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Chapter 8
Much to Isabella’s surprise, Liam was still at home when she got up. She heard a clanking noise which she guessed must be from the kitchen, considering the sweet and almost buttery aroma that seeped into the bedroom. Slipping into her jeans and comfortable wool sweater, she slowly turned the knob and pushed gently enough to take a peek, testing the waters before coming out.
“Good morning. I made us breakfast,” Liam smiled from the kitchen. He was wearing a white apron, which instantly made her giggle. Never ever had she seen a man in an apron before. She walked over to the table, which was set up beautifully. Not as over the top elegant as hers had been the night before, but charming nonetheless. There were several bowls filled with jam, cheese, eggs, and fruits. The smell of steaming fresh coffee filled the air and in the middle were two plates with pancakes on them.
Her cheeks flushed as she laughed, noticing the smiley faces on the pancakes made from fruits and whipping cream. Never had she seen anything like this before… Pancakes with faces, prepared by a tall, strong man like Liam. He walked over with a grin on his face. “I hope you’re not making fun of my world-famous man-cakes.” His brows were intentionally drawn together making a fake angry face.
“They’re the most incredible thing I’ve ever seen.” In some way it was true. Out of all the marvels of the twenty-first century, theseman-cakessomehow managed to top it all off. She pulled her chair out and sat down. Liam did the same.
“It’s just… I have never seen a man make pancakes before. Actually, I’m afraid I have never seen a man cook—at all.”
“Then you have never seen a real man…” Liam announced, lifting his head proudly and pointing at the writing on his white Apron:
This is a Manly Apron
For a Manly Man
Doing Manly Things
Isabella busted out into laughter again, holding on to the table for support. Tears of joy formed in her eyes. How did this man do it? How did he manage to make her laugh with such ease, and make her feel so carefree? His eyes watched her with a face ofmission achievedfrom across the table. It took a while to calm down enough to start eating, but much to her surprise, the food tasted immaculate. Incomparable to that ungodly thing she’d somehow managed to summon on a plate the other night. For the first time since she’d arrived in America, she actually ate something that was better than what the cook at the Astley estate used to prepare for her. “Splendid,” she complimented him, leaning back in her seat after taking the last bite of her pancake.
“I know, I know,” he responded with a smile, placing the palm of his hand on his heart.
“Where did you learn to cook like this?”
“In the military. The food was awful. Not as bad as yours,” he chuckled, “but still pretty terrible,” he lovingly teased her. A relaxed smile crossed her face. “Be careful, I can kill with my food.” Liam shared her happy glance. That warm feeling was all around her again, inside and out. It was incredible how much she liked this man. Never has she had less in her life than now but at the same time was richer than ever before. She grabbed a few empty dishes but Liam got up and took them out of her hand. “I got this. This is still part of my manly duty.” He rushed into the kitchen and back to make sure she couldn’t grab any other dishes. “Are you almost ready to head out?” he asked, rinsing off a plate in the sink.
“Head out to where?”
“To the coin specialist. His shop opens at nine.”
Her mouth fell open in disbelief. Did he just say thecoin specialist? “Coin specialist?” she repeated. Liam turned off the faucet and dried his hands on his apron.
“Yes. Didn’t you say last night that you wanted to go to one? To have your coin checked?”
This was such a surprise to her that it made her stutter. “Y—Yes. I did indeed—” she took a step closer, shaking her head in confusion. “But last night, didn’t you say—”Say what? That he didn’t believe you traveled here from 1881?What if he still thought she had a head injury? She felt tense. Somber thoughts crawled their way back into her mind. She had to be careful with everything she was about to say. Perhaps even pretending it was just a joke? No, Liam was no fool to believe such a thing.
“Well, I thought we could go check it out. Nothing to lose there. But if it turns out to be a disappointing visit, maybe we could give the doctor a try. Just in case?” He took off the apron and folded it, trying to look like they were having the most normal conversation in the world. Isabella was stunned. Amazed. Not out of anger, but in disbelief at how much this man had done for her, must care for her. Growing up with a mother who loved her jewels more than her own children, she had never had the luxury of feeling annoyed with overbearing parents. This was all new to her. Standing in front of a person who tried everything in his power to help her made her cheeks flush in embarrassment. Tongue-tied, heart swelling, not knowing what else to do, she spoke before knowing what was going to come out.
“Fair enough,” she nodded in agreement, like it was a business deal.
Liam looked surprised. “Really?”
“Why not? I mean who knows. Perhaps there is something wrong with my head.” It was certainly possible. She had to look at all her options to try to understand her mysterious case as long as they did not involve the ninny house. And if it turned out in the end that she really wasnon compos mentis—unsound in her mind—would that really be the end of the world? The answer was no. She would rather be insane with no money and have Liam by her side than be rich and married to a bloody fopdoodle like Lord Warrington.
With a mutual nod between them, the deal was finalized. Isabella thought to look at herself in the bathroom mirror just to be sure she was ready, starring at the clothes that Dan had bought for her. For a brief moment, she thought of Dan and how she was doing at her friend’s place right now. Was she well? How were the cats? She wanted to see her as soon as possible once everything was settled.
She poked her finger through a small hole in the sleeve of her sweater. It had obviously started to resemble the sweater of a person who had lived on the streets. Liam offered several times to take her shopping, but she had fought him tooth and nail not to let him buy things for her. She couldn’t possibly ask for more than he already provided for her. “You look terrible,” she mumbled to herself, trying to fix her hair. Since she had moved in with Liam, she had taken great care over how she looked, especially since Liam looked so dashing in his suit that he wore to work every morning.
She snapped out of it, pressing her palms to her cheeks as her lips pouted like a goldfish. “You are not here for romance!” She closed her eyes, taking one big gulp of air, before staring at herself in the mirror for one last time. “Much better,” she whispered. Then she smiled. Putting on her worn-out sneakers that sat next to the bed, she tried to show as much pride as possible.
Liam was waiting for her next to the entrance door. He was also wearing jeans and a sweater, but his looked new. With confidence in her voice and hope for the future, as well as the past, she spoke.
“Ready when you are.”
The coin shop was called Things Finer. It was tucked away in a small side street in downtown Philly that got barely any of the morning sunshine, which made the street look a little dark and gloomy. They got lucky and managed to park right in front of it, getting a clear view of the windows that were filled with coins in glass vitrines. By now Isabella was somewhat used to cars, although they still scared her at times considering how fast they could move.
Liam opened the shop’s door for her like the gentleman he was. It felt nice to know that even after more than a century, chivalry wasn’t dead. They both agreed how delightfully elegant it was inside. The ceiling and walls were made of pristine oak wood, which glistened like glass and allowed the artificial lighting inside to bounce across every inch of the room, turning the coins into sparkly stars. She knew from her own time that there were plenty of wealthy people willing to pay a high price for rare coins and antiques. A movement from a doorway caught her attention. It was a shaggy, grey-haired, long bearded old man in a suit walking toward them.
