She staggered as her slipper caught on the edge of one of the carpets and she nearly deposited herself face first on the floor. She smoothed her skirts and looked around, hoping no one had seen that inelegant display. The shop was mostly empty, so at least she hadn’t made herself entirely into a cake. That was what one got when they strayed from a perfectly good plan and let emotion take over.
Perhaps she deserved to look a fool. She felt one.
She moved down one of the aisles and was about to try, once again, to surrender herself to the titles when another lady entered from the other end. Evangeline gasped as she found herself face to face with Miss Thomasina Lesley, the young woman who had wished to be lightly ruined…the one whose predicament had inspired Evangeline to look at Henry in this new light.
“Lady Evangeline!” Miss Lesley gasped as she rushed to the middle of the aisle to meet her. “What a pleasure it is to see you here.”
“Indeed,” Evangeline said, grasping Miss Lesley’s hands in hers with a light squeeze. “I have found myself looking for you since our last meeting and wondering about you and your…” She looked around to make sure they were not being spied upon. “…your plan.”
Miss Lesley’s cheeks colored pink and she nodded. “Yes, my plan.”
“Come, sit with me by the fire,” Evangeline said, drawing her to the back of the shop where Mr. Mattigan always kept a fire blazing to warm the room and make the area cozy for in-shop reading.
They settled into the chairs together and Evangeline smiled at her companion. “How is it really going between you and Simon?”
“Fine,” Miss Lesley said, and her tone sounded firm. “Perfectly fine, thank you.”
Evangeline nodded. It seemed she was the only one in a state of weakness when it came to the pursuit of a man. How comforting.
“That’s wonderful, I’m happy to hear it. And I suppose I must thank you for that night at the ball. Talking to you helped me put a great many things into perspective. I am also pursuing a gentleman at this time, though it is with an eye toward marriage.”
Miss Lesley’s eyes widened and she leaned forward slightly. “Marriage! Let me be the first to wish you happy. Who is the lucky gentleman?”
“Henry Killam,” Evangeline admitted after the smallest of pauses.
Miss Lesley stared at her a moment, then a tiny smile turned up her lips. “You are to be congratulated in your choice. I understand now why you discouraged me from choosing Mr. Killam for my own plans.”
Evangeline swallowed. She had done that. She couldn’t deny it. And when thoughts of why she might so strenuously push her friend away from Henry arose, she had to set them aside with all her might. They were foolish musings brought about by the unexpected elements in her pursuit, that was all.
“Considering how well your plans with Simon appear to be progressing, I hope you are glad for that?”
Miss Lesley hesitated a moment and her cheeks turned red as she stared off toward the fire. “Indeed. Yes, it is indeed all for the best.”
There was a silence between them for a moment, long enough that Evangeline felt a twinge of disappointment at her own uncertainty next to what felt like Miss Lesley’s absolute assurance. When they had begun so oppositely aligned, it felt dreadfully unfair.
“Lady Evangeline? I don’t want to intrude, but since you were kind enough to assist and advise me…” Miss Lesley cleared her throat. “I hope your plans with Mr. Killam are progressing according to your wishes?”
Evangeline hesitated as a world of imagery flooded her mind. Holding Henry’s hand in the parlor, the way her breath had caught in the music room, him watching her, kissing him…him taking over the kiss. Him running.
She blinked the thoughts away. “Fine,” she said, repeating what Miss Lesley had said to the same question. “It’s all very fine.”
“Lovely,” her friend said.
The subject felt closed and Miss Lesley began to talk of something else, but Evangeline couldn’t stop thinking about Henry. About how things had gotten so out of control. Here was Thomasina Lesley, who was lovely and friendly, and Evangeline truly liked her, but the young woman wasn’t nearly as confident or certain of herself as Evangeline had always felt. Yet she was seducing a man…seducing him to her own ruination…without a care in the world while Evangeline fretted over kisses.
She jolted at the thought, straightening a little on the settee. Maybe that was the trick. She was dancing around Henry too much, spending too much thought and time in a gentle, soft temptation that would lead to a normal kind of marriage proposal. With Henry’s calm, studious nature, that might not work.
Besides, it gave her too much time to analyze the situation. While Henry loved that, researching and testing had always been his forte. God, she remembered one summer party a year ago when he had spent an hour testing out different combinations of flavors for a fruited wine. Evangeline had watched him, astonished at his focus. She would have just poured the damn wine and been done with it. Knowing was far better, wasn’t it?
Of course, the drink had been wonderful, but that was beside the point.
She didn’t test. She decided what she wanted and went after it. She wanted to marry Henry, to have control of her fortune and to stop having these unwanted thoughts of the pressure of his mouth on hers. Perhaps Miss Lesley’s idea of a ruination was a better one than her own. She would regain control by getting right to the point of the matter and harness the unwanted passion his kiss had inspired to something that had a purpose. If she could force herself to discipline her own reactions, which she had always been able to do in the past, then she’d be on track again.
Plus, it would force Henry’s hand. Especially if they went beyond mere light ruination. He would marry her if they went too far. And that would be that.
“Lady Evangeline, are you well?” Miss Lesley asked, reaching out to cover her hand gently and drawing her back to the present.
“Yes,” Evangeline said, shocked that her tone was a little breathless. She must have inhaled a bit of smoke from the fire.
She blinked and tried to focus. Her poor friend had been speaking so earnestly and Evangeline had been rude. What had she been saying? Oh, something about her mother and using Evangeline’s name to thwart Mrs. Lesley’s overprotective drive.
“And please, you must call me Evangeline, for we are friends, are we not?”
Miss Lesley’s expression softened. “Indeed, I would be honored. As I would be if you would call me Tamsin.”
“Tamsin,” Evangeline repeated, and smiled. She did like this young woman. Normally she only helped people and didn’t get close, but there was something about Tamsin… “And of course you may use my name to further your plans with Simon. It’s well known that I favor Mattigan’s with my custom and am regularly to be found here.” She stood, still distracted by thoughts of Henry and the seduction that had sprung to her mind. “But I realize I have another appointment that slipped my mind.”
“Of course.” Tamsin was staring at her as if she’d sprouted a second head.
The two women rose together and Evangeline smiled at Tamsin to reassure her. “I really do love seeing you, my friend. Perhaps before the new year, you and I could meet. I’ll send you an invitation to tea.”