Chapter 9 #3
Captain Calder spent the rest of the evening reading a book, a stormy broodiness about his person that perhaps some women would have found fascinating.
That May of his most likely found it irresistible.
Hattie seemed relatively unaffected, though.
She returned to our small table and soon after Vincent Howard joined us, a most welcome substitute for the sullen captain.
But even Vincent proved a disappointment.
He addressed most of his comments toward me and that flirty smirk I’d been so pleased about was very present, but rarely aimed in her direction.
Hattie kept darting glances at Lieutenant Brookhouse, and the relief I felt at her interest there instead of on the man that kept giving Vincent icy stares from above his book seemed a step in the right direction.
When the evening was finally over, I stayed close to Hattie, pulling away from her parents before she went up the stairs and to their shared room. We slowed and waited for Aunt and Uncle Pryor to be far enough up the stairs to be out of earshot.
“What do you think so far?” I asked, wanting to hear her opinion of the men before I influenced it.
She gave me a mischievous look. “I think the dinner was excellent and, as always, your company was entertaining.”
I pinched her elbow softly. “Not about the party, you goose. The men. What do you think of the men?”
She started up the stairs and then turned back to glance at me. “I think your father should talk the officers into wearing their uniforms for one of the dinners.”
It was the last thing I thought she was going to say, and I could only blame the surprise of her comment for causing the image of Captain Calder in his military coat to pop into my brain and making me lose my train of thought.
He would perhaps look too good in that coat.
I scrambled up the stairs until I reached her.
“Are you certain that is a good idea? They may not have brought them. And they are so freshly released . . . ” I faded off, because honestly, those were all excuses.
Her idea was a good one, and it wasn’t just Captain Calder who would be dressing in uniform—Brookhouse and Davis would as well.
“I’ll talk to Papa about it. Is there a certain man you are most interested in seeing in uniform? ”
“I’ve already seen Captain Calder in his.” She bumped my arm with her shoulder. “He was quite dashing. Is he too handsome for your tastes?”
“Yes––” I paused and shook my head. “No.” How was I supposed to answer that? My traitorous face heated, and Hattie took pure delight in my discomfort. I huffed. “You aren’t planning to choose a husband based on how he looks in his military uniform, are you?”
“No, but I won’t mind having that information.”
“Don’t let Captain Calder in a uniform sway you. I know he seems quite interesting, and Papa has said nothing but good about him . . . ”
“He wouldn’t be the worst man to be swayed by, would he?
” Hattie’s hand went to her necklace, her fingers toying with the seed pearls.
She was looking forward as we climbed the steps so I couldn’t read her face, but Hattie rarely fidgeted.
Was speaking of the Captain making her nervous?
“I thought every man here had been handpicked by you and your mother. You don’t dislike him, do you? ”
“I don’t know him well enough to dislike him.” That sentence should have been true, even if my actions and thoughts spoke otherwise. “How well do you know him? Truly?”
A corner of Hattie’s mouth lifted and she released her necklace.
“As well as one could get to know someone in a few weeks. We were often together and it was a hard time for him. He’d lost his family and was heading into battle.
I was very taken by his bravery, and I mourned his loss.
I understand his feeling of loss even better now that I have my own family in America. It feels so very far away.”
I didn’t need one more person reciting Captain Calder’s virtues. And I definitely didn’t want to think of him in a way that provoked compassion. The captain had gotten all of the compassion he was ever going to get from me the night I cared for him while he was sick.
“I’ve never heard anyone say a bad word about the captain,” I started, unsure of how I was going to ask her to trust my opinion of the man over everyone else's, perhaps even her own. “But . . . ” I searched for the right words.
We reached the top of the stairs and she turned to me, placing both of her hands on my shoulders. “But you would rather I didn’t focus only on him?”
I let out a breath. This was Hattie, my closest friend and confidant. If I didn’t want her to fall for Captain Calder, I could simply tell her. “Yes. I know I have no right to ask you anything, but yes. You already know him. Give the other men a chance. It is only fair.”
She smiled, then reined it in, and then smiled again. “Honestly, Evelyn. It’s Lieutenant Brookhouse I’d like to see in uniform. Like I said, I’ve already seen Captain Calder in his, even if you have yet to have that pleasure.”
Relief flooded through me. I grinned at her broadly. “Well then. I suppose I’d better ask Papa about it.”
I started down the corridor, but she tugged me back.
I turned to find Hattie smiling brightly with both her dimples bracketing her mouth.
How was I supposed to rein Captain Calder in when she looked like this?
No wonder he took one look at her and the women of his past melted away.
“You never told me your story.” She tipped her head with curiosity.
“My story?”
“Yes. The one that had little to do with horses and pistols. I’ve been dying to know what happened. It’s been much too long since I saw a grin like that on your face.”
“Oh.” My heart sank. A few hours ago I’d been desperate to share the tale of my night with a handsome stranger.
It had been a romantic, heady thing—a mystery I’d thought I’d never solve, only to have the answer step into my drawing room and shatter the beauty of it.
“It wasn’t as exciting as I’d made it out to be.
We got stranded on the way here in a storm and had to spend the night waiting for the roads to dry. ”
Hattie laughed. “Why would that put a smile on your face? It should have been miserable.”
“It was.” I hadn’t promised the captain I wouldn’t tell her, and even if I had, my loyalty remained with Hattie, not a man I barely knew.
But Hattie's sparkling eyes held me back. She would read into my earlier excitement. I had no interest in Captain Calder, even if the stranger who’d been in the croft had interested me very much.
Just as I’d told Captain Calder, I would only tell her if it became necessary, and it would only become necessary if I let him get close enough to her to charm her.
“The smile was for you, Hattie. I’m so glad we made it safely so I can spend these three weeks together. ”