Chapter 25
Chapter Twenty-Five
His family was quiet in their carriage the next evening. Mother fussed over Samuel as he sat, pulling out a blanket and draping it over his lap. Samuel said nothing, but his face spoke volumes.
“Thank you, Mother,” Samuel said, smiling. But it didn’t quite reach his eyes.
“I am glad someone appreciates my efforts.” She sat back down, smoothing her gown with hurried movements. Father only looked out the window.
“So,” she said, deigning to speak to Leonard, “is there anything we should know about this young woman?”
Nothing he wished to share with them.
Leonard was starting to worry about his foresight in inviting Honora to the theater this evening with his family. But they needed to meet her if Leonard intended to pursue this, and he thought it better to have it be somewhere public where Honora wouldn’t have to converse with them much.
“She is very pretty,” he finally replied.
His father seemed to find some amusement in this, huffing out a laugh.
“Pretty is nice,” his mother continued. “But what else?”
There were many things about Honora that Leonard admired.
Her quick wit. Her tenacity to rise above her circumstances.
The way she wanted to love people even though she had hardly been shown such love herself.
But those weren’t things one shared lightly in a carriage, especially while a thread of strain remained between its occupants.
“She is very smart,” he said instead.
“And she seems capable of managing Stoneside?”
Leonard’s gaze flicked to Samuel, who in turn looked at his lap. “I don’t think we need to worry about something we don’t even know will happen.”
When they arrived at the theater, Leonard walked beside his brother, allowing his parents to go ahead of them.
The pace was a bit slower as Samuel used his cane, but he didn’t mind.
“Let’s wait here,” Leonard said, stopping beside a Corinthian column near the edge of the room.
“I’d prefer to speak with Honora before introducing her to the wolves. ”
“So, I am looking for a pretty girl who is very smart.” Samuel feigned searching the room. “However shall I miss her with those details?”
Leonard smirked. “She is a rather stunning blonde. And she is extremely cunning and sly. I would not doubt for a second that she is already here and watching us at this very moment.”
“Oh?” Samuel turned to him, his brow furrowed and the corner of his mouth turned up.
“That helps a bit, I suppose.” After a few minutes with no fruit to report from their search, Samuel leaned closer to him.
“So, what made you finally decide to settle down? Am I looking so ill that Father put even more pressure on you?”
Leonard shook his head, eyes still searching the crowd. “Not even remotely. I hadn’t even been looking. She just stumbled into my life one day, and I found I could not be rid of her.”
“Could not, or had no desire to be?”
Leonard smiled, raising his voice to be heard over the growing crowd. “Both.”
Just when he feared Honora would not make it before the show began, a light touch on his shoulder caused him to jump. While he could feel embarrassed about her getting the best of him, he only grinned. He took her by the hand, bringing her in front of Samuel and himself.
Honora looked stunning. She wore a gown similar in hue to an emerald, the cut along her chest a bit daring, and the entire gown covered in something that caused it to sparkle. He was not good with women’s fashion, otherwise he was sure there was a name for it.
“Samuel,” Leonard said, gently dropping Honora’s hand. “I am pleased to introduce Miss Honora Gillingham.”
Samuel bowed, and Honora dipped into a curtsy. “How nice to meet you, Mr. Stanton,” Honora said. “I have heard nothing but great things about you.”
“And I you,” Samuel said, his teeth showing beneath a wide grin. “The woman who finally won the heart of my brother. A rare feat indeed.”
“I do not know that I can claim such a prestigious title, but even catching his attention is something I will accept as a grand reward.” She leaned forward, as if sharing a secret. “He is a bit cantankerous.”
Samuel threw his head back with a laugh. “I like you already, Miss Gillingham.”
Honora looked at Leonard with a lift of her shoulders, smiling at him like the little minx she was.
“Shall we go to our seats?” Leonard asked, holding an arm out to her.
“I think I need two escorts.” Honora waved Samuel over to her other side and took his arm as well. “Now, what shall we be viewing this evening?”
Samuel leaned forward, as if to see if Leonard would answer.
“A Tale of Mystery,” Leonard supplied.
Samuel nodded. “I wasn’t sure you would know the answer.”
Honora grinned, and her hand tightened on Leonard’s arm. It was amazing how her touch had once sent him running, and now he was starting to crave it.
Once they arrived at the box, Leonard’s parents stood. His mother practically beamed once she saw Honora.
“Mother, Father, let me introduce Miss Honora Gillingham. Miss Gillingham, my parents, Mr. and Mrs. Stanton.”
“Oh, my,” his mother said, rushing forward and taking Honora’s hand. “Leonard said you were very pretty, but I do not think that prepared me for just how lovely you are. My goodness, you are stunning!”
Honora took his mother’s ramblings in stride. “You are too kind.”
When his parents took their seats, she leaned toward his ear. “Very pretty, am I?”
Leonard bit his cheek. “Yes.”
The threesome took a seat behind Leonard’s parents, but Leonard had Honora enter the seats first so that he sat between her and his brother.
“I am glad you came tonight,” he said once they were settled.
She adjusted the skirt of her dress as she settled into her seat. “I am flattered you invited me.”
She turned to him, her features as striking as ever. Perhaps even more so now that he knew just how soft her lips were, and just how smooth the skin of her cheek felt.
“Leonard?” she asked.
He jerked to attention. “Yes?”
“You are staring.”
“Oh.” He cleared his throat and turned to face the stage. “I’m sorry.”
“Is my dress too revealing?” In his periphery, he saw her run a self-conscious hand over her stomach. “I thought it was, but Marianne had promised me this was the sort of thing women of society wore to the theater.”
“Your dress is stunning,” he assured her, keeping his voice low enough that his parents would have trouble making out his words. “Don’t give it another thought. Though I am sure to think of nothing else all evening.”
She bit her lip as a smile sneaked across her lips. “My goodness. Who knew that once you were a suitor, you would be so generous.”
Leonard felt a jab on his left arm, and he looked over to see Samuel grinning, though he had his eyes trained on the stage and fingers splayed over his mouth in a half-hearted attempt to cover his smile.
“How is everything going with your parents?” Honora whispered into Leonard’s ear, drawing his attention back to her.
Her question spurred a desire to draw nearer.
To show her that she was wanted—something he had hardly done throughout their time together.
And why shouldn’t he let her know how his feelings had changed?
He reached over in the dim light and took her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. “Better now that you are here.”
Her head spun to him, and her face held a tenderness that nearly undid him.
Once home, Leonard’s parents made for their bedchambers. Leonard wasn’t quite ready for sleep yet, so he jerked his head toward the drawing room, and Samuel followed him there.
“So,” Leonard said, taking a seat, “how did you enjoy the theater?”
“Splendid.” Samuel walked to the chair across from Leonard with a winded sigh, but he smiled upon gaining his seat. “But it was the company itself that made the night most enjoyable.”
“I know,” Leonard said. “I am great company.” He grinned.
Samuel’s smile widened. “I was referring to your lady friend, actually.”
Leonard nodded, his smile softer. But he wasn’t quite sure what to say.
Things with Honora were still so new and fresh.
And yet, he had this knowing within him that something special was there.
Something that couldn’t be forced or coerced.
And he was a bit scared of it, if he was being honest with himself.
“But you would like to get out again?” Leonard asked, switching the topic. “There is a ball at the Feltons’ on Saturday.”
Samuel’s face fell, and he looked toward the fire. “Mother made a remark after the theater. She thinks I should stay home for at least a week before going out again.”
“Samuel,” Leonard said, shaking his head, “do you not grow tired of letting her manage your life? I do not know how you bear it with such patience. You are a saint.”
“That, or a coward.” He brought his gaze to Leonard. “I’m beginning to think it’s the second.”
A coward? Leonard thought his brother one of the bravest souls he knew. Despite his circumstances, he never complained, navigating his life with a sunny disposition.
“What do you mean, Samuel?”
Samuel shrugged as he looked at his lap. “After so many years of being told I can only do so much or I will die, I fear I’m beginning to believe them.”
“Have you tried?”
He shook his head. “No.”
“Do you think yourself capable?”
“I’d like to believe I am. But lately, I’ve been too scared to try.
” Samuel reached toward a side table and picked up a book, rubbing his hand over the cover with near reverence.
“But seeing you tonight with Miss Gillingham has me wanting to try harder to live my life instead of just withering away. If my years are to be short, I would much rather live them to the fullest.” He looked up at Leonard.
“And if you can overcome your fears, then perhaps I can as well.”
A pain welled up within Leonard’s chest. He wanted the best for his brother, whatever that meant. And if it meant getting him out to the Feltons’ ball, then so be it. He would find a way, whatever it took.