A Comedy of Elopement

In a sun‑kissed December on the historic promenade of St. Augustine, two young women stroll under a glow that makes the city feel like a dream. Fifteen‑year‑old Aimée, wide‑eyed and eager, watches her older friend Fanny Berrien wrestle with a secret that could ruin a promised engagement. Fanny is torn between a respectable match and a reckless suitor who threatens to whisk her away on an elopement.

As the twilight deepens, Aimée offers herself as a conspirator, promising to help Fanny keep her promise to society while avoiding scandal. The novel unfolds with witty banter, social expectations, and the frantic plotting of a would‑be runaway, all viewed through the lens of youthful imagination. Readers are treated to a light‑hearted yet emotionally honest portrait of love, duty, and the kind of mischievous bravery that turns ordinary streets into stages for drama.