Page 3 of A Perfect Engagement
Mrs. Buxley, the tearoom’s proprietress, bustled over to their table.
“Do you need more hot water, ladies?”
“No, thank you, Mrs. Buxley. Everything was delicious today. I do miss your scones when I am away. They are the best in all of England,” Charlotte said.
Mrs. Buxley beamed and made a tut-tutting sound as she gathered their empty plates. Her husband, Mr. Buxley, ran the book and stationery shop adjacent to the tea shop. Mrs. Buxley was as cheery as her husband was dour. But despite his less than friendly service, the bookshop was Charlotte’s favorite place in town. She glanced again at the woman by the window. If Mrs. Kingsley liked to read, then she might make the very best kind of friend, the kind you could borrow books from.
“Congratulations on your engagement, Miss Grisham. A marquess! What a fine catch indeed.”
Again Charlotte found herself the object of sideways looks from the other patrons. This time curiosity filled their eyes instead of censure.
Charlotte’s cheeks flushed. “Thank you, Mrs. Buxley.” Of course, Mrs. Buxley knew already. Even though they had been home only two days, mother had probably spent the entire time finding ways to mention Charlotte’s engagement to all of her closest friends and acquaintances, therefore ensuring the news spread widely throughout the county.
Mrs. Buxley left to bring the dishes to the kitchens. Eleanor laid a comforting hand on hers. Eleanor understood better than anyone how private Charlotte was, how she hated being the center of attention. Grateful for Eleanor’s quiet support, she gave her friend’s fingers a squeeze. Charlotte didn’t know how she would survive the upcoming house party without her friends. Everything had to be perfect. She needed to prove to everyone she could handle the social responsibilities of being a marchioness.
Straightening her shoulders, Charlotte placed a smile on her face. “Let’s go to the bookshop. Perhaps Mr. Buxley has received something new.”
The sun hid behind a thick cover of clouds today. As they left the tea shop, the wind kicked up. Charlotte grasped hold of her bonnet, and her friends had to do likewise. Luckily, they didn’t have far to go, as the bookshop lay just one door down, tucked in between the tea shop and the bakery. Charlotte opened the bright blue door, and she and her friends tumbled into the musky interior of the shop. She smiled brightly at the proprietor. “Good morning, Mr. Buxley.”
Mr. Buxley did not raise his head from the book he read, merely let out a gruff “Morning.”
Charlotte, Suzanna, and Ellie sailed past him, well used to his grouchy demeanor. They headed to the shelves along the right side, which held the new arrivals. Charlotte perused the top shelf. It was her job as she was the tallest of the three and could easily see the titles. She was pleasantly surprised to see there were lots of new books on the shelf.
“Did you just receive a shipment then, Mr. Buxley?” she called out.
She received a noncommittal grunt from the man behind the counter. Shrugging, she looked down at Ellie, who crouched down scanning the bottom shelf. “Are you finding anything new, Ellie?”
“Yes, there is a novel by Frances Burney,Evelina. It looks promising.”
“We’ve read all the ones on this shelf,” Susanna muttered.
Returning to the top shelf, Charlotte’s eyes traveled across the spines. The store’s shelves were not organized in any particular way. Mr. Buxley put books where he found space. Some might think it impossible to find anything, and they’d be right. But Charlotte liked to browse, so the disorder didn’t bother her in the least. The hunt was half of the fun.
She plucked a book with a green cloth spine,The Reformed Coquet. That sounded promising. She turned it to look at the cover,by Mary Davys. Hmmm, she hadn’t read anything by that author yet. They needed to choose books for the next month of their informal book club. She and her friends started it several years ago. The club was really more of a book lending group. They picked a book each month, read it, and if they thought it worthy, passed it along to the other members. When they got together for the official book club meeting at the end of the month, the discussion was lively, and having an official gathering gave them a chance to meet regularly, no matter their social schedules.
Charlotte swiveled to show Susanna what she found and knocked her elbow against the edge of the wooden bookshelf. “Oww.” The book she held dropped to the floor, nearly missing Ellie’s head. “Oh dear! I’m sorry, Ellie.” She rubbed her elbow, waiting for the sharp pain to fade. Why did it always hurt so much when you knocked your elbow?
Ellie gathered the book from the floor. “What’s this?” She reached for two folded pieces of parchment lying next to the book. Ellie stood and showed them what looked to be letters.
The heavy cream-colored letters were embossed with two words in black ink,my love. Charlotte raised her eyebrows, how interesting.
“Ooh, let’s see.” Susanna grabbed one of them. The letter was not sealed, and she unfolded the parchment carefully. “My dearest love, it is torture to be so near you but not able to reach out and caress the smooth skin of your cheek. To taste the sweetness of your lips.” Susanna broke off, her eyes wide as she looked up at them. “This is a love letter.”
Charlotte glanced over at Mr. Buxley, but he paid no attention to them at all, still engrossed in his book. She moved next to Susanna to peer over her shoulder at the letter.I should have never accepted the invitation knowing we would have to act as strangers for the protection of your reputation and mine. But the chance to see you, to hear your melodious voice was too much temptation.Oh my, how romantic. “Ladies, let us put this back into the book.”
“What? No, I want to finish reading it!” Susanna whispered.
“Yes, I mean, let’s buy the book and take the letters elsewhere to read.” She glanced pointedly over at Mr. Buxley.
Ellie nodded. She snatched the letter from Susanna, who appeared to be frantically reading ahead. Then Ellie tucked it back into the book and handed it to Charlotte. Susanna tookEvelinafrom Ellie’s hands with a sigh. “Here I’ll buy this one. I just received my pin money for this month.” Ellie frowned but let her friend take the book.
Charlotte placedThe Reformed Coqueton the counter with a thump. It was the only way to capture Mr. Buxley’s attention. He finally glanced up at her, a bemused expression across his wrinkled face. “I’d like to purchase this one, please,” she said.
“Ah yes, of course, Miss Grisham. That will be sixpence.”
“Mr. Buxley, where did you receive this book from?” she probed casually.
“I bought a crate of books recently at an auction in London. Might be it came in with that.” He turned to Susanna. “Sixpence for you as well, Lady Susanna.”
