Not that they’d needed it. Aiden could hear the feminine voices coming up the stairs, although he was no doubt being quite optimistic to believe he’d have taken note of them when he’d been so lost in Selena.

The girls crossed the threshold with Fancy in the lead. “The reading salon,” she announced with affection and a spreading of her arms, before scowling at Aiden. “You’ve not made much progress.”

“The duchess and I were discussing how best to arrange the books.”

She narrowed her eyes as though suspecting another matter entirely might have been the reason for his delay in getting to work. Then she carried on with her purpose, once more spreading her arms to encompass the entirety of the sitting areas. “In here, people may read to their hearts’ content.”

“After they’ve purchased the books,” he pointed out.

“No. It’ll be like a lending library except I won’t charge a subscription fee.”

“Fancy, you’re running a business here. You can’t simply give things away. The books you are allowing them to read cost money.”

“I’m not a dolt, Aiden. I’m aware of how business works.”

“So you want to make a profit.”

“Neither am I greedy. A modest profit will suffice. Besides I intend to take donations in order to maintain the reading salon.”

He shifted his gaze to Beast, who quirked one corner of his mouth. None of this was news to his brother, which immediately made Aiden suspicious. He’d not had much time for the family of late, and he had a feeling it was about to cost him. He turned his attention back to his sister. “From whom will you be gathering these donations? Your siblings?”

“For a start. Then others with a charitable bent. Like the duchess, for example.”

He sighed. The duchess couldn’t afford to be charitable—not unless he gave her a child. Although he wasn’t about to share any of that with Fancy.

“We’re also going to teach people how to read,” she continued. “A couple of nights a week, we’ll hold lessons. As you’re well aware, a good many of the poorer among us lack education.”

It was one of the things his mum had insisted upon: her children would attend the free ragged schools. While it was only for half a day, until they reached the age of eleven, she’d never allowed them to miss a day—even when they were ill. She’d wanted to give them whatever advantages she could. “We?”

“Mr. Tittlefitz and I at first. Perhaps you’ll even teach a class.”

“I run my businesses at night.”