"Evelyn!"

"Yes, Mother?" I sighed as I made my way to where my mother was cooking some sort of chicken.

"I need you to run out and get some lemon, rosemary," My mother stopped to think, "And why don't you get some basil as well."

"Of course Mother, how many lemons?" I asked.

She paused and I could se her calculating in her head, "They'll keep for a while, so how about three or maybe four."

"Okay, I'll be back in a bit," I said as I put on my apron and my mother handed me some money.

"Be safe," She told me as I headed out the door into the marketplace. I walked over to the booth selling herbs and was just about to ask for a handful of rosemary sprigs when,

"Evvie!" My best friend, Cynthia shouted.

"Cindy, what do Miss Priss and Joy-less have you doing today?" I asked using the nicknames we coined for her two stepsisters, Priscilla and Joy.

"Nothing too much," she shrugged with a small smile, "I just had to pick up their gloves from your father's shop."

"Were you just there?" I queried.

"Yes and I heard your mother send you out, so I got the gloves then ran to meet you here," she stated.

"One second," I said to her and bought the rosemary and basil for my mother. "So," I said, turning back to her, you must have something to tell me, you've got that pensive look in your eye."

"Do you notice," she said as we walked to the stall that sold vegetables and fruits, "that recently all the handsome young men have been particularly nice to us lately?

I muttered, "And some not so handsome ones."

"What was that?" asked Cindy.

"I said, 'yes I do notice it'," I replied and shrugged sadly, "And that just gives my parents reason to try and get me married quite soon."

"It's not that bad, Evvie, you're sixteen," she said, being optimistic as usual.

"Yes, but you're seventeen, and no one's breathing down your neck telling you to get married," I tell her, then turn to ask for four lemons from the vendor.

"That's because my household doesn't care whether I get married or not , and don't look now but there's a handsome young man staring right at you," she said with a smirk.

My eyes widened as my head turned, "Where?"

She clucked her tongue. "He turned around the second you did, "she slapped my shoulder, "I told you not to look!"

I rolled my eyes, laughed, and slammed into someone. My lemons were scattered all over. I bent and tried to pick them up. "Sorry, I'm sorry," I said biting my lip.

"No, I'm sorry," the someone said as he knelt down to help me.

I looked up to see that he was handing me the two lemons that had escaped me. When our hands touched briefly, I blushed and caught a glimpse of his slightly unruly brown hair as he disappeared among the throng of people.