Another Place in Time – Excerpt by Mary Simonsen

In Another Place in Time, Mr. Darcy is not the only one who visits the future; Miss Darcy makes the journey as well. In the excerpt below, Georgiana Darcy and modern-day friend Chris O’Malley take in some of Baltimore’s sights:

Prior to walking into Victoria’s Secret, Georgiana had been frugal with her brother’s money, but after seeing an array of beautiful and comfortable undergarments, the twenty dollar bills came out. After enlisting the aid of a saleslady and measurements taken, Georgiana bought bras in several styles, panties in numerous colors, camisoles, lingerie, and pantyhose and left the shop wearing a black bra and matching panties.

From the mall, they went to the nearest Joann Fabric. Georgiana was “all amazement” at the multitude of fabrics and colors available, but noted the absence of feathers. Chris explained that, other than the occasional red-carpet designer gown with a feathery fringe, feathers had gone the way of hats. Girls no longer needed to wear wide-brimmed bonnets to protect their lily-white complexions as a nice tan was a sign, not of someone who labored out of doors, but an indication that a person had money for leisure activities.

After lunch at Five Guys Burgers, they went to the Inner Harbor and the aquarium. It was wonderful to watch Georgiana as she walked the different levels of the aquarium. She had never seen a shark, octopus, or dolphin nor knew that such a thing as jellyfish existed. In the petting area, she picked up a starfish and was as happy as the five- and six-year-olds who elbowed her for space near the petting pool.

Chris was ready to head for the townhouse when Georgiana spied the paddleboats, something Chris had not done since she was in high school and was perfectly happy to leave in her past. But her young friend’s enthusiasm was overwhelming, and so she paid a college student to take Georgiana out. William would never know.

For dinner, William would have suggested the upscale Capitol Grille, but Chris had something else in mind. Knowing Georgiana would live a life of luxury with every morsel on her plate practically pre-chewed, she wanted her to get down and dirty, and there was nothing messier than cracking crabs at Canton’s Dockside with its long tables covered in brown paper with accompanying rolls of paper towels.

When a half dozen crabs and a pitcher of National Bohemian were set before her, Georgiana looked dismayed. After handing her a mallet, Chris assured her that the meat was worth the effort. After the second crab, and with her bib covered with Old Bay Seasoning and her hands coated with crab goo, Georgiana threw in the paper towel.

“The first person to have dined on this creature must have been very hungry indeed,” she said as she assessed the pile of broken shells.

If a time traveler visited you in your hometown, where would you take them?

To read about what it was like for time-traveler Chris O’Malley to visit London in 1812, click here. To read an interview with Chris about Mr. Darcy, click here. An interview with Mr. Darcy is available on Leatherbound Reviews.

Another Place in Time is available on Nook, Kindle, and Amazon in paperback.