John stepped out of the carriage onto the dirty cobblestone street. Before him rose a long row of dingy white brick houses packed as tightly as fish in a barrel. They all had the same little row of stairs up the front leading to a dark door with the house number emblazoned across in brass numbers.

He checked the slip of paper in his hand one more time before pushing it back in his pocket and turning to pay the driver. John counted out the coins carefully, and paid no heed to the driver's disappointment at the lack of a tip. All things considered, this was already a rather frivolous trip, and he must be cautious how he spent his small amount of pocket money he allowed himself.

The Talby's were staying with an elderly aunt at house number 807, which John quickly spotted as he scanned the front doors. It was certainly not a fine neighborhood, but probably along the lines of what he would have to settle for in providing a place for Mother and Fanny if they returned to Milton. He had to check himself at that thought. It was of no use thinking of housing plans, when as of yet there was no reason to move.

A petite maid with a pinched face and wide brown eyes came to the door at John's knock.

"Good day to you. John Thornton to see Curtis Talby, if you please, miss."

"I will see if he's at home, sir," she replied, "Will you step in?"

It took a moment for John's eyes to adjust to the dark interior of the entryway. A dim oil lamp shed the only light leading off down the hall, and cast eerie shadows through the stair rails that led to the second level of the house. As the maid scurried off, John stole a glance in a gilded framed mirror, and scowled at the reflection. He had done his best to make himself presentable, but his shopkeeper's assistant attire seemed sadly worn and informal for visiting. His hair was in want of cutting as well, and-

Movement in his peripheral halted his dissatisfied observations, and he turned on his heels to see a phantom appear at the top of the stairs. Like an apparition from a fairytale, there stood a girl in a pale blue gown and hair flowing down her shoulders the color of starlight. She held a lamp in her hand, illuminating her ashen face, and with each step she seemed to float down the stairs.

When she reached the bottom, she stared at John without saying a word.

"Good day, miss," John said, rather brusquely, still recovering from his start.

"Good day," she replied softly. At that moment, footsteps came down the hall and in moment, Curtis was there, followed by the maid.

"John!" Curtis gave his hand a hard shake, grinning wide. "Finally a visitor to brighten our time here. Marie, this is John Thornton, whom I've been telling you about."

The ghost of a girl, now named Marie, gave a small curtsy and took her place beside her brother.

"You must come into the parlor and stay awhile, unless you have other business?" Curtis said.

"No, my errand in Milton was purely to see you."

"Capital! Jenny, could we trouble you for some tea and whatever you can scrounge up for a bit of lunch?" then turning back to John, "Aunt Helena ought to have something in that pantry of hers, and she's out for the day so it should be safe to check." There was a mischievous glint in Curtis' eyes that John had long missed seeing. It was good to be in the company of old friends.

Once settled in the parlor, John soon had a cup of hot tea in his hands and was deep in conversation with Curtis. He occasionally stole a glance at Marie, who sat in a brocade side chair working on a piece of embroidery. Her light hair hid her face, but John could tell she was listening intently.

"Marie has recently finished school in London. They say she's a proper lady now, but I liked her quite well before." Curtis turned to see what response his teasing would elicit from his sister, but Marie remained silent.

"Did you enjoy the school?" John asked. The flaxen head jerked up, and her startled eyes reminded John of a rabbit.

"My pardon," John retreated, but Curtis held up a hand.

"Come Marie, you ought to know it is polite to respond to a question."

Marie's wide eyes turned to her brother, and then back to John.

"My time at the school was beneficial," she said softly, "I owe much to my instructors there."

"I don't know how beneficial it was," Curtis said under his breath, "I suppose it's necessary for girls these days to be properly schooled, but I must say I would trade my little sister for in for this-this parlor decoration any day."

"Is that not rather harsh?" John whispered back.

"I suppose it is. She was never the outgoing sort to begin with, but school has seemed to scare away any bit of life in the girl. In spite of that," Curtis brought the volume of his voice up, "She has procured a suitor after her coming out party in London. If the school hasn't done much for her, it at least gave her some wealthy friends willing to help her along in society. Though I have to say, I am still puzzled as to exactly how she met the man, as she was hiding in the corner most of the evening."

A flash of blue fire lit Marie's eyes. "How insulting, Curt!"

Curtis beamed at her. "Was I really?"
She tried to hide the smile that was making it's way across her face. "Mr. Hemmings and I had a very nice conversation on the terrace-"

"After he pulled you from behind the curtain."

"I was not-" Marie stopped short with a look of disbelief. It was as if the defensive reply quite surprised her, and she did not know she was capable of such a sharp tone.

Curtis only laughed. "Do not be angry with me, dear sister, it's only that I've missed having a bit of fun with you."

Letting out a heavy breath, Marie turned to her brother and let her smile shine free.

John's thoughts lighted on his own sister for a moment. Would it benefit her to attend a school of that sort? Certainly her spirits could not be as easily quenched as Marie's and some discipline might even do her some good. During their time away from Milton, Fanny attended the small village school, and while reading, arithmetic, and history were all important subjects, should she not also be trained to be a proper lady? As she would have, had Mr. Thornton's death not been so premature in their lives. If he did get the position at the mill, and with his father's debt now paid, he could start putting aside money for Fanny, and- No! He caught himself. These were worthwhile ideas, but not to be dwelled upon yet. However, while he had the opportunity, maybe he should ask Curtis some more questions about the school his sister had gone too.

"Curtis, how much did it cost for Marie to attend this school?"

Curtis thought a moment before replying, "You know, I am not certain. Both of our educations were paid for from a trust fund set up in our parents in their will, and our family solicitor has managed that. I could write to him and inquire, if you would like."

"No hurry, but if it wouldn't be too much trouble…"

"Not at all!"

An hour more passed in the dreary little parlor, brightened with laughter and good-humored conversation. Marie, having warmed up to her brother's visitor, now joined in as well.

"Do you remember the time-" Curtis started to complete his sentence, but began laughing too hard to get another word out.

"Which of us are you addressing?" Marie asked.

Curtis could only shake his head and point to John.

"Oh dear, this could be interesting," John said, leaning back with a smile. "Are you recalling the time when you and I put salt in the-"

"No, no," Curtis gasped. "The time Mrs. Archer misplaced me."

"What on earth do you mean by that?" Marie was clearly confused, and furrowed her brows at her brother, who burst into another laughing fit.

"I'll tell it," replied John. "Curtis had been ill for a few days, and so Mrs. Archer, the housekeeper at the school, wanted to move him out of our shared room into the spare one, so I wouldn't catch whatever he had. Well, after she had him all tucked in abed, something called her attention elsewhere. When she finished that, she decided to bring a tea tray up for Curtis, but brought it to our room, where I had returned from class and was studying. I had no knowledge of her decision to place him in the spare room, so I had no answer when she asked me where he had gone."

"She forgot where Curtis was?" Marie said, wide eyed.

"Plumb forgot!" Curtis slapped his leg and continued laughing.

John cleared his throat and had to speak up to be heard over his giggling friend.

"Her first thought was that he and I were playing a prank on her. I tried to assure her that was not the case, but unfortunately, we did have a bit of a reputation for mischief. She became so frustrated that I didn't know where Curtis was, that she retrieved one of the teachers to get me to tell the truth. We were all in the hallway arguing- me trying to convince them I had absolutely no idea where he was, and they thinking I must know. It happened that the spare room was right across from ours, so as our racket grew louder, it woke Curtis and he came stumbling out, grumbling 'What's all the fuss about?'"

"Mrs. Archer looked as though she might faint!" Curtis added, falling back on the couch in laughter again.

Marie looked to John. "Did they apologize for accusing you like that?"

"Oh yes, Mrs. Archer was thoroughly embarrassed, and was quite sorry about it all."

As the three of them laughed over the memory, the door to the parlor opened and it was not Jenny the maid who entered, but Aunt Helena. A hush fell over the room.

Curtis was the first to break the silence as he got to his feet.

"Why, Aunt Helena, we didn't know you would return so soon."

"Is it a habit of your to entertain guests while I am absent?" she said, glaring down her nose at him, although even Marie must have been taller then her.

"Aunt Helena, this is my friend, Mr. John Thornton."

John rose and gave a slight bow. The elderly woman eyed him haughtily as she passed in front of him to take the chair beside Marie.

"And what, pray tell, is your occupation, Mr. Thornton, that you can go about visiting midday like a gentleman?"

John was unsure whether she was condemning the idea he might be from a wealthy family, which was probably not the case, due to her clear view of his dingy attire. Though, it was odd for a tradesman to out and about on personal business at this time of day.

"I currently work as a shopkeepers assistant, but was allowed leave to visit Curtis today." John said, returning to his seat.

"Hmm," was all Aunt Helena replied.

John could see Marie and Curtis were uncomfortable in the presence of their aunt, and he was feeling that it might be best to make his exit now. As he stood again, Curtis leaped up.

"Leaving so soon?"

"I really ought to be going. It was wonderful to see you Curtis, and to meet your sister." John paused, then realized he had forgot someone. "It was a pleasure meeting you as well," he said to their aunt.

"Likewise," she answered with no emotion.

"I'll walk you to the door," Curtis said hurriedly.

Once they were in the foyer and John had retrieved his coat, Curtis put a hand on his shoulder.

"Thank you so much for coming here. You don't know how much this meant to me, and Marie as well. I do not think I have ever seen her laugh that much."

"I don't believe I have ever seen you laugh that much either," John smiled.

"We will keep in correspondence? I don't know when we will be back in Milton, not for a long while if I can help it, but if you are ever in London, you must look us up."

"I certainly will. So long, old friend."

"Good bye, John."