“You, of course. We so enjoyed visiting with you last night that we wanted to call upon you.”

“We had no chance to speak with you again after Lord Dearwood took you out onto the floor,” Lady Victoria said. “My word, you had so many dance partners that you must have worn a hole in the sole of your slippers.”

“Not quite.” Although she had come close.

“Lady Aslyn had informed my mother that if we wanted to call on you, we were to go to her residence at the Trewlove Hotel,” Lady Penelope continued, “but when we disembarked from the carriage, Alexandria noticed the name of this shop—The Fancy Book Emporium—and we thought it must surely be yours! How cleverly you named it.”

“We adore it,” Lady Alexandria said. “It’s a play on your own name, isn’t it?”

“It is, yes, although not everyone understands that. Some think it needs an apostrophe and an S.”

“That would absolutely ruin it.”

“I thought so as well.”

“So you actually own the shop,” Lady Victoria said.

“No, my brother does. Because of the law regarding married women and property.”

“Oh yes, dastardly thing.”

“But other than that, it’s all mine. I decide which books I’ll carry. I arrange everything, create the displays. Would you ladies like a tour?”

Lady Penelope looked at her friends. They all nodded. “That would be splendid.”

Fancy introduced Marianne to them—not certain she’d ever seen her clerk so starry-eyed—and while she watched the counter, Fancy took the ladies up to the reading parlor.

“Oh, isn’t this lovely?” Lady Penelope said. “It’s like a regular parlor only with lots of books.”

“People can borrow them and read them in here.”

With her delicate brow pinched, she looked at Fancy. “I thought you had a bookshop, which means selling books.”

“I do. Downstairs. Up here is a lending library. But there is no subscription fee.”

“How do you maintain it?”

“With donations.”

Her brow smoothed out, and she seemed quite relieved. “Oh, I see. How clever you are. So people who can’t afford books can read them.”

“Exactly.” She went on to explain about her classes.

“What good works you do, Miss Trewlove,” Lady Penelope said, while her friends smiled and bobbed their heads. “You must find it all very satisfying.”

“I do.”

“What if you marry a man who won’t let you continue with these endeavors?” Lady Alexandria asked.

“Well, I shan’t marry a man who won’t.” Fancy had spoken without thinking. And yet, she knew she’d stated the truth. No matter how much she wanted to please her family, she couldn’t marry a man who would make her unhappy. Could she? Would they ask her to make that sacrifice?