Caught by Surprise

by Jen Turano

  Never one to refuse an offer of a treat, Temperance took one, nodded her thanks, and began to nibble it as Miss Snook suddenly looked rather disgruntled.

  “I don’t care for so many Pinkerton agents roaming about the place tonight.”

  Temperance choked on the cookie, coughing and wheezing for a good few seconds as she tried to catch her breath. Dashing a hand across eyes that were now watering, she drew in a needed gulp of air and lowered her voice. “Good heavens, Miss Snook, do not tell me that you’re wanted by the law.”

  “Clearly that vivid of imagination of yours is getting away with you, Miss Flowerdew. Do I look like a woman who is wanted by the law?”

  “That’s difficult to say since you could be a master of disguise, hence the success you’ve enjoyed thus far of eluding capture.”

  “I’m not wanted by the law, nor am I a master of disguise. I simply suffer from an unfortunate childhood. That childhood is what compelled me to provide better lives for women not born to the manor, but born on the mean streets of this city, those who were destined to earn a paltry wage working in those manor houses because they don’t have the skills necessary to obtain better wages and less dangerous work environments.”

  Temperance took a seat in the chair directly beside Miss Snook’s bed. “If you suffered from an unfortunate childhood, how in the world did you manage to obtain the education needed to open up your school?”

  Settling back against the pillows, Miss Snook began rubbing her temple. “That is exactly the information I don’t want the Pinkerton agents to uncover. But since I’m certain that unusual mind of yours will be conjuring up all sorts of dastardly scenarios, allow me to simply say that my mother, a woman born in the meanest part of the city, worked as a scullery maid. Unfortunately, she was a very beautiful scullery maid and caught the interest of the wealthy gentleman whose house she worked in, and I was the result of that interest. That gentleman paid for my education even though he never publicly acknowledged my existence.”

  “Forgive me, Miss Snook. I should not have pried into your personal affairs.”

  Miss Snook waved the apology aside. “There’s no need to apologize, Miss Flowerdew. If you’ll recall, I did open the door for personal inquires when I asked why you don’t want to marry Gilbert Cavendish.”

  “I suppose you did, but still. You’re entitled to keep your secrets.”

  “Secrets have a way of coming out, and the secret of my past does make for a sordid tale.” Miss Snook caught Temperance’s eye. “There’s no need to feel sorry for me though. I’ve recently come to terms with my past, thanks to the help of Reverend Benjamin Perry, a wonderful gentleman Gertrude introduced me to not so long ago. He advised me to accept that the circumstances of my birth are not a shame I need to continue carrying with me for the rest of my days, advice I’ve decided to heed. But because I am a woman alone, and I’m a woman who is pursuing a quest many in the city do not share since I encourage domestics to leave their places of employment, I must be mindful of my reputation. That reputation, as you very well know, would be ruined if word spread about my illegitimate status.”

  “I’ll never say a word.”

  “I know you won’t, and now . . . it’s your turn. Why are you reluctant to marry Gilbert Cavendish, a gentleman, in my humble opinion, who seems to hold you in great affection?”

  She swallowed the first explanation she wanted to give—the one that dealt with the idea they wouldn’t suit because they were opposites—and she swallowed the next explanation—the one revolving around the notion she didn’t care to become a countess. Temperance took a moment to truly consider the question. The conclusion she finally came to caught her by surprise and left her reeling.

  Clearing a throat that was somewhat dry, she settled back on the chair. “My reluctance, I’ve just this moment realized, stems from a fear I’ve apparently been keeping well buried—that if I agree to marry Gilbert, a gentleman I might hold more than simple affection for, he won’t return my affection in the manner I want him to, which will make me resent him. Gilbert is one of my very dearest friends, but if I marry him and then turn resentful, we’ll no longer be friends. I’m not willing to lose his friendship.”

  “You’ve never seemed like a resentful type to me.”

  “I also never thought I was a selfish type, but I’m sorry to say I was mistaken about that,” Temperance admitted. “I didn’t even consider that Gilbert was reluctant to accept the title of earl and all the responsibilities that go along with it. All I was concerned about was pursuing my own happiness, wanting to stay here in New York because I’ve become comfortable here and finally feel as if I’ve found my place in the world.”

  Miss Snook considered her for a long moment. “Reverend Perry recently told me that our choices in life are colored by events that happened in our past. There’s no way to avoid that, and what you need to understand, Temperance, is that you’ve survived degradation and neglect at the hands of your relatives and have come out stronger for that experience. Reverend Perry believes God gives us these difficult times to allow us an opportunity to grow. You’ve certainly grown, risen above that neglect, and seized life in a new and exciting way, finding yourself in the process if I’m not mistaken.

  “You also seem to have learned what makes you happy, and there’s no shame in that, nor does it make you selfish. God, I’ve come to believe, wants us to live lives of happiness. And while I’m certain you do feel guilty about not wanting to abandon your newfound happiness in New York to move across the ocean, you need to consider all your options.

  “Will you still be happy here once Gilbert moves away? Are you, perhaps, projecting how miserable you’ll be as a countess because you’re unwilling to take the chance of loving Gilbert when there is a possibility he doesn’t return that love? And is it possible for you to set aside your fears, agree to marry Gilbert, and discover you’ve been wrong about everything and will actually find your very own happily-ever-after?”

  Temperance blinked in surprise. “We seem to have really traveled past the barely acquainted stage and plowed directly into let-us-now-solve-all-Temperance’s-problems, haven’t we?”

  Miss Snook smiled. “Indeed we have, so . . . now that I’ve posed some most thought-provoking questions, it’s time for you to reach deep into your very soul and find some answers.”

  Before she had an opportunity to further consider anything Miss Snook had said, a knock sounded on the outer door of Miss Snook’s suite of rooms.

  Temperance got to her feet. “I believe this is where I leave you to enjoy your questionable sickbed since it’s undoubtedly someone looking for me on the other side of that door.”

  “I’ll look forward to picking up where we left off sometime in the near future,” Miss Snook called after Temperance as she moved through the door of the bedchamber and into the sitting room Miss Snook kept neat as a pin.

  Uncertain she was keen to continue a conversation that had left her unsettled, she walked over to the door and opened it, finding Gilbert on the other side. He was looking very handsome indeed, even with the bluish-black bruises under his eyes. Her gaze dropped, as did her jaw, when she got a look at his fresh neckcloth, intricately tied, but sporting a large amount of . . . pink.

  “You should know better than to issue me a challenge” were the first words out of Gilbert’s mouth before he sent her a far-too-superior smile.

  “How did you take me telling you to avoid any pink in your neckcloth as a challenge?”

  “How did you take me telling you it wasn’t a good idea to take an old rowboat you patched with mud into the middle of a very deep pond as a challenge?” he countered.

  She refused to smile. “That was an obvious challenge because I needed to prove to you that my patching with mud would work.”

  “We sank and had to be rescued by your father.”

  She gave an airy wave of her hand. “That’s beside the point, and you cannot use that as a reasonable comparison. I wasn’t challen
ging you about the pink, I was telling you not to wear it.”

  “Which I took as a challenge because it’s what we do—that and look out for one another.” He smiled. “And that is exactly why I’ve come to fetch you. Mrs. Vanderbilt and Mrs. Astor have been trying to run me to ground, and those ladies frighten me half to death. I need you to run interference for me.” He leaned forward toward the open door. “You certain you’re too ill to join the festivities, Miss Snook?” he called.

  A cough that was far too dramatic to be considered real was Miss Snook’s first response. “I’m still feeling incredibly peaky, Mr. Cavendish, so you and Miss Flowerdew will need to enjoy the evening for me.”

  Pulling the door closed after Temperance stepped into the hallway, Gilbert shook his head. “She’s not truly ill, is she?”

  “No, and don’t think I haven’t thought about assuming an illness as well. It’s only my deep affection for Gertrude that’s forcing me to attend this ball tonight.”

  “You adore balls.”

  She opened her mouth to argue, but then smiled instead. “Oh, you’re right, I do. And I want to see Harrison’s reaction to the ballroom, so we’d best get up to the third floor.”

  “The receiving line is almost at an end,” Gilbert said, taking her arm as they began strolling down the hallway. “Gertrude is brimming with excitement, and I don’t believe I’ve ever seen Harrison looking so happy.”

  “How lovely.”

  Nodding to the Pinkerton detective who’d followed her when she’d gone to visit Miss Snook, Temperance reached the stairs, and together, she and Gilbert climbed them.

  “Perhaps an elevator would be a welcome addition to this place,” she said, feeling a bit winded after reaching the third floor.

  “At least we didn’t have to race up the stairs this time, nor did we have anyone chasing us.” Gilbert slowed his pace, giving her an opportunity to catch her breath. He then stopped completely after they moved into the ballroom. “What an incredible talent you have, Temperance. I’m afraid I didn’t appreciate what you’d done with the ballroom a short time ago, but it’s amazing. You’ve captured the look of the sky when you’re sailing the seas, and Harrison will adore it, especially since you created this for him and Gertrude.”

  A trace of heat settled on her cheeks. “I wasn’t certain the plan I made to create the effect for the sky would work, but thank goodness it did.” She nodded to the red, orange, yellow, and midnight-blue swirls of fabric that were draped over the entirety of the ballroom ceiling. “My venture to Chicago set me behind schedule, but thankfully Eugene was more than helpful with getting all that fabric secured, and he helped attach all the glittery stars to the windows and drapes.”

  “He’s a good man, that Eugene, although he made a horrible criminal.”

  Pulling Gilbert farther into the room, Temperance took a few minutes to make certain everything was in place as servers began entering the room, holding silver trays filled with glasses of champagne and delectable treats that had been made by the women at the school who’d once worked in the kitchens of some of the most noted society members of the day.

  As guests streamed into the ballroom, Temperance soon found herself garnering more than her fair share of attention.

  “What are we going to tell everyone?” she whispered as a group of young ladies, with her cousin Clementine leading the pack, headed their way.

  “We’ll tell them that no formal announcement can be made because I’m in mourning for my brother, and it would be untoward to announce such pleasant news under such troubling conditions.”

  “That’s brilliant,” Temperance exclaimed. “Why didn’t you think of it sooner? And . . . you should be wearing a black armband.”

  “Thank you for the brilliant part, and I didn’t think of it before because I’ve been a little preoccupied with trying to dodge death.”

  “I bet Asher has something black you could use for an armband in one of his well-supplied pockets, so off you go. I’ll meet up with you later.”

  “Asher and I are opening the ball with a speech,” Gilbert told her, giving her hand a squeeze before he turned to scan the crowd.

  “And I have something to do after that speech, but I’ll find you after that.”

  Gilbert frowned, but before he could question her further, his gaze settled on an approaching Clementine and company. Sending them an inclination of his head, he tossed a look of apology to Temperance right before he bolted away.

  “Coward,” she muttered under her breath as Clementine reached her.

  “Here she is, my darling, darling, cousin,” Clementine gushed, taking Temperance so aback that she didn’t have a second to prepare herself when her cousin, the same lady who’d only recently loathed the very sight of her, pulled her into an honest-to-goodness hug.

  When her cousin did not immediately release her, and even gave her a small squeeze, Temperance couldn’t help but wonder if perhaps the time had come when she and Clementine wouldn’t hold quite so much animosity toward each other, an idea that was curiously appealing.

  “You’re looking lovely, Clementine,” Temperance said after her cousin released her.

  Clementine, surprisingly enough, grinned and leaned closer, lowering her voice. “I had to change in Aunt Minnie’s kitchen after she and my parents thought I’d left for the ball.” She stepped back and gestured to her golden gown. “Aunt Minnie believes bold colors are untoward, but I think they’re lovely.”

  “Your aunt and parents decided not to attend this evening?”

  “My parents are far too embarrassed by everything that has happened of late to show their faces here. And Aunt Minnie didn’t want to attend because she feared she’d spend half the night answering questions regarding why my parents weren’t in attendance.”

  “Perfectly understandable, and odd as this is undoubtedly going to sound, I’m glad you came.”

  Clementine smiled. “Of course you’re glad I came. You’ve probably been wanting to thank me for getting the newspapers to print all that delightful business about you and Gilbert.”

  “I’m not sure thanking you is exactly what I had in mind. Bodily harm was one of my first inclinations, although you’ll be relieved to learn that does seem to have passed.”

  Clementine glanced to the ladies who’d followed her, all of whom were watching them with unbridled curiosity.

  “I leaked that information so you wouldn’t find yourself vying for Gilbert’s attention, something I thought you would have realized as soon as you read the articles,” Clementine whispered.

  “How would I have realized that? It’s a completely nonsensical notion.”

  “It’s not, but this is hardly the time to quibble about such a trifling matter. I’ve promised my friends an introduction to you.”

  “I’ve known those ladies for years. In fact”—Temperance turned her gaze on the ladies in question and nodded—“Miss Potter once thrust an umbrella at me, demanding I hold it over her head for her while she searched for something in her reticule, unwilling to allow the sun to beat on her head for even the briefest of seconds.”

  “Well, don’t remind her of that,” Clementine said. “She’ll be mortified.”

  “And I wasn’t mortified by having to hold an umbrella over her head, something she neglected to thank me for after she found what she was looking for?”

  “Ladies, do come and greet my cousin” was Clementine’s response, proving she was still a bit of a nuisance, but a more friendly nuisance who could possibly turn into something more.

  Thankfully, Temperance was spared a lengthy visit with Clementine’s friends when a loud bell rang, brandished by Mr. Barclay, who’d abandoned his duties at the front door to Tobias for the evening and was now trying to get everyone’s attention. As soon as the guests quieted down, he gestured Asher and Gilbert forward. Once Gertrude and Harrison were standing directly in front of the orchestra, Asher delivered one of the most heartfelt congratulatory speeches Temperance had ever
heard, with Gilbert adding his own sentiments after Asher was done. Taking a glass of champagne from a server, Temperance raised her glass and toasted the happy couple, taking a sip as she felt her heart warm.

  Standing beside Gertrude were Harrison’s parents, Edwina, and Edwina and Harrison’s other two sisters, Margaret and Adelaide. Miss Henrietta and Miss Mabel were also standing in the front of the room, and beside them was Mrs. Davenport, wiping her eyes and beaming at Gertrude—her affection for her former employee visible for everyone to see.

  “They will be happy, won’t they?”

  Turning, Temperance found Permilia standing beside her, wiping a tear of her own away.

  “I do believe they will, as will you and Asher.” Temperance smiled. “I’m sure the very idea that wallflowers have somehow managed to get away from their walls and secure two of the most eligible gentlemen is befuddling society ladies all over the city.”

  “You know you could join the wallflower group that has stolen those eligible men right from underneath the noses of so many hopeful society ladies, don’t you?”

  “I could indeed, but now is not the time for that discussion.” Temperance nodded to where the orchestra members were beginning to take their places. “That’s my cue, so if you’ll excuse me, I’ve a bit of a surprise.”

  Leaving Permilia looking rather confused, Temperance moved through the crowd, hoping her surprise was not going to be a complete disaster, but knowing that even if it was, her friends wouldn’t mind at all.

  Chapter

  Twenty-Four

  As Temperance walked past him, flashing him a nervous grin, Gilbert had no idea what she was about until she moved up to a piano and dipped into a curtsy.

  The entire ballroom went silent as she straightened, smiled, then drew in a deep breath.

  “She’s going to play,” his mother whispered, appearing right beside him. “I haven’t heard her play in years.”

  “Nor have I,” he whispered back as Temperance began to speak.