Excerpt from The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick, plus links to reviews, author biography & more

Arthur felt like he was back in French class stumbling for words. He had never been any good at languages, telling himself that it was unlikely he was going to venture far enough away from York to put them to any use. "Bonjour," he said, but then any French words whatsoever evaded him. He smiled to make up for his ignorance. "I am, er, looking for Madame Bourdin, the owner of the boutique."

"I am she, monsieur."

"Oh, good." He sighed with relief. "You speak English."

"I try. Comme ci, comme ça." Her laugh tinkled around the shop like the silver bells hung over the door. "Sometimes, though, my words are not so good. Are you looking for a wedding dress, sir?" She waved her hand as if waving a wand over his clothes.

Arthur looked down half expecting to now be dressed like Prince Charming. "Oh, no," he said. "Not for me. Well, obviously not for me. But I came to see you. I think."

"Moi?" She held her hands to her heart. "How lovely. Take a seat." She led the way to a white desk and waved him to the chair opposite—another throne with a blue cushion. "How can I assist you?"

Arthur took a photograph out of his pocket and placed it on the desk. It was one of Miriam and the children on the beach at Scarborough. "Have you owned the shop long?"

"Ah, oui. Many, many years now. I am the original owner."

"Then I think you may have known my wife."

She raised one eyebrow but then picked up the photograph. For a moment she studied it. She looked up at Arthur. Her eyes widened. "Oh, my. This is Miriam, non?"

Arthur nodded.

She peered back at the photograph. "Could you be… You are Arthur?"

"Yes." His heart did a small flip. "You know of me?"

"A long time ago, Miriam wrote to me. Not very often, but then I wasn't very good at keeping in touch, either. I am a good dress designer, but at letters, not so good. She told me that she was getting married to a lovely man named Arthur. I was invited to your wedding but unfortunately I had to stay in Paris to look after my mother. I offered Miriam a dress from the boutique but she wore her mother's dress, yes? So I sent her a present instead. It was a little charm that I found in an antiques shop—a gold thimble. It is the name of my shop."

"My daughter and I found a slip of paper with the name on it."

"I enclosed a small note when I sent Miriam the charm…"

Arthur took the charm bracelet from his pocket and held it out for her.

"But this is the charm!" Madame Bourdin exclaimed. "Miriam used to wear this bracelet all the time. That is why, when I saw the charm, I had to buy it to send to her."

"I am trying to find out the stories behind this charm and the others, madame."

"Madame. Tsk. You must call me Sylvie. You are asking me the stories, but can Miriam herself not tell you?" Her voice raised an octave with anticipation. "Is she here with you? It has been too many years."

Arthur lowered his eyes. "I'm afraid she passed away, a year ago."

"Ah, non! I am so very sorry, Arthur. C'est terrible. Many times I thought of her over the years. Many times I said that I must find her and get in touch. But then I am so busy with the shop and something else would pop into my head other than Miriam. But there are always some people that you keep in your heart, yes? That you never forget."

"How did you know each other?"

"We met through a man. He was named François."

"De Chauffant?"

"Yes. You know of him?"

"A little."

"I was one of his girlfriends when Miriam worked for him. He did not treat either of us well. When I came to my senses and decided to return to Paris I suggested to Miriam that she join me. So we escaped together! We had no plan, no money. It was an adventure." She hesitated. "What happened to her…?"

Excerpted from The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick. Copyright © 2016 by Phaedra Patrick. Excerpted by permission of Mira Books. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.