*Michael*
From the moment I left Leah, I have wanted to return to her, but I suspect she needs some time alone with her thoughts and worries. So I wait until late morning.
When I walk into the shop, Marianne greets me, but her smile is a little less bright. "Hello, Mr. Solman."
"Miss Marianne. Is Miss Tempest about?" I ask her with a warm smile.
"She is tidying up the reading parlor." She answers.
I give her a friendly nod. "I will go up, then. I need to have a word with her."
"Of course, sir." She says.
I bound up the stairs and enter the reading parlor. She is sitting on the floor, near the fireplace, several books stacked beside her as she wipes a cloth over the now empty shelf. I stride over to her and crouch down. "Leah..."
"The thing about having a bookshop that one doesn't
