As a teen, Poppy had wandered into the store so often, leafing through old copies of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland for hours, that Edwin had finally told her she needed to start working there or get out. It wasn’t until later that Hazel discovered Poppy had not been loitering; she’d nowhere else to go. She’d been a war orphan who’d aged out of the London Orphan School near Hampshire, sleeping in parks or on the couches of old pals who might let her stay for a while. She’d been looking for a job, but no one was willing to give her a chance.
