"If he says they are not, then they are not." On first glance, it might have even come across as jealousy, the way she protested. She did not mean to sound so insistent, and yet. She had to hold firm to her disbelief. She'd read the novel and she'd met the man, and following both encounters, she still found it next to impossible to accept this truth.

No matter. It was lies, and Felicity knew that. She would not worry about her literary ideals being shattered by these unusual circumstances. Besides, there was another intriguing figure just before her, one she knew even less about.

"Surely you do not find this trivial gossip as appealing as the rest of these people do." She tilted her head at Joly, eyebrow raised.