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yourself, dear. There’s no need to go into a tizzy. So, he’s home. Does he plan to stay?”
    “He’s been abroad for ten years or more. I’m certain he plans to remain long enough to renew his acquaintance with his aunt and the rest of his family. He has much to beg forgiveness for in that department after being gone for so long.”
    Marianne nodded and leaned back into the chair. She tapped her chin thoughtfully. “I wonder what prompted this return. Was he sent for?”
    “Yes, Mrs. Prescott sent a letter,” Julia said. “Something about his sisters and their uncle. I had a difficult time concentrating with him so near.”
    “You still have feelings for him?” Marianne asked in a rather shocked voice.
    “None that I would admit to,” Julia lied. Being eight years her junior, her sister had been very young, barely the age of nine, when Basil left. Julia was uncertain how much Marianne remembered about her relationship with the eldest Merriweather boy. She did not wish to prompt any more memories. “I was simply in shock. He’s been gone over a decade.”
    “To be sure,” Marianne muttered, and then waved her hand at Julia. “Oh, do please stop your pacing. My head is beginning to ache from it.”
    Julia stopped and stared. “Does that happen?”
    Marianne scowled in annoyance. “A habit, I surmise.”
    “I do not believe I possess the strength to go through with our plans. Not with Bas—Mr. Merriweather in residence. There must be another way to find it.”
    “There is no other way. You have no choice, Julia.”
    Julia sighed. She clasped her hands and looked Heavenward as though for inspiration. She continued her pacing, even as Marianne frowned her disapproval. “It’s one thing that I must lie to Mrs. Prescott, but I cannot lie to Mr. Merriweather. He will see through it. I know he will.”
    “He’s been gone so long. Much has changed since then.”
    “True,” Julia admitted. She stopped pacing to stare into the low flames of the fireplace. Much had changed. She had changed. From his reaction to her, it seemed he barely remembered her.
    Had she meant so little to him? She squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to admit to the pain burning in her chest. She shouldn’t feel wounded. She’d done her best to cast him from her memories. It proved difficult for the first five or six years, until she admitted he’d never be back. Basil Merriweather had no intentions of returning. She’d hoped to forget him, and for a time she thought she had.
    And, now he was back.
    At a most inconvenient time, too.
    Julia glanced at Marianne, who watched her warily. She noted the dark circles beneath her sister’s eyes. Marianne was relying on Julia to finish what she set out to do. Julia couldn’t let a little thing as Basil Merriweather stop her from finding that book.
    Julia straightened and lifted her chin in resolution. Taking a deep breath, she said, “I can handle him.”
    Marianne’s left eyebrow lifted in doubt, but being the supportive younger sibling, she nodded in agreement. “Of course you can. He does not know you anymore, does he? You’re quite changed. You are not the same Julia Grey.”
    That was the truth in its entirety. She was not the same. She never would be. Too much had altered in life for her to ever go back. Instead, she looked forward to the possibilities of a new future for her and her sister. Any feelings she might have for Basil must be set aside. She refused to allow thoughts of him to interfere in her plans.
    Taking another deep breath, she said, “I must go. Mrs. Prescott will be wanting her shawl.”
    Marianne stood to follow, but Julia stopped her.
    “No, I’ll be fine. You remain here. I’ll let you know what occurs.”
    “I’ll keep out of the way,” Marianne said, a pout forming along her lower lip.
    Julia shook her head. “It won’t do. I need no distractions. None at all.”
    Her sister looked about to protest, but after a moment she relented. Sighing, she took