Seeming to comprehend that she had no witty response to his claims, he bent down, picked up the stereoscope, and placed it back on the table.

“Aren’t you going to look?” she asked. “You paid your penny.”

“Oh, I’ve gotten more than my money’s worth.” Then he offered her his arm, and she wrapped hers around it.

“Took ye long enough,” the barker said when they finally exited the tent. “Gonna have to ask for another penny.”

Mr. Sommersby handed it over, and they strolled on. She had come here to distract herself from thinking about what tomorrow night would bring. But now she had to wonder if it would be possible to meet any lord whom she would desire as much as she did this man.

Chapter 12

“Once . . . up . . . on a . . . ti . . . time . . . theer . . .”

“There,” Matthew correctly gently.

The reader, a woman who appeared worn by life, her blond hair pulled back in an untidy bun, looked up at him with large pale blue eyes. “But I thought the e at the end made the vowel sound different. Like in time. The i don’t sound like the i in Tim and that’s ’cuz of the e at the end.”

“Yes, well, there are exceptions. Some words you have to memorize rather than sounding them out.”

She scowled. “Readin’s ’ard.”

“At first. But it does get easier, and it’s rather worth the challenge of it.”

She returned her attention to the primer, having more luck with the words that followed. The book was the sort used in schools. The alphabet was listed in the beginning, then two stories followed. She’d apparently already made her way through Cinderilla with Fancy and was now eagerly tackling Little Red Riding Hood. He suspected for many the primer Fancy gave them was the first book they’d ever owned. For some it was no doubt the first they’d ever held.

Four others sat in the circle with him, following along in their primers, awaiting their turn to read the words aloud. He strove very hard not to make those gathered around him feel embarrassed when they stumbled. Even if one didn’t read perfectly, one was trying and that was the true accomplishment—seeking to better oneself, doing what was necessary to reach that end.

Just as Fancy was seeking to better her lot in life by attending a ball tonight and snagging the attention of some lord. He was tempted to give her a list of swells to avoid, but then she’d wonder how he knew them, and he’d have to confess he was the one about whom the letter had been penned and published for all the world to see. The suddenly heralded Earl of Rosemont. She’d view him differently then, and he didn’t want to be looked upon like he was a prize to be won.