I broke the embrace with my dad and took a step back, smiling.

  "Duke Braemar, it is good to see you again.” I heard Angus say, and I imagine them doing ‘the nod’ to one another.

  ‘It is good to be home, Prince Angus.” My father replies. “Since you are here, would you please see me when you return to the keep with my daughter? We have some things that we need to discuss, but it can wait till the two of you are ready to come back. I have some reports I need to prepare and that’ll give me time to take care of that.”

  “Of course, Your Grace. I shall seek you out upon our return.”

  “Is everything ok, Daddy?” I ask out of concern.

  “Everything is fine, lass. It’s just some business that needs to be tended to and having Prince Angus here makes things more convenient for me.” He replies with in a cheerful voice, but I recognize a serious undertone to it before it takes on a more genuine air. “You two enjoy yourselves, I’m sorry I interrupted. I just saw you and Prince Angus and decided to stop for a minute before heading on home.”

  I hold out my arms for another hug because it feels like the natural thing to do and he embraces me again before heading on his way back to the keep.

  Angus gently takes my arm in his and turns me around before guiding me into the shop that we were heading to before my father surprised us. Once inside, he describes several different hats to me while commenting on how he thought they would look upon my head. As he begins to describe the fifth hat, one that is so adorned with plumage that he says it would look like a peacock sat on someone’s head were they to wear it, one of the shop’s proprietors, a woman with a lovely voice, makes her way over to check on us. Upon hearing his description as she approaches, she laughs and heartily agrees with his assessment before she recognizes who we are.

  “Your Highness, Lady Beira, my apologies for approaching you both so casually, I didn’t recognize you.” She says stiffly as I see her general shape appear to kneel or bow deeply.

  “No apologies needed, you were treating us as you would any other customer, which is what we desire. Please, stand up.” Angus replies, a casual air to his speech.

  “Please, treat us as you would any other person that walks into your shop.” I add hastily, not wanting her to feel too uncomfortable. “Continue to t-tell us about this, um, adventurous piece, Mrs…” I say, gesturing in the general direction of hat as my voice trails off, not knowing how to address the woman.

  “Kerr, Addie Kerr.” She intones.

  “It’s a pleasure Mrs. Kerr.” I say smiling. “Please, tell me how such a piece came to be.”

  “This, um, unique head piece, was commissioned by one Lady de Bourgh.” Mrs. Kerr starts off, taking my words as permission to speak casually. “Perhaps you have heard of her?”

  I shake my head. “No, I don’t believe I have had the p-pleasure.”

  “Ah, well, she is one of the matrons of a minor house here in the city, though word is her house has fallen on hard times thanks to her eldest son, Lord George de Bourgh, who, due to a terrible gambling habit, had squandered most of the family fortune.

  “Anyway, the Lady de Bourgh came in about four months ago to commission this unique expression of fashion. The design, which went through seventeen revisions that I had to draw before she was happy, was based on a style that she claimed was all the rage with the fashionistas in Aberling. It wasn’t, by the way, but she insisted it was and who am I to tell the Lady de Bourgh what is and isn’t at the height of fashion in the world of headwear? Never mind the fact that this style went out decades ago.” She said dryly.

  “Regardless, once the crème de la crème known as the Lady de Bourgh was happy with the design, I spent a month tracking down a supplier who could provide the,” she cleared her throat. “’Colorful’ plumage of which now exists before you. After that, I spent a month working on nothing but that ostentatious head piece, making sure to get all the little details just right for the Lady de Bourgh. When she finally came in a week after notifying her that I had finished her commission, she went on and on about how marvelously perfect the piece was…”

  She paused for dramatic effect.

  “Until I told her the price. When I added up the costs of the quite rare materials and extensive labor that went into crafting the garish affair, she had the audacity to scoff, yes she scoffed at me, telling me that my price was absurdly inflated and that she could procure a better looking and better quality piece in the capital, to which I told her, if that were the case, she could go to the capital and get one there.”

  At this point, Mrs. Kerr’s voice had become rather animated through her telling of the story.

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “Well, the Lady de Bourgh was having none of that. ‘Why should I have to travel to the capital when you have the head piece here?’ She asked while looking down her nose at me. I quoted the price to her again, which, might I add was at cost plus labor because I felt bad for the crotchety old coot, and she, after taking the time to insult my shop and my work, had the audacity to ask me if I would allow her to pay for it in installments. Ugh, the nerve. So, I informed her that, till such a time as she could procure the full payment of her commission, the piece would sit here where, should anyone else have the desire to buy this atrocity to the eyes of all whose gaze falls upon it, they will be able to purchase it in all its glory. Until this day, I have never had someone storm out of my shop in quite as dramatic a fashion as the Lady de Bourgh did that day. She actually broke two panes of glass when she slammed the door.”

  By the point Mrs. Kerr had finished her tale, Angus and I were laughing at the completely over the top and ridiculous story of the gaudy hat and the unfortunate circumstances that led to its current presence in the shop today.

  “That is, uh, quite the t-tale.” I say as my laughter subsides.

  “I’m glad that someone can find mirth in my tragedy.” Mrs. Kerr replies, amusement in her voice that tells me she isn’t actually upset. “Now, My Lady, Your Royal Highness, how may I help you today?”

  Before I could say anything, Angus spoke up.

  “I was actually looking for a hair pin that would compliment Lady Beira’s eye’s.” He says quickly. “I notice that you have some on display over in that case, would you mind showing them to me?”

  “It would be a pleasure, Your Highness. Right this way.” She replies, clearly eager for a sale.

  “My Lady, can you wait here for a minute?” He says, taking my left hand into his. He lifts it and I feel a soft peck from his lips on my knuckles. “I’ll be just a minute.”

  “O-oh, ok.” I stammer, feeling my face flush.

  I turn around and pretend to study the various hats on display with the peacock hat while Angus walks off with Mrs. Kerr. It is awkward pretending to be studying items on display, but by the time Angus comes back, I feel that I have gotten adequate practice. Not that anyone else would care or judge me for doing so, but it helps to distract me from how self-conscious I apparently am in public without Angus to distract me.

  Luckily, I don’t have to wait long because Angus soon returns with Mrs. Kerr in tow.

  “Hold still for just a second, Lady Beira.” He says gently as he approaches.

  I do as he instructs and he wraps his arms around my head before sticking something into the hair that Mary had put up this morning. I reach up and feel the top of a hairpin sticking out. It feels as though it had a large jewel sitting on the top of it, with three delicate decorated strands dangling beneath the jewel.

  “Wha-.” I say, my surprise showing.

  “It looks perfect on you, My Lady.” Angus says softly and I can tell he is smiling just from the tone of his voice.

  “Dare I say it, Lady Beira, that hairpin looks as though it were made for you.” Mrs. Kerr says enthusiastically.

  I blush at their words, not sure how to react.

  “T-thank you.” I manage to stammer out, my embarrassment deepening.

  I turn and walk woodenly toward the door, or at least where I think the door of the shop is located. I hear Angus say something behind me to Mrs. Kerr moments before I feel his hands gently grasp my shoulders as he adjusts the direction I’m heading slightly.

  After we had left the hat shop, we continued to walk down the street with Angus pointing out the variety of shops, their wares, and the people that surrounded us. Several minutes of walking later, we came upon a dress shop and something must have caught his eye, though he refuses to tell me what. He led me into the shop and I remind him that he was supposed to be describing the contents of the shop to me. He describes a few of the dresses on display in the shop but continues to refuse to tell me what exactly had drawn him in. After a couple of minutes, he excuses himself, saying he needed to talk to the owner so I do what I did at the hat shop and once again pretend to examine the items around me, going so far as to reach out and feel the different fabrics. I find a variety of sensations as I run my hands over the different cloths, ranging from silky smooth, to coarse and wooly.

  Soon, Angus returns with a nervous sounding man who introduces himself as Thadeus Taylor before making a joke about his name mirroring his profession. After some small talk, Mr. Taylor leads me to the back for his wife, a pleasant-sounding woman with a homely voice, to take some measurements which gives me an idea about what Angus has in mind. At some point, I suspected that Angus had told them of my visual difficulties because Mrs. Taylor made it a point to describe precisely what she was doing at all times, while also describing the room that we were in while also interjecting comments about the business in general. When she is done, she leads me back out into the shop where Angus and her husband await us.

  Angus asks me if I would like to try on any of the dresses and I agree, reminding him of my expectations of him. He laughs tells me to trust him as he picks out several articles of clothing, with the aid of Mr. and Mrs. Taylor, for me to try on.

  I am shuffled into the back once again and Mrs. Taylor aids me in removing my outer garments and donning the ones that the three of them had picked out. As she works, she makes offhand comments about my figure and how the current outfit will flatter it before leading me back into the main part of the shop where Angus, with the occasional input of both Mr. And Mrs. Taylor, describes and critiques the outfit. Angus, as expected, is glowing in his praising of how each garment sits upon my form as he describes the dress. Mr. Taylor, clearly wanting a sell, appears to take inspiration from him, in upselling my beauty, while his wife is a bit more grounded and more realistic in her critiques.

  Eleven dresses later, we reach the final one and after going through the routine of getting dressed, showing it off to the trio, and then changing out of the garment, I am finally back in my own clothing. Once back in the main part of the shop, a part of me expects Angus to try to buy all of the dresses he had me try on and I prepare to stop him, but he surprises me by only picking three of the eleven, showing an amount of restraint that I hadn’t expected. I decide that three isn’t too bad of a number and am honestly grateful he didn’t do the cliché ‘I’ll take everything from here to here’ move that I had seen happen in so many K-dramas during my old life.

  As we are saying our goodbyes and leaving, my tummy reminds me of just how long we had been in the dress shop and I ask Angus if we can get something to eat before heading home.