Dearest Booke,
I have thought hard about what I want.
So much has happened since I was trying to sell handkerchiefs and slippers in Bath.
I am no longer a part of the Durand family.
I have a trusted friend, a position in her household, and her support as I continue to work on my business.
I have learned the truth about my “rescue” from Mr. Barrow.
I have met my mother.
And I have been loved by a man.
If things had been different—indeed, if the events of the past six months had played out in a different order—I might have loved Mr. Dryden in return. Indeed, I do love him. But I will not marry him.
I was very, very close to wanting to be married, just to end the stressful journey of trying to be my own person, an independent woman, which is not an easy thing. But I have Catherine in
