Mrs. Doolittle marveled at Dahlia Gristmill’s preternatural ability to know that Tripp’s Imports & Antiquities was again open for business. The Misters and children had been back in Boston for less than a day when she paid a visit to the shop to check on the new inventory that Mister Fish and Mister Tripp had brought back from Cornwall.

“Toadstools!” Mrs. Gristmill exclaimed. “And shriveled, no less.”

“Preserved, madame,” said Seamus. Though he was an Irishman with the temper typical of his folk, he had stored away a secret reserve of patience for the shop’s most beloved customer. “We in the business of herbology prefer ‘preserved’ to ‘shriveled.”

“Well, seems odd to ship them all the way across the Atlantic when my o...

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