by Deborah Hale
“Very handsome, indeed,” Miss Fairfax replied, though she had only glanced at him for an instant. “Now we must let your father get away to dine with his guests.”
For some reason, Miss Fairfax’s brusque compliment made Jasper self-conscious. He was used to thinking of himself as a practical man of business, a widower with five children, not an ardent young beau who made ladies weak in the knees. To hear himself called handsome was... unsettling.
Once the children were tucked in for the night, Jasper sensed their governess wanted to speak with him.
“What is it, Miss Fairfax?” He affected a severe look. If not for her meddling, he could have retired to his study for a quiet evening or gone off for a solitary walk. Now he would have to entertain a party of guests, several of whom might hope to become the next Mrs. Chase.
She opened her mouth to speak just as the nursery clock chimed.
“It can wait, sir.” She looked relieved by the delay. “You mustn’t keep your guests waiting.”
“That would never do.” His voice rasped with sarcasm as he stalked off.
By the time he reached the drawing room, Jasper was practically choking on his resentment of the situation in which Evangeline Fairfax had trapped him. The sight of his friend Norton Brookes eased his wrought-up feelings slightly. But the way Miss Anstruther tried to lure him into conversation at every turn set his teeth on edge almost as much as Miss Leveson’s incessant giggles. He wondered if the ladies were aware of the purpose behind this house party. If they were, Abigail Brookes and Margaret Webster gave no sign of it, for they seemed more interested in talking to each other than to him.
The moment dinner was announced, Miss Anstruther seized his arm. “Since I will be seated beside you, Mr. Chase, we ought to go in together.”
Jasper barely managed to bite back an exasperated sigh. He had almost forgotten the ridiculous rules of precedence that governed such gatherings. As host and hostess, he and his mother-in-law would sit at opposite ends of the dining table with the lady of superior rank seated on his right and the corresponding gentleman on Mrs. Thorpe’s right. The rest of the guests would range on either side, with the most humble occupying the middle.
That would put Norton Brookes farthest from Jasper, while placing him between Miss Anstruther and Mrs. Leveson.
Adding that to his list of grievances against his children’s governess, Jasper forced himself to smile at Miss Anstruther. “It will be... an honor to escort you.”
He glanced toward his mother-in-law and received a subtle nod of approval as she accepted Norton Brookes’s arm.
When Mr. Webster bowed to Mrs. Leveson and requested the honor of escorting her to dinner, Jasper held his breath, awaiting her reply. This party was a precarious mixture of minor gentry and prosperous business folk. Some people with claims to gentility went out of their way to avoid anyone in trade, no matter how great their fortune. Though Miss Anstruther appeared willing to unbend in that regard, Jasper was not certain Mrs. Leveson would be quite so broad-minded.
To his relief, she accepted Mr. Webster’s invitation without the slightest qualm.
Abigail Brookes approached Miss Webster. “In the absence of any more gentlemen, shall we go in together?”
Margaret Webster did not appear troubled by the dearth of male guests. “I believe we can make do.”
Gemma Leveson gave a tinkling giggle. “I reckon that leaves you and me, Mrs. Dawson.”
Miss Anstruther’s companion looked around anxiously at the other guests as if intimidated by having the slightest attention paid her.
“Come along, Verity,” Miss Anstruther bid her in an impatient tone. “Do not delay us with your timidity.”
Mrs. Dawson blushed and scurried to join Miss Leveson.
They proceeded in to dinner, which Jasper was pleased to discover well planned and well prepared. Was this all his mother-in-law’s doing, or had Miss Fairfax worked behind the scenes to make certain the house party would be a success? Jasper could not imagine where she’d found the time. Any family with five children was bound to keep their governess busy, especially when she must often act as both mother and father to them. Then again, Miss Fairfax had proven herself a woman of singular resourcefulness.
Had he shown his children’s governess how much he appreciated her uncommon devotion? The question troubled Jasper. Could that be part of the reason Miss Fairfax wanted to leave his employ—because he had taken her for granted?
Just then he realized the table conversation had fallen silent.
“I... beg your pardon?” he asked Miss Anstruther, who was staring at him expectantly.
“I asked about your children,” the lady repeated with a look of avid interest. “How do you manage all on your own with so many and your business to operate besides?”
Some of the other guests resumed their separate conversations, voices hushed as if to keep one ear out for their host’s reply.
“I am hardly on my own.” He nodded toward Mrs. Thorpe. “Their grandmother has been of invaluable assistance to me. And their governess is a treasure. I do now know how we would have managed the past few years without her.”
Miss Anstruther nodded. “What a blessing it is to have reliable servants.”
Her condescending remark irked Jasper. He was still annoyed with Evangeline Fairfax for arranging this matchmaking party without so much as a by-your-leave. But hearing her referred to as a mere servant vexed him even more. Clearly Miss Anstruther had no conception of the scope of Miss Fairfax’s duties or how much she meant to his family.
Before he could say anything he might regret, Miss Anstruther added, “I do hope we shall have an opportunity to see the little darlings while we are here. I have always been vastly fond of children, haven’t I, Verity?”
“Vastly fond,” her companion parroted like a dull scholar giving a rote response.
“My Gemma dotes on children.” Mrs. Leveson glared across the table at Penelope Anstruther as if this was a contest in which the lady had claimed an unfair advantage.
Jasper could imagine what his eldest sons would think of being called little darlings, but he suspected Rosie would love the attention. “I assure you, everyone will be seeing a great deal of my children, and hearing them too.”
“I heard them before dinner, playing in the garden,” said Abigail Brookes. “They sounded as if they were having a jolly time. If I hadn’t been dressed already, I might have stolen out to join in their games.”
“That would have been amusing, wouldn’t it?” Gemma Leveson cast a mischievous grin at Abigail. “Perhaps we shall have another chance while we are here.”
Miss Webster had been very quiet but now she looked down the table at Jasper. “Your children are fortunate to have such an excellent governess, Mr. Chase. I was devoted to mine. It broke my heart when I outgrew lessons and she went off to a new position. Do tell us more about your children. How old are they? What mix of boys and girls?”
Miss Anstruther gave an offended sniff. “I was just about to ask that. Do tell us, Mr. Chase.”
Jasper had never thought he would grow tired of talking about his children, but by the end of the meal he had been so thoroughly quizzed on the subject, he was eager to explore a new topic of conversation. With a sense of relief, he watched the ladies retire to the drawing room.
“We shall have to stick together, gentlemen.” He rose from his chair and strode to the opposite end of the table, taking his mother-in-law’s seat. “I fear we are badly outnumbered.”
The two men chuckled—Piers Webster in a rumbling bass and Norton Brookes in a ringing tenor.
“I don’t object to being surrounded by ladies.” Mr. Webster leaned back in his chair. “Provided I am not their quarry.”
Norton gave a rueful grin. “A poor vicar is not likely to be an object of interest to any lady. I reckon you can have your pick, Jasper. The only difficulty will be in choosing.”
“I don’t want to choose.” Jasper hoped they would not
be offended on behalf of their womenfolk. “This house party was not my idea.”
Mr. Webster nodded. “Getting a push from your mother-in-law, then?”
“Something like that,” Jasper muttered.
“Well, I won’t pretend I wouldn’t welcome you into my family.” Mr. Webster folded his large hands over an ample expanse of waistcoat. “I’m not getting any younger and it would be a relief to leave my mill in capable hands, until a grandson were old enough to take it over.”
Jasper appreciated the older man’s frankness.
“Margaret is a fine lass, if I do say so,” Mr. Webster continued. “She’s got her mother’s good looks, thankfully, and a sensible head on her shoulders.”
“Which she gets from you?” Jasper asked.
The older man shrugged. “I like to think so.”
“Any man would be fortunate to win a woman like your daughter.” Jasper hoped he had not offended Mr. Webster by seeming to spurn her. “But I have my hands full with my children and my mill. Besides, I’m not certain I am ready to remarry.”
“I wasn’t anxious to think about marrying again for a great while after my wife passed on.” Mr. Webster shook his head. “Now I wish I hadn’t left it too late. Don’t you make that mistake, lad.”
Jasper glimpsed a shadow of profound regret in Piers Webster’s eyes that made him wonder if he might be wise to take the older man’s advice.
Evangeline rubbed her eyes and gave a deep, weary yawn. From her perch a few steps up the servants’ stairs, she could hear voices coming from the drawing room, punctuated now and then by waves of laughter.
She wished she could hear who was speaking and what they were saying—who was provoking the laughter. Then perhaps she could gauge whether her matchmaking plans had any hope of success. Was Mr. Chase joining in the laughter or was he sitting in stony silence, too annoyed with her meddling to make any effort to enjoy himself?
After all she had done to arrange this party, it galled her to hang back and let events take their course. From her earliest years she had been accustomed to making things happen and her industrious mother had encouraged her.
“There are some people who claim Providence helps those who help themselves.” Evangeline fancied she could hear her mother’s words of encouragement. “But I believe it helps those who help others. We who believe must do everything in our power to make our world a better place.”
“I will, Mama,” she whispered fervently.
Orphan girls, like her friends from school, needed her to provide the kind of safe, loving, stimulating sanctuary they deserved. The Chase children needed her to find them a new mother who would make Amberwood the kind of home to which their father would want to return more often.
Yet as much as those goals compelled her, Evangeline could not stop thinking about what Jasper Chase had said to her in the garden. How would she feel if he tried to push her into marriage by arranging a party like this with several eligible gentlemen as guests? She knew the answer to that question all too well. She would feel manipulated. She would feel as if her wishes were of no consequence and her plans for the future did not matter.
Despite the fact that she had been up since early morning and put in a full day with the children, Evangeline knew she could not sleep until she had apologized to Mr. Chase, even if it meant lurking on the servants’ stairs waiting for the party to disperse for the night.
As if on cue, she heard the drawing room door open and Reverend Brookes apologize for being the first to retire. His sister claimed she was tired, too, but perhaps she only felt obliged to leave when her brother did.
Evangeline heard the door close, followed by footsteps that paused a little ways away.
“Perhaps it was a mistake for us to come.” Reverend Brookes sounded as tired as Evangeline felt.
“What makes you say that?” His sister gave a wry chuckle. “Just because Miss Anstruther is better bred than me, Miss Leveson is younger and Miss Webster prettier and richer, do you suppose I stand no chance at all of snaring your handsome friend?”
Somehow it irked Evangeline to hear Miss Brookes call Jasper Chase handsome. She told herself not to be ridiculous. She wanted all the eligible ladies to admire her employer and be eager to marry him if asked.
“Tosh,” replied the vicar. “You have plenty of fine qualities to recommend you and Jasper is just the sort of man to appreciate them. There is more to him than a handsome face and a good income. You know that cotton mill of his in Manchester...?”
“What about it?”
Miss Brookes and her brother must be climbing the main staircase. Their voices were growing fainter. But the vicar’s remark had piqued Evangeline’s curiosity. Though her conscience chided her that it was ill-bred to eavesdrop, she stole up the servants’ stairs and strained to catch the rest of the conversation.
“How admirable,” she heard Miss Brookes say as they reached the upper floor. “I had no idea.”
“Not many people do,” her brother replied. “My friend prefers to do his good works in secret. Mr. Webster told me about it. I believe he considers the whole scheme a harmless eccentricity of Jasper’s.”
What scheme were they talking about? The curiosity Evangeline had hoped to slake only intensified. No doubt this was her just punishment for eavesdropping.
It was clearly something to do with Mr. Chase’s cotton mill. But what could be admirable about that? Often during the past six years she had thought quite the opposite about her employer’s business, which kept him away from his children so much. Whatever it was, why had he never told her?
Curiosity battled conscience again, only this time the latter won. Evangeline forced herself to descend the stairs with as much stealth as she could manage. Five steps from the bottom she sat down and resumed her vigil. The brief snatches of conversation she had heard ran through her mind as she tried to figure out the crucial part she had missed.
A while later she jolted awake to find herself slumped against the wall. Thank goodness she had not pitched forward and tumbled down the last few stairs!
Hearing voices, louder and more distinct, she realized what had woken her. The party seemed to be breaking up for the night.
“It has been a most enjoyable evening,” said Mr. Webster. “In spite of the drubbing I took at whist from the ladies. I hope we may play again, Mrs. Leveson.”
“I expect we will have plenty of opportunities,” the lady replied. “Sleep well. I’m certain I shall after such a fine dinner.”
The others wished Mr. Webster and his daughter good-night then the Leveson ladies lingered with Mr. Chase, Miss Anstruther and her companion. The two pairs of ladies did not address a word to each other but made stilted conversation with their host. Evangeline sensed that neither wanted to be the first away to bed, leaving the others to prolong their conversation with him.
Mr. Chase must have realized it too and decided he would have to be the one to end the impasse. “I regret I must bid you good-night, ladies. There is a small task awaiting me in my study which I must finish tonight. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow.”
A subtle change in his voice made Evangeline doubt his sincerity, but she did not believe the ladies knew him well enough to catch it.
Did she know him at all after six years in his employ? Evangeline rubbed her eyes and rose to her feet as quietly as she could manage.
Now that there would be no advantage in outlasting one another, the ladies bid their host good-night and headed up the front staircase.
Mr. Chase strode away in the direction of his study. But instead of marching briskly past the servants’ stairs as Evangeline expected, he turned onto them and started up the steps.
Coming unexpectedly face-to-face, they both sprang back, letting out stifled cries of alarm.
“Miss Fairfax!” Her employer clutched his broad chest. “What in blazes are you doing here at this hour?”
What could she tell him? Evangeline’s heart pounded painfully against her ribs.
It was a natural reaction to such a fright, she told herself. Surely there could be no other reason for her heart to behave that way.
Chapter Three
THE LAST PERSON Jasper expected to meet on the back stairs was his children’s governess. In all the time Evangeline Fairfax had been employed at Amberwood, he had never once seen her around the house after the children were tucked in for the night.
In fact, he hadn’t thought he would meet anyone on the stairs. He’d hoped to slip up to his bedchamber quickly and quietly before the ladies reached the second floor. His sudden encounter with Miss Fairfax sent a jolt of alarm through him, magnified by embarrassment over his furtive behavior. He struggled to catch his breath.
Clearly he had given his children’s governess as much of a fright as she’d given him. She jumped back, a strangled squeak erupting from her lips.
“Miss Fairfax!” Jasper clapped a hand to his chest in an effort to settle it. “What in blazes are you doing here at this hour?”
She seemed to shrink from his question, but before she could answer, an alarming possibility occurred to him. “Is something wrong with one of the children? Alfie? Has he hurt himself again?”
His agitation seemed to steady her. “No, sir, nothing like that. The children are all sleeping soundly after their play in the garden. I am here to apologize for arranging this house party without your permission and for pushing you to remarry.”
“You are?” Her admission surprised Jasper almost as much as her presence. Miss Fairfax was a strong-minded woman, not inclined to back down. What had made her change her mind?
She gave a convulsive nod. “I thought about what you said—how I would feel if our situations were reversed and you were trying to make a match for me. Of course I would object to it in the strongest possible terms. I still believe it would benefit you and your children if you remarried, but it was wrong of me to force your hand this way. For that, I beg your pardon.”