Evie repressed a sigh. She recognized that look on her twin’s face and it usually signaled trouble.
“Don’t mind me,” the man replied. His mouth curved up in a rakish grin as he boldly stared back at Eden. “I’m just enjoying the view.”
Evie didn’t think she imagined Will’s long-suffering glance at his companion.
“Forgive me, ladies. This is Captain Alasdair Gilbride of the 42nd Regiment of Foot, my good friend of many years’ standing. Alec, may I introduce you to Miss Evelyn Whitney and Miss Eden Whitney.”
“Ladies, it’s a pleasure.” Captain Gilbride swept them a flourishing bow. A bare hint of a Scottish accent colored his voice.
Eden dipped into an equally flourishing—and mocking—curtsey. “I’m sure the pleasure is ours,” she said, batting her eyelashes in a ridiculously flirtatious manner.
Clearly, Evie’s sister had just found a new source of interest. She could understand the reaction, since Captain Gilbride’s imposing and almost intimidating physical presence was offset by a charming smile and spectacular gray eyes that gleamed with sardonic laughter. He appeared the sort of man who found a great deal of enjoyment in life. Evie could already envision her twin engaging the captain in a highly improper flirtation that would drive their mother demented.
“Hallo, what’s everyone doing out here in the hot sun?” exclaimed a familiar voice.
Evie leaned around Will to see her brother hurrying across the lawn.
“Matt, you bounder,” Eden cried, throwing herself in his arms. “We were beginning to wonder when you’d show up. It was very naughty of you to leave us to entertain Lady Mary all by ourselves.”
Matthew gave her a brusque but affectionate hug. “You’d think you hadn’t seen me for a month. Besides, my fiancée is charming and you know it. I’m sure you’ve been having a monstrously pleasant time with her.”
“That’s one way of describing it,” Eden said in a wry voice.
Lady Mary Park was almost as great a snob as Evie’s mother, but she was the daughter of an earl, the granddaughter of a duke, and was bringing quite a respectable dowry into her marriage to Matt. Mamma was in alt over the impending nuptials, and Matt—a kind brother and dutiful son but not a person given to deep thinking—seemed more than pleased with his future bride.
Eden, however, couldn’t stand her and Evie wasn’t far behind in her low opinion of Lady Mary.
“Sis, how’ve you been keeping?” Matt asked, bestowing a brotherly kiss on Evie’s cheek. “I see you’ve found Wolf and Captain Gilbride.”
“It was kind of you to invite them down,” Evie said politely. “What luck that you ran into them at your club.”
A puzzled frown creased Matt’s pleasant, round face. “Seemed more like Wolf hunting me down, actually. Oh, I say,” he said with a laugh. “That’s rather a fun joke, don’t you think? Wolf hunting me down? Get it?”
Eden pinched the space between her eyebrows while Captain Gilbride peered at Matt with a bemused expression. Will, however, directed a rather baleful stare at her brother, which struck Evie as odd. He knew as well as anyone that Matt had a ponderous sense of humor, so why should it surprise him now?
“Yes, dear, I’m sure we all appreciated your little joke,” Evie said. “But what do you mean Wolf hunted you—”
“Good Lord,” Captain Gilbride said, whipping a pocket watch from his waistcoat. “Surely it must be past time to change for dinner.”
Drat. Evie cast a nervous glance at the house. In the shock of seeing Will, she’d forgotten about dinner.
“Confound it,” Matt exclaimed. “Mamma expressly sent me out to look for you. She wanted to see you before dinner, Evie. And she looked rather put out, if you want to know the truth. What have you done to rile the old girl up now?”
Her cheeks burning with embarrassment, Evie glanced at Will, but he simply regarded her with a quiet sympathy that looked too much like pity. “I haven’t done anything, as far as I know, but one never knows.”
“Don’t worry about Mamma,” Eden said. “I’ll take care of her. But we’d better all get back to the house or there will surely be a scene.”
“That sounds amusing,” Captain Gilbride commented sardonically.
“Trust me, it wouldn’t be,” Will replied.
Evie was almost tempted to laugh. Much had changed in the last ten years, but one thing still had the power to unite them all—fear of Lady Reese.
Her impulse to laugh died when Will stepped forward, as if ready to take her arm and escort her back to the house. She had an alarming sense that if she touched him, she might just faint from sheer nerves.
Fortunately, her sister turned her back on Captain Gilbride, who was politely asking if he could escort her to the house. Instead, Eden slipped her hand in the crook of Will’s arm. When he responded with a startled look, she flashed him a grin.
“Come along, Wolf,” Eden said. “I’m dying to hear all about your adventures.” She cast a saucy glance at Gilbride, who looked slightly taken aback by her rebuff. “I’m sure you and the captain got up to all kinds of trouble over there.”
Chattering gaily, Eden pulled Will across the lawn. Captain Gilbride, looking peeved, trailed in their wake.
Taking Matt’s arm, Evie started to follow at a slower pace.
“Looks like Edie’s up to her old tricks.” Matt’s pleasant, rather stolid features registered his disapproval. “She’ll have those two at sixes and sevens before nightfall.”
Evie frowned. “She’s just teasing Will, that’s all.”
“Hope so for your sake, Sis. We all know how you feel about Will. Wouldn’t be very sporting of Edie to try and cut you out.”
She went light-headed at the possibility of Eden falling in love with Will. What a dreadful development that would turn out to be.
Then she remembered it didn’t matter, because she didn’t love Will anymore. “Don’t be silly. There hasn’t been anything between us for a very long time.”
“Well, that’s good to hear. You know how Mamma feels about him.”
Their mother had only tolerated Will’s presence because his guardian, Mr. Philip Endicott, was a wealthy member of the local gentry from a distinguished family. Her father thought the world of Mr. Endicott and had always welcomed Will to Maywood Manor. Will’s true parentage was never spoken of, but that didn’t mean her mother wasn’t fully aware of it. To Mamma, just as damning as Will’s illegitimate status was his lack of financial prospects. According to Lady Reese’s social barometer, for all the royal blood that ran through his veins Will had nothing to recommend him as a potential suitor.
Not that Evie had ever cared about his prospects. She would have happily left her quiet comfortable life in the country and followed Will behind the drum in order to be with him.
Unfortunately, Will had never called upon her to make that sacrifice. “You needn’t worry. I’m sure Will’s not here for any reason other than a simple visit to old friends.”
Matt gave a noncommittal grunt. “If you say so, but he seemed fairly keen about wrangling an invitation from me.”
They were about to mount the shallow marble steps that led up to the back terrace, but Evie held him back. “Then you weren’t joking about Wolf hunting you down?”
“But it was . . . oh, I see what you mean,” he said with a slow grin. “You mean I wasn’t joking about the fact that he was insistent about coming down to the old pile.”
“Yes, that’s what I mean,” she said, stifling a sigh. Matt was not the sharpest pin in the box, but he was a kind and affectionate brother.
“He was certainly keen on it, I’ll say that. I was already out the door when he came dashing after me. Said he heard we were having a jolly house party and would like the chance to come visit with everyone.”
“He actually said jolly?”
Matt pursed his lips, obviously thinking hard. “Yes, he did. In fact, Sis, he was so blasted adamant that I was convinced he wanted to come courting, if you
see what I mean.”
She pressed a hand to her bodice, hating the instinctive flutter of hope in her chest. “Yes, I do see what you mean.”
But why would Will even consider trying to rekindle their old relationship? What could possibly have sparked an interest in something that had lain dormant—if not lifeless—for years?
“I don’t suppose he’s heard about you and Michael Beaumont has he?” Matt asked.
Michael.
Evie’s silly flight of fancy crashed back to earth. She could almost imagine the stone of the terrace cracking under her feet with the force of the impact as she was brought down by the fell hand of guilt.
“No, I don’t suppose he has heard,” she said. “After all, why would he?”
Chapter Four
“There, miss, I think that’s done it,” murmured Cora around the hairpins still in her mouth. Evie waited patiently as the maid inspected her coiffure, resisting the impulse to fiddle with the pins and ribbons that held her thick ringlets in place.
Cora, lady’s maid to both Evie and Edie, gave a final nod of approval. “Don’t you be yanking away at those pins and ribbons, Miss Evie. That hair of yours is so heavy you’ll bring the entire thing down.”
Evie spun around on the low stool at her dressing table. “But I haven’t even touched it!”
Cora snorted knowingly, as was to be expected from a servant who’d been looking after her charge for years. “You’re thinking about it, though. But it looks perfectly lovely just the way it is, so don’t you go messing about with it.”
Evie eyed the arrangement of apricot-colored ribbons interwoven through her hair that made the locks fall in artful disarray around her temples and neck. Because the ribbons matched her gown, the effect was both tasteful and pretty, making the most of her thick, honey-colored hair. Unfortunately, Cora’s efforts were wasted as soon as Evie donned her spectacles. Most men never looked beyond those, immediately classifying her as a wallflower.
Given her tendency to clam up around men the assumption was generally correct. Evie hadn’t a clue how to flirt, giggle, or listen with rapt attention when a young man droned on about his horses, a bet he’d made, or the capital batch of snuff he’d just acquired. True, it sometimes chafed to spend social occasions sitting against the wall with the chaperones and old ladies, but most days she cared not a hoot about any of it, including whether or not her outfit was all the crack. After all, Michael liked her perfectly well as she was, so why should she worry about her looks tonight?
She knew the answer to that question, but Will Endicott had nothing to do with her life anymore. There was simply no reason to wish for his good opinion, especially since Michael had made it clear he intended to ask her father’s permission to marry her. The only reason he hadn’t done so already was in deference to the objections Mamma would surely make. Michael had suggested that a long, unofficial courtship would give Lady Reese time to know him and recognize how devoted he was to Evie.
Now that their unofficial courtship had been going on for over a year, Evie thought he’d waited quite long enough. The sooner she and Michael were married, the sooner she could escape from under her mother’s thumb.
As Cora moved around the bedroom tidying up, Evie contemplated her future as Mrs. Michael Beaumont. They’d planned a quiet, comfortable life with an emphasis on their charitable work. Michael was no more interested in the social activities of the ton than she was, and the fact that he was a Catholic—albeit one from a wealthy aristocratic family—meant that he, too, was something of an outsider like Evie. Those similarities had drawn her to Michael from the first. She was convinced they would have a good life together, and she saw no reason why the fact that she wasn’t wildly in love with him should be an impediment to the success of their marriage.
Just the opposite was true, as Will’s sudden reappearance today had so amply demonstrated. After only a few minutes in his company, Evie had found herself grappling with a host of strong and decidedly disconcerting emotions. That was not what she wanted. Not anymore. She wanted Michael and the quiet life they would have together, not the fevered, almost desperate love she’d once felt for Will.
Squelching the sound of mocking laughter in her head, Evie picked up her evening gloves and went to fetch Eden. She’d almost reached the door connecting their rooms when she heard the familiar staccato click of heels in the hallway.
“Confound it,” she muttered, and then pinned what she hoped was a pleasant smile on her face.
The door opened and her mother swept into the room. “You may go, Cora,” Lady Reese said, barely acknowledging the maid’s quick curtsey.
Cora slipped out the door but not before giving Evie an encouraging wink. Evie had to choke back a laugh.
“What are you snorting about in that unattractive way, Evelyn?” her mother asked. “Ladies do not snort.”
“I just thought of something amusing, that’s all.”
“Please keep amusing thoughts to yourself. If there’s one thing a man cannot abide, it’s a woman who thinks herself clever. You already have too much of a reputation as a bluestocking as it is, and that is fatal, as you well know.”
“Yes, Mamma,” Evie said in a resigned voice.
She’d heard a variation on this lecture every day for the last ten years, and her resentment had gradually dimmed. Mamma believed such admonitions were part of her maternal duties, and Evie was convinced that she had no idea how wounding her sharp words could be. Her mother truly loved her, but that she found Evie a trial was abundantly clear.
“Let me have a look at you, my dear,” her mother said, as she always did before a party. One would think she would acknowledge that her daughters were old enough to get dressed by themselves, but such was not the case.
Then again, their mother was still a great beauty. Unlike Evie and Eden, she was tall and slender with a perfectly proportioned figure and the finely turned ankle of a debutante. She had elegant features, brilliant green eyes, and luxuriant chestnut-brown hair. It had always been a source of grievance to her that her children—especially her daughters—took after Papa’s side of the family, a line that harked back to hardy yeoman’s stock.
“For once, you look rather elegant,” her mother finally said. “That color suits you, and the cut of the gown is quite flattering. You don’t look as top-heavy as you sometimes do.” She shook her head. “But try not to eat so much tonight, my dear. You don’t want to lose what little figure you have.”
“Michael Beaumont doesn’t seem to find me unattractive, Mamma,” Evie said, unable to help herself. “In fact, he seems to quite like my, er, frame.”
Her mother curled a lip. “How vulgar. But I suppose one cannot be surprised that Mr. Beaumont lacks a certain degree of elegance, given his background.”
Evie barely managed not to roll her eyes. Though Michael’s family sprang from ancient and distinguished roots, going back to the Norman Conquest, they were Catholic. To her mother, that constituted an unforgiveable sin.
Mamma glided over to the reading chaise in front of the fireplace, her burgundy and cream silk gown settling in graceful folds as she sat. “Evelyn, I realize that you are expecting Mr. Beaumont to make you an offer. And although your father and I have grave reservations about a union with his family, it would seem that you have few other prospects.”
“What about my prospects, Mamma?” Eden asked, catching the last of their mother’s comment as she entered the room. “I’m the same age as Evie, after all. Actually, I’m older, which makes me even more perilously on the shelf than she is.”
Evie repressed a grin. Eden had preceded her into the world by a mere twenty minutes, a fact her twin took great delight in pointing out. But the odd thing was, Eden acted very much like a big sister and was protective of Evie in a way that sometimes seemed more consistent with a parent than a sibling.
Predictably, Mamma’s face lit up when her favorite child walked into the room. “Don’t be silly, Eden. You’re exceedingly popular
. Just the other day, Lord Barton complained to me that you barely notice him. And you could certainly do worse than him, my love. He is the heir apparent to a marquess, after all.”
“He’s boring and has the most appalling teeth,” Eden said, ruthlessly disposing of one of her many suitors. “I refuse to have children with that man.”
Her mother sighed. “Very well, but one of these days you must settle down. You can’t go flitting about like a butterfly for the rest of your life.”
“I don’t know why not,” Eden muttered, flopping down on Evie’s bed.
“Eden, do not crush your dress,” Mamma admonished. “Now, as I was saying to Evelyn—”
“Mamma, look at the time,” Evie interrupted. “We’re already late, and you know how much you hate that.”
“It’s unattractive to lecture your elders, my dear,” her mother said. “As I was saying, you have an expectation regarding Michael Beaumont. Despite your lack of other alternatives, you should not be making hasty decisions or settling too quickly on a match that may not be to your advantage.”
Evie exchanged a startled glance with her sister. “I’m sorry, Mamma, but I don’t understand. I thought we’d already ascertained that I had no other eligible suitors. How has that changed?”
When Mamma lifted one eyebrow, meeting her gaze with an arch, knowing look, a sense of foreboding crawled up Evie’s spine. She had to struggle to find a coherent reply to her mother’s unspoken challenge. “Do you mean Will? Mamma, surely you must be jesting.”
“I never jest, Evelyn, at least not about something this important.”
“Isn’t that ever the truth,” Eden muttered.
Evie ignored her twin. “You’re wrong, Mamma. Will is at loose ends, that’s all. He thought it might be nice to visit old friends.” At least she hoped that’s all it was.
Eden sat up, swinging her feet over the edge of Evie’s high bed. “Do you really think Wolf ’s come down expressly to see Evie?”
How to Plan a Wedding for a Royal Spy Page 5