Miss Dower's Paragon

by Gayle Buck

  Miss Woodthorpe shrugged. “It is of no consequence. An hour or so given to calling on friends and the discharge of a few errands will stand me in good stead. The squire will have exhausted his spleen by the time I return, and then he will be manageable again.”

  Evelyn laughed, shaking her head at her friend. “How you can remain so cool about it all, Appolonia, I have never quite fathomed. I know that I should not be so collected if I were in your shoes. But then I have never had brothers, nor a father since I was a girl, so I have not the practical experience, have I?”

  A smile hovered about Miss Woodthorpe’s full mouth as she regarded her younger friend. “One usually needs more than just a bit of experience to handle the male of our species, my dear. I believe it is a rare talent to be able to do so. Men are very like horses, I have found. One learns to handle both, or neither. A pity that I have never discovered a gentleman possessed of the proper combination of raw spirit and ability.”

  “Oh, Pol! You could have accepted any one of a dozen offers this past year and more,” said Evelyn.

  “True, but none of my suitors proved enough of a challenge for my abilities,” said Miss Woodthorpe. When Evelyn laughed, she said with her characteristically quick smile, “But enough about my affairs! What is this prattle that has come to my ears of your coming out?”

  Evelyn laughed again, her eyes sparked instantly by mischief. “I apprehend that Mama has been busily engaged in spreading the news. It is quite true. Mama is launching me into society, in a quiet fashion, of course. I am to gain a little polish and dash whilst I mull over the eligible gentlemen at large.”

  “What delicious fun. I shall naturally do all that is within my power to guide into your sphere those gentlemen most likely to put an offer,” said Miss Woodthorpe.

  Evelyn grimaced slightly. “Thank you, but no. I know just the sort you have in mind for me, Pol.”

  Miss Woodthorpe gave a deep, throaty laugh. Her green eyes were alight with amusement. “No, I suppose you would not be taken with the horsey set,” she agreed. “Though I must tell you, I have seldom seen a better instinctive seat than you possess. If you could only overcome that absurd fear of yours for jumping fences.”

  “As I recall, I acquired that fear when your brother John slapped the rump of my mare before I knew what he was about,” Evelyn retorted.

  Miss Woodthorpe frowned. “Yes, it was very bad of him. I dressed him down severely on the spot, but of course you would not recall that since you were knocked senseless. John was quite remorseful when he saw how badly his little prank had ended.”

  “Yes, I know. He has told me so over and over again. It has been months now. Can you not persuade him that I have forgiven him?” Evelyn asked on a mock-plaintive note.

  Miss Woodthorpe laughed again, but she shook her head. “Of course I will not. Were I to do so, he would become just as careless and unthinking as before. As it is, he is learning to accept the feel of the bridle that his own conscience has become. I say leave it well enough alone.”

  “Poor John!” Evelyn said, laughing, and Miss Woodthorpe joined in.

  The door to the sitting room opened, and Mrs. Dower entered, accompanied by another young lady. Mrs. Dower started speaking before she cleared the threshold. “Evelyn, only but see whom I discovered in the hall coming to call on us. Our dearest Abigail! Her mother has sent us a basket of her delightful jams. You must thank her for us, Abigail. I, for one, am very fond of her offerings.”

  “I shall certainly do so, ma’am,” Miss Abigail Sparrow said.

  Mrs. Dower exclaimed anew when she saw that Evelyn was already entertaining a guest. “Apollonia, my dear! No one informed me of your arrival. Has your mother come with you?” She looked around as though expecting Mrs. Woodthorpe to appear out of the woodwork.

  Miss Woodthorpe was quite used to Mrs. Dower’s reasonings. “No, ma’am. I rode in with Toby, my groom. However, my mother sends her regards. She knew that I meant to call on you and Evelyn.”

  Miss Sparrow had advanced to give greeting. “Evelyn, how happy I am to see you.” She exchanged a warm hug and a few words with Evelyn before she turned her mild blue eyes to the other young lady, who was now regarding her with a slight smile.

  Miss Sparrow’s greeting to Miss Woodthorpe, though gracious, lacked the same warmth as that which she had bestowed upon Evelyn. “Apollonia, I am glad to see you, too. I hope your family is well?”

  “We are none the worse, Abigail,” Miss Woodthorpe said wryly. “I trust that the reverend has recovered from his malaise?”

  Miss Sparrow smiled and nodded her gratitude for the kind inquiry. “Yes, thank you. Papa is perfectly stout now. Mama and the rest of us were quite anxious for a time, but our fears have been completely laid to rest, thank God.”

  Evelyn was well aware that these best of her friends had never truly developed a deep affection for one another. Miss Woodthorpe’s forthright manners and the consuming passion she had for animals and the land often put her at cross-purposes with Miss Sparrow, whose sympathies could always be counted upon to side with humanity. The young ladies were physical opposites, as well. Miss Woodthorpe was a striking brunette of willowy and athletic grace. Miss Sparrow appeared fragile in both stature and temperament, but her blonde prettiness and sweet expression hid a surprising amount of will.

  “Abigail, pray do make yourself comfortable. Mama, I understand from Pol that you have been telling everyone of my come-out?”

  “Of course I have. Why, if I did not, and at such short notice, too, there would not be upward of half a dozen personages at our first dinner party. I know that I may count upon the Woodthorpes and Sparrows, at least,” said Mrs. Dower, seating herself beside Miss Sparrow on a second settee.

  All three young ladies laughed.

  “I suspect that you may count on a few more to attend than just our respective families,” Miss Woodthorpe said.

  “Of course you may! You and Evelyn have ever so many friends and acquaintances. I am certain it will be a most horrid squeeze,” Miss Sparrow said warmly, lightly touching the older lady’s hand.

  “Thank you, my dear, I am sure,” said Mrs. Dower, gratified. “I do not anticipate a squeeze, for after all we are not in London, but I do hope that the numbers will at least prove to be respectable.”

  “I hope you mean to invite Lady Pomerancy and Mr. Hawkins. The attendance of a London gentleman can but add a certain cachet to the occasion and I am certain that I do not need to tell you, Mrs. Dower, that her ladyship’s approval must go far in making the evening a success,” said Miss Sparrow.

  Evelyn threw a fleeting glance at her mother, and Mrs. Dower at once seemed to find inordinate interest in the edging of lace at her cuff. Evelyn awaited her mother’s reply with interest.

  “Oh, indeed! I have sent round an early invitation to Lady Pomerancy, and it is my hope that her health will permit her to attend. As for Mr. Hawkins, I believe that he has already accepted,” said Mrs. Dower, still avoiding her daughter’s eyes.

  “I was not aware that you had begun the invitations, Mama. You should have told me, for I would have been most happy to help you address them,” said Evelyn fiendishly.

  Mrs. Dower fidgeted a little. “Oh well, I have not precisely begun them. It was only that I wished Lady Pomerancy to have advance notice, for I know that her ladyship must pick and choose the functions she means to attend in order to conserve her energies,” she said. “And I could not very well send an invitation to Lady Pomerancy without including Mr. Hawkins in it, could I?”

  Evelyn bent her head, ostensibly so that she could peer closer at two similar yams, but in actuality to hide her disrespectful expression.

  “Very proper and considerate,” Miss Sparrow said, nodding.

  Evelyn looked up, still smiling, but she said nothing. She knew very well that her mother had gone to lengths to be certain that Mr. Peter Hawkins would be in attendance on the evening of her come-out. Mrs. Dower had not pressed her very hard lately to r
econsider Mr. Hawkin’s suit, but she knew that lady too well not to realize that her mother meant to do her utmost in promoting the match.

  Chapter Seven

  “I suppose, then, that we shall also see Mr. Hawkins’s guests at your dinner party,” said Miss Woodthorpe.

  The other ladies looked over at her in surprise.

  She regarded them all with a lifted brow. “Have none of you heard, then?”

  “I heard the bells announcing an arrival, but I had no notion who it might be,” said Miss Sparrow. “And no one that I have spoken to this morning knew any more than I.”

  “But perhaps that is understandable, for the gentlemen must only have arrived a little while ago. I met their carriage on the road into Bath. It seems that we shall have three London gentlemen circulating among us this spring. Mr. Hawkins has apparently invited his cousin, Viscount Waithe, and another gentleman to stay,” said Miss Woodthorpe.

  “We knew that the viscount was expected. But who was the other gentleman?” asked Evelyn curiously.

  Miss Woodthorpe shook her head. “I do not know, and naturally I did not fall into conversation with the gentlemen. We merely exchanged greetings. However, I recognized the viscount from his previous visit a few years ago, and I naturally assumed that his companion was also either a relation or a friend of Mr. Hawkins’s.”

  “But this is marvelous news!” exclaimed Miss Sparrow.

  Her large blue eyes sparkled in anticipation as she turned to her friend. “Oh, Evelyn, you shall have such fun. I envy your coming-out when we have such exalted company. There were not such gentlemen about when I entered society last year, I vow. Perhaps I may persuade Mama to allow Maria to make her bows also. She is perhaps a bit young, but it is not often that our own cadre of gentlemen is added to in such a fashion, and certainly no one can deny the possibility of attracting the attention of a well-bred gentleman is enough to tempt even the most devoted of mothers.”

  Since all there knew that Miss Sparrow was the eldest of five daughters and was herself but recently affianced, none found anything of surprise in her statement. The good reverend and Mrs. Sparrow would naturally wish to establish all of their daughters well and as quickly as possible as the girls came of an age for marriage so that their younger sisters would not be put to any disadvantage.

  “Indeed, I shall speak to your dear mother myself and offer my services as chaperon if she should so wish. I am not so ungenerous as to wish Evelyn to sew up all of the eligible gentlemen into her own circle of admirers,” said Mrs. Dower with instant sympathy.

  “Really, Mama!” exclaimed Evelyn, even as her friends laughed.

  “Oh, but it is quite true. No one will be able to hold a candle to you, Evelyn,” said Miss Sparrow. She shook her head, smiling a little. “I fear that I am a disloyal sister, indeed, when I say that poor Maria will be quite overshadowed. But it cannot be helped, and who is to say that Maria will go over quite well once you have accepted an offer?”

  “Indeed, and it is my hope that Evelyn shall do that very thing soon after her come-out,” said Mrs. Dower with a meaningful glance at her daughter.

  “Oh stuff! Perhaps I shall not accept an offer at all, while Maria will speed her way to the altar,” said Evelyn, misliking both her mother’s broad hint as well as the intimation that she must accept a suit before the younger Miss Sparrow had any hope of contracting an eligible offer. She had never been particularly vain about her attributes but had merely accepted her good fortune for what it was. It bothered her when others assumed her appearance should entitle her to exceptional treatment.

  “Oh, I do not think it likely. Truly I do not! Why, you are ever so pretty, in an unusual style, and quite clever, too. I shall expect the gentlemen to positively flock around you,” said Miss Sparrow.

  “Do you think so, indeed?” asked Evelyn meditatively. A wicked sparkle came into her eyes. “I wonder if I shall care for it?”

  Miss Sparrow shook a slim finger at her. “Now you are funning with me, I know! But I shall let you have your little joke. We shall see who has the right of it, will we not? You are already beside yourself with curiosity over the viscount and this unknown gentleman. Confess it, Evelyn!”

  Evelyn only shook her head, laughing. “Not I!”

  Miss Woodthorpe had listened silently to the conversation, only smiling now and again, but now she added her own observation. “The gentleman driving the carriage was a veritable whip, and the team he drove was the most splendid I have ever seen. I imagine that he must arouse some interest among our young aspiring sprigs, if not with you, Evelyn. As for the viscount, as I recall, his lordship was very prettily behaved and rather well formed of countenance.”

  “I, too, recall his lordship upon the occasion of his previous visit. A vastly handsome young gentleman, I thought, but quite sports-mad, of course. He is here for the fisticuffs, you see. I shall send a note to Lady Pomerancy that the gentlemen are naturally to be included in the invitation to our little dinner party,” said Mrs. Dower. Her expression became faintly anxious as she reviewed in her mind those arrangements she had already settled on. “I do hope that it will not be considered too provincial an affair for the dashing young blades. One cannot hope to rival London entertainments, after all. Perhaps I should speak again to Cook regarding the menu.”

  “I am certain that it will all be quite as it ought,” said Evelyn reassuringly.

  “Yes, indeed. Why, everyone knows you for an excellent hostess,” said Miss Sparrow.

  Mrs. Dower was exceedingly gratified by this and said so. “You are a dear, dear girl, Abigail. You quite put my mind to rest. Though one cannot but wonder whether music—but I shall not think about it another instant. It will be a splendid evening, I am positive of it.” She ended on a hopeful note, obviously attempting to convince herself.

  Miss Woodthorpe cast a curious glance at Evelyn. “How did you learn of the viscount’s intention to visit Bath, Evelyn?”

  “Mr. Hawkins mentioned it when he took tea with us,” said Evelyn casually. She was quite aware that her friend’s mild question disguised a sharp interest, for Miss Woodthorpe was possessed of a keen intelligence.

  Miss Woodthorpe said nothing. Instead, she raised a slender brow to provide silent exclamation to her thoughts. Evelyn returned her friend’s level glance, but did not oblige Miss Woodthorpe’s curiosity.

  However, Mrs. Dower was not so reticent. “Such a gentleman! I vow, I have never been more impressed by anyone’s excellence of manners. Mr. Hawkins has sent round a note of apology whenever he has been unable to join us, for it has become quite an established thing that he should call on us.”

  Evelyn unconsciously put up her chin, a certain sign of challenge to those who knew her. “Mr. Hawkins has a decided preference for Mama’s notions of proper tea,” she said lightly.

  “I did not know that you were so well acquainted with Mr. Hawkins,” said Miss Woodthorpe, a lazy note of amusement in her voice. Her green eyes sparkled as she discerned the slight grimace that crossed Evelyn’s face.

  “No, nor I,” said Miss Sparrow. “I don’t believe I have myself spoken to him above half a dozen times since his return to Bath, even though he always stops to speak with Papa on Sundays after chapel.”

  “That is just like him. Every time he comes to tea I am struck anew by his exquisite sensitivity toward one,” said Mrs. Dower, nodding.

  Evelyn pretended to ignore the speculative gleam that had entered even Miss Sparrow’s eyes. “Mr. Hawkins is a most proper gentleman,” she said with dignity. She bent her attention to finishing up the sorting of the embroidery yarns, then almost thrust them toward her parent. “There, Mama! You may begin your next project whenever you wish.”

  Though she accepted the yarns, Mrs. Dower could not be diverted by something so mundane. “Indeed he is! I could not hope for better company for Evelyn. His exquisite manners, his pleasing countenance and bearing—why, I think Mr. Hawkins quite dashing in all respects.”

  “Oh,
my,” murmured Miss Sparrow, throwing an interested glance at her friend. What she saw in Evelyn’s expression caused a small knowing smile to come to her lips. Gently teasing, she said, “Perhaps we shall see you engaged sooner than ever we expected.”

  Evelyn threw an annoyed glance in her mother’s direction. “Stuff! Mama may have succumbed to Mr. Hawkins’s charming manners, but I assure you that I have not done so. Mr. Hawkins may be a paragon, but he is definitely not the gentleman for me. I am heart-whole and so I shall remain for a while yet.”

  Miss Woodthorpe began to pull on her gloves. “Be that as it may, my dear, I would urge you not to toss aside Mr. Hawkins as a candidate quite so heedlessly. He is a gentleman of untested mettle and, I suspect, one of surprising strong will. Apply the spur warily, for without proper care that sort can give one an unexpected toss.”

  She stood up and smiled at her companions. “I have kept my groom and the horses standing too long. I must be off if I am to be back in time for tea.”

  The ladies all said good-bye as Miss Woodthorpe took her leave.

  When she was gone, Mrs. Dower shook her head. “I cannot but blame the squire.”

  “For what, Mama?”

  “Why, for naming his daughter after a horse, naturally. Apollonia! Is it any wonder our poor Miss Woodthorpe speaks in such an odd fashion? Really, what was that nonsense about spurs and such? I did not in the least comprehend it,” said Mrs. Dower, frowning.

  Evelyn exchanged a tolerant glance with Miss Sparrow. “Never, mind. Mama. It was just Apollonia’s way.”

  “I, too, must be on my way, for I have a few errands to accomplish before returning home for luncheon. I had wondered whether you might like to bear me company, Evelyn, if you also have errands,” said Miss Sparrow.

  “I had intended to purchase some ribbons to refurbish an old bonnet,” said Evelyn, nodding. “I’d like nothing better than to accompany you, Abigail.”