Chapter 27

Twenty-Seven

During the days that led up to the ball, and after the Chesterfield family reunion, which everyone had deemed a great success, Camilla had found herself barely having a moment to breathe, what with all the last-minute details needing to be addressed before Luella made her grand debut at the ball everyone of social prominence in Wheeling would be attending.

Final fittings were in progress for all the clothing Luella had purchased at Stone and Thomas, along with the ball gown from Worth Camilla had given her, Luella actually standing still for those fittings, but probably only because Charles had insisted on keeping her company. He'd taken to reading out loud from a book on horticulture they both apparently found riveting, although that particular book had put Camilla straight to sleep.

They'd evidently seen that as a prime opportunity because, when she'd woken up, the room had been empty, prompting her to track down Charles and Luella, finding them on the back patio, where they'd definitely been getting somewhat ... cozy.

Besides tracking Charles and Luella down—and more than a few times—she'd had to schedule extra quadrille practices after Sally Murchendorfer almost had a fit of the vapors when she'd missed a few steps during one session, declaring with tears running down her face that she simply wouldn't be ready in time for the ball. Her tears had instantly dried up, though, after Luella volunteered to give her some one-on-one instruction.

Stanley, who'd been spending his time during their lessons watching Luella far more than Charles would've liked, had then stepped forward, offering himself up as Sally's partner, to which Luella had coolly replied that having him there would defeat the point of Sally getting one-on-one attention from her.

The room had grown silent as Stanley had merely stared at Luella for a long moment before he'd drawn in a deep breath and then told her that he'd been thinking about his past behavior of late, and that he truly was sorry for ever having assumed the role of complete and utter cad.

To give Luella credit, she'd not voiced agreement to that, which suggested the etiquette lessons had sunk in, but instead, had merely inclined her head, although she didn't change her mind about his offer of assistance, something that left Stanley looking rather resigned and Charles rather amused.

"I must say, I do believe the Chesterfields are going to make quite the showing this evening," Elma said, walking with Lottie across the parlor of the Chesterfield house on Wheeling Island, Hester nowhere in sight because Elma had given her companion a week off to visit family.

Her generosity hadn't left Elma willing to completely fend for herself, though, because she'd managed to get Lottie to keep her company and come read to her every day, stating that Camilla could certainly spare her companion for a week since it wasn't as if Camilla needed Lottie to read to her as she didn't suffer from poor eyesight, nor did she need her company because Camilla was always surrounded by people.

When presented with an argument like that, Camilla hadn't felt compelled to argue. Besides, she knew Lottie wouldn't be in her employ long—not when her companion had recently made the decision to pursue a position at one of the Wheeling schools and didn't try to hide the fact that she and Edward had managed to resolve their "issues," as Lottie called them, and were now in the midst of a very charming courtship.

"I see you finally relented and allowed Bernadette to have a go at your hair," Beulah said, nodding to Elma as she strolled into the room, settling a silk wrap overtop an evening gown from Worth, one of three Camilla had brought with her, and one that was a lovely shade of blue and had been altered by Bernadette, who'd been more than busy of late.

"I didn't want the poor girl thinkin' I was doubtin' her abilities by avoidin' her," Elma said, releasing a whistle a second later when Luella glided into the room, looking resplendent in the gown Camilla had given her—a lovely bow-free confection of ivory silk that fit her like a glove and would surely make a splash once they reached Mr. Fulton's paddle steamer.

"And don't you clean up nice," Beulah said, moving to join Luella, where she promptly kissed her on the cheek before she gave her a good squeeze. "Nervous?"

Luella shook her head. "Since Camilla managed the grand feat of getting me reaccepted by old friends weeks ago, as well as accepted by a slew of new ones, I have nothing to be nervous about."

"Except that you'll be performing that fancy dance she taught you in front of all those guests."

"Charles and I have been putting in extra practice time, and that's in addition to the extra time I spent with Sally, so I can do those steps in my sleep."

"When and where were you getting in this practice time with Charles?" Owen demanded, striding into the room and causing Camilla's mouth to drop open just a touch because ... good heavens. The man did wear formal evening attire exceedingly well.

His jacket, as was always the case these days, accentuated his broad shoulders to perfection, and the pristine white of his shirt, paired with a white cravat, stood out in stark relief against the black fabric of his suit. His hair, arranged by Bernadette, had just a bit of curl to it, although Bernadette had somehow managed to tame the curls that usually had a mind of their own.

The only thing that detracted from his appearance was the scowl he was currently wearing, one that deepened as Charles and Leopold ambled into the room, Charles coming to an abrupt stop as his gaze settled on Luella, while Leopold moseyed directly over to Beulah, taking her hand and placing a kiss on it.

"This is going to be a very, very interesting evening," Lottie said as Edward walked into the room.

"Are you certain the two of you don't want to join us?" Camilla asked after Edward walked over to stand beside Lottie, beaming a warm smile at her as he took her hand and kissed it.

"I'm not one for fancy parties," Edward admitted, keeping hold of Lottie's hand. "Besides, my mother is hosting a dinner for us this evening, and she's been cooking all day, clearly wanting to impress Lottie."

"Your mother doesn't need to go out of her way to impress me," Lottie muttered. "I adored her the moment I met her last week."

"I believe the feeling is mutual," Edward returned.

When Lottie and Edward began gazing into each other's eyes, a feeling of satisfaction swept through Camilla, a direct result of knowing she'd been somewhat responsible for what was clearly going to be a spectacular match. After telling the couple to enjoy their evening, she strolled across the room to where Owen was still scowling, taking hold of his arm.

"There's really no need for you to look so fierce since Charles doesn't find your scowls intimidating these days, considering how often you scowl at him but never do more than that," she said.

"Do you think I should escalate to something a little more threatening?"

"And leave your sister more than morose if you were to happen to scare Charles off, not that I think he'd be easily deterred?"

"I take it that's a firm no to the escalating business?"

"Too right it is, especially when Charles is completely besotted with Luella, and she with him, something Charles's mother, Petunia, is certainly going to be thrilled about." She gave Owen's arm a squeeze. "Did I mention how often Petunia tracked me down in New York to discuss Charles's matrimonial prospects and how I was going to go about helping him end his bachelor state?"

"You did, but I'm not certain that telling me how difficult it was for Charles to find a compatible lady within the confines of the Four Hundred is the best way to convince me he'd be perfect for my sister."

"Learning Charles wasn't compatible with high-society ladies should be reassuring, not concerning because, what I've come to understand about Charles is that he was never meant to marry a lady from the Four Hundred, as he's not the quintessential society gentleman. He loathes discussing current fashions, the weather, or which virtuoso might be performing on any given evening at the Metropolitan Opera House. He prefers honest conversations, which he's been indulging in often of late with Luella."

"But Luella seems to have found a love of fashion, which I'm sure she'll eventually want to discuss with Charles, which suggests he may soon find himself less-than-besotted with her."

"You're reaching and you know it," Camilla countered. "Charles would be happy to discuss fashion with Luella because it interests her, and he, being a man in love, obviously wants to make her happy. And besides all that, another mark in his favor is that Charles accepts Luella exactly as she is."

"Given the stunned expression on his face when he first caught sight of her only moments before, I think he may enjoy the sophisticated and gorgeously gowned Luella over the ragamuffin he first met."

"While Charles is certainly a gentleman who can appreciate Luella's beauty, he's more enamored with her kindred spirit and kind nature, and it doesn't hurt that she can outshoot him on any given day, or that she shares his love of horticulture."

"But Luella was convinced just a few months back that she was meant to marry Stanley, which suggests she could very well be in a rebound state of mind and has simply focused her attention on Charles to vindicate a wounded ego."

"Luella would have never married Stanley because they were ill-matched, something I think Beulah realized since she never tried to get that apple pie recipe into Stanley's hands."

"Huh, she didn't try that, but I haven't seen her give that recipe to Charles, which could mean that Meemaw isn't convinced Charles is right for Luella either."

"I hate to burst your bubble, but I overheard Beulah asking Charles just the other day to fetch her recipe box because she needed to pull out her recipe for anise cookies."

"I don't believe I've ever eaten an anise cookie Meemaw made."

"Which suggests she is trying to get that recipe into Charles's hands. She probably had the apple pie recipe sticking out of the A section. I don't really think he'd balk if she'd just hand it over to him, but she might like the whole drama of sneaking it to him without his notice."

Owen went to rake a hand through his hair but stopped when Bernadette, who'd been fiddling with Elma's upsweep, sent him a bit of a hiss. He settled for rubbing his jaw instead. "If you ask me, there's been a lot of sneaking around of late. I've been on high alert because I keep catching Luella and Charles just wandering out of rooms—not together, of course—but suspiciously timed wanders that I know are supposed to come across as casual but are obviously nothing of the sort."

It was difficult to resist a smile. "Luella mentioned you've been following her around and springing out at her from behind corners, scaring the poor girl half to death."

"There wouldn't be a need to scare her if she'd try behaving herself, or stop seeking Aunt Elma's counsel, which you know centers mostly on kissing."

"Has Elma been giving you advice about kissing?"

Instead of answering her, Owen merely gave his collar a bit of a tug before he muttered something about needing to have a word with Leopold and strode away, leaving Camilla frowning after him.

In all honesty, his reaction wasn't exactly a surprise because she'd begun to realize that Owen Chesterfield, a man she found completely fascinating, albeit rather annoying again of late, seemed to have an aversion to kissing.

She knew full well that he'd been about to kiss her the day of the family reunion, but he'd not broached the subject of their interruption, nor had he tried to kiss her again, even though she may have—accidentally, of course—arranged for them to run across each other in spots that were far removed from prying eyes.

She'd been considering the matter at length, even during the last few quadrille practices when she'd been swept about the ballroom in Owen's arms, but even though she'd spent hours pondering the reasons behind why Owen hadn't attempted to kiss her again, she'd been unable to come up with a viable explanation except one—he obviously had allowed all the talk about kissing to persuade him to give it a try with her, but after they'd been interrupted, he'd come to his senses and decided that kissing her simply wasn't something he was interested in pursuing.

It was a beyond depressing conclusion because somewhere during her time in Wheeling, she, a matchmaker who'd vowed to never marry, had apparently fallen a bit in love with a man she was convinced would make her happy for the rest of her life, but he didn't appear to feel the same and she didn't know what to do next.

She always knew what to do when arranging matches for other people, but in this particular instance, she had not the faintest inkling of how to proceed because—how could she possibly go about convincing Owen he longed to kiss her, or ...

"I believe the carriages are waiting on us," Beulah called out. "Shall we get on our way to the wharf?"

Camilla gave herself a mental shake and tried to push all thoughts of kissing aside, which turned somewhat difficult after Owen returned to her side and took her arm, escorting her to the front door, where Mr. Timken was waiting, holding the door open for them.

After sending Mr. Timken a smile, Camilla walked down the front steps with Owen, who paused at the bottom and caught her eye. "I've been wondering something."

"What would have happened if we'd not been interrupted by Lottie and Edward the other day?" she heard slip out of her mouth before she could stop herself.

Owen blinked. "Is that what you've been wondering lately?"

She blinked right back at him. "Only if that's what you were about to say you've been wondering."

"I was actually wondering if you decided not to return to New York, if Mr. Timken would stay with you."

Disappointment was swift, until what he'd just said began to settle. Camilla tilted her head. "Why would you wonder something like that?"

"I'd rather learn if you really were wondering what would have happened if we'd not been interrupted, or better yet, what you actually thought would have happened."

"And I'd rather learn if, before you were wondering about Mr. Timken, you'd been wondering the same thing I might have been wondering."

Owen's lips quirked. "We seem to be throwing the words would and wondering around quite a bit."

"I'm sure that'll stop if you explain everything you've been wondering of late."

Before Owen could do more than consider her for a moment, Nems, who was already sitting in the driver's seat on the carriage, released a whistle, interrupting whatever Owen had been about to say and drawing their attention.

"Woo-eee, you sure is lookin' mighty fine, Miss Camilla," Nems called.

"It would seem we've been interrupted again, but don't think we won't return to this conversation at some point," Owen said, pulling her into motion and stopping beside the carriage where Nems, sporting a neatly trimmed beard, promptly settled a smile on her.

"Why, I ain't seen no one lookin' as purty as you do right now, Miss Camilla," Nems began before he settled his gaze on Owen and grinned. "Best be watchin' over the lady tonight, Owen. Them other gents are gonna be swarmin' around her like flies at the slaughterhouse."

"That's quite the image to now have stuck in my mind," Camilla murmured as Owen laughed. After thanking Nems for what he undoubtedly intended as flattery, she stepped up and into the carriage, Owen joining her a second later.

He immediately focused his now-notorious scowl on Leopold, who was sitting on the opposite seat, all but squished between the carriage wall and Beulah, the reason behind Leopold's squished state being Elma having insisted there was ample room for her, as well, even though she wasn't what anyone would call a slender woman and was currently taking up more than half the seat.

Leopold ignored the scowl as the carriage trundled into motion and sent Owen a smile instead. "Given that rather fierce expression on your face, son, I'm thinking you haven't followed through on that advice I've been giving you."

Owen shifted on the seat. "I'm not looking fierce because of your advice, which, no, there hasn't been time to take, but because Meemaw is practically sitting in your lap."

"I'd be more than willin' to join you on your side, Owen," Aunt Elma said, sending him a wink. "Bet that might make it possible for you to get on with takin' that advice Leopold's been givin' you."

Owen evidently decided his best option was to ignore all that, turning to Camilla instead of responding. "Have I told you about the Zane family yet—or more specifically, Ebenezer Zane, who founded Wheeling in 1769?"

It was difficult to resist a grin when Beulah and Elma began cackling, and Leopold took to chuckling, but knowing the last thing she needed was to have the three somewhat meddling members of the elderly set sitting across from her jump into what they enjoyed doing best, that being meddling, Camilla settled a smile on Owen.

"You have not told me a thing about this Ebenezer, and I now find myself more than curious about the man."

As Owen launched into additional history regarding his hometown, Beulah and Elma continued cackling, although they did throw in little tidbits about Wheeling, such as it was built around Fort Henry and that there were currently plans in place to start a new gentlemen's club by that same name that was slated to open within the year.

Ten minutes later, the carriage turned right onto Main Street, slowing to a stop a few minutes after that once they reached the wharf.

By the time they got out of the carriage, the door opened for them by Andy, who'd traveled with them tonight to act, not only as a groomsman, but to provide Camilla with extra protection since, according to the latest telegram from the Accounting Firm, there'd been little progress made uncovering who'd been behind her abduction attempt, a line of guests had already formed on the wharf, the ladies dressed in their best silks, while the gentlemen sported expected evening attire.

Before Camilla could truly appreciate the sight of a paddle steamer that appeared to have at least two levels, if not three, Owen was escorting her up the gangplank that led to the main deck, where Mr. Henry Fulton abandoned the guests he was currently greeting and bustled up for an introduction.

Henry then insisted on ushering Camilla, as well as Luella, who he proclaimed was absolutely delightful, around to introduce them to guests they didn't know, telling Owen he'd return in a trice, which left Owen, as well as Charles, scowling until Beulah elbowed both of them in the ribs.

A trice turned out to be her version of momentarily because it took Mr. Fulton a good hour to show her and Luella around, Camilla having a difficult time of it refusing an urge to grin when guests thronged to their side and begged, not to be introduced to her, but to Luella, which meant their plan to establish her within Wheeling society had definitely found success.

After all the guests had boarded, the paddle steamer chugged away from the wharf and headed down the river, the breeze drifting off the water making it more than comfortable, even with more than two hundred people milling about.

After making the acquaintance of Mr. Russell Murchendorfer, Ada Mae's husband and a gentleman who turned out to be surprisingly charming, Camilla excused herself from the guests surrounding her after Charles wandered up to stand beside Luella, telling them she needed to return to Owen, which earned her knowing looks all around.

"I was beginning to think Mr. Fulton was planning on monopolizing you for the entirety of the ball," Owen said, handing her a glass of champagne once she'd located him in the crowd, a feat that hadn't been difficult since Owen stood a good head taller than most of the guests.

"He was very amiable," she said.

"I bet he was," Owen grumbled before he took to squinting at something over her shoulder.

"Is something the matter?" she asked.

"There's a boat coming toward us."

"I imagine that's a common occurrence on the river."

"Not when it seems to be on a path to intercept us, and not when it doesn't appear to have any navigational lights on."

Camilla turned and peered in the general direction Owen was staring, detecting an outline of another boat a second later, the only reason she could see it being that the moon had just appeared from behind a cloud. Unfortunately, the boat was almost upon them, and ...

Shrieks suddenly rang out as numerous grappling hooks hurled over the railing, and then there was a clunk as the other boat pulled directly against the paddle steamer's hull right before men began swarming onto the deck.

"Pirates!" someone yelled as absolute chaos erupted, the ladies trying to flee to the lower level but freezing on the spot as a shot rang out.

"We're not here to harm you," a burly man shouted. "As long as you remain calm, we'll take what we came to retrieve, get on our way, and no one gets hurt."

It didn't take long to discover what they intended to retrieve after one of the men caught sight of Camilla and pointed a finger her way. "That's her."

"Don't worry," Owen said, bending his head close to her. "I think I have a plan."

"A plan?"

"Indeed" was all he said before he hefted her over his shoulder, moved to the railing, and jumped into the swollen waters of the Ohio River.