Secret Valentine by Katy Madison Read Free Book Online Page A

worshipfully from the back when she entered the shop,
but was too shy to come out unless another customer required
attention. It could be him.
    Then there was Devin, who was behaving like a
baited bear since their argument. She was tempted to throw a raw
fish and honey pot at him and tell him to pick his indulgence and
settle his spleen; but it was partly her fault, so she kept her
mouth civil.
    She thought his refusal to return home and
sleep in his own bed was largely the reason for his distemper. But
someone in a mood as foul as his wouldn't be capable of composing
sweet romantic messages.
    She tried to convince him that he should just
move back into his home, but he growled at her and then invited her
to ride in the park with him. She refused and made an excuse of not
fitting into her old habit. Really, she didn't have the time until
Saint Valentine's Day passed.
    She was so thankful she could count on him
leaving the house for Parliament at least three days a week. It
gave her a chance to make her deliveries without him hanging on her
sleeve. There had been too many times lately when he had insisted
on accompanying her and raised his eyebrows at her repeated
purchases of colored ribbons and lace.
    She had given each of the maids and the
footman a specially made valentine card and sworn them to secrecy,
but she didn't feel right enlisting their aid for deliveries when
they were in Devin's employ.
    She stepped into the emporium that displayed
her cards in the window. The store was crowded, and Cecelia hung
back looking at the merchandise. Finally, the harried shopkeeper,
Mr. Hartley, pointed her over to the curtained doorway while he had
his assistant take over.
    She stepped behind the curtain into a
storeroom with a jumble of boxes, crates, bolts of material piled
haphazardly everywhere. Or she supposed there was some order, but
it was hard to discern from the sheer volume of goods crammed
everywhere. The scent of cinnamon and cloves, wool and rosewater,
hung over everything. She took another step in among the clutter,
and the smells shifted.
    In front of her was a half-unpacked crate
with small wooden boxes inside. She lifted one up and nearly
dropped the exquisitely painted box when it chimed.
    The curtain swished behind her, and Cecelia
turned to see the shopkeeper.
    He looked at the box she held.
    Cecelia felt suitably chastised when he took
it out of her hands.
    "Just in from Vienna." He turned the box over
and wound a key on the bottom. He held it out and lifted the hinged
top, exposing a small, red satin-lined cavity.
    A waltz played with tinkling clear notes.
    They stood there as the music box played out
the few measures before it wound down.
    "That is lovely," said Cecelia, sad the music
had stopped, but enchanted by the piece.
    The shopkeeper smiled and set it on the table
with the others that had been unpacked.
    "I'll take all the cards you got."
    He was back to business, while she still felt
as if fairies hovered in the air.
    Cecelia hesitated a minute. She had
deliveries for other stores in smaller packets, but ironically this
shopkeeper who had doubled the prices they had set was selling
twice as many as anyone else. Her more elaborate cards were selling
for as much as ten pounds. She pulled out the other two packets.
She would have to deliver something to the other shops tomorrow and
send 'round a note today. She would have to use Devin's
footmen.
    "Do you 'ave more? I 'ave got one cove who
buys one or more everyday."
    "Really, what does he look like?"
    "A gentleman," as if that explained all. He
handed her the bag of money and the list. "I need more of these.
Now that Valentine's Day is getting closer I need a 'undred or more
for this coming week. Plus the order list is getting longer."
    She swallowed. Was he bamboozling her? No,
his look was sincere. "I'll get you as many as I can. They take
time to make."
    He handed her cards with tally sheets clipped
to them. "These 'ere are the backorders. Can you get