Total pages in book: 53
Estimated words: 50869 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 254(@200wpm)___ 203(@250wpm)___ 170(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 50869 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 254(@200wpm)___ 203(@250wpm)___ 170(@300wpm)
What took the little shop to another level was her being photographed leaving it in one of the dresses. The tabloids ran the picture with some inane headline about “Royal Simplicity,” and within forty-eight hours the shop had years’ worth of backorders. The women sent her a handwritten note. She framed it.
I’ve watched from the sidelines as Solaria has fallen in love with her. The same way I knew they would. She’s a natural at this and was meant to be by my side.
She doesn’t see how beloved she already is. Mable thinks she’s still proving herself. There is nothing to prove or work toward. They’re drawn to her easy nature and her authenticity. Her genuine concern for others is apparent in everything she does. Mable has a way of listening to people like no one else exists. I know she wasn’t a fan of her mother dragging her all over the world, but I very much think that how she’s able to manage meeting so many people is partly due to that. It also helps that she can speak a handful of languages, putting all of us to shame. One would think that with all Mable has already done, my mother wouldn’t still be so standoffish. Yet that’s not the case.
“We should leave soon,” I say, setting down a proposal I was reading over or pretending to. I was more observing Mable. “The library event starts at three.” It’s a scholarship event for the kids, except it’s mainly adults there rubbing shoulders. It will be boring but necessary.
Mable looks up from her book, eyes bright. “Will I finally meet the famous archivist you mentioned?”
“Mrs. Pembroke. And yes.” I stand and offer my hand. “My parents will be there. Cordelia too—she’s been helping with the land dispute research, and there will be a few of those players there.”
“Right.” Mable takes my hand and lets me pull her up. “The treaty land thing. You two have been working late.”
There’s no edge in her voice. She’s genuinely trying, still open to Cordelia being a colleague rather than a threat. It makes me want to protect her from everything, including her own generosity.
“She knows the players,” I say carefully. “The history. It’s useful.”
“That’s good, then.” Mable smiles, trusting. “Let me change. The blue dress?”
“Whatever you pick will be perfect.” I kiss her forehead. “I’ll meet you downstairs.”
“You know, I was on the admissions committee at Supérieure,” she tells me as we head toward the library, “and I’m good with the dean there. I was thinking I could get two seats for a couple of young girls here in Solaria.”
I reach over and pick up her hand and kiss the back of it. “That’s a very generous offer. What do they have, maybe a thousand students?”
It’s not an easy college to get into. That’s the hard part; it’s not the tuition. Oh, it’s still a lot, but if you graduate from Supérieure, you’ll be plucked up by a company. They scout the students before they often even graduate. I’ve heard some are also recruited by government agencies.
“Around eight hundred, but the dean said she trusts my picks.”
“So it’s already a done deal?” I lift a brow, teasing because I’m not shocked by this. Mable is a planner. She’s not going to bring up a topic or idea without having already spent a ton of time on it.
“If that’s okay.”
“If that’s okay?” I laugh. “Beautiful, we could only be so lucky if you’d offer that to a couple of our girls here every time.”
“Thanks.” She leans over, pressing her mouth to mine, and I can feel her smile against my lips. You’d think I’d given her something and not the other way around.
“We’re here, sir,” my driver, Jenson, tells us, knowing I want to open the door myself for Mable.
“Ready?” I ask her.
“For a library? Yeah, I always am.” I open the door and step out before giving Mable my hand.
This isn’t a red carpet event, but cameramen have been showing up to about everything we attend lately. Mable is still a story they are running with. Normally I’d be pissed, but everything they’ve been writing about her is nice.
We make our way up the old stone stairs into the library. A few snap a couple of photos. Mable suddenly stops.
“Did I do it right?” I glance down at Mable, not sure what she means, but she’s not talking to me.
“Nailed it.” The young man holds his fist out, and Mable knocks hers against his on the side.
“Later,” she tells him, and we start walking again.
“What was that?” I’m trying not to be jealous, but it’s hard.
“Oh, that’s Jack. He’s new over at NVZ and trying to move up, so I’ve been making sure he gets a few good pictures.” She stands a little taller like she wants to tell me a secret, and I lean down some. “He showed me how to pose to take a good pic.”