Chapter Three
I CANNOT BE sure what I saw . . . although I’m pretty certain.
It is none of my affair . . . except that I care very much about David’s happiness, and this would affect his happiness a great deal.
Perhaps there is a perfectly chaste and reasonable explanation for sneaking into the woods alone with a man who is not your fiancé.
This is ridiculous!
Dina told herself these things and many others throughout the afternoon, and when Mary asked Dina to bring the girls for another performance that evening, Dina went with the purpose of determining the identity of the brown-haired man Miss Johansson had slipped into the woods with.
As much as she wanted to give the benefit of the doubt to both parties, she did not think the couple had gone into the woods to gather sticks and leaves for building fairy houses.
Dina led the girls to the hearth, arranged them with Olivia in the middle so that her older sisters would keep her in place, and then moved to the side.
She’d trained Rebecca to take the lead for performances, and the little girls followed within two notes.
Their sweet voices rose with confidence and melody as they sang “The Bonnie Banks o’ Loch Lomond,” anchoring the attention of the adults enough that Dina could survey the room unnoticed.
The women were of no consequence to her investigation, and she passed over them quickly until a face she had not seen thus far in the party caught her attention.
David’s mother, Mrs. Macarthur, gave her a tight smile, and Dina inclined her head in greeting.
Dina had taken Mrs. Macarthur’s concerns to heart six years ago and still did not regret the choice she’d made back then.
In the years since then, however, Dina had come to recognize the unfairness of Mrs. Macarthur deeming Dina responsible for David’s affection.
Her exchanges with David these last few days made clear that it was only Dina who had been on the receiving end of Mrs. Macarthur’s concern. That was not fair either.
Dina’s grandfather, Mary’s too, had raised Dina after her mother died when she was five.
Dina had loved him, and in his way she knew he had loved her too, but he had been a gruff man and she had always felt like a burden.
Mary’s mother, Dina’s aunt Aileen, had often opened her home to her orphaned niece for periods of time, but her constant attempts to improve different aspects of Dina left Dina feeling like a disappointment.
Mrs. Macarthur’s worry for her son’s future should Dina continue to monopolize his attention had brought back those same feelings.
It was not wanting to be a negative in David’s life, as she so often felt she had been in the lives of others, that had driven her from London, and she could not help but wonder if Mrs. Macarthur had known that was how Dina would react.
Mrs. Macarthur turned her attention back to the performance, and in an attempt to spare herself the further discomfort of lingering her thoughts on David’s mother, Dina recommitted herself to her goal of identifying the man Miss Johansson had stolen into the woods with that afternoon.
There were six men in attendance at the house party, but she could cross Mr. Jennings, David, and the white-haired Mr. Donning from her list of possibilities.
That left three men with differing shades of brown hair to be considered.
One was Mr. Havershorn, whose wife seated beside him was expecting their first child.
It seemed a stretch to consider that he would act upon a tryst at a party where his pregnant wife was in residence.
But Dina knew enough about human nature to know not to dismiss him completely.
She did not know the name of the other two men and wished she’d been able to make out more of the man’s features from the window.
He had been wearing a gray coat this afternoon, but all the men were in evening dress tonight, so that was no clue.
The first of the two men was tall, with a narrow face, lighter hair, and an attentive expression for the performance.
The last man of scrutiny was thicker in the middle than the man in the window had been, but, again, how trustworthy was her observation of only a few seconds?
The idea that any of these men would sneak away in the middle of the day to meet up with a woman was astounding to consider, and yet she’d have done as much for David.
Had, to a lesser degree, more than once.
She had not been engaged to another man, however, or at the house party being thrown by that man’s cousin to celebrate the engagement.
That the man Miss Johansson was engaged to was David took Dina’s investment to another level.
She had accepted long ago that David would fall in love with another woman, but the idea that she would not cleave to him and no other was a consideration Dina wished she was not entertaining now.
Dina took another look at the three possible suspects and saw the man with the lighter hair glance toward Miss Johansson, whose attention was fixed on the girls. Dina looked back and forth between them, waiting for Miss Johansson to return the look or for this man to glance at her again.
The girls finished the song before either action occurred, ending Dina’s opportunity.
She joined in with the applause a moment after everyone else had begun and forced a bigger smile than she felt before moving forward to assist the girls with goodnights to their parents and parents’ guests before shepherding them back upstairs.
MARY CAME UP at nine o’clock to kiss the girls goodnight, as she did most nights, and Dina followed her from the room.
“How does the party seem to be progressing?” Dina asked.
“Are you pleased?” Mary had not thrown a house party since before Olivia was born and had been anxious about this one during the weeks of planning that had proceeded it.
Dina had talked through several of the details over tea every afternoon as the plans had come together—she missed their daily tea time and looked forward to the routine again after the party was finished.
Mary smiled widely and put a hand on Dina’s arm. “I’ve forgotten how very invigorating it is to share so many stories and opinions with friends and family.”
“Everyone seems to be enjoying themselves,” Dina commented, nearly choking on the words when she remembered how Miss Johansson was spending her time. “When did David’s mother arrive?”
“Wasn’t it a lovely surprise?” Mary said.
“I had invited her, of course, but she’d said she had another engagement, then had a rather abrupt change of plans.
Have you had a chance to visit with her?
She seemed eager to hear of your situation here.
I had assumed she knew you were here, but apparently she did not until recently. ”
Is that why she came? Dina wondered. Had she learned of Dina’s employment as Mary’s governess and changed her plans so that she might mitigate Dina and David in such close company?
The possibility made Dina feel small and deceptive, even though she’d had no hand in any of this.
Mary had never noticed Dina and David’s connection in London, too distracted by her new baby and social obligations at the time to pay attention to what took place only when they were alone.
She seemed to have interpreted their distance now as circumstance more than disregard or avoidance, and Dina had allowed that perception to take hold.
During their discussions about the house party over tea, Mary had mentioned inviting David’s mother and Dina had said that of course she should—Mrs. Macarthur was Mary’s aunt, after all—and she had accepted that she would need to manage the potential awkwardness.
When Mrs. Macarthur said she was unable to attend, Dina had been relieved and able to focus her worry only on seeing David again.
Things had become so complicated so quickly.
“I look forward to becoming reacquainted with Mrs. Macarthur,” Dina said. It was a lie, but Dina wished it were true and therefore did not feel as bad about having said it as she might otherwise. “Have all th’ guests arrived, then?”
“Mrs. Macarthur and Mr. Littlefield were the last, having arrived this afternoon in a shared carriage.”
“Mr. Littlefield must be one of the two men at tonight’s entertainment who I do not know. I believe I have met everyone else.”
Mary stopped, turning toward her cousin with lifted brows. “Would you like to be introduced? I would be thrilled to include you, Dina.”
Dina laughed off the suggestion that made her stomach wring itself out like a dishrag. “I am only curious as to their names and connection to you. I have no desire to be included—I’ve told you that more than once.”
“I know, I know, but—”
“I know Mr. Donning is Mr. Jennings’s uncle,” she interrupted, staving a repeat of Mary’s wish that Dina would participate with the group. “And Mr. Havershorn is a friend of Mr. Jennings’s from school, but what of the other two men?”
“Mr. Littlefield and Mr. Dewberry are both friends of David. I believe David and Mr. Littlefield were at Eton together, and Mr. Dewberry is an acquaintance he made more recently through business of some kind. David suggested them when I told him I was looking for a few more men to make up the numbers.”
“Which man is which?” Dina asked as they began walking again. If Mr. Dewberry were a more recent friend, he could have less loyalty to David.
They were almost to the top of the stairs, which meant Dina had to hurry up this answer that was already too long in coming. “One was a bit portlier than the other.” It was the most distinguishing feature she could think of.
“That is Mr. Dewberry,” Mary said with a nod. “Very jovial man and has an excellent singing voice. I wish you had stayed to hear him perform last night. He stood up after you and the girls departed.”
“So Mr. Littlefield is the taller man, with the lighter hair.” The one who had glanced at Miss Johansson during Dina’s inspection and better fit Dina’s memory of the man she’d seen from the nursery window.
“Yes,” Mary confirmed.
“He and David have been friends for a long time?”
“Nearly ten years, I think. He is from Norfolk; David used to stay with his family during school breaks from time to time.”
Having received the information she needed, Dina slowed her steps, and Mary followed suit. They were nearly to the top of the stairs. “Did Mr. Littlefield know Miss Johansson before this party?”
“I think so,” Mary said. “They seemed familiar with one another when all of us had luncheon, just after Mr. Littlefield arrived. He’s quite handsome, don’t you think?”
“I had not noticed,” Dina said. Mr. Littlefield was not more handsome than David.
Mary put her hand on Dina’s arm as they came to a stop at the top of the stairs. “Are you sure you would not like to come down? Lydia can look in on the girls.” Mary cocked her head to the side and gave Dina a hopeful look.
Dina took a step back toward the nursery. “No, thank you. Have a lovely evening, Mary. I will see you in the morning for church.”