by Deborah Hale
He wanted her help to win the hand of a woman she was no longer certain would be the right sort of wife for him? Evangeline struggled to swallow that irony, which she found a good deal more bitter than her coffee.
Miss Fairfax did not seem nearly as enthusiastic about helping him as she had been at first. Jasper found her change in attitude rather annoying, considering this matchmaking business had been her idea.
He’d resisted it in the beginning but lately he had begun to change his mind. Would the same ever be true of Miss Fairfax’s claim that the children belonged with him in Manchester? Jasper did not want to believe it, but he could not be entirely certain. That was why he’d been so grateful to Margaret Webster for agreeing with him.
There was a great deal more about the lady to recommend her as a prospective bride. She had a pleasant personality and got along with all his children. Her background was similar to his late wife’s and she preferred to live in the country. Besides, her father seemed anxious for a match between them. If they were related by marriage, Piers Webster might be willing to try some of Jasper’s reforms.
Was that enough on which to build a marriage? Jasper’s heart demanded. Shouldn’t he feel something more for a woman he would consider making his bride?
Perhaps not, he tried to persuade himself. Marriage based on romantic feelings was for the young. He had responsibilities to his family and his work that must come before sentiment. He did not want to care for any woman so much that his feelings for her might distract him from his work.
In response to his request for more courting lessons, Miss Fairfax shifted in her chair as if it had suddenly grown uncomfortable. “I am not certain I have anything more to teach you, Mr. Chase.”
“Surely you must,” he appealed her. “Two lessons on any subject is hardly a proper course of study. Your first two lessons proved most valuable.”
Evangeline Fairfax avoided his gaze. “The extra sleep would likely provide more benefit than coming here so early every morning to consult with me.”
She might be right, yet Jasper found himself reluctant to give up these early-morning chats. Even when Miss Fairfax urged him to talk about the past he would rather forget, this time with her seemed to get his day off to a proper start. It was like the coffee they shared. The brew might be bitter or a trifle too hot, but it was always stimulating and made him hanker for more.
“Why are you so reluctant to assist me all of a sudden?” he asked. “I thought you wanted me to marry Miss Webster as soon as possible so you could leave to set up your school.”
Now that he understood her motives for wanting to take on that task, he no longer begrudged her need to leave Amberwood.
“Of course I do,” she insisted. “It’s just that....”
Jasper had been told enough falsehoods in his life that he had could recognize one when he heard it. “Do you no longer approve of Miss Webster because she agrees with me that the children are better off here than in Manchester?”
In response to his blunt question, the governess met his gaze head-on. “I cannot deny it has given me second thoughts.”
“Why?” he demanded. “Because you want to leave a deputy behind who will act and believe just as you would, even if that puts her at odds with me? Is that any way to insure my children’s happiness, by having their parents in constant disagreement?”
Miss Fairfax flinched at his questions, making Jasper suspect she had not considered the matter in that light. “I do not want any such thing. But neither do I want your children to have a mother who never questions their father’s decisions and always believes he knows best about everything. Such an arrangement might make for a peaceful household but at what price? I know you want what is best for your children, but your judgment is no more infallible than that of any other man or woman.”
Even when he thought he had her outwitted, Evangeline Fairfax had a knack for challenging him in a way he found difficult to refute. Jasper could not decide whether to be indignant or amused. Perhaps a little of both with a helping of grudging admiration thrown in for good measure.
“I never claimed to be infallible.” He could not suppress a self-mocking grin. “I only want a wife who will understand the importance of my work and support me in it. Not one who will view it as a rival and constantly seek to distract me from it.”
The moment the words left his mouth, Jasper knew he had said too much—especially in the nursery, where one of his children might wake and overhear. He cast a furtive glance toward the bedroom doors.
Relieved to see no sign of the children stirring, he resolved to change the subject. “Come now, will you give me another courting lesson or must I blunder along on my own? What more proof do you need that I do not consider myself infallible?”
“Not on this subject perhaps.” The lady’s resistance seemed to be waning. “Very well then. I have another suggestion or two that might help you.”
“Excellent!” Winning her cooperation pleased him a great deal. “The days are slipping by and I need to make more progress with Miss Webster before she leaves.”
Miss Fairfax gave a terse nod. Though she had agreed to assist him further, Jasper sensed he had not entirely overcome her reluctance.
“Do not laugh,” she warned him, “for my next suggestion may seem tiresomely obvious. You should praise the lady. Not with shallow flattery of her looks, though the occasional compliment of that sort might not go amiss. Express your approval of her understanding, her conversation, her way with children... her artistic talent.”
Was it his imagination or did that last suggestion sound rather ironic?
“Whatever quality or skill you praise,” Miss Fairfax continued, “make certain you are sincere. She may be able to tell if you are not and that would be as bad as an insult.”
Jasper nodded. “It is rather obvious but still important. I reckon I should make more effort to praise people—not only Miss Webster but my children and my workers. Now, to practice my lesson.”
“That will not be necessary.” In spite of her brusque reply, Miss Fairfax blushed a little. “I have no doubt you can do it, provided you remember to.”
“Nonsense,” Jasper waved away her objection. “Any skill benefits from practice, though finding qualities to praise in you does not present much of a challenge.”
“You see?” Miss Fairfax sounded almost severe, but the deepening color in her cheeks told a different story. “You are a skilled flatterer already. That sort of subtlety should endear you to Miss Webster.”
“I was not trying to flatter you.” The thought offended Jasper somehow. “Only stating the truth. Surely you know how much there is to admire about you. Your strength of character to have survived that wretched school with your spirit unbroken. Your generosity in forging your circle of friends when it would have been easier to look out for yourself.”
As he gathered breath to continue, Miss Fairfax cut him off. “Well done. You have obviously mastered the lesson. There is no need to continue.”
Jasper could imagine her taking that tone as she examined one of his children’s compositions.
“I am not finished,” he replied as he might have if one of his workers interrupted him. “You have been patient with me during the past two years. Instead of appreciating your forbearance, I imposed upon it to an inexcusable degree. You were justified to issue your ultimatum. You have done everything in your power to insure my children continue to be properly cared for. If they are not, the responsibility will be mine, not yours.”
It puzzled him that Evangeline Fairfax reacted to his words with increasing agitation rather than pleasure. When he finished speaking, she jumped up from her seat as if it were strewn with hot coals. “Thank you, sir, but that is quite enough. I do not want any of the children to overhear you. I am certain I hear them stirring.”
Jasper could not detect any sounds from the children’s rooms that suggested they might be awake. Perhaps six years of caring for his children had made their governess�
��s hearing more acute.
She rushed to the girls’ door and pushed it open. “Just as I thought, Rosie is awake and anxious to see her papa.”
She entered the bedroom and returned a moment later with the child in her arms. Rosie yawned and rubbed her eyes. Odd as it seemed, Jasper suspected her governess had woken his daughter to prevent him from praising her any further.
Had he truly mastered his latest lesson in courting, Jasper wondered, or failed to grasp it at all?
Why could she not bear to hear Jasper Chase say such kind things about her?
Evangeline continued to ponder that riddle later in the day, when the Amberwood party went on a boating excursion down the river Eden. Had all the criticism heaped upon her at the Pendergast School made it impossible for her to accept any kind of praise?
Somehow she did not think that was the answer. She and her friends had always tried to build up one another’s confidence beyond the power of any teacher or bully to tear down. It had worked better for some of the girls than others, but she was reasonably certain she did not think any worse of herself than she deserved. If anything, her experiences at school might have made her too quick to shrug off criticism without taking time to consider whether there might be a grain of truth in it.
Then what had flustered her so much about the things Jasper Chase said that morning? Intuition warned her she might be better off not knowing.
As she helped get the children seated in the barge Mr. Chase had hired for their voyage, Evangeline found her gaze drawn toward her employer and Miss Webster as they engaged in conversation. An unaccountable stab of pain lanced her heart when she saw him look into the lady’s eyes and murmur some words to her.
Whatever he said clearly pleased Miss Webster. She gazed up at him through her flirtatious fringe of lashes and made some reply that Evangeline could not make out. He responded with a chuckle, then suddenly glanced over and caught Evangeline staring at them.
A ridiculous spasm of shame urged her to look away and pretend she had not been watching. But Mr. Chase did not appear to resent her interest. Instead, he raised his bold, dark eyebrows in a way that suggested he was seeking her approval. He must have paid Miss Webster a compliment and been gratified by her simpering response.
Simpering? Evangeline chided herself for such a harsh thought. Miss Webster had reacted in the way any woman might when she received praise from an attractive man. It was precisely the way she should want Miss Webster to respond, just as he was behaving the way she should want him to. But instead of satisfaction and approval, Evangeline was gripped by darker emotions she did not understand.
Mr. Chase beckoned his daughters to join him and Miss Webster. He took Emma on his knee while Rosie climbed onto the lady’s. So intently was Evangeline watching them that she did not notice the vicar’s sister lean close to her.
“It looks as if our handsome host has made his choice.” Miss Brookes’s gleeful whisper caused Evangeline to start violently.
“F-forgive me!” she stammered. “My thoughts were elsewhere.”
If Abigail Brookes guessed where that might have been, she gave no sign. “I cannot blame him. It is the best match of the lot. My poor brother will be disappointed, though. If he could get me off his hands, he might be able to afford a wife.”
The rest of the party were all talking, so no one seemed to overhear Miss Brookes’s confidential murmur. Neither did they notice her subtle nod toward the stern of the barge. There sat the vicar and Verity Dawson on either side of Owen. They spoke quietly to the boy, pointing out sights of interest along the riverbank. But when their gazes met over the child’s head, Evangeline sensed another unspoken conversation taking place.
Her heart went out to them, though her sympathy was accompanied by an unwelcome pang of longing.
“I like boats!” Matthew announced to no one in particular. “They are always taking you to someplace new. I want to be a sea captain when I grow up.”
Evangeline’s gaze flew to the boy’s father. At his son’s words, Jasper Chase’s features set in a rueful frown, which she was certain she could interpret. Clearly he hoped his children would carry on his work once they were grown. But how could he expect that unless they were brought up from an early age to understand his commitment to improving the lives of millworkers and their families.
As the other children chimed in to tell what they would like to do in the future, Evangeline took the opportunity to respond to Abigail Brookes. “Are you not the least bit sorry on your own account?”
Should she have done more to encourage Mr. Chase to consider Abigail as a wife?
The vicar’s sister shook her head. “I have concluded that some women are not suited for marriage. I believe you and I fall into that group, Miss Fairfax.”
Was that true? Part of Evangeline agreed most emphatically. She had important work to do, which was not compatible with family life. Besides, she could never be happy subduing her strong will in order to conform to a husband’s wishes.
And yet, as she watched Jasper Chase talking and laughing with Miss Webster, another part of her—a weak, foolish part, no doubt—wished she were a different kind of woman. A woman who could be content with the love of a good man... if she were capable of winning it.
Chapter Eleven
FOLLOWING THEIR BOATING excursion, the weather turned rainy for a few days. No one at Amberwood seemed to mind as they got busy preparing for their concert under the direction of Miss Webster with the capable assistance of Miss Fairfax.
Watching the two women in action amused Jasper. Though the governess appeared to defer to Miss Webster in every particular, he suspected she was the driving force behind the project. She assisted in the choice of pieces, helped arrange the order of the program and made certain everyone involved had sufficient practice.
In Jasper’s experience, the qualities that made a strong leader often did not include compassion or a sense of fairness, but Evangeline Fairfax possessed both in abundance. The pupils at her charity school would be fortunate indeed to have her in charge of their care. He tried not to regret what his children would be losing.
As Margaret Webster immersed herself in preparations for the concert, Jasper was pleased to find that she no longer avoided him. When they were together she seemed more at ease. He wished he could summon more enthusiasm for her company. She was an attractive, agreeable lady who suited him ideally. Yet he felt no great regret when he could not be with her. He kept hoping his early-morning lessons with Miss Fairfax would suggest a cure for his strange apathy, but he was reluctant to raise the subject with her.
The day before the parish fair, the children grew anxious that continued rain might prevent them from going, but the sun came out at last, with every indication that it would return the following day.
When he rose early on the morning of the fair, Jasper was pleased to see not a single cloud in the pearly dawn sky. Humming the melody of one of the concert pieces, he dressed, shaved and hurried to the nursery. Evangeline Fairfax was already up and waiting for him. Her expressive eyes sparkled with anticipation while her full lips bowed in an eager smile that was quite contagious.
Over coffee they talked about the upcoming fair.
Then, when Jasper expected her to begin his next lesson, Miss Fairfax asked a question he did not expect. “Are you certain you have not been hasty in dismissing Miss Brookes as a possible wife?”
Abigail? Jasper began to marshal his arguments against such a match.
But before he could get out a single word, Evangeline Fairfax launched into her rebuttal. “I know she may seem rather... boisterous at times. But that is only because she has been liberated from the scrutiny of her brother’s parishioners. Like an overheated engine letting off a little steam, wouldn’t you say?”
“Perhaps,” Jasper agreed, “but see here...”
Miss Fairfax was not prepared to see anything until she’d had her say. “I believe Miss Brookes could love your children as sincerely as their
own dear mother. And I am certain she would run your household most capably.”
Why was she suddenly pushing Abigail Brookes on him when he had decided days ago that Margaret Webster would be the more suitable choice? Did it have anything to do with their difference of opinion about the children coming to live in Manchester? He thought that had all been settled as well.
Jasper raised his hand to signal his wish to speak. “What you say is true, but as I told you, my feelings toward Abigail are too brotherly for marriage. Besides, I fear she might be too strong-willed to be a harmonious match for me. I have enough trouble fighting tradition, greed and prejudice among the other mill owners. I do not need conflict at home as well.”
He expected Miss Fairfax to understand his reasoning, but instead it seemed to vex her. “I find it hard to fathom why a man who works so hard to make his workers less downtrodden is so anxious to subdue his wife.”
Her charge offended his sense of fairness. “You are twisting my words, Miss Fairfax. It is because I would not wish to subdue her that I rejected the possibility of a match with Abigail. Miss Webster, on the other hand, would not need to be subdued since her opinions harmonize naturally with mine.
“Why are you suddenly so concerned with Abigail?” he continued before she could argue. “You did not object when I first dismissed the idea of courting her.”
“That is because I was not fully aware of her situation,” Miss Fairfax replied. “And how many people’s future happiness depends on her finding a husband.”
“What people?” he demanded. “And why does their happiness depend on Abigail getting married?”
“Her brother and Verity Dawson, of course.” Miss Fairfax sounded impatient with his lack of perception. “The vicar cannot afford to take a wife while he has to support his sister. It is plain that he and Mrs. Dawson are in love, but the poor woman has no fortune.”
Jasper wondered how he had failed to notice what seemed so obvious to Miss Fairfax. “I will talk to Norton and ask what I can do to help... short of marrying his sister, that is.”