She was more delighted than she'd expected to have surprised him, and didn't bother hiding it — the smile on her face had turned conspiratorial. "Books you don't let the general public see," Sera elaborated. She gestured with one hand at herself. "Or, books you don't usually show to socialites."

As a debutante, she would have never asked for such things — at least not openly. There were pamphlets passed between her and her friends, books one stole from a married sister or an older brother, but one did not purchase them. But now Seraphina was awake, and she was married, and there seemed to be no harm in inquiring after illicit materials.