One week later…

Daisy could hardly contain her excitement as she sat inside the colorful tent belonging to Lady Miselda. The morning sun peeked between the slits in the fabric walls and a tingle ran through her body at being in such an exotic location with a most unique companion. A real, honest to goodness, fortune teller. She could not wait to tell Rosie all about it, though Rosie would likely scold her for leaving Talcott House without permission. And not only without permission, but against Miss Wickersham’s express orders—such dire warnings had never stopped Daisy before.

Though she was Daisy’s best and dearest friend in the entire world, sometimes Rosie was a wet blanket, in Daisy’s opinion. But, she thought, as a wave of melancholy caught her off guard, she would miss Rosie most of all once she left Talcott House.

Her bit of sadness vanished as Lady Miselda lit a stick of incense, the foreign scent filling the small enclosure and Daisy inhaled deeply, the aroma nearly as enticing as that of fresh baked cake. The multiple bracelets on the soothsayer’s wrists jangled as she reached for Daisy’s hand.

“Hmmm, you are looking forward to a special event, are you not?” the woman said, holding Daisy’s palm in her wrinkled hand and tracing the lines with one of her pointed fingernails. Excited anticipation wound through Daisy as she stared at her palm; she couldn’t wait to hear what Lady Miselda had to say about her future. In addition to her uncanny knowledge of Daisy’s impending special event, the fortune teller had the most remarkable twinkling dark eyes which Daisy imagined could easily see beyond the physical world. What wonderful truths—and not so wonderful truths—about other people had this woman with the clinking bracelets glimpsed during her lifetime?

“Yes,” Daisy finally said, peering closer to see what the fortune teller observed in her hand, “I am getting married today.” Simply saying the words sent a jolt through her. In only a matter of hours, she would be Lady Kensington and have her very own papa.

“Today! For heaven’s sake, child, what are you doing here on your wedding day?” The fortune teller glanced at Daisy, genuinely surprised.

“I could not sleep and I wanted to visit the fair yesterday, but Miss Wickersham—she’s my guardian and the headmistress of Talcott House where I live—forbid any of the girls to go, even though I am soon to be a married woman and will not have to follow any rules.”

The woman rose an eyebrow in reply. “Why were you so eager to attend the fair, young miss?”

“Oh, I could see many people milling about enjoying themselves as well as the festive banners from my bedchamber window. Besides, I have never been to a fair. I could hear the music and I wanted to be part of the fun. I could only imagine the astonishing things happening and Miss Wickersham unjustly prevented me from attending, especially since I have been an exceptionally good girl lately,” she explained in a breathless rush.

“Have you, now?” The fortune teller looked a bit skeptical as she poured a cup of tea for each of them and passed one to Daisy. “Drink,” she said.

“Yes, I have,” Daisy said, taking a sip of the hot beverage. “I know all of us breaking through the ceiling of her study made Miss Wickersham cross, but it could not be helped. You see, my friends, Cynny, Rosie and I were trying to find out what all the shouting in Miss Wickersham’s study meant, so we used the secret peephole in the upstairs closet.”

“Shouting? And you broke through the ceiling?” The Romani woman’s dark eyes widened and she gave Daisy her undivided attention. “I should like to hear about that.”

“Oh my, a great deal of shouting, even more than the day I carried a piglet inside and it got loose in the dining room.” Daisy reached back and rubbed her bottom. “Miss Wickersham almost wore out her ruler on me. I do not know why it made her so angry, such a small and loveable animal. Not nearly as messy as the time I brought the chickens in to keep them warm during a snowstorm.”

“But why,” Lady Miselda redirected her, “was there shouting in Miss Wickersham’s study and how on earth did you manage to fall through the ceiling?” Lady Miselda held her tea in both hands and gazed at Daisy expectantly.

Never one to shy away from telling a dramatic story, particularly if she had an eager audience, Daisy set about regaling her hostess with an engaging tale of the time, a mere seven days prior, when several events conspired to change the future for Daisy and her dear friend, Cynny.

“And now,” Daisy finally paused after a vivid retelling of the entire tale, “who do you suppose is going to marry Lord Kensington?”

“You!” the woman said with enthusiasm and surprise.

“Yes! Can you believe it? Even though she was angry about us eavesdropping and breaking the ceiling, Miss Wickersham has agreed to allow the marriage. However, Rosie and I did get punished for spying.”

“Miss Wickersham sounds like she can be strict when you are naughty.” Lady Miselda’s dark eyes sparkled with humor and a smile tugged at her lips.

“You are right about that,” Daisy said. “I have had to spend a lot of time in the naughty chair at Talcott House, but Miss Wickersham can also be very nice. She has taken all of us girls in and given us clothes and a safe place to live. And she finds papas for everyone, well, everyone but Garland.” Daisy felt a warm glow in her chest thinking about her own papa, Lord Kensington. Between visiting the fortune teller and getting married, today was the most exciting day of her life, thus far. She exhaled a shaky breath, feeling increasingly giddy over her present location and her impending nuptials to the handsome and kind Lord Kensington.

“A papa?” Lady Miselda reached for a decanter and poured a bit of brown liquid into her tea.

“Yes, a papa is a man who is also a husband and wants a little lady to spoil and love and care for. Miss Wickersham says because we all had difficult lives as children, we deserve to be spoiled so she finds papas to provide for us forever and ever.”

“And Lord Kensington is going to be your papa and your husband?”

“Exactly. I scarcely believe it.”

“Then why have you come here? Why are you not at Talcott House preparing for your wedding?”

“I am still a bit nervous. Can you tell me, will Lord Kensington and I be happy together? Will he love me as much as I love him?”

Lady Miselda smiled at Daisy. “I should be most surprised if he did not find you completely lovable, my child, but let us see what the tea leaves have to say.” She picked up the tea cup which Daisy had emptied after her lengthy explanation. Lady Miselda turned the cup in her hands and tilted it toward the light, her brow furrowed and her bracelets jangling with her every movement.

“What does it say? Please, you must tell me.” Anxiety skittered through Daisy’s body and she wondered if perhaps she had made a bad decision when she sought out the fortune teller. Perhaps she preferred not to know.

After what, to Daisy, seemed like an eternity, Lady Miselda set the cup down and looked at her. The air of mysticism in the tent thickened as the fortune teller’s gaze suddenly took on a faraway look, as if she was truly glimpsing future events in the life Daisy would share with the handsome Lord Kensington who made her tummy flutter every time she thought of him.

“I foresee a long, happy marriage between you and Lord Kensington, but it will not come about without a certain amount of pain and heartache. Both of you have lessons you must learn before true happiness and love can bloom in your marriage.”

“What kind of lessons?” Unease rolled through Daisy.

“You must contend with your impulsiveness and tendency to overreact and jump to conclusions, as well as your tendency to give in to your insecurities. Lord Kensington, on the other hand, is a serious man with a darkness in his past he’s been trying to outrun, but he must learn that one cannot outrun their past, one can only learn to live with it. He must also learn to be more flexible, especially when it comes to you, as he is far too set in his ways. You will help him find the joy which has been missing from his life for so long, and in return he will give you the love, acceptance, and security you’ve always dreamed of, as well as the guidance you require.”

Daisy stared at the fortune teller and gasped. “But, how can we find happiness together if our relationship will be difficult at first? Are-are you certain we both have lessons to learn? It already feels like we’re in love—I mean, almost—and he’s been nothing but a gentleman when he’s come to call upon me at Talcott House.” In particular, the word acceptance echoed in Daisy’s head and caused her another pang of worry. Did that mean what she thought it meant? She couldn’t imagine any circumstance in which she might tell Lord Kensington of her true origins and her tainted family history. Such knowledge would likely make a gentleman as distinguished as himself cringe. She opened her mouth to ask the fortune teller if indeed Lord Kensington would discover this truth about her, but then she promptly pressed her lips tightly together. This bit of information, she really did not wish to know ahead of her wedding.

Lady Miselda smiled and reached across the table to pat Daisy’s hand. “My child, every trial you endure will be well worth it in the end, for you will have a husband who loves and adores you beyond all measure, a husband whom you will love with your whole heart. There is a reason Lord Kensington did not marry your friend that day.”

“What-what reason is that?”

“It’s quite simple, my child,” she said, patting Daisy’s hand again. “You and Lord Kensington are soul mates.”

The bells of the local church chimed the hour, causing Daisy’s stomach to flip. Time had gotten away from her. She jumped up and nearly toppled the table between them. “Thank you for talking with me, but I must go now. Oh dear, I am going to be late for breakfast and Miss Wickersham will be most unhappy if she catches me.”

“Even on your wedding day?”

“Miss Wickersham’s discipline never takes a holiday,” she said and rushed from the tent.