Page 23 of Twice Upon a Midnight

Then Nantes truly did laugh at that empty threat as he headed back into the shop to speak to Ella, whom Spenser could see waiting anxiously at the counter as he peeked around the corner at her. He didn’t dare move further into view.

His heart stuttered. Dear God, she was lovely, even on a dark day like this. Or perhaps because of it, with her yellow dress lighting up the room like a ray of sunshine against the dreary gray outside. Her bonnet framed her lovely face, its blue color offsetting the pink of her lips, the color in her cheeks, the brightness of her emerald eyes. Her full lips parted delicately when Nantes explained to her that they would be happy to deliver her letter but could not reveal their customer’s name.

Her brightness dimmed as disappointment darkened her countenance, and she slowly handed over her letter.

The other woman with her—her mother?—leaned down to whisper something that made Ella nod faintly. Then the two women linked arms and left the shop, heading back into the cold drizzle and to the stately town coach waiting for them in the street.

Safe in knowing she couldn’t see him, Spenser hurried forward through the shop to the window and watched the coach roll away. Nantes chuckled as Spenser snatched the letter from his hand.

Biting back a curse at himself and at the unfair world that put him here and her in a duke’s coach, he snapped the wax seal and opened the letter.

My dearest Spenser—

Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day—in London? Thou art more lovely and more temperate…and decidedly far more warm and bright. I am beginning to think Mr. Shakespeare spent hardly any time at all in London.

To be blunt—I want to see you again. We need to talk. When and where can we meet?

You know where to find me. I hope I now know how to find you.

Your most admiring—

Ella

Spenser’s gut tightened. A sonnet by Shakespeare. As if he weren’t already intrigued by her mind and poetic nature, she had to go and send him a message like this.

He wanted to see her again more than anything in the world.

But he also knew he shouldn’t.

He glanced up as the bell jingled over the door, for one foolish moment hoping Ella had returned. Instead, he saw Martin bustle inside, more likely to escape the rain, dry off, and warm up than because he needed to visit Spenser.

But the old man would always be welcome here. In fact, Spenser was still hoping to convince Martin to take a position here, if only to give Spenser a more convenient way to give him money than to keep coming up with excuses that wouldn’t hurt the old man’s pride. It would also give Spenser the chance to check on him daily rather than whenever he could make it to Cheapside.

Each time Spenser had raised the idea, though, Martin declined.I’ve long ago pensioned myself, lad,he always protested,and I don’t need to work anymore to make my way through the world.

Martin cast a broad, friendly smile around the shop and nodded to the workers, whom he all knew by name. His smile broadened when he saw Spenser, only to sink into a frown when Spenser’s grim expression greeted him. His gaze darted to the letter in Spenser’s hand. Then he shucked off his wet overcoat and hat, hung them on the hooks by the door to dry, and approached Spenser.

Martin nodded at the letter. “Bad news?”

The worst.“Ella’s found me.” He folded the letter and shoved it into the pocket of his worn apron. “Well, she’s traced the books and notes back to the print shop anyway. So nearly the same thing.”

“Oh? What did she say?”

Spenser grimaced and looked out the window, although there was nothing to see except drizzling rain and thickening fog. “She wants to meet me.”

Martin let out a happy laugh and slapped Spenser on the back. “That’s wonderful!” He winked at Spenser. “She likes you, I know it! All that poetry and waltzing must have paid off.”

“No.” His chest felt like a lead ball sat on it. “She wants to see the man she met at the ball, the one who looked and acted like a gentleman.”

Martin scoffed. “The one who also recited poetry to her the way no society gentleman ever has! Nor ever would. That’s what she noticed about you, lad, what pricked her attention. Not the cut of your waistcoat or who your family might be.” He shook his head. “No woman you’ve garnered an affection for would care about such meaningless things as finery and breeding.”

Spenser didn’t dare hope for the same. No, he needed Ella to remain just as unreachable as ever, or he might just start believing she could be his. What a damnable fool he’d be then.

“She’s a duke’s daughter,” he muttered.Untouchable.

“And you’re a duke’s stepson who’s well on his way to fame and fortune.”

Spenser slid him a narrowed glance. “That’s not enough.”