Sydney’s streets seemed busier than usual. Florentine bumped into one person then another. Were there always this many people out of an afternoon? Businessmen in their black crow suits, heads down and in too much of a hurry to make their next appointment to care who they barged past. Workers in stained overalls lolling around with laughter and pointed comments ready to fling. Women strolling, taking in the unseasonal warmth while protecting their faces with flimsy parasols and oversized gardens on their heads. Florentine pulled her own hat down to further cover her face and held the basket to her front with a white-knuckled grip.
The Royal Society was not far. Florentine dodged a tram, wagons, and a pile of manure in the middle of the road and reached the Society’s front steps without mis
