“Fortunate for me,” Bonham muttered. “But we interrupted your discussion. What were you talking about?”
“We hadn’t started,” Berry said. “I was about to tell our friends about my idea for a doll to sell, the proceeds going to the orphanage fund. My hope is that the toy will appealto all little girls no matter their family wealth or bloodlines, whether daughters of noblemen and gentry, or merchants and tradesmen. I hope it will appeal to all classes who might be able to afford these dolls for their daughters. I’d like them to be soft, something a little girl can wrap in her arms as she falls asleep. Not too fancy but not raggedy, either. However, I do not know anything about how to make them in quantity.”
Gideon and Bonham exchanged glances.
Then Gideon leaned forward. “We can do this for you.”
Berry’s eyes widened and she smiled. “Truly? You have the facilities?”
“Yes. Well…we will have the capability once we convert one of our old gaming clubs. It won’t be hard to do. The club is already shut down and we were considering selling the building.”
“Or finding another use for it,” Bonham interjected.
Gideon nodded. “The building itself is set up to accommodate rows of tables where seamstresses can work, and the light is good. If you are not too selective about your material, we can get some of it quite cheap. Cotton purchased in bulk. Remnants from upholstery shops. Linen. Lace. Chintz. Damask. Silks will be most expensive, naturally.”
“Can you price it out for me?” Berry asked, excited that her doll project might actually come about. “Detailing the costs for each part of the process. The materials, the lease of your old gaming club space. The wages we must pay the workers. The shipping costs. Another concern is that these dolls must be distinctive, but I’m not sure in which direction to go for that.”
“What do you mean?” Suzanna asked.
“Do we settle on one design and have all the dolls look alike? Or should we offer various choices?”
“More designs will increase the cost,” Bonham said. “And shouldn’t the excitement be around the one doll thateveryonemust have?”
“But how would Berry keep these dolls exclusive enough for the Upper Crust to desire but still affordable for the common man?” Suzanna asked.
“That is a good point,” Berry said, liking the opinions that were being tossed around. “I would love every little girl to have one of her own, but it must also make business sense. The wealthy will not purchase something that a milkman can afford to purchase for his daughter. Or do we sell a variety of dolls, some exclusively for the Upper Crust? That would be a reason to make different dolls.”
“But then it would not be somethingeveryonewanted,” Gwenys pointed out, reinforcing Bonham’s point.
Berry sighed. “I had another idea about that, although it is something not commonly done.”
“Go on,” Gideon said.
“When I was younger, I used to make clothes for my dolls because I liked them to dress according to what we were pretending to do. Tea gowns for tea parties. Nightgowns for bedtime. Fancier gowns, even silk gowns, for the balls or theater or dinner parties I would pretend to hold. At Christmas, I would write out invitations to my Snowball Ball.”
“Your Snowball Ball?” Gideon repeated with a gentle laugh.
“Yes, not the brightest name for it. I suppose I could have named it the Snowflake Ball,” Berry admitted, wondering whether he thought the idea about different clothes for the dolls silly, too, “but I did not think of it at the time.”
Gideon obviously thought her girlhood play amusing, but he seemed to be listening quite carefully to her ideas and business goals without a hint of dismissal.
“This is something I thought the girls might like,” she added.
“Because you enjoyed playing in this manner?” he asked.
“Yes. It wouldn’t be just about the dolls, but about making clothes for them, too. So, a wealthier merchant might buy everything for his daughter, an entire wardrobe for the doll. Gowns, shoes, gloves, hats. But a poorer family might be able to afford just the doll and the pretty gown she comes with. Our profits would go straight to the orphanage fund, assuming any of this undertaking is feasible.”
She paused a moment to allow for Gideon’s response, but he seemed to be lost in his thoughts. Perhaps he was calculating the costs of producing a wardrobe for the doll.
“This is the idea I had planned to raise with Lord Berwick,” she said. “In fact, he and I have touched upon it a time or two, but his knowledge lies in investments. He does not know enough about actually running a business. Nor do I. For this reason, we never moved ahead.”
“But this is so clever,” Gwenys said with enthusiasm, “especially your idea about making clothes for the dolls. I would have adored dressing my dolls and pretending we are off to a tea party or a Covent Garden theater.”
Berry smiled at Gwenys, pleased with her response.
“Was it lonely for you?” Gideon asked.
“Having to play by myself? Sometimes,” Berry admitted. “This is why I enjoyed my dolls so much. There were no other children on Duchess Square at the time, so my toys became my friends. Being young, I was rarely taken to public events. Nor did I go to boarding school with other girls my age. I had private tutors for everything.”
