I barely noticed the village as we arrived, too busy fretting years ahead of the moment. Mary knew her way around, and she marched us directly to the milliner's shop, windows dressed with silk flowers and lace veils and satin ribbons. Bright bells rang over our heads as we stepped inside, the little shop cluttered with accessories and hats on forms.
Mary marched directly to the front of the shop, near the counter, and began to studiously admire what I thought was a rather atrocious looking sunhat, piled high with silk flowers and feathers. I stopped by the spools of ribbon to observe her, a slight smirk curling over my lips the longer I watched.
She wasn't just looking at the hat, she was posing, twisting this way and that as she studied it, catching the sunlight from the window on her cheekbone. A moment later, I knew exactly why.
"M-miss Edmundson," a low voice stumbled out, a man appearing behind the counter from a back room. He looked to be in his late forties, but he was large and handsome, and if it weren't for the hopeless, stunned expression on his face as he stared at Mary, he might've had an almost rakish look about him, with his thick dark beard and broad shoulders.
"Mr. Mondrake, good afternoon," Mary all but sighed, turning to the counter and delivering a feminine curtsey, her hand pretending to rest on her bosom but really just pressing it higher against her collar.
"May I be of any service to you today?" Mr. Mondrake asked in such a desperate tone, I nearly snorted.
"Only browsing," Mary said lightly, and then very quickly added, "Tell me what's new that's come in."
I wasn't sure if this was the escape route from Rooksgrave Manor that Mary had in mind. Mr. Mondrake's shop was lovely, but it was only in a little village. Perhaps that was why Mary was so determined to save her earnings and so eager to spend outside of them. A lovely young woman was enticing, but a lovely young woman with a modest independent fortune could have her pick of bachelors.
I could see her then, one of the locals of this little village, marching about this hat shop like a queen of her own, small universe.
And it wasn't until I tried to imagine myself in her place, that I realized I found the whole thing sadly drab. Maybe Amon was right about me. Maybe I wanted more, and not just in terms of pleasure. I just wasn't certain what that more might be yet.