She smiled.“Thanks, Gigi.”She pursed her lips after a moment—something else was bothering her.“You know, I was never interested in Maddox.”
The sudden comment caught me off guard.“Pardon?”I blushed when I recalled how uncomfortable I’d been witnessing Maddox and Chrissy’s closeness.
“We were only chatting because he had interesting stories to tell.And he wanted to know more about you and your life at the village.”
“About me?For what?”I asked, stunned.
“That book he’s writing, apparently.”At my baffled expression, Christabella only shrugged.Evidently, she didn’t know much about it either.
I cleared my throat, not knowing how to feel.I decided to turn the conversation away from me.“Whatever happened to you and Alexander?Still engaged?”
“We are.And we told Ma,” Christabella said with a nod.
I knocked her shoulder with mine.“Good for you!”Her engagement had been her first act of defiance to Ma—Chrissy must’ve truly liked him.“How did she react?”
“She told us to wait until we’re older,” she said.“But after the screaming session and lengthy lecture...I think she approves.”
Ma came to find us a little later after thoroughly questioning the receptionist about her life aboveground.
“This doesn’t seem like a terrible place,” Ma said with a sharp nod.“Your grandmother started like this.She was an apprentice to a milliner before opening her own shop.”
I raised my brows, surprised and warmed.This was practically high praise coming from her.
“And what about that human you left with?”Ma asked.
Edmund again.I still didn’t want to give her the satisfaction of being right.
“Now that the assignment is over, I have no reason to speak to him,” I said stiffly.
Ma nodded.“Good.”She set her hands on her hips.“Well, Giselle, if you decide to get engaged to anyone in the near future, I’ll expect at least a letter.Don’t hide it like your sister.”
Christabella blushed.
I saw Ma and Chrissy off.Once they disappeared down the street, I turned back, relieved that Ma hadn’t lectured me after all.I supposed Christabella was right—Ma cared for me in a way I didn’t understand.I preferred that she didn’t hurt me by proxy, but she was very much set in her ways, and it would be beneficial for both of us to spend time apart.
I breathed a sigh.Nothing was solved, but for the time being, all was well and there was much to look forward to.
After apologizing profusely to Kiara, I headed to the back room to work on sorting embroidery beads—one of those mind-numbing and oddly soothing tasks I did occasionally around the shop.I had barely gotten settled on my stool before Kiara called out from the front.
“Giselle, you have a client!”
There was a light knock on the doorframe.As I set the wooden tray of seed beads on the table, I looked up to see Maddox hovering at the threshold.I’d nearly forgotten that I had told him to come over today.
“Ah.I have your order,” I said before he could get a word in.I rummaged under the desk for a cloth bundle and untied it on the table, revealing the new wardrobe Maddox had commissioned last month: two shirts, two waistcoats, one coat, and two pairs of breeches.Maddox came in, his brows raised as he lifted a waistcoat to his chest—teal with ochre pinstripes.
“Thanks.This is nice,” he said.
“Anything for my most loyal customer.”It came out more earnest than I wanted it to, but I ignored the rush of embarrassment this brought.Maddox had been the most frequent patron of my dress shop ever since it opened.I hadn’t considered this at the time, but perhaps the reason he always brought his clothes over for mending, even when he could have very well let his servants do it for free, was to support me.
Luckily, Maddox didn’t seem to be in the mood to tease me.“Guess what?”he said, a smile on his face.
“What?”
He settled onto the stool beside me and slammed something heavy onto the table, rattling the seed beads in their tray.
“I finished my book,” Maddox announced, gesturing with a flourish to a giant pile of papers covered in his scrawl, some sporting ripped edges and tea stains.
I blinked at the hefty manuscript, hardly believing that he had finished what he set out to do and ashamed because of it.I had been a terrible friend to him, thinking he wasn’t serious about his pursuits.That he was never serious.
