Page 71 of Birdie and the Beastly Duke
Indeed, the night Arabella had thrown in four coins to the wishing well, wishing for a Duke for each girl to marry, Pen had become upset and insisted on retrieving one coin––her coin––from the well.
She’d fallen in with a crash, dragging Arabella down with her.
The women fell silent as they all recollected that.
Arabella turned to Birdie with fear in her eyes. “What are you saying? That she doesn’t want to marry a duke because—”
“Because she is in love with someone who isnota duke,” Birdie and Lucy said simultaneously.
“And now she’s run off to London to find him.”
The girls stared at each other wordlessly.
* * *
In the depthsof the turquoise waters of the wishing well in Paradise Row, a single coin glittered.
* * *
* * *
