“Not at all,” the elder Lady Bannerman protested, as if anticipating her daughter-in-law’s next thought. “Helen will see to it.”
“Yes, please do so,” Lady Frances added gratefully.
Helen nodded in acknowledgment, and left.
No sooner were the rest seated at the table, than she returned. In her hand she carried an envelope.
“What is this?” Lady Frances questioned more sharply than she intended.
Helen could in all honesty say she did not know, but mindful of the butler’s presence, and that of the attending footmen, she merely delivered the note to Sir William.
He raised an eyebrow in response, as he studied the envelope bearing his and his wife’s names.
Helen took her seat.
The table was silent for the most part, as Sir William removed the single sheet it contained. As he read, his face flushed, then paled. By the time he returned the letter to the envelope, and the envelope to the inside pocket of his jacket, his complexion was an unpleasant combination of bright purple and ashen blotches.
He looked up to see all eyes on his. He cleared his throat roughly.
“Evie will not be joining us this evening,” was all Sir William cared to say, though he did give Lady Frances a long look that deepened the crease between her eyes, and caused her stomach to knot.
If Katharine did not know the gist of the letter’s contents, she would be nearly mad with curiosity. She wondered how Lady Frances, Sir Douglas, and Lady Nora stood the suspense. Helen, too, must wonder. If not for the presence of the servants, someone would surely demand to know. As there were servants present, no one did.
The final course was finished at last, and Sir William stood.
“See that coffee is served in the library,” he instructed the butler. “Then see to it that we are not disturbed.”
The butler nodded, and Sir William turned and left. Those who knew the source of his upset, followed. Those who did not, also followed, despite resentment on the part of Sir Douglas and Lady Nora. Their presence should be requested, not assumed, and certainly not overlooked or forgotten. The aristocratic couple had half a mind to return to their rooms. If not for the maddening itch of curiosity, they just might. But, curiosity did indeed itch, so they followed, and determined to show their cool disapproval at the earliest possible convenience. Judging by the look of distraction on the face of their host, the opportunity might be a long time in coming.
No sooner was coffee wheeled in and the library door closed and locked, than Douglas jumped in.
“I do hope Evie is well,” he remarked with obvious concern.
“How was she when you saw her, Helen?” the elder Lady Bannerman questioned. “Was she quite alright?”
“I do not know,” she answered quietly.
“You do not know?” the elder Lady Bannerman retorted more loudly than either Helen, or her son and daughter-in-law, would wish. “However did you manage that? Surely you know something. After all, you did see her. Did you not?”
“Evie is gone,” Sir William said bluntly, as he turned and faced the room at large. His eyes burned coldly, as he handed Lady Frances the letter written by their daughter.
“Gone!” she echoed in astonished horror.
“Gone… where?” Douglas sounded genuinely concerned.
“I do not know,” Sir William replied tightly. “You might as well know she has gone, and does not intend to return.”
“But where? Where could she possibly go?” Lady Frances exclaimed, as her eyes raced across the words written on the page. Suddenly she paled, but her sudden loss of color was due to outrage, rather than fear.
The Carlisles were momentarily struck dumb by the news.
“You say she does not intend to return,” Douglas said flatly, as if surely he was mistaken.
“She does not,” Sir William snapped.
“Then I suppose this means the wedding is off,” Daniel said cheerfully.
Sir Douglas regained the power of speech.
“This is outrageous!” he practically spat. “I will not stand for this embarrassment! Find her, at once! At once, I say!”
“It should be simple enough, as I have no idea where she’s gone!” Sir William fired back.
The abandoned bridegroom appeared still to be stunned.
“I believed the differences between us were resolved. I thought we reached an understanding,” he said numbly. Neither his parents, nor hers, would ever know how thorough that understanding was.
“It does not appear so,” Daniel pointed out helpfully.
“But surely Evie will return,” Katharine stoked the conversation.
“She can not have gone far,” Lady Nora reasoned. “To whom would she go, or where? Surely you have some idea!”
“I am sure I do not,” Sir William declared, with as much patience as he could muster.
“We thought she was resigned to marrying your son,” Lady Frances said in their defense.
“Resigned?” Sir William snapped, and his eyes burned. “Your daughter should be grateful for the honor of being deemed acceptable! Resignation, be hanged! I demand you produce her at once, and honor our agreement!”
“If she could be forced, she would not now be elsewhere,” the elder Lady Bannerman said dryly.
“It is the determination to avoid such use of force, which prompted her disappearance,” James pointed out, as he examined the note Evie’s mother so conveniently dropped. It would not do to know more than he ought. Surely her letter addressed the subject… and, there it was.
“That, and her refusal to lose what choice she had left,” Katharine added as she read, then laughed shortly. “I do not think you would wish to endure her response, should you attempt to force her to marry.”
There was nothing short about Daniel’s laughter, as he took a turn at the letter.
“The embarrassment of leaving the Carlisle heir standing at the altar is preferable over what has been promised, should she be found.”
Sir Douglas’ forehead was beaded with perspiration, and purple with rage.
“I will not stand for this egregious insult!” he declared, though indeed he was standing. “She shall be found, and what’s more, dragged back! This marriage will take place whether she wishes it or not! Let us see how much embarrassment she can then manage locked in an institution, for there she belongs!”
James’ gaze was steely, as he locked eyes with the man.
“I should advise against it,” he said, in a decidedly chilling tone.
Daniel leaned in the direction of Sir Douglas, and spoke behind his hand.
“I beseech you, Father, not to anger the sharp-shooting American cousin,” he said in a hushed tone easily heard by all. “I do not think you will win.”
“Well what on earth do you expect us to do?” Lady Nora implored the universe at large.
“It is simple enough,” the elder Lady Bannerman replied. “There is but one thing missing. If it’s embarrassment, broken agreements and scandal you wish to avoid, you need only to replace the bride.”
Sir William rolled his eyes impatiently.
“We haven’t another daughter, in case you have forgotten. We have no daughter, at all! Not anymore!”
“There is no need to cancel the wedding,” the elder Lady Bannerman continued serenely. “Helen will do just as well.”
Helen’s eyes widened, and her breath caught. She locked eyes with Douglas, and what she saw there, filled her with hope.
“Helen!” Lady Frances said in surprise.
“She is of the same class as the Carlisles, though without fortune,” the elder Lady Bannerman noted. “I find it curious the Carlisles did not seek her for themselves, years ago.”
Sir Douglas’ and Lady Nora’s faces reddened, and their gazes quailed, at the look of disdainful accusation in the older woman’s sharp blue eyes.
“It may be well and good for the Carlisles, but what of ourselves?” Lady Frances fretted. “It does not remove th
e scandal that our daughter has thrust upon us.”
“We have no daughter!” Sir William adamantly maintained.
“Of course you have,” the elder Lady Bannerman retorted. “Unless you are too big a fool to take the opportunity right in front of you. I daresay after a lengthy honeymoon trip of a year or two, no one will know the difference.”
Both sets of parents fixed their eyes on Helen.
Katharine held her breath. Only if they agreed, would Evie be guaranteed the peace she desired. After all, to pursue her after having installed another in her place, would result in such scandal as would eclipse that which they now hoped to avoid.
“The likeness is rather remarkable,” Daniel declared.
“Well then, Mister Carlisle,” the elder Lady Bannerman turned to Douglas. “Do you approve of this proposed exchange? If so, you’ve a proposal of your own to make.”
Douglas’ eyes remained locked on Helen’s, as he crossed the distance that separated them. He reached for her hand, and knelt.
“Helen, will you spare both our families shame, embarrassment, and scandal, repair my broken heart, and marry me?” he asked, as Helen caught the tears that insisted on release, with the handkerchief Katharine conveniently held ready.
“Oh, do say you will!” Lady Frances pled, for by her way of thinking, the tears were not a good sign.
“Yes, Helen, do!” Daniel urged, though not as one who believed she would do otherwise.
Helen clung to Douglas’ hand as to a lifeline.
“If you will still have me, then yes,” she sobbed. “I want nothing more.”
Douglas’ smile was as the sun after the rain, as he stood and hugged her close. After the many shocks experienced that evening, it did not much phase the rest, even when he kissed her.
There was a knock at the door, and the butler entered.
“If you please sir, the minister has arrived,” he announced.
“You cannot buy more perfect timing than that,” Daniel said with satisfaction.
“No, but with impeccable planning and execution, there is no limit to what one can manage,” Katharine whispered softly to James, and he smiled in reply.
Now if only Evie herself would fare as well.
“Wait!” Sir Edmund exclaimed. “You cannot possibly leave us hanging like this! What happened to Evie? Did those miserable killjoys come to some bad end?”
“If you really want to know, then don’t interrupt,” I replied.
“But you stopped!” Sir Edmund countered.
“Then you yelled ‘wait,’” I replied. “I wasn’t done, I was merely pausing to denote a change in scene. And for effect.”
“It runs in the family,” Miles said, and I laughed, because I got the Uncle Mark reference. I also wondered, if Sir Edmund and Lady Carlisle were too engrossed to realize this wasn’t just a story. It was the truth, and that truth had implications to be reckoned with.
“You’re driving me mad, you know!” Sir Edmund declared. “Any more dramatic pauses, and I may decide to scream!”
“Hush, Edmund!” Lady Carlisle ordered. “How can they possibly continue, if you insist on interrupting? Please, do go on.”
The cool, salt-scented breeze grew cooler still, as dusk softly descended over the harbor. The clang of a buoy brought a flutter of excitement to Evie’s heart, as did the faint talk and occasional laughter amplified by the water. The lap of waves against the docks, and the creak of the ships anchored there, caused her fluttering heart to quicken. As she drew nearer, she eagerly scanned their wooden hulls, until at last what she spent the past hours praying would be there, met her gaze.
Evie breathed a silent sigh of relief and fought to still the pounding of her heart, as she checked for the thousandth time to ensure her curls were still safely secured under the cap she wore. Assured that they were, she took another deep breath of the salty air, and turned to her companion.
“This will do,” she said.
“You are certain?” Daniel questioned, as he cast their surroundings a dubious glance.
“I am, quite,” Evie replied, with a confidence that left him as assured as he was likely to be. He wasn’t alone in wondering what her plans were beyond this point, or what would become of her once he left her there. Her insistence that she was safest if it were so, seemed slightly more reasonable in the light of day, when Douglas sought his assistance in seeing her safely there.
Evie rolled her eyes.
“I am quite alright, or will be, unless you delay my departure,” she said, as she returned her gaze to the ships docked nearby. “You might give a thought to your own safety, should either horse wander off in your absence.”
“Very well then,” Daniel replied, with another glance of suspicion at the two sailors further down the dock, and the fellow doing something to the sails of a ship nearby.
“Go,” Evie ordered.
“Only because you insist,” he grumbled.
“I do. And thank you, for everything,” she remembered. “This was made a good deal easier, with your help. Now, go. You’re not finished yet.”
“Unless you mean return the horses, and convince our families to accept Helen in your stead, I’m missing something.”
“That is all, and now you must go,” Evie said in a rush, as the man stepped from the boat to the dock, and began untying the knot of the rope which held it. “And so must I!”
“Do be careful, then,” Daniel admonished, for it seemed someone must, but she was already gone.
The man with the boat turned at the sound of footsteps, and in the dim light of evening, he watched as the young fellow to whom they belonged, stopped beside him.
“I hear you’ve a position in Ireland to attend to,” Evie said, as her heart pounded at her own audacity.
“Evie?” Joseph exclaimed in surprise. He looked all around, then back at her. “Evie Bannerman, what on airth brings ye here? An in this getup?”
He looked as askance as he could in the inadequate light, as he gave her borrowed coat and trousers a glance.
“It’s Evie, just Evie,” she replied softly. “I haven’t a last name at present, though I soon hope to.”
Joseph’s eyebrows knit as he reached out and pressed his palm to her forehead.
“I am not delirious with fever,” she assured him. “I am more sane than I have ever been. I have left my sorrows behind, along with the life not of my own choosing. I am off to seek my fortune, and I do hope you’ve room for me.”
Joseph stared down at her, as one by one, the harbor lights began to glow. He looked as dumbfounded as he felt.
“Evie, yer family must be mad with worry,” he said, then wondered if that were true. Her father’s lack of reaction when Joseph shared the encounter he witnessed that morning between Evie and her fiancé, left him more unsettled, rather than less.
“They are not, I assure you,” Evie replied. “Nor will they haunt my steps in the future. Truly, I have seen to it they shall not.”
Joseph stared back at her. He looked horrified, as well as concerned, which he was.
“Please, Evie, tell me ye haven’t gone an done somethin’ ye’ll regret,” he begged, as he gripped her shoulders, and looked behind her. The absence of an officer of the law, come to collect her, did little to ease his concern.
“I haven’t, nor has anyone been injured in the process. Not even their pride is wounded.”
“I canna imagine how ye managed it, then,” Joseph replied.
“All you need know at the moment, is that I am now free, with no encumbrances… save one,” she said, as her heart fluttered nervously.
“An what is it encumberin’ ye?” he asked.
Evie’s gaze dropped briefly, then she glanced back at Joseph earnestly.
“I realized today… I am free to want what I may, and what I want, is you,” she managed to say. Joseph’s eyes widened, and she hurried on before she could lose her nerve. “All that encumbers me, is the fear that you’ll not feel the same.”
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“Evie, I… yer certain sure they’ll not be comin’ after ye?”
“I am certain, and sure,” she smiled, then so did he.
“I canna imagine how ye managed it, but I’m willin’ t’ take the chance yer right, an not delirious with fever, because the truth is… if I’m free t’ want what I may, then there’s no question. It’s you, I be wantin’.”
Evie removed the cap from her head, and her curls spilled over her shoulders and down her back, as she made one more in a very long list of daring moves that day, wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him.
Daniel turned away with a smile, and hurried off to retrieve their horses. He hadn’t a clue who the man was, but whoever he was, they certainly knew one another.
Another glance over his shoulder left him wondering if Douglas wasn’t the only one with a ghostwriter!
Joseph reluctantly held Evie back a little.
“Yer certain sure this is what ye be wantin’?” he felt compelled to ask.
“I have never been more certain,” Evie vowed.
“Well then, Miss Evie,” Joseph smiled, as he assisted her in boarding, then briskly untied the boat and joined her on the deck. “Let’s get ye home t’ Ireland, an see t’ replacin’ that last name.”
“Douglas and Helen were married that night, probably about the same time as Joseph and Evie,” I said.
“My family lost touch with those at the manor, shortly after James and Katharine returned to Cedar Oaks,” Miles replied. “After all, Evie was no longer there, and would only ever return in the person of Helen.”
“But—are you certain?” Sir Edmund suddenly asked. “Because if this is true, then—we’re not related, after all.”
“If you go back far enough, we all are,” Miles said. “But, the relation isn’t close enough to be linked through DNA testing.”
“When Mom started reading Katharine’s diary, she was stunned by what she found,” I said. “She wanted all the confirmation she could get before dropping that bombshell, so she contacted my Aunt Louise, who has connections, and pushed through the results of the DNA testing Miles had done. She also called our friends, who were in the middle of finding the hidden messages in the letters James and Katharine received from Evie and Joseph, over the years. Mom called our friends, they met up, compared notes, and started photographing everything.”
Ashes of Roses Page 51
