a man with a shock of white hair, worn tied back at the nape of his neck, which perhaps made him appear older than his years. He did not come forward immediately upon the tinkle of the bell above the door signalling Ottilia’s entrance, and she wondered if, like Lord Henbury, he was hard of hearing. She moved into the shop, casting her eye over the shelves, which were stacked to bursting, and the two large counters boasting a collection of drawers beneath and a plethora of goods on top, juxtaposed one against another with little heed as to type or symmetry. Mr. Uddington’s head was bent over a large ledger set on a sloping desk at which he was seated, perched upon a high stool. Ottilia forbore to draw attention to herself, preferring to shift quietly along the nearest counter while she surreptitiously took the merchant in. Her eye fell cursorily upon an open tray of coloured gloves, a collection of quill pens, several fancy knots of ribbon spilling from a casket, and a selection of brooch pins in a glass case.
What do You think about The Deathly Portent (2012)?
