She could barely recall Saturday. She’d had customers but seemed to have forgotten where she’d shelved books, had been useless in helping anyone find a story they might enjoy reading. In her office, she’d intended to continue working on restoringLittle Dorrit. Instead, she’d merely stared at nothing, striving to determine how she could find Matthew. She’d asked neighbors if anyone had seen him moving out. For her trouble, all she got was one account of three wagons and a coach pulling up, and liveried footmen hauling out furniture. No markings on the coach or wagons, but still—liveried footmen. Had she misjudged his means? Surely, he’d not been serious when he’d told her he could afford to purchase every book in her shop.
“All done with that,” her mum said now. “Let’s pour ourselves a bit of brandy and then you can tell me what’s troubling you.”
“Why would you think I’m troubled?”
“Because, ducky, you’ve hardly spoken a word and you look as though you just learned that every book in England was tossed into the sea. So let’s settle in to have a good talk.”
When they were sitting in the chairs beside the empty hearth, Fancy took a large swallow of the brandy and let it spread its warmth through her. Afterward, she slowly ran her fingers around the rim of the snifter. “At the last ball, I was caught alone with an earl. And it’s just not done. To make matters right, he asked to marry me. I told him no.”
“Did you kiss him?”
She furrowed her brow. “The earl? No. Why would I?”
“It’s like that story,The Frog Prince, I remember Gillie reading to you. If you don’t kiss a fella, how will you know whether he’s the prince or just a frog?”
She laughed lightly. Her mum must have been sipping brandy when Fancy wasn’t looking. “That’s just a fairy tale.”
“Have you not kissed that fella that’s helping with your lessons?”
She felt her cheeks grow warm. “Well, yes, I have.”
“Is he reason you didn’t kiss the other bloke?” She leaned forward. “Maybe the reason you didn’t want to marry the other bloke.”
Feeling tears forming she blinked them back. “I love him, Mum. His name is Matthew Sommersby. He’s kind and generous. He makes me laugh—just as you told me he should. I enjoy being with him.” She gnawed on her lower lip, unable to believe she was really going to confess this to her mother. “And I really like when he kisses me.”
Smiling with satisfaction, her mum settled back in the chair. “Sounds like he’s a prince, then. A lot of frogs in this world, Fancy. When you find yourself a prince, you need to hang on to him.”
“Oh, that’s just it, Mum. I lost him.”
“How did you manage that, pet?”
She took a sip of the brandy, relishing the warmth chasing away the cold that had started to spread through her. “He told me he loved me, wanted to marry me. But I told him I was going to marry the earl.”
“Why did you tell him that?”
“Because I thought I was. I thought I had no choice. I worried I would disappoint you if I didn’t. Your dream for me is never going to come true. Now I’m a scandalous woman, so I won’t be invited to any more balls. I won’t have an opportunity to meet a lord whom I’d like to marry.” Not that she would have if she’d attended a thousand balls. Her heart was taken, would forever belong to Matthew.
“Hold on, pet. I’m hearing a lot of words and trying to make sense of them. Do you want to marry a lord?”
“I want to marry a man who loves me.”
“As well you should. You know none of us ever wanted you to marry a man who didn’t.”
She finished off her brandy, took a big sigh. “Mum, what if I only wanted to manage my bookshop? What if I never marry?”
“Pet, I want you to do what makes you happy.”
“But you’ve always wanted me to have a fancy man and live in a fancy house and have a fancy life.”
“Aye. A man who loves you, sees you as his moon and stars. A house where you walk in the door and feel like you’ve come home. A life where you’re happy and have everything you ever dreamed of—or if not everything, a good bit of it. You define what is fancy to you, and that’s what I want you to have.”
A tightness loosened in her chest with the realization that she wasn’t going to be disappointing her mum. “I’m glad I didn’t marry the earl, then.”
“But what about your Mr. Sommersby?”
Sadness once more engulfed her. “Before I could tell him that I wasn’t going to marry the earl, he moved away. I don’t know where or how to find him.”
“You need to talk to Beast, then. That lad has a knack for finding anything.”
