This debacle, though no fault of my own, is going to have disastrous repercussions on my reputation as a matchmaker. Indeed, it is only a matter of time, perhaps hours, before requests to cancel my services start arriving. While I remain hopeful that Lord Greybourne will find the missing piece of the stone and end the curse, I’d be foolish not to make plans in the event that he is unsuccessful. Even if this proves to be merely a postponement, rather than a permanent canceling of the nuptials, with all the gossip already flying about, it could take months to repair the damage. If he fails…” She pressed her fingers to her temples in an attempt to keep the few remaining remnants of her rapidly disappearing sanity from escaping. “Good Lord, in that case, I am well and truly ruined. My livelihood is destroyed…” And she well knew how limited the choices were for women to earn a living. I won’t go back… I’ll never go back.

Albert narrowed his eyes. “If ye ask me, this curse is mighty suspicious-like. Maybe this Greybourne bloke is makin‘ it all up so he don’t have to get married.”

Meredith slowly shook her head. “I don’t think so.”

“Yer just too trustin‘, that’s all,” Albert said.

“I’m not saying I believe in this curse. In truth, I’m not quite sure exactly how I feel about it. As incredible as it seems, I somehow find I cannot discount it. And there is no doubt in my mind that Lord Greybourne believes in it absolutely.”

“Well, that just proves that the bloke’s half daft.” Albert pointed his index finger at her. “I think ye should stay away from him, Miss Merrie. I don’t trust him one bit. And in the meanwhile, don’t ye worry none about funds. I’ll take on some nighttime labor, maybe down at the docks. Or we can resettle somewhere else, somewhere where the gossip ain’t been heard. Maybe somewhere near the sea like we always talked about. We’ll get by, just like always.”