𝐇𝐎𝐍𝐄𝐘𝐌𝐎𝐎𝐍 𝐅𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐒 ( 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘯 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘰𝘯 )

𝐎𝐍𝐄. 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴

🍯🎻📜 | 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲𝐦𝐨𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐬.

CHAPTER ONE
❛ a simple note leaves
lingering feelings ❜

✧∘ଂ ࿐ ཾ

LUCIENNE did not think she would see him again. Colin was his name, which she learned at the end of their short time with one another a few days prior when he was picking out an instrument for his sister. She did not think that she would see him again because one day passed and he did not show up, and another went by, and he still had not come into the shop.

But now there he was, entering the place, as Lucienne was dusting off some of the instruments toward the back. And it was not even her to notice him at first, it was her friend Elizabeth.

"Perhaps the most handsome man I have ever seen has just walked in here," The dark-haired girl stated as she was haphazardly dusting as well.

When Lucienne turned her attention toward the front door and was hit with the tiniest wave of happiness upon seeing Colin, it made her realize that even though she had not expected to see him another time after their initial meeting, she really had wanted to see him again. The feeling confused her. "I know him."

Elizabeth looked at the golden-haired girl inquisitively. "Really? Please do tell me where you have been hiding him all these months that I have known you? I know we only discuss Jane Austen and Mary Shelley in our classes, but you could have happily brought him up in conversation too. I swear to you, no one would have complained."

Lucienne laughed at her friend's remark. "I only met him a few days ago. He came in to buy a violin as a gift for his sister."

"Oh, how adorable. I am guessing either the violin was defective, or you made a lasting impression on him and made him want to come back. However, I do not see a violin in his hands, so I think it is the latter that is correct," Elizabeth said with a small smirk on her face. In response to that, Lucienne playfully hit her friend with the duster and then placed it down on the small wooden table next to them before going over to Colin.

"Do you have another sibling that needs an instrument?" Lucienne asked him with a tiny hint of a smile on her face as she wiped off some of the specks of dust on the light blue dress she was wearing.

Colin chuckled a bit at Lucienne's question, catching her gaze for a moment and then looking away. "Uh, actually, yes. I remembered my younger brother is, um, also quite into music as well, and he would be quite upset if I did not also get him a violin."

"We can get him the same as your sister if you would like?" She asked and gestured in the direction of the violins, still in the exact same area as they had been last time.

He nodded. "Yes, that would be great."

Lucienne guided him toward where the previous violin he bought was and handled this second purchase quite quickly. A small part of her wanted to find a way to be in his presence a bit longer, but she knew that there was not much she could do to fulfill that want.

"Thank you again, Lucienne," Colin told her with a small smile on his way out of the shop.

She smiled back at him and nodded. "Of course, you're welcome, Colin."

When Lucienne went back over to where Elizabeth was still by the instruments in the back, she was quick to take notice of the wide smile on her friend's face. "He is absolutely in love with you, Lucy."

Lucienne lightly scoffed upon hearing her friend's words, which she thought were completely exaggerated. "We have only interacted with one another two times, Elizabeth."

"These days, that is quite certainly all it takes," Elizabeth told her, a sureness to her words. "The way he looks at you reminds me of the way Charles and I look at each other. And now we are engaged to wed in a month and a half."

As much as Lucienne actually wanted to believe what her friend was saying, the logical side of her brain told her that Elizabeth's words were the farthest bit from realistic, and that same part of her mind also knew that it would be for the best if her words were not true.

Potentially falling in love was not something that she planned on doing while in Italy. Studying reading and writing as much as she could, before her parents forcefully hauled her back to England, was at the top of her agenda. And she had absolutely no plans of altering that, even if it was seeming that her heart and brain were wanting two alternative things.

"You and Charles are different. I did not come here for love and marriage; it is quite the opposite, actually," Lucienne said as she went back to once again dusting off instruments.

"It's not what I thought I was coming here for either. I only wanted to study too," Elizabeth responded with a small upturn of her shoulders. "Love simply happens, Lucy. It is not something that you can necessarily plan for."

Lucienne let out the smallest sigh. "Okay, okay, enough of all of this love conversation. Can we please finish this dusting and then grab something to eat before our class tonight?"

Elizabeth simply nodded at the golden-haired girl's request, deciding against pushing her further on their previous topic. Mainly because she knew how much of an aversion the girl had to the thought of love and marriage, always pushing it down as something to ponder about at a later date and time. All of which stemmed from the fact that it was something that her parents continuously tried to force on her in her life.

.·。.·゜✭·.·✫·゜·。.

"A very handsome man came in searching for you earlier in the evening," Were the first words Lucienne heard from Madame Westwood upon entering the shop after her night class. "He left a note."

She could feel her heart drumming in her ribcage as Madame Westwood handed the spoken of note over to her. There was only one person she hoped the note would be from, and as much as she did not want to feel that way, there was absolutely nothing she could do to stop it. Perhaps Elizabeth's words from earlier were quickly proving to be quite right.

Lucienne,

     I came by the shop this evening hoping to see and talk to you again. Since you are not here, the kind Lady that owns the shop told me that I could leave a note for you. However, what I want to discuss with you is not a subject that is fitting over a note. I will be coming by again in the morning, and I hope I can see you then. And before you think that I am trying to buy another violin for my siblings, I can promise you it is not that.

Sincerely, Colin Bridgerton

Lucienne could not help the smile that graced her face as she read his last statement, which she thought was quite a funny joke. The rest of the note, however, she was confused by. She had no idea what he could be wanting to talk to her about, but nevertheless, she felt quite intrigued about seeing Colin in the morning.