Dorothea Twycross wouldn't have missed an event like this for all the world. She'd been a collector since the age of fourteen, but since her return to England several years ago her acquisitions had been dwindling even as her income had steadily grown. There wasn't anything she needed, necessarily, but why wait until something was necessary in order to buy it? That might have been her philosophy when it came to new dresses, but never with magical gadgets and gizmos. Mama was here somewhere (ever supportive, even if she didn't exactly understand the utility of Dot's planned purchases today) along with one of her brothers (slightly less supportive and slightly more obviously bewildered) but Dot had wandered off on her own to get a better look at the merchandise. Where had it all come from? She hadn't seen so many interesting things compiled in one space for ages, and she'd been keeping her eyes out!

She wanted a closer look at that clock, having heard some of the other auction-goers talking about it, but someone was in the way. Dot wandered over anyway, and smiled brightly when the fellow took notice of her. "Oh, no, not really," she reassured him. "I'm not going to buy it. I'm sure it's out of my price range." Or if it wasn't, it would at least take up the lion's share of her limited budget and prevent her from getting something else of interest. Besides, convincing father to rearrange the parlor to display it prominently might prove problematic. "I just wanted to take a look. I've never seen this kind of magic before."

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