Covent Garden Subject: Covent Garden Where: London Who: Robert Lovering Warnings: none Open to: Katherine Rochester, all
Robert liked open-air markets for the continual bustle of people, the never-ending stream of stimuli. Covent Garden was one of his favorites. It was at the hub of London and the swirl of cabs, flower-sellers, produce vendors, shoppers, and strollers never failed to cheer him. There was a Punch and Judy show on the corner, with a flock of children and a few surreptitious adults watching the antics of the puppet couple. Robert leaned against a lamppost, for the moment, utterly happy with the world and everything in it. From where he stood, he could hear bits and pieces of a Mozart aria from the open backdoor of the Royal Opera House. The smell of the imported and recently unloaded limes, and the flowers the flower-girls were selling on the corners drowned out the stench of the oft-unwashed hordes of humanity and the smell of the horses.
After a moment, he pushed himself off, causing a small brown-wrapped bottle dropped out of his pocket. Robert swore under his breath and went chasing it down the street.