The Gentleman's Bride Search (13 page)

Jasper did not dare glance at Evangeline in case she guessed he was referring to her.

Emma had other ideas. “You mean, Mrs. Dawson, don’t you, Papa? Miss Anstruther was supposed to be her friend but she did not treat her very well.”

The other children nodded. Jasper had not realized they were aware of such subtleties in the behavior of his guests. Then again, Penelope Anstruther had not been particularly subtle.

Before he could decide how to answer, Matthew piped up. “You sent her away, didn’t you, Papa, because she was so disagreeable to Mrs. Dawson?”

Jasper answered in a gentle but decisive tone. “I did not send Miss Anstruther away. The decision to leave was hers, though I cannot claim I am sorry to see her go. People who put upon others do not endear themselves to anyone. We would all do well to bear that in mind.”

The children digested his advice with looks as solemn as Owen’s. It made Jasper determined to raise their spirits. “I have some good news to share. Mr. Brookes and Mrs. Dawson have gotten engaged. That means they will be getting married quite soon.”

He avoided any mention of the happy couple taking up residence in Manchester after the wedding. “I thought we could make the concert Miss Webster is organizing a celebration of their happy news.”

His mention of the concert seemed to cheer his children more than news of Norton’s engagement. Perhaps they did not understand how happy an event marriage could be. Certainly their governess would not have praised the benefits of matrimony.

How could he make her see that marriage and family life might be every bit as rewarding as running a charity school? Perhaps he should employ the lessons she had taught him. He must court her without appearing to court her. If she suspected his intentions before he succeeded in winning her heart, Jasper feared she would shut him out and he would never get another opportunity.

That evening, after he had heard his children’s prayers and kissed them good-night, he turned toward Evangeline. “No doubt you are aware there is a small assembly hall in the village where they have dancing on Mondays and Thursdays.”

“So I have been informed, sir.” She replied without hesitation, though she seemed surprised by his remark. “Why do you ask?”

Jasper found he no longer liked her calling him
sir.
It emphasized the difference in their positions when he preferred to concentrate on the many things they had in common. “I plan to attend the assembly tomorrow evening with my guests and I would like you to accompany us.”

“Me?”
Her nose wrinkled in a way Jasper found rather endearing. “But why? It is not as though your party is short of ladies. Quite the contrary. Besides, there are some who might object to the inclusion of a mere governess at such an event.”

In spite of her objections, Jasper glimpsed a golden sparkle in her brown eyes that made him suspect she secretly wanted to go. “I believe the only person who might have opposed the idea is no longer with us.”

Evangeline strove to stifle a grin but did not quite succeed.

“Besides,” he continued, sensing her receptiveness and wanting to take advantage of it, “apart from my mother-in-law and me, all the members of our party are strangers here. Your assistance in making introductions would be invaluable.”

“I suppose...”

“There is another reason I would like you to come,” he said. “You have borne a tremendous responsibility in my household during the past six years. I have no doubt you will bear even more as headmistress of your charity school. You deserve to enjoy yourself for one evening, surely?”

Did Evangeline realize that she deserved this and so much more? Or had her years in that miserable school made her believe otherwise?

“Please!” he concluded before she could raise any further objections. “Say you will come.”

Her stalwart gaze faltered before his. Did she glimpse something in his eyes that she did not want to see?

“Very well,” she replied. “If you wish me to accompany you.”

“I do,” said Jasper. “Very much.”

At that moment, he wished for something else, too—a kiss from her full, generous lips. But he knew it was far too soon and this was not the right place. He would not risk spoiling his chances by acting prematurely. His years in business had taught him how to bide his time until the right opportunity presented itself then act decisively when it did. He must apply those hard-learned lessons to his pursuit of Evangeline.

“Until then.” He made a courtly bow and withdrew before his romantic inclinations overcame his prudence.

Jasper headed down to join his guests in the dining room with a jaunty step and a mysterious smile upon his lips. Winning a wonderful but reluctant woman like Evangeline Fairfax would be a challenge, without a doubt.

But he had always relished a challenge.

* * *

Evangeline could scarcely recall the last time she had danced at an assembly. Certainly it was well before she’d come to Amberwood. Though she enjoyed dancing, she had resigned herself to avoiding such entertainments. She had not wanted another gentleman like Mr. Preston to get the mistaken idea that she wished to be courted.

But, as Jasper had reminded her, she would soon be safely ensconced at her school with no further need to be concerned about such matters. What would it hurt to enjoy this one evening before she took up her new responsibilities?

Her sense of caution warned that it might not be wise to mix socially with a man who appealed to her as much as Jasper Chase did. Particularly since the children would not be there to occupy her attention and act as a buffer between them.

She dismissed those qualms with a confident toss of her head. Their discussion about marriage had reinforced her priorities and made her view her situation in a clear, rational light. While it was true she felt more for Jasper Chase than she had ever expected or wanted to feel for any man, she knew there could be no possibility of a future together.

Even if she had been willing to give up the important task for which life had prepared her, she could never be the kind of wife he wanted. He had found that woman in Margaret Webster. Evangeline now recognized that her earlier reservations about the lady’s suitability had sprung from unworthy jealousy, which she had no right to entertain. Having rededicated herself to founding a new charity school, she must renew her efforts to foster a match between Jasper and Miss Webster. An evening event, with no children to supervise, might provide the perfect opportunity to further her matchmaking efforts.

Having made up her mind about that, Evangeline seized a chance that presented itself when the children were in the great parlor, practicing for the concert.

“Is there some difficulty, Miss Webster?” she asked when she noticed the lady frowning over a neatly written list of the performers.

Margaret Webster sighed. “Say what you will about Miss Anstruther, she did have a fine voice. Her absence has left a few holes in our program.”

“Surely you can sing in her place,” Evangeline suggested. “Or, better yet, you and Mr. Chase could perform a duet. I happen to know he sings very well. I have heard him often in church.”

It dismayed her to recall that she would soon lose the opportunity to stand near him in the family pew and drink in the rich resonance of his baritone voice. But she resolutely put that thought out of her mind.

“Will you, Mr. Chase?” Margaret Webster called over to Jasper, who was helping Alfie memorize his recitation.

“I suppose I could,” he replied, “provided the song is not too difficult.”

“I will play for you,” Evangeline offered as another idea occurred to her. “I agree with Mr. Chase that the song must be one all three of us know.”

She paused, pretending to consider the possibilities. “I have it! You must both be familiar with ‘Ellen the Fair.’ It is an ideal choice for celebrating an engagement.”

Unlike most popular love ballads, it was not too long and it had a happy ending. If anything could stir tender feelings between Jasper and Miss Webster, surely it was singing a love song together.

At first neither of them seemed as receptive to the idea as she’d hoped, but Evangeline managed to persuade them. “Here is the music. Why don’t we have a quick practice now?”

Before either of them could object, she sat down at the pianoforte and began to play.

Though she congratulated herself on her well-executed plan, Evangeline was not prepared for the spasm that wrung her heart when she heard Jasper sing to another woman,
“‘And while I stood gazing, my heart, I declare, a captive was taken by Ellen the Fair.ʼ”

Her fingers fumbled over the keys, making a sour discord with Jasper’s melodious voice. Rosie put her hands over her ears.

Alfie wagged his finger at his governess in an impudent imitation of the way she sometimes chided him. “You must concentrate on what you are doing, Miss Fairfax, and not let your mind wander.”

Evangeline made a face at Alfie, but she took his advice and kept her thoughts firmly focused on the keys for the rest of the song.

When the piece concluded, a burst of hearty applause rang out and Mr. Webster cried, “Well done, indeed! I have always been partial to that old song. Your voices blend so well, I have no doubt it will be the high point of the concert!”

“It was Miss Fairfax’s choice, Papa.” Margaret Webster made it sound as if Evangeline deserved all the credit for their performance.

“She is a clever lady,” the mill owner replied, “even if her playing is not quite up to your standard, my dear.”

Though Evangeline could not deny Mr. Webster’s comment, it still stung more than she cared to admit.

But his words scarcely had a chance to sink in before Jasper spoke. “That is hardly a fair comparison, sir. Miss Fairfax had no opportunity to rehearse the piece before she played it just now. With five children to educate, I cannot think when she ever finds time to practice.”

It warmed Evangeline to hear him rise so quickly to her defense. Yet she feared Miss Webster might take offense that her suitor had challenged a compliment to her.

The lady proved more generous-spirited than Evangeline had expected...or deserved. “Mr. Chase is right, Papa. I have all the time in the world to devote to my music. Miss Fairfax has hardly any, yet she still manages to play and sing beautifully.”

Her kind words made Evangeline ashamed of the selfish doubts she had expressed about Miss Webster’s suitability to wed Jasper Chase. Clearly, the lady would make him a better wife than someone like her ever could. Yet that did not ease the ache in her heart when she looked to the future and pictured Margaret Webster at the heart of his home, while she took up her fulfilling but lonely post as the headmistress of her school.

Chapter Thirteen

T
hat evening, as Jasper waited for his guests to assemble for their drive to the village, each of his internal organs seemed agitated in its own strange way.

His heart felt as if something had jarred it out of its reliable beat into a faster, more complex rhythm. His lungs performed their accustomed function, yet he found himself acutely conscious of every breath he drew, as if he could no longer take it for granted. His stomach tumbled about like a barrel rolling down a steep hill and he was not convinced his liver was behaving as it ought to.

His thoughts were every bit as unsettled, flitting from the past to the future and back again, scarcely aware of what was taking place in the present.

When his gaze fell on the pianoforte, he pictured Evangeline sitting at it, playing that love song. Though he had sung the words to Margaret Webster, who was as fair as the subject of the ballad, his heart had dwelled on the vivid russet loveliness of Evangeline.

Unlike the shallow nobleman in the song, Jasper was drawn to far more than her beauty. Indeed, he had scarcely noticed how attractive she was until he’d recently awoken to her many other admirable qualities. Evangeline Fairfax was clever and accomplished, brimming with leadership ability that
inspired
others to follow her rather than compelling them. Yet she had a warm, nurturing side, as well as an unexpected sense of fun.

More than any woman he’d ever met, she shared his compassion for anyone being kept down or mistreated. With her, compassion was not a passive, sentimental emotion, but an urgent call to right wrongs and improve people’s lives. Was there a way he could make her see that
she
was a far better match for him than any of the others she’d tried to make?

While he was pondering that question, Evangeline slipped into the parlor with an air of discretion that did not apologize for her presence nor seek to call attention to it. Jasper was not certain she could avoid the latter. To him, she eclipsed every other lady in the room without the slightest effort. How could he have been so blind for so long to the treasure he’d harbored under his roof?

During her first year, it must have been his love for his wife that had prevented him from noticing any other woman. After Susan’s death, grief and perhaps guilt had wrapped around him like a private fog, making it impossible to see a great many things. Lately, he had immersed himself so deeply in his work that he’d had no time to notice anything else except his children. Now he wished he’d noticed Evangeline before her friends had recruited her to run their charity school.

Jasper’s practical nature silenced his regrets. There was no use wasting time on what might have been. He must act at once to discover whether she might feel more for him than she was willing to admit.

“Miss Fairfax.” He approached her and bowed as if she were an honored guest...which to him she was. “Thank you for agreeing to accompany us this evening. I know I can rely on you to make the necessary introductions for our guests and put them at ease.”

She acknowledged his greeting with a confident smile. “I shall do my best, Mr. Chase. I expect the attendance of a number of new ladies will make quite an agreeable sensation at the assembly.”

Her comment made Jasper realize that all his guests were assembled. “In that case, we must not keep the local gentlemen waiting.”

He led the party to the waiting carriages and helped his mother-in-law into the first one with Mr. Webster, Mrs. Leveson and her daughter. Margaret Webster went in the next vehicle, followed by Norton Brookes, his sister and his fiancée.

When the second carriage pulled away, Jasper turned to Evangeline. “I hope you will not mind bringing up the rear with me in the gig, Miss Fairfax. I always prefer to drive myself when possible.”

For an instant she seemed taken aback, but soon mustered her composure enough to rally him. “Given your independent nature, I suppose that should not surprise me. I have no objection to going by gig on such a fine evening. But I feel bound to point out that you should have detained Miss Webster so the two of you could have some time alone on the drive.”

“Am I going to fail my courting lessons, then?” A deep chuckle rumbled through Jasper’s chest. It settled his agitated organs but seemed to inflate them like air balloons. His chest puffed out and his step took on a buoyant lightness. “Do not fret. I am certain I will have all the time alone I want with Margaret Webster.”

Before Evangeline had a chance to figure out what he meant, he helped her into the gig. Then he climbed up beside her and they drove away into the twilit countryside. Off to the west, the sun was setting in bands of brilliant color over the lake-studded Cumbrian Mountains. To the east, a pearly moon and tiny diamond stars were becoming visible in the black velvet sky over the Pennines.

Jasper wished the drive to the village was longer, but since it was not, he refused to waste precious time admiring the sunset. “You know, Miss Fairfax, now that you will soon be leaving Amberwood, I regret how little I know of you. All these years you have lived under my roof and raised my children, yet so much about you remains a mystery to me.”

She replied with a soft rustle of laughter. “I assure you, sir, there is nothing mysterious about me. My life has been quite ordinary. It has held its share of misfortune, but whose has not?”

“Misfortune? Is that what you would call being sent to that wretched charity school?” Jasper stole frequent glances at her as they drove, confident the horse could find its way to the village with little direction from him. “What about your life before that? How did you end up in such a place?”

Evangeline hesitated a moment, then inhaled a breath of calm evening air. “In the same way as most of my fellow pupils, I expect. My father was a clergyman of modest means, whose generosity exceeded his income. My mother died when I was eight years old and my father followed her within a year. They had no relatives able to offer me a home, so I was sent to the Pendergast School.”

“Were you close to your mother and father?” Jasper asked. In spite of his parents’ rows with each other, he knew they had loved him in their way and wanted the best for him. He was certain they would be proud of what he had done with his life. “What were they like?”

He was not certain Evangeline would reply. This was not the kind of lively conversation that usually preceded an evening of entertainment.

But perhaps she sensed his questions rose from something more than idle curiosity. “Father was a quiet man of deep faith and an inspiring preacher. My mother helped him a great deal with the practical work of the parish—visiting the sick and assisting the poor. From an early age, I accompanied her on her calls. She impressed upon me the importance of serving the Lord by helping others.”

“She sounds like a remarkable woman,” said Jasper. “What a blessing it must have been for your father to have such a willing partner in his work. How he must have valued her assistance.”

Evangeline gave a brief nod. “He relied upon her far more than I knew at the time. I am not certain Father realized it himself, until she was...gone.”

Speaking that simple, pain-drenched word, she sounded bereft, as well she might. The loss of someone so capable and compassionate must have left an aching void in the lives of those closest to her. If he and the children lost Evangeline, Jasper sensed it would be as if the heart of Amberwood ceased to beat.

“How did your mother die?” he asked gently, though he could guess.

“Influenza. There was an epidemic of it that winter. Mother insisted I remain at home while she paid her visits so I would not catch it. Father tried to persuade her to stay at home, too, but Mother insisted she could not neglect her duties when she was needed most. She came and went at all hours until the worst was over. Then she fell ill.”

“I am sorry to hear it.” Jasper wished he could do more than offer flat verbal condolences, twenty years too late. His arms ached to pull Evangeline close until her head rested against his shoulder. “Did your father take ill then, as well?”

“Not then.” A soft sigh escaped her. “But he never truly recovered from Mother’s death. It was as if he had relied on her so much that he could not figure how to get along without her. Some people claim it is impossible to die of a broken heart, but I have no doubt my father did.”

A thought dawned on Jasper just then. He had never been given to analyzing other people’s motives, or even his own. Perhaps that was why this unaccustomed insight had such an impact upon him that he could not keep it to himself.

“Was that when you decided you would never marry?” He turned to stare at her, hoping he had discovered the key to overcoming Evangeline’s resistance. “Was that
why?
Because you were afraid to care for someone so much that losing him would threaten your very existence?”

It made a kind of sense. Evangeline was not a person to do anything by halves. Any task she set herself, she committed her whole heart and soul, whether it was raising his children, leading her school friends or finding him a wife. If she allowed herself to care for him, Jasper sensed she would hold nothing back. Such all-consuming commitment could be a powerful force...perhaps even dangerous.

It did not occur to him that he should have kept his thoughts to himself until Evangeline stiffened and inhaled a sharp little gasp. When she twisted about to face him, her roses-and-cream complexion was pale as snow, with small livid spots flaming high on each cheek.

Her large brown eyes flashed with sparks of amber lightning that Jasper could make out even in the gathering darkness. “Sir, this conversation is becoming far too personal. I will thank you not to speculate on my motives. They are no business of yours.”

The magnitude of his mistake descended on Jasper like an avalanche. “Forgive me, Evangeline! I did not mean to offend you.”

Sensing his apology required more than words, he reached for her hand, but she snatched it away. “Let us speak no more of such things! What is the point of becoming closer acquainted when I will soon be leaving your employ. You would do better to deepen your acquaintance with Miss Webster.”

There could be no question she was vexed with him, but Jasper glimpsed something else behind her indignant glare. Sadness, perhaps, and...longing? Or did he only imagine a reflection of his own feelings that he wanted to believe she might share?

“It is not Miss Webster I wish to know better!” His vehement declaration violated all the lessons Evangeline had tried to teach him about proper courtship. But at that moment, with her so near and darkness falling around them, Jasper had no further patience for lessons and rules. “It is not Miss Webster I want with me now or to dance this evening away.”

Before he could reach his obvious conclusion, Evangeline swept an alarmed glance around them and cried, “Here we are at the assembly! It seemed like a very short drive.”

She scrambled out of the gig and dashed away to join the rest of the party. As he watched her flee with the swift grace of a hind eluding a hunter, Jasper cursed himself under his breath.

But now that he had committed himself this far, he was determined to continue until Evangeline yielded to his suit or persuaded him beyond a doubt that she could never care for him.

* * *

She was running away from a man she cared for in a way she had never thought possible—a man who might have been about to declare his feelings for her if only she’d stayed to listen. Did that prove he was right and she was a coward when it came to matters of the heart?

As Evangeline approached the other two carriages, she slowed her steps and forced her racing breath to a less frantic pace. Then she fixed on a smile and tried to put Jasper’s challenging questions from her mind.

Mr. Brookes was helping the ladies out of their carriage while Mr. Webster did the same for his fellow passengers. Evangeline found herself intensely aware of the tender glance that passed between the vicar and Verity when he escorted her into the hall. It filled her with a wistful ache that was not envy, only a longing to experience that deep, unspoken connection, which was surely one of humanity’s greatest blessings.

This was no time to come over all dreamy and distracted! Evangeline chided herself as sternly as her teachers used to. She had promised to introduce Jasper’s guests to his neighbors and put them at ease.

“Come along, ladies.” She beckoned Miss Leveson, Miss Webster and Miss Brookes. “Let us not keep the gentlemen waiting.”

Her prediction that their arrival would create a sensation soon proved correct. In no time at all, the ladies were surrounded by admirers and had promised the first several dances. Even Evangeline received an invitation and took to the floor with a mixture of relief and trepidation. Having avoided dancing for a good many years, she had to exercise all her powers of concentration to keep from making a fool of herself.

Before long, however, she got caught up in the movement and energy of the other dancers. Her false smile blossomed into a genuine one. By the time she had finished a reel and a country dance, she had pushed her unsettling conversation with Jasper Chase to the back of her mind, where she hoped it would stay.

But when he approached her with a cup of punch, the things he’d said came flooding back again and she could not dismiss them out of hand.

Jasper must have detected signs of alarm in her expression, for he asked, “Have I spoiled any chance that you will speak to me again, let alone do me the honor of a dance?”

“Not entirely.” Evangeline reached for the cup of punch he held out to her. “This goes some way to redeem you.”

She drank it down with grateful relish.

Jasper grinned, an expression that was as difficult to resist as the punch, for it contained an equally refreshing mixture of sweetness and tang. “If you ever give anyone else lessons in courting, you should add one on the value of providing a beverage at the proper time. I congratulate myself on coming up with it all on my own.”

Evangeline tried to keep from smiling back at Jasper in case he took it as encouragement to continue in the vein he had begun earlier. She did not want that.