“I was worried about you after the park,” she said.
He sighed in relief. Her words put him to mind of his father and that certainly solved the problem in his breeches. He faced her with a shrug. “You needn’t, though it is kind of you.”
“Do you want to talk about your problem?” she asked, rising and moving toward him with slow, almost deliberate steps.
There was a lump in his throat and he struggled to speak past it. “Er, well…I’m not…it’s just—”
He did not have the chance to finish the thought. At that moment, Evangeline’s maid returned to the room, a book in hand. Her hawkish gaze flitted from Evangeline to him and back again. “I found the book, my lady,” she announced, a little breathlessly, holding out the volume.
Evangeline’s expression when she looked at her servant was one of pure irritation. “Wonderful, Tibby. That’s wonderful. I wonder that it didn’t take you longer.”
“Because it was hidden behind your pillow, you mean?” the maid asked.
Evangeline lifted her brows and shot a look at Henry with a laugh. “What an accusation! If the book was behind the pillows, it must have fallen there by mistake. But…yes, thank you, Tibby.”
Henry smoothed his hands over his waistcoat and moved forward. Right now his mind felt entirely addled and all he could think about was the way Evangeline’s hands gripped that book. Why in God’s name had she flirted with him when she’d never done so…or at least not like this…before?
It was very confusing.
“I think I must excuse myself,” he said. “I suddenly am not feeling well.”
Evangeline’s lips parted and there was true concern on her face. “Oh, Henry, I’m so sorry. Yes, of course, go and take care of yourself. I’ll see you out.”
He nodded and followed her. She fell into step beside him in the hall and he felt her watching him from the corner of her eye. “Are you coming to my father’s soiree on Sunday?”
Henry caught his breath. He had received the invitation for the gathering the day before, but hadn’t opened it. “I-I hadn’t intended it, actually, Evangeline.”
“No?” she said. “Oh, that is disappointing. You know it will be all my father’s ridiculous friends. I would very much like it if you were there.”
Henry pursed his lips. His father would be there. His father was always at the Duke of Allingham’s parties. He practically begged to carry the far more important man’s train. If Henry saw his father it might give the viscount the opportunity to demand Henry’s answer about his future. All very good reasons to avoid the party at all costs.
And yet, as they reached the front door, Evangeline leaned in, resting her hand on his forearm gently. Her blue eyes held his as she looked up at him. Her position must have been by design, for it put her in the very best light possible. She was as luminous as any star in the heavens.
“Please, won’t you come?” she asked.
He found himself nodding, for there was no denying her. “Yes.”
Her smile lit up the world and she squeezed his arm gently. “Wonderful. I cannot wait. Please feel better.”
He continued to nod like a fool and stepped out toward his carriage. But as he climbed in, he couldn’t help but wonder what the hell he was getting himself into.
And what exactly it was that Evangeline thought she was designing by her sudden change in behavior toward him.
Chapter 5
Evangeline stared as Henry’s carriage ferried him away from her and felt a twinge of regret she couldn’t quite understand. She was building a plan right now—there was no reason not to feel perfectly neutral about it.
“How did it go?” Tibby asked.
Evangeline turned to face her. “Well,” she said softly. “Except that my maid insisted on interrupting my progress.”
That wasn’t exactly true, of course. Nothing had gone exactly as she’d expected that afternoon. She’d thought she’d have him eating out of her hand within half an hour. Instead, Henry had just…stared at her. Was the look one of desire? One of interest? It certainly wasn’t one of acquiescence.
“Why are you doing this?” Tibby asked as they stepped back into the warm foyer and shut the door behind themselves. “Because it seems to bring you little joy.”
Evangeline clenched her hands at her sides. Her existence was always one of careful control, but this afternoon that felt frayed. She shook her head. “Three times during this past Season my father casually mentioned my marrying soon. Three. I have no idea if he will follow through on that musing, but I wouldn’t put it past him. He could use my dowry for connection of some kind to many a family or endeavor. You know how that kind of managing ended for my mother, my sister, my brother’s wife, nearly every woman we’ve ever known! You yourself know what being arranged and controlled can do. If I don’t design my future, it will be designed for me, and probably to my detriment.”
Tibby’s expression softened. “You’re afraid.”
Lips parting, Evangeline tried to think of a dismissive retort to that troubling observation but could find none. Her maid was right. She was afraid. Talking to Miss Lesley less than a week before had only sharpened the tip of that fear so it dug in deeper than ever. This was not an emotion she generally felt. She’d cultivated a life that didn’t allow for it.
And now she wanted…needed to grasp back some of the power that kept those fears, and their causes, at bay.
“Well, if I could manage to woo Henry into marrying, at least I would be linked to a friend.” She sighed as she thought of the moments of warmth between them in the parlor. When she’d touched his hand she’d felt an unexpected jolt of…something. Like she was more aware of her body than she had been before.
“Well, he seems in no hurry to get there,” Tibby said with a shake of her head.
Evangeline clenched her teeth in frustration. Much as she hated to admit it, her maid was right. She felt Henry’s attraction to her often, but he never made a move toward it. He would need a push.
“I think first I must know exactly what it is that is troubling him,” she said, smiling as she glanced out the window and saw a fine carriage entering the drive. “And I know exactly who might have the answers. My father.”
The carriage stopped and footmen burst from all sides, hurrying to help her father down. Their butler, Hughes, entered the foyer, but Evangeline lifted a hand to stay him from his course.
“Don’t trouble yourself, Hughes. I need to speak to my father, I’ll tend to him.”
The butler nodded his head slightly and left her and Tibby in the waiting area. She tossed her maid a look filled with meaning she hoped Tibby would understand and then opened the door.
Her father bustled in. “It’s blasted cold out there,” he huffed as he pulled his coat away. He blinked as he found himself holding it out not to the butler but his daughter.
Evangeline smiled. “Isn’t it, though.” She took the coat and handed it to Tibby. “Welcome home, Father.”
His brow wrinkled and his gaze darted over her. “Taken up the servants’ duties, eh?”