“I could not believe my eyes, my lady, when I noticed you crossing from the other side of the street. How wonderful that you have called on us. Mrs. Manfried is in the back, but she will join us soon.”
Annalise purposely stepped around the man to have a closer look at the selections. “I was hoping you have a particular book I wished to send to my grandmother in Derbyshire.”
“Assuredly, my lady, and if we do not have it on a shelf, we will gladly procure it and have it delivered to Beaufort House.”
Before Annalise could tell him the name of the book, Mrs. Manfried came forward from the back of the store. “You have come,” the woman said with a smile and a curtsey. “I thought I heard your voice in the store.”
“Her ladyship is looking for a particular book, Mrs. Manfried,” her husband explained.
“Hopefully, we have it, my lady,” Mrs. Manfried said as she motioned Annalise deeper into the shop. “Would you like tea, my lady?”
“I am well satisfied, Mrs. Manfried,” Annalise confirmed.
“There is a definite nip in the air, but my bones are much older than yours,” the woman replied. “Mr. Manfried and I walked in all kinds of weather when we were courting.”
Before the lady could continue her chatter, Annalise said, “The book I search for is quite old. My grandmother presented it to the late Lady Marksman when she was a girl. My mother read it to me often. I wish I still had Lady Marksman’s copy, but I thought if I could find another one, I could share it with the dowager viscountess, and we could combine our memories.”
“It is quite splendid of you to think of your grandmother’s sentimentality in that manner!” Mrs. Manfried observed. “If it is not toopainful to consider, how long has it been since you lost your mother?”
“Fifteen years,” Annalise said solemnly.
“Oh my, the late Lady Marksman was too young to leave you behind,” Mrs. Manfried said in sympathy.
“Which book?” Manfried asked, drawing them back to the task at hand.
Annalise blushed. “In truth I do not know the actual name, but I hoped you might know it if I described the tale.”
“Assuredly, we shall attempt to assist you,” he said.
Annalise blushed. “It was about a mouse. He moves back and forth through the house and listens in on the conversations of the household. My mother would read through each episode, and we would talk about the people and what the mouse thought he had heard, which was usually incorrect. I think his name was Thimble, but I cannot speak to how accurate that is.”
Mrs. Manfried smiled sweetly. “It isNimble—the mouse’s name is Nimble. You possess an excellent memory considering how young you must have been when you heard the tale. Did your mother read it often?”
“It was the only book she brought with us to Honduras. She said it had always been my favorite, as my brother Alexander had outgrown it, so it now belonged to me,” Annalise explained.
“The book is entitledThe Life and Perambulation of a Mouse. By Dorothy Kilner. Unfortunately, we do not have a copy of the story in our store, but Mr. Manfried can secure an edition and have it delivered to Beaufort House. Can you not, sir? He knows the shop which originally published the book.”
“I could have it brought around tomorrow or the next day, my lady,” Mr. Manfried told her.
Annalise knew a bit of disappointment, for she wished to send the book off with her letter. “If possible, I would like it by tomorrow. I want to send it to Derbyshire with a letter to Lady Smithfield.”
“Your grandmother shall be ecstatic, my lady. She is a fortunate woman to claim you as family,” Mrs. Manfried declared.
Annalise knew none of her family had known fortunate circumstances, but she made no comment other than to ask, “You shall add the book to my husband’s account, shall you not?”
“Yes, my lady,” Manfried responded. “Is there anything else?”
“No. I should return to Beaufort House. I have an appointment and another errand to complete today. Do you wish me to sign for the charge, sir?”
“We will address that when I deliver the book, my lady,” Manfried assured.
“Then I should be on my way. Come along, Mr. Holt. Thank you again, sir. Ma’am.” With that, Annalise departed the shop. “Lead on, Mr. Holt,” she instructed, “but do recall we are looking for lilies.”
The footman smiled easily. “Yes, my lady.”
They crossed the street again and reentered the park, but avoided the walkways, choosing rather to stroll across the lawn. “There is a bit of crispness on the grass in the shade, is there not, Holt?” she said, while worrying whether Beaufort was still in County Kerry.Surely the weather there must be turning to winter quicker than it is here, she thought.Will he be made to remain until the new year? The idea saddened her, and she paused to pronounce a silent prayer for her husband’s safety.
“I have found the names of some of the lilies, my lady,” Mr. Holt said as he pointed to a small plate in the flower bed.
