“Thank you,” Daisy said.
He met Daisy’s eyes. “I voted for your proposal at the end.”
She blinked.
He shrugged. “Scant comfort, I imagine, to know the final tally was one against four. But if you want that comfort, there it is.”
The bell rang as Daisy stared in stunned confusion. “Thank you,” she managed. “And thank you for your patronage.”
She didn’t have time to say more. The bell rang yet again, and soon her emporium was flooded with customers. The class on dressing hair as a single woman without assistance was filled by eleven; she added an additional day, and that was filled by noon. She had to replenish the bangles from the store she kept in the back twice, the scarves three times, and the hairpins… Lord, she’d need to order more of those the minute she had a chance.
If this kept up, she would need to hire a shop girl. She’d need two.
At ten minutes from closing, the shop was still full. She scarcely looked when the bell rang again.
She saw a man removing a dark hat, a flash of auburn hair. The man was holding a young girl’s hand. The child smiled brightly at Daisy, her red hair a cloud of curls around her.
“Can I—” the girl started.
Daisy recognized her; she’d been sitting on her father’s lap during the competition.
“Go ahead, pumpkin.” The man released her hand. He didn’t look at Daisy.
But he accompanied his daughter to the register when she returned in five minutes. The little girl placed a bracelet of wooden beads on the counter.
“Two pence, please.”
Her father set two pennies down and looked directly at Daisy. “I wasn’t sure about you then. But my daughter was at the competition, and she’s been asking me to go to your store.” He trailed off, frowning. “I’m still not sure.”
“Enjoy the bracelet,” Daisy said to the young girl. “We’ll have new ones in next week, so be sure to stop by.”
Her father let out a sigh.
“I will!” promised the child. “Papa, look at my wrist.”
“I see it, poppet. It’s very pretty. Just like the rest of you.”
He was the last to leave, and as Daisy locked the door behind him and drew the curtains, she wanted to laugh triumphantly. She wanted to waltz around the room. And she would, right after she collapsed to the floor in a puddle of weariness.
Footsteps sounded behind her. Then a voice spoke in low tones.
“I believe I promised that you would have tea and pastries, madam.”
Daisy turned.
Crash stood behind her. He’d come in through the back door that joined their two shops. He had a tray, one stocked with sandwiches and some biscuits that he must have set aside earlier, because she’d been positive there was nothing but crumbs.
“I tried to bring you something at eleven,” he said, “but you were busy. So…” He set the tray down in her sitting area and waved her to a seat. “Sit.”
She did. “How was your day?” Crash had opened his velocipede store over a month ago.
He didn’t sit beside her. He knelt in front of her on the floor and very gently removed a slipper. His fingers pressed into the ball of her foot, into sore flesh that had been abused all day. She let out a little moan.
He shrugged. “Delightful. The appointment system you came up with last week has cut down the worst of the arguments. Who knew that the velocipede would prove so popular? One would have to be a downright genius to foresee that.”
She took a sandwich and bit into it. She was hungry, and his fingers were pulling all the aches from her feet, her calves.
“You foresaw that,” she pointed out. “You did.”
He looked up at her with a glitter in his eyes. “Ah. So I did. In fact, I suppose my genius is matched only by that of someone who recognized the need for a store catering to working-class women.”
“Ah.” Daisy smiled. The shop needed to be swept, the shelves restocked, new goods ordered, and the books done… She would never sleep. “Yes. My genius is much overtaxed at the moment.”
If tomorrow was like today, she’d have to hire someone.
“I’m greatly pleased,” Crash said, moving his hands up stockinged feet, “that my wife is also a genius. There’s wine upstairs and dinner.”
Daisy sighed. “After. I still have to—”
Crash shook his head. “When I saw how busy you were, I asked Cecilia Evans to come by in fifteen minutes. She’ll clean and restock, and you can eat dinner.”
“Eat dinner.” Daisy smiled at him. “Is that what we’re calling it these days? You didn’t just promise me tea and pastries.”
“So I didn’t. I know what else you need.”
Daisy waited.
“You’ll need a good night’s sleep.” His tone was pious. His look—and the touch of his hand against her knee—was utterly wicked.
“Hmm.” She considered him. “Do you know what helps me sleep?”
His smile broadened. “Yes,” he said. “Now that you mention it? Yes, I do.”
Thank you!
Thank you for reading Her Every Wish. I hope you enjoyed it.
So what happens with everyone else in the Worth family?
Her Every Wish is a side story in the Worth Saga. The Worth Saga is a story about the Worth family—Judith, Benedict, Camilla, Theresa, Anthony, and some others you haven’t yet met.
* * *
If you haven’t read Judith’s story yet, it’s available as Once Upon a Marquess.
* * *
If you want to know when the next book in the Worth Saga will be out, please sign up for my new release e-mail list at www.courtneymilan.com.
What can you tell me about the next book?
Next up is After the Wedding. Camilla Worth and Adrian Hunter will cross paths, and sparks will fly.
What do you mean others you haven’t yet met?
There are seven full-length books in the series. The Worth Saga is, of course, a series about the Worth family. But it’s also a series about an organization (which you’ll first discover in Book 3, The Devil Comes Courting) and another family (which you’ll meet for the first time in Book 2, After the Wedding). And, as with all my series, there will be a handful of novellas that explore side characters.
You can read an excerpt from Camilla’s book right after this page.
When will all these books release?
I’m not a fast writer, unfortunately, and I’m extremely bad at predicting when I’m going to finish a book. At my best guess, maybe late in 2016 for Camilla’s book? Add question marks to the end of any date I ever give you. Add lots of question marks. If you want to get an email when my books become available, you can sign up for my new release e-mail list at www.courtneymilan.com. Or you can follow me on twitter at @courtneymilan, or like my Facebook page at http://facebook.com/courtneymilanauthor.
I don’t want to wait that long! What can I do in the meantime?
I have three other finished historical romance series (as well as a handful of stories that aren’t in any series). If you’re new to my books, I suggest starting The Brothers Sinister Series with The Duchess War. It’s free on most platforms right now. It’s the first book in the Brothers Sinister series, and it’s about Robert Blaisdell, the Duke of Clermont, who doesn’t want to be a duke, and Minnie the shy wallflower who doesn’t want to be a duchess.
* * *
After that, you might want to read The Turner Series and The Carhart Series.
* * *
If you haven’t tried it yet, I also have a contemporary romance series. Trade Me is the first book in the series. It has all the things you know and love about Courtney Milan books (humor, angst, and lengthy author’s notes about things I couldn’t stop researching), but there are bonus smartwatches. Come for the technology; stay for foul-mouthed billionaires and jokes about insider trading.
* * *
If you’ve already read all my books, I have a list of recommendations for o
ther authors on my website at http://www.courtneymilan.com.
After the Wedding: Excerpt
Adrian Hunter has concealed his identity and posed as a servant to assist his powerful uncle. He’s on the verge of obtaining the information he needs when circumstances spiral out of his control. He’s caught alone with a woman he scarcely knows. When they’re discovered in this compromising circumstance, he’s forced to marry her at gunpoint. Luckily, his uncle should be able to obtain an annulment. All Adrian has to do is complete his mission…and not consummate the marriage, no matter how enticing the bride may be.
* * *
Lady Camilla Worth has never expected much out of life—not since her father was convicted of treason and she was passed from family to family. A marriage, no matter how unfortunate the circumstances under which it was contracted, should mean stability. It’s unfortunate that her groom doesn’t agree. But Camilla has made the best of worse circumstances. She is determined to make her marriage work. All she has to do is seduce her reluctant husband.
From Chapter One
Lady Camilla Worth had dreamed of marriage ever since she was twelve years of age.
It didn’t have to be marriage. It didn’t have to be romantic. Sometimes she imagined that one of the girls whose acquaintance she made—however briefly—would become her devoted friend, and they would swear a lifelong loyalty to one another. She’d daydreamed when she lived in Leeds about becoming a companion—no, an almost-granddaughter—to an elderly woman who lived three houses down.
“What would I ever do without you, Camilla?” old Mrs. Marsdell would say as Camilla wormed her way into her heart.
But Old Mrs. Marsdell never stopped frowning at her suspiciously, and Camilla had been packed up and shunted off to another family long before she’d had a chance to charm anyone.
That was all she had ever wanted. One person, just one, who promised not to leave her. She didn’t need love. She didn’t need wealth. After nine times packing her bags and boarding trains, braving swaying carts, or even once, walking seven miles with her aging valise in tow… After nine separate families, she would have settled for tolerance and a promise that she would always have a place to stay.
So of course she hoped for marriage. Not the way she might have as a child, dreaming of white knights and houses to look over and china and linen to purchase. She hoped for it in the most basic possible terms.
All she wanted was for someone to choose her.
Hoping for so little, she had believed that surely she could not be disappointed.
It just went to show. Fate had a sense of humor, and she was a capricious bitch.