“What does that mean?” she asked him.
“It means that your young man knows he has my blessing. What he does from there is entirely up to him, but only if youconsent. I’ll not see you in a miserable marriage because you and he fancy one another in the moment.”
Nervous knots crept into her belly as she looked for Mr. Shaw, but he was nowhere to be found. She was not so paranoid to think him capable of kissing her then chasing after the next skirt. Just as she was about to go look for him, he appeared before her.
She held her breath as he bent to one knee and reached for her hand.
“Miss Bramston, would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
“Yes, Mr. Shaw. I would do you that honor.”
With that he stood and kissed the back of her hand then neatly tucked it into his elbow. No one could claim they’d seen their earlier tryst now considering such a public display of intent. Somewhere behind her she swore she could hear weeping. She shrugged it off and enjoyed the well wishes from her parents and others who now caught wind of the proposal including one Lady Fry who was particularly puffed up.
“There,” she said. “It was exactly as I had prophesized.”
The rest of the ball passed with a buzz of dancing and gaiety. Evelyn had truly never spent such a glorious night in her life. No one could have prepared her for the speed with which she found herself engaged.
Chapter Five
Lying in bedand remembering every subtle touch and look, Evelyn pressed her fingers to her lips and closed her eyes. He was commanding, yet gentle; passionate, yet patient. And she loved every minute of her time with him. He promised he would call on her bright and early as, though the rain had finally held up a little, it was still too wet to ride, by his estimation. He would take her for a tour in his carriage instead. Of course her mother must attend with them, for though they were engaged, they were still not permitted to be without a chaperone.
Evelyn wrapped her arms around a pillow and turned to her side. She smiled into the darkness with a light heart as she drifted, mind full of the irresistible Mr. Shaw.
Dark clouds wafted across the pale moon until it was covered completely. Evelyn stepped forward with confidence though the light was dim. She knew this path instinctively as though an invisible line tethered her to the destination. Before long, lights appeared in the distance on tall posts. Dozens of them flanked a pathway leading to a thicket of trees with a small opening. She passed through to find many headstones, and when she turned around the gates of Highgate Cemetery were behind her.
But how?
“You came back,” a silky voice said. “You took my advice and rejected that man.”
“What man?” Evelyn asked as she turned around. The woman from weeks prior stood before her as beautiful and wretched as before. She wore both in perfect duality.
“You have been dreaming of a man who now wishes to claim you. But you must not. And I now know you will not, because tonight you have come to me instead of him.”
“What? No. I am dreaming. You have infiltrated my dream and I wish to wake.”
“You may wake whene’er you wish, Miss Evelyn. You are in control of your dreams, not I.”
That wasn’t true. Evelyn didn’t plan what she wanted to dream before going to bed each eve. “I do not have power over my dreams.”
“Ah, but you do. Because you worry over if you were seen at the Fry ball even though a proposal was immediately forthcoming. That you would be seen to have been compromised and that result was the only one that could save you.”
“That is not true,” she whispered. Was it? Did she conjure this spirit to ask a question she’d not consciously thought plagued her?
“Is it not? Then I guess you do not want to ask me if, in fact, someone did see you.”
Evelyn was confused. Was this a dream or was she losing her mind?
The woman rushed at her and dissolved in a gray mist surrounding her as the words “someone did” sent shivers through her body.
She bolted upright, her brow bathed in sweat. She swiped it as she worked to steady her ragged breathing. Wrapping her blankets around her tighter, she curled up into a ball on the bed and squeezed her eyes shut trying to block the woman from her senses.
“I want to dream of Mr. Shaw,” she whispered.
“You want to know who saw you,” the woman’s voice sounded in her head.
But she was awake now. How was that possible? Evelyn bounced out of bed and lit a candle. She cupped her hand around the flame and turned to look all around the room only to find it empty.
“If I tell you, promise you will reject this man. You can be with me forever and you will never grow old or feel the sting of rejection and humiliation. This man will reject you in time; never doubt it. They all do!”
