As Mr. Bauer prepared to take the makeshift stage in the great hall for the evening demonstration, Ella and Phoebe selected two chairs near the front.
Ella thought she’d managed to avoid Mr. Abernathy since their uncomfortable interaction at the morning lecture, but just as the event was getting underway, he sat in the empty seat next to her. “Might I join you?”
She stiffened as he sat down without waiting for her response. Ella could sense Phoebe’s surprise at the sudden interruption, but it would not do to cause a scene.
“I looked for you after the lecture this morning, but you were nowhere to be found,” he said as he leaned uncomfortably close, his high-pitched voice barely above a whisper and the scent of freshly applied cologne overwhelming. “I thought that perhaps I upset you, and I wanted to apologize.”
She inched away from him to the far edge of her chair. “No need to apologize, Mr. Abernathy. It is behind us.”
To her dismay he continued, “I know you’re not pleased that Mr. Bauer is here, but maybe seeing a demonstration will change your mind.”
The more Mr. Abernathy talked, the less Ella heard, for she spied Mr. Rowe entering the great hall with Mr. Templeton.
The memory of her conversation with Mrs. Chatterly leapt to life. Could Mr. Rowe be the answer? He was energetic. Interesting. Confident. Incredibly attractive. Was he the sort of man she could find happiness with?
“Miss Wilde?”
Mr. Abernathy touched her arm to recapture her attention. She recoiled at the bold physical contact, but before she could respond, Mr. Bauer’s voice filled the chamber.
“How pleased I am to have the ladies join us.” Mr. Bauer stretched his arms out wide in a welcoming gesture, a broad smile on his face. The candlelight scattered around the chamber glistened from the jeweled ring on his finger and the gold pin in his cravat. “I had the immense pleasure of discussing the merits and hallmarks of phrenology with the men this morning, but now I’ll demonstrate firsthand the power and accuracy of phrenology when it is practiced properly. What you are about to witness is not magic nor witchcraft but a calculated approach, tested and true. We’ve already had a volunteer for our first demonstration, and Mr. Norton will be our first guest.”
A round of applause circled the room as Mr. Norton left his seat next to his wife and stepped up to Mr. Bauer.
“Now, Mr. Norton,” Mr. Bauer continued as the older man sat in the chair next to him. “We’ve spoken about you being assessed today, but we have never met before, have we?”
“No, sir.”
“I have never touched your head, and I know nothing about you.”
“Correct.”
“And you’re aware I might ascertain character traits that might be considered unfavorable. Correct?”
“I am.”
Mr. Bauer turned once again toward the audience. “It is far easier, even after all these years, to assess someone I’ve never encountered before. I can’t begin to describe how many times I’ve assessed an individual whom I think I know well, only to find that they are nothing like I thought they were. Once I am armed with the phrenological truth of their character, the wool is removed from my eyes and I see them for who they truly are—with all their faults andvirtues. Isn’t that the reality of human existence? A blend of the positive and negative, the advantageous and the disadvantageous?”
A hush fell over the room as the man began to touch the volunteer’s head. He measured Mr. Norton’s great head from every angle. The circumference. The distance from the base of his ears to his crown. The distance from his eyes to the top of his head. The distance from his neck to his chin. And on and on.
After completing his measurements, Mr. Bauer placed his hands on Norton’s head and moved them over it, methodically and symmetrically. Every so often he would pause his action and whisper to Mr. Gutt, who would then write something down. After about a quarter of an hour, Mr. Bauer turned to the crowd once again. Perspiration gathered on his brow as if he was under a great deal of duress, and he made a show of withdrawing his handkerchief and dragging it across his brow.
“Mr. Norton,” boomed Mr. Bauer as he addressed his subject. “I’ve completed the assessment, and my findings, in my opinion, are quite conclusive. Your acquisitiveness organ is quite developed and prominent, which tells me that you are a frugal gentleman and very aware of where your money goes and how it is used. Not to the point of being miserly, for you do appreciate a luxurious life, but you recognize your limits. Your concentrative organ is also prominent, which tells me you are stubborn in your beliefs and are not easily swayed. You’ll debate a topic and defend it until you have been decidedly disproven.”
A chuckle sounded from the crowd.
“By examining your form organ, I can deduce that you have a definite gift for drawing or sculpting, meaning that you can replicate what you see before you. While you may forget a name, you will never forget a face. Once you have been to a location, you rememberthe details of the things around you. But, as with everyone, no head is completely balanced. I’ve yet to see a head with perfect dimensions. I can see that based on the indentation of the head at your time organ, you struggle with remembering dates and you often lose track of time. I daresay that your watch fob is not for fashion but rather a necessity, for your ability to estimate the passing of time is lacking.”
Ella joined in with the ensuing applause, but doubts surfaced. Anyone who was around Mr. Norton for any length of time might know those things.
“Mrs. Norton, I will call upon you now,” Mr. Bauer continued. “Have I said anything about your husband that rings true?”
She clasped her hands together as if amazed. “Remarkable. You have described him accurately. Not many people are aware of his painting skills, and yet you noticed it right away!”
Ella couldn’t resist looking back toward Mr. Rowe. Surely he had the same feelings she did.
But he wasn’t there.
She looked over her other shoulder. He was nowhere to be found.
