Chapter 22

CHAPTER 22

Evangeline watched him go with some trepidation. She tried to smooth it down. He had said he was coming back. But it felt oddly like he was running away. Lips pressed in thought, she stepped into the house. A bustling air met her. Footsteps going here and there, orders, muffled by walls and distance, being given, but she made it to her bedchamber unchecked.

Opening the door, she started and gasped. Her bedchamber was meant to be empty, but it was not. Three figures occupied her room. One was Adele, that was not surprising. What startled her were the faces of her two elder daughters smiling at her mischievously.

"Ettie, Charlotte," she cried. "You are back early. Oh, come to me, my darlings."

Ettie and Charlotte rushed to Evangeline and hugged her tight. Evangeline's knees were squeezed by Adele's little arms.

"We thought to surprise you," Ettie said. "Wasn't it a good joke? "

"The best I have had. It is a summer of surprises." How true that statement was, they could never guess! "But how does my aunt and uncle?"

"They are well and send you their love," Charlotte said. "Oh, and we saw Henry on our way down."

Henry.

The Complication.

"Henry? Is he coming to surprise me too? You should not have told me."

The girls laughed, and Ettie explained. "We happened upon him at the Red Lion on the Great Northern Road. We only stopped to change horses there, but he and his friends were putting up for a few days. He did not say it, but we think there is a prize fight happening there that he wishes to see before he comes home."

"A prize fight? How horrid." Evangeline said, strongly opposed to such violent activities. Guns were one thing. Hitting people in the face time and again? Uncivilized. "I shall have to scold him about it when he returns."

"But, Mama, why is your hair wet?" Charlotte asked. She touched the stringy strands that lay on Evangeline's shoulder.

"Well—"

"Did you fall in the stream?" Ettie wondered.

"No, she is dry everywhere else," Charlotte said, examining her. "What happened, Mama?"

Adele's eyes widened. "I know where she has been!"

Ettie and Charlotte looked down at her. "Where, Delly?"

Alarm seized hold of Evangeline's throat. It was too soon. She was not ready to explain. "Now, Adele?—"

"She has been swimming with Mr. Morley. Am I right, Mama? "

Ettie and Charlotte glanced at each other before staring at their mother. "Swimming with Mr. Morley? What does that mean?" Ettie asked.

"Who is Mr. Morley?" Charlotte said.

"Where did you go swimming?" Ettie wondered.

"The name sounds familiar. It cannot be a man. Are you teasing us, Mama?"

Ettie cocked her head. "Is it a dog, perhaps? Mama did you get a new pet while we were away and name him?—"

Evangeline laughed. "I most certainly did not get a dog and name him Mr. Morley."

Adele all this time had been trying in vain to get a word in. "I know who he is. He is Mama's friend, and he came to the house to teach her to swim, and he likes Mama very much."

Ettie and Charlotte stared at Adele in silence for a moment. "He likes you?" Charlotte said, lifting her eyes to Evangeline. "Delly, dear, how can you tell?"

"He smiles at her."

"Smiles at her?"

"A lot ."

Evangeline intervened, astonished that her youngest child had gleaned so much in so little time. "Adele, that is enough. Mr. Morley, he smiles at everyone."

She looked at Ettie and Charlotte and their dazed expressions. "Mr. Morley is an old friend of mine from London. He is coming to dine with us tonight, so you will meet him then."

"And he likes you?" Charlotte asked. " As in…has he asked you to marry him?"

As much as Evangeline would have preferred it otherwise, her older daughters knew her plight as a rich widow, getting bombarded with proposals. They knew of the Complication as well. She only took Charlotte's hand and said, "You will meet him tonight. Now go, I must change, or I shall keep you all waiting."

She herded the girls out of her room and almost had the door closed when Charlotte turned around, her eyes wide. "Wait, Mama, he taught you to swim ? But how did he manage that?—"

Evangeline shut the door with loving firmness in her daughter's face. "I shall explain it all later, dearest."

Once Dobbs answered the summons, a hasty change for dinner should have happened soon after, but it was some time before Evangeline was satisfied. Her dress, her hair, her eau de toilette , nothing seemed to go right. Only when Basil applied himself to the knocker downstairs did she surrender and take one last look in the mirror.

A dress with a pattern of thin blue strips running down the shirt, delicate puffed sleeves and plenty of lace ruffles at the hem. Her hair was wound in a tousled knot atop her head with several pins lined with pearls dotting her hair. Hasty curls circled her face. Since nothing else had looked fitting anyway, it would have to do.

She flitted down the stairs just as Basil was handing his hat to the footman. He carried a small pouch, but this he kept. He glanced up and did a double take, his eyes softening as they followed her the rest of the way down the stairs. "Hallo, Titania," he said, bowing.

"Good evening, Puck," she returned, ignoring the footman and the little tidbit he now had to tell the rest of the house. "I hope you are fond of pickled beets. It is a favorite of ours."

He offered his arm. "Delicious."

She laid her hand in the crook of his elbow and led him to the parlor where her children were waiting with Haney. After a deep breath, she said, "Also, I have had a most wonderful surprise."

"You do not need to tell me. I was there when I kissed you, though why it should be a surprise to you by now, I cannot imagine," he murmured low.

Evangeline gasped and gently slapped his arm in warning. "You cannot be so bold here, Basil. Not where someone can hear you."

He only sent a merry look her way, his eyes twinkling.

She stopped. "I am in earnest, Basil. This is my home, and I will not have you saying such things where my children might hear."

It was frightening enough to know that she truly loved him. Now she had to introduce him to Ettie and Charlotte. The younger children were prone to like anyone who was amusing, but Ettie and Charlotte had been about the world a bit more. Would they approve or take a disliking to him?

The twinkle in his eyes dimmed. He studied her a moment. "I am sorry, E. I am only happy to be here. I'll behave. You have my word. What is the real surprise?"

She led him forward again. "Thank you. Ettie and Charlotte have come home early. They are here."

"Ettie and Charlotte?"

"My two eldest daughters. Sixteen and fourteen."

"Ah. I see."

She tilted her head, regarding him. He did not seem pleased or displeased by the information. She looked down at his other arm. "What is in that pouch you have there?"

"Oh, this? You shall see."

They came into the drawing room where Ettie, Charlotte, Simon, Gregory, William, and Adele were gathered. Haney sat in the corner, occupied with her knitting. At their entrance, all the children stood. The boys bowed, and the girls dipped in curtsies, which made Evangeline beam inwardly. Their manners were a continual source of pride to her.

Adele came up to her. "Mama, I want to introduce him to Ettie and Lottie. May I please?"

Evangeline looked at Basil. He was smiling tentatively at Adele. "You may."

Adele reached for Basil's other hand and fumbled her clasp as she tried to work around the pouch he carried. "What is this?" she asked.

Basil switched it to his other hand. "You will see shortly. But take me to your sisters. I wish to meet them."

Adele led him to Ettie and Charlotte as Evangeline watched, apprehension swelling inside her. Ettie had a pleasant look of curiosity, as if already prepared to be pleased by him. She had ever been one to reserve judgement until she had studied something (or someone) thoroughly in her mind after the first impression.

Charlotte, on the other hand, was fiercely loyal and stubborn to boot. Her first judgements were usually her last. Even now, a suspicious reserve rested on her face, as if even a flinch from Basil would confirm her pre-meditated impression of him.

Adele made the introductions with adorable aplomb. Basil bowed. "I am pleased to make your acquaintances at last. Your mother has been kind enough to have been my friend for many years, which is no small feat, I assure you. "

Ettie's eyes lit with amusement at his remark. The corner of Charlotte's lip lifted a smidge before she tamed it.

"But I am afraid I must already apologize to you both," Basil continued.

"Apologize?" Charlotte said, confused. "What have you done?" She shot a glance at Evangeline.

"Had I known of your presence here, I would have brought something for you as well, but as it is, I only have something for the littlest lady of the house."

"Something for me?" Adele asked, her eyes wide.

Basil knelt in front of her and held out the pouch. "I thought you would like this. Doubtless, you have scores of such things, but it is something to play with."

Evangeline and the boys stepped closer, hovering over Basil and Adele as she took the pouch and tugged at the strings. A short struggle soon produced a small wooden rocking horse. A delicately painted dapple gray, with real white horsehair for the mane and tail.

Adele's mouth formed a surprised ‘oh' as she examined the figurine with wonder. "This is for me? Oh, thank you, Mr. Morley. Mama, see how pretty?"

Tears pricked the backs of Evangeline's eyes as she took the horse and studied it herself. "It is very pretty, darling."

"Look, it's all black there," Simon said. He pointed to a long scorch mark on one side of the horse's haunches. Some of the strands of horsehair had been singed and shriveled.

"What happened to it?" Adele asked.

Basil rose. "Yes, this poor little horse met with an accident when it was young. I did my best to save it, but it will always carry a scar, I am afraid. But, if you had rather not have a disfigured toy, I understand."

The hesitance in his voice pulled at Evangeline's heart. He was afraid of having this toy rejected. Why?

Adele gasped and reached out for it. Evangeline handed it back, and Adele immediately clutched it to her chest, cradling it like an infant. "You poor thing. It will be all right. I will take care of you now."

Basil let out a shaky laugh. "I am glad to have finally found it a good home. I've never been much of a horseman, you see."

Evangeline, not knowing what to do with the tenderness that had settled upon the scene, nodded her head and said stoutly, "That is true. Mr. Morley, you must tell them of the time you tried to mount a green horse with nothing but a string in its mouth."

Basil laughed again, sending a grateful look her way at the change of subject. "And embarrass myself in front of my newly formed acquaintances? I think not."

Dinner was announced, and they all repaired to the dining room. Haney offered to take the wooden horse up to the nursery for Adele, but she pleaded that it might keep her company at the table. "If it is hurt, I must take care of it," she reasoned.

Evangeline did not quite know what she had been expecting the dinner to be like, but in a very few minutes, Basil had a firm command on the evening's entertainment with his jokes and stories. He asked the children questions and listened to their responses in a way the late earl never had had the time for. Lord Ramsbury had hardly ever eaten with his children, much less had the patience for listening to their convoluted, halting tales as they had tried to communicate what they had to say when they had been so young. But Evangeline watched in wonder as Basil's good humor glided through the meal as if he had lived with children his whole life. He had her children entranced, from Adele all the way up to Ettie, whose countenance told Evangeline she approved of him more and more. Charlotte remained polite, though somewhat aloof.

After dinner, the younger children swept into the drawing room, pulling Basil every which way to play everything from jackstraws to fox and geese. Ettie and Charlotte played and sang with Evangeline, who tried not to falter under Basil's rapt attention. The boys, with their mother's encouragement, recited poetry and prose. The setting sun bathed the room with its warm glow through the windows, giving an idyllic air to the scene. Evangeline acknowledged in that moment that her cup ran o'er. Would that she could stay in this moment forever.

The time for the children to retire came too quickly for them, but Haney and Miss Pitt herded them firmly away at the usual hour. The elder girls were allowed to stay up if they wished, but Charlotte whispered in Ettie's ear, and after a nod from her, they both excused themselves for the evening.

Evangeline came back to the room after seeing her sons and Adele off up the stairs. Basil strode up and down the length of the hearth, hands clasped behind his back. The light from the flames bathed his right side in a warm orange glow while on the other side, the evening air painted a cool twilight blue against him through the windows.

When he looked up at her coming, he smiled, the lines on his face dark and deepened from the flames. "Quite the lot you have there," he said.

Evangeline nodded. "And dears, every one of them, most of the time. Except?—"

She stopped short.

Basil leaned his head toward her. "Except?"

She sighed. "Well, Henry and I can be at outs at times."

"Your eldest? Ramsbury?"

She nodded. "It seems he is quite done listening to his mama upon any subject, no matter how much worldly wisdom she may have."

"How old is he?"

"Eighteen."

Basil chuckled. "Yes, I imagine he is. I certainly was. He will come round when he is older, after he has learned a thing or two on his own."

"I do not want him hanging on my sleeve, by any means. His father taught him his duty well before he died. Still," she raised her shoulders in a hopeless shrug. "Sometimes I wish for the sweet boy that he was, and at the same time, I do not. It is odd. And now I am sure I am boring you."

"Not at all," Basil replied. "This is all new to me. Do you think—was Adele pleased with the little horse?"

"Why, yes, she loved it, anyone could see."

Basil shifted his feet, eyes on the ground. "I wondered if it was so damaged that she would not like it."

Evangeline furrowed her brow. "You saw yourself how much she loved it. Even more so when you told her it had gotten hurt. The craftsmanship was very fine. Where did you come by it?"

"It came from Frankfurt, I think."

"Frankfurt? So far? Who bought it? You?"

Basil nodded and shifted his feet again.

Frankfurt. He must have bought it while he was on his grand tour so many years ago. But why would a grown man buy a toy? The answer came swiftly enough.

"Was this your sister's?" she asked softly.

Basil stilled. "Do you remember her?"

"Not much, I confess, but yes. "

"It was never actually hers. I told the truth to Adele—it has never had a home. It was supposed to be Lizzie's, but she never—never got it, you see."

Evangeline turned her face to the fire and took in a breath. "It was a terrible thing, what happened to her."

Basil's eyes followed a hesitant trail up to meet her gaze. He looked down almost immediately and only nodded.

"How did it get scorched, by the by?"

He heaved a sigh. "It happened—once I received word of what had happened, I did not know what to do or how to act. I was thrown into despair and bouts rages by turns. Every place I visited abroad, I had purchased something for her when I returned. One day I was so angry that she was gone, that I would never see her again, I grabbed every parcel and threw them into the fire."

Evangeline leaned against him, pressing her cheek against his shoulder. "Oh, Basil."

She felt his chin rest against her head, his gentle breath tickling her scalp. "I snatched them out almost at once. Those toys were all I had left of her."

"And you gave one to Adele. Are you sure, Basil?" She remembered what Dobbs had said. "Does Adele look like her?"

Basil nodded his head against hers. "Alike, but different, you know. I never thought it would strike me as hard as it did, but I already had Lizzie on my mind and then Adele came to Fernsby, looking as she does. Caught me unawares."

"That is why you acted as you did when our boat tipped, when I said I could not swim? You were afraid of another accident?"

No sound. Only his shifting to nestle her head in the crook of his neck, bringing her closer to him.

"And that is why you wish for us to learn? And the children at the school?"

He huffed. "Sorted everything out, haven't you? Clever girl."

She leaned back to look at him. "Why did you wish to remain anonymous? With everyone at Fernsby Hall talking about it, why did you not say anything, or let Fernsby tell us?"

"Would any of them have believed me? Would you have believed me?"

The question gave her pause. Would she have believed?

She shook her head. "If you had told me before the incident with Miss Thomas and Mr. Barry, no. I am sorry. I would have taken it for a jest."

Basil shrugged. "I never led you to believe otherwise. Didn't want to. I was doing it for Lizzie. She was always so good, always wishing to help. It was not anyone's business, and I left off caring what others thought of me a long time ago. Almost everyone, that is."

A beat passed between them, then he said, "I was going to put them by her. The toys. After the fire, I resolved to save them and put one next to her grave each year. I couldn't do it."

"Why not?"

He hesitated, at a loss for words. "I cannot bear it. She does not belong there, in a cold tomb surrounded by marble and stone. She was never cold. She was brightness and sunshine and—she just does not belong there."

Evangeline brought her arms around him as his voice caught and held him tight. That Basil had been carrying such a burden underneath his wild ways for so long. It was heartbreaking. "Is that why you do not visit your family?" she asked .

He tilted his head back and forth against the top of hers. "It is one of the reasons. They really don't like me. Never could get on with my father, you know. Especially after Lizzie died."

Evangeline only hummed in response, content to hold him but yearning to do more to take away his sorrow. Had he been carrying his grief alone for so many years? She was the first to acknowledge that she lived a charmed life much of the time. There had been times of tragedy and grief, but she had never had to carry them alone. She had her family there to support her sorrows. Basil did not have that, nor did he wish to, it seemed. What could she do?

Presently, Basil stepped back and broke their embrace. "I should take my leave," he said, a fragile tint to his thick voice. "It is late, and we have been alone together for much too long."

He was right, of course. The hour was growing late, the soft twilight giving way to an inky night through the windows, but Evangeline was loath to part. She wanted to do something for him, wished him to stay so she might share his burden.

"Will you come tomorrow?" she asked. "To swim?"

"Oh, yes," he replied. "Your form needs work. Dreadful."

Evangeline scoffed at the crack even as tears stung the backs of her eyes. He was through talking, hiding behind his humor. She could do no more for him tonight. He had had enough.

Resigned, she nodded. "Let me call the carriage for you."

Basil lifted a hand to decline. "I shall walk. Hollyford is not far, and there is a decent moon."

Evangeline regarded him for a moment, taking in the meaning beneath his words. It was nearly four miles to Hollyford. He wished to be alone for a good long while.

She walked with him to the door, and there, he took her hand in his and pressed a gentle, fervent kiss against it. "Thank you, E," he murmured. "Until tomorrow."

He did not move to kiss her lips, and while there was disappointment, watching him as he made his way to the road in the dim light of a half moon, she understood, and grieved with him.

But what more could she do?