AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter Twenty-Two
Evelina took her breakfast in her room the next morning, determined to claim one last moment of solitude before she had to put on the proper falsified demeanor for what was to come. It was scones and jam, and she tried to savor the sweetness. She hoped to remember this taste when her mouth was later flooded with nothing but bitterness.
Afterwards, she dressed in silence with Matilda’s help, then ventured to her father’s study.
“Father,” she called, after tapping lightly on the door. “May I enter?”
Father acknowledged her gruffly, and Evelina pressed open the door. He was seated at his desk, bent over his books, massaging his shoulder with his left hand. He looked to be in a fair deal of discomfort; despite her anger with him, she wished there was something she could do to ease his physical ailments.
“I’ve thought about what you said,” Evelina told him, still standing in the doorway.
He looked at her expectantly, saying nothing. Waiting.
He is certainly determined to have me humble myself, Evelina thought, but swallowed such irritated sentiments before they could affect her demeanor.
“After a great deal of consideration, I have decided that you and Mother are right. I have been selfish, and rude, and have not made the space in my heart to allow love to grow. As such, I shall follow your advice and willingly accept the Marquess of Newhey’s proposal.”
Father nodded sternly, but there was a hesitation in his eyes that Evelina couldn’t quite place. “That’s…good to hear.”
“However,” Evelina began.
Father stiffened immediately. “Evelina…”
“However,” she continued, “while my will is committed to moving forward with this engagement, at this moment in time, my heart is not. I would request that the engagement be kept private between our family and the Marquess’ until the eve of the engagement ball itself.”
Father glowered, suspicious. “This is not you attempting to stall the inevitable, is it?”
“Certainly not,” Evelina lied, proud of herself for keeping her voice even. “I am simply requesting time to process these developments in private, so that when the engagement is publicly announced, I will be able to conduct myself with propriety. Should I slip up and appear publicly unenthused about the situation, neither I nor Lord Wilmore would enjoy thetongossiping about how I am ‘spoiled’ or ‘ungrateful’ for his proposal.”
“I would never allow such discussion to go around,” said her father, and at least he sounded sincere about it. “Nor would your mother.”
“And I thank you for it, but even so, I am confident it will be simpler this way,” Evelina said. “After all, what does it matter if the engagement is announced tomorrow or a month from now, so long as it happens?”
She silently prayed that Father would not take the mention of announcing the engagement within a day as a true consideration.
Thankfully, he did not. He folded his hands into a little tent on his desk and frowned, deep in thought. After a long moment, he nodded. “I shall send for your Mother. She is the true authority when it comes to the ins and outs of engagement balls. Let us hear her thoughts on the matter.”
Evelina nodded and at last took a proper seat in the study. Father rang a little bell, and a servant appeared to ask after his needs. He requested that Mother be made aware that he meant to speak with her. The servant nodded and disappeared, leaving Evelina and her father alone once more.
An awkward silence passed between them.
“I do not mean to keep you from your work,” Evelina said at last, hoping she didn’t look too sad and beaten down from the engagement developments.
“No, no,” said Father, sounding surprised at the very accusation. “Evelina, you are my work. My finest work. There is no shipping deal or business interest that I would place at higher priority.”
You say this, yet you were quite quick to pawn me off to Jerome for the sake of a merger. Evelina couldn’t tell if the thought was angry or sad. Likely, it was some combination of the two emotions.
In any case, she could not allow such sentiments to show, not if she was to play the game correctly and succeed in buying Thomas time to get to the bottom of what had happened between their fathers and repair the relationship.
“I appreciate that, Father,” Evelina said. “Though I do imagine you are quite busy. I do not remember ever seeing your paperwork stacked so high.”
Father’s eyes followed Evelina’s. He jolted in what looked like honest surprise at the reminder of how much work he had to do. Indeed, the desk was full of open ledgers, half-drafted correspondences, and worn reference books.
To most, the sight would have appeared overwhelming, but Evelina felt differently. She wished Father would walk her through the precise ins and outs of what he was dealing with. She found the business side of their family far more fascinating than the nuances of how she and the other young ladies who came before her in their lineage were expected to behave.
“I suppose it is quite a lot,” Father admitted, shoulders slumping under the invisible weight of his to-do list. “The main problem right now is that blasted berry crop in the Far East.”
“Oh?” Evelina asked, vaguely remembering Thomas mentioning something similar.
“More like, ‘Ohno.’” Father shook his head. “There is a rather severe drought in the region where a rare berry is annually harvested for the creation of an exclusive, royal-blue textile dye. Our wholesalers have put in substantial orders for this exact color in preparation for this year’s anticipated winter fashion. But with the way the drought is progressing, it’s becoming increasingly unlikely we will be able to meet even a fraction of those orders.”
“What do you mean to do to alleviate the issue?” Evelina asked, genuinely curious. For all her current frustrations, she knew her father to be a savvy businessman, and was always impressed by his creative solutions.
Father, who seemed to have disappeared to some grim place inside his head, shook himself back to attention at Evelina’s question. He waved a hand in dismissal. “Forgive me for going on. You couldn’t understand—these are complicated men’s concerns, after all.”
Evelina internally smarted at Father’s condescension, but held her tongue.Thomas would never speak to me with such ill regard. The next time we meet, I shall have to inquire was to whetherhisfamily’s shipping business has found a solution to the lack of this coveted dye.
Just then, the servant who had gone to fetch Mother tapped on the door. “The Duchess of Alderleaf,” he announced, and Mother stepped into the room.
Her eyes went from Father to Evelina, then back again. “Well?” she asked, taking the seat opposite Evelina. “Have we come to an agreement, then?”
