Chapter 20
EVELYN BLACKWELL
If there was one small mercy in the disaster that had been the past few weeks, it was that by the time Captain Calder discovered the extent of the impropriety of our night together, I no longer felt the need to keep him away from Hattie.
She was the most wonderful of women and he was, as it turns out, most likely a decent man.
Which meant after spending far too much time with him the day before, I could avoid him completely by skipping breakfast.
Despite my declaration otherwise, I had not managed to forget his kiss.
Which meant every time I caught sight of his hands I remembered the feel of them on my cheeks.
Each time he spoke, I could hear him thanking me and then telling me not to cry.
Each time I made the mistake of dropping my gaze to his mouth, I could feel the softness of his lips and was reminded of the stark contrast that tender touch had been to the rough, commanding man he was when among his friends.
After a day of forced nonchalance and friendship, I deserved one morning away from all the pretense, didn’t I? Especially since last night I’d hugged Hattie and quickly whispered in her ear that she could now freely pursue any of the men she liked best.
With a sigh I fell back onto my bed. What was a little hunger? It was much better than being in the breakfast room discovering exactly how Hattie and Captain Calder would behave with one another now that they were free from my meddling.
If Hattie was here in my bedroom and if she was not a possible wife for Captain Calder, I would tell her everything.
It was a completely ridiculous situation the captain and I had gotten ourselves into, and Hattie would delight in hearing all about it.
If I could simply laugh about everything, perhaps his presence would no longer have power over me.
There was a soft knock at the door that I recognized immediately. I sat up. Half of my wish was about to come true and my eyes blurred at the prospect. “Come in.”
Hattie opened the door a crack, caught sight of me, and then opened it fully. “You don’t look ill.”
“I’m not.”
She smiled in relief and shut the door behind her.
“Thank goodness. I’m not well-suited to entertaining those men without you.
” She held out something wrapped in cloth and the rich smell of Cook’s freshly baked bread wafted toward me.
Bless Hattie. She was an angel from heaven.
“I brought you some bread. It isn’t like you to miss breakfast.”
I gratefully relieved her of the bundle and opened it. It was a large roll, soft and still warm from the oven. I took a greedy bite immediately. “Thank you,” I said once I’d swallowed enough of the roll to speak without being a complete heathen.
Hattie looked at me and shook her head. “It seems you really are well. That’s good.” Her mouth lifted to a grin. “Captain Calder and I made plans for the day.”
“Oh really?” I managed to say with my voice cracking only the slightest amount. One breakfast without me and already Hattie and the captain were paired together, making plans.
Hattie sat down on the bed next to me. “We’re going to ride to Applewood.”
The two of them? I’d told Captain Calder I would no longer oppose him, but did he have to work so quickly? He had all the advantage at this house party—he’d known Hattie before and he had an estate within riding distance. It looked as though he was wasting no time using every weapon in his arsenal.
I glanced out the window, finding it was another fine day with no rain. “I thought we were going to be shooting today.”
“Your father mentioned that, but Mr. Howard said he didn’t want to shoot without you, and we all thought perhaps you weren’t feeling well. They decided to postpone it until tomorrow.”
My shoulders slumped. I wrapped my hand around Hattie's elbow and dropped my head on her shoulder. “I was really looking forward to that.”
It had been too long since I felt like I had any control over my life, and holding a gun in my hands always made me feel anchored and capable.
Hattie patted my cheek. “It will only be one more day. And in the meantime we will get to explore Captain Calder’s estate.”
We? “I thought you and Captain Calder were the only ones riding there.”
She laughed. “Alone? Of course not. Can you imagine the way Mrs. Wickerton would talk? Several of us are going. Please come. I really want you to see his estate. I’d like to know what you think of it.”
I’d seen it several times. It was rundown, practically abandoned, and . . . well . . . whimsical in an enchanting way. As if every corner of the grounds held secrets, hiding places, and perhaps a few fairy sprites left over from a time long forgotten. “I’ve seen it.”
“But you haven’t seen inside. And you haven’t walked the grounds.”
“True.”
“You will come?”
I squeezed my eyes shut and nodded against her shoulder. For Hattie, I would do anything, even watch her fall in love with Applewood. Because she would. It was as enchanting as she was and Hattie’s cheerful brightness would blend in seamlessly among the frolicking sprites and elves.
I should have simply gone to breakfast. We could have been shooting guns instead.
“Thank you for breakfast,” I said, my eyes wetter than they should be.
Hattie gave and gave, always looking out for me.
She showed me—with her letters that never waned in consistency and with little actions like this roll—that she didn’t blame me for Matilda leaving or the position her elopement had put the Pryor family in.
She deserved happiness more than anyone I knew. “I really was hungry.”
She shook her head and heaved a sigh. “If only there was some place in this house you could have found sustenance . . . ” Hattie tapped a finger to her nose. “A room, wherewith you could have broken your fast . . . ”
I pushed away from her and raised my eyes to the ceiling. “I know, I know. Tomorrow I will be certain not to miss it.”
Hattie pulled me up off the bed with both hands.
“If you do, I’ll bring you food again. But for now, let’s get ready to visit Captain Calder’s estate.
You may not be ill but I think you could use a little color in your cheeks.
” She pulled me closer to her and, before I could react, pinched me hard on both cheeks.
“Hey,” I pulled back.
“Much better,” she said, her green eyes beaming with pride.
“You are looking a little pale yourself.” I sneaked forward.
But we’d had too many pinching fights start in just such a manner, and she was out of the room with a giggle and a wink before I could catch her.
Captain Calder had been adamant Charlie attend our outing, a fact that resulted in Charlie riding beside him, pestering him with questions, laughing at answers, and sharing stories of Charlie’s own exploits in the manner of a loyal pup desperate for attention.
If Charlie’s undying neediness annoyed the captain at all, he didn’t show it.
His laughter and smiles were genuine, but I couldn’t help but feel sorry for him.
We were already nearly to Applewood and the captain hadn’t had a single chance to interact with Hattie.
He was too busy entertaining my twelve-year-old brother.
Hattie had been riding between the two lieutenants, while Mr. Howard had spent most of the ride next to me.
He’d been congenial, as always, but I’m afraid my answers had been distracted by Charlie’s excessive dependance on the captain throughout the ride—so much so, the last several minutes we’d ridden in silence.
“He is remarkably good with Charlie, isn’t he?” Mr. Howard asked.
I jerked my gaze away from the captain and my brother. “Who is?”
Mr. Howard outright laughed at that, so loudly both Charlie and Captain Calder turned back in the saddles to glance at us.
Mr. Howard chose that moment to bring his horse so close to mine our legs brushed up against each other.
He leaned to the side and with a hand half covering his mouth whispered, “The captain.”
I raised my eyes skyward. “There is no need to whisper. No one is close enough to hear what you are saying. And yes, the captain is good with Charlie. His kindness will earn him a devotee for life.”
“And who will that be?” Vincent said, his voice returning to normal.
I jerked my head in my brother’s direction. “Charlie.”
“Ah,” said Vincent as if that were a surprise. “I suppose that would also be the case.”
I glared at him and didn’t give him the chance to explain his need for the word “also” in that sentence. “The captain and I are friends. That is all, and it has been a hard road getting to that point. Don’t use your imagination unnecessarily.”
“Was it my imagination that I saw him tearing after you after our game of forfeits? Did I simply imagine the way you tugged him back into the corner when he tried to leave? The two of you walked home together after church, did you not?”
“No, those things did happen. But your imagination is running rampant with our reasons for doing so.”
“Oh, it is,” he said with a grin.
“Well stop it.”
He laughed again, quieter this time. “I was going to apologize for putting you in such an uncomfortable situation that night, but I think I will withhold my apologies until after your house party is over. You may actually end up thanking me, and I hate to grovel unnecessarily.”
Did he think there was any world in which I would thank him for that humiliating experience? “The longer you wait, the more groveling I will expect.”
He glanced forward again. Charlie and Captain Calder had slowed their pace just enough that they would soon be within earshot. “I’m not worried.”
He clicked his tongue and trotted forward, coming up on the right side of Charlie and leaving me on my own. I couldn’t hear what he said to Charlie when he reached him, but whatever it was, it made my brother laugh.
We were only a few yards away from the top of the crest, and once we reached it Applewood would be visible below. Captain Calder stopped his horse, allowing Mr. Howard and Charlie to ride on ahead without him. He glanced back at Hattie, but she was still ensconced between his two friends.
I pulled my horse to a stop beside him. “We can wait for her. You should see her reaction as we crest the hill.”
Captain Calder met my gaze. Despite having spent the past hour in each other’s company, it was the first time we’d looked at each other during the ride. I knew it, and it was clear he knew it as well.
“I’ve heard your opinion of Applewood from Charlie.”
“You have?” The strange tension between us evaporated. “I’m not certain I’d trust his account of it.”
“You think I’m a terrible steward over it. It is shabby and overrun and only getting worse.”
I put a hand to my chest. “Well, that isn’t exactly what I said.”
“But it is roughly what you said. And you aren’t wrong. I know it looks like a home only years from falling to ruin.”
I shook my head. “I’ve never seen it that way.
I do think it needs care, as Charlie has made uncharitably clear.
” I eyed my brother with a scowl. What could have possessed him to be so blunt about Captain Calder’s home?
“But it is a charming estate, Captain. Not a ruin waiting for time to claim it, but a sleeping castle, so alive and fairytale-like it pleads to me from the top of the ridge.”
It was a strange thing to say, but Captain Calder didn’t laugh or furrow his brows in confusion. A strange light gleamed in his hazel eyes as he clicked his tongue and brought his horse nearer to me. “What does my home say to you?”
I shrugged. “What else would a sleeping castle plead for? She wants you home. She wants to be woken up.”
Captain Calder’s chest rose and fell. I must have spent too many hours watching for just that movement because that rise and fall was magnetic.
I counted two breaths before I tore my gaze from his chest and dragged it back to his face.
His jaw was set and his eyes searched mine, but for what I had no idea.
With a shake of his head, he pulled Scout’s reins in Hattie’s direction. I crested the top of the rise alone where Applewood, as magical as ever, came into view.
It was tucked away at the base of a wooded hill, so different from Blackwell manor at the top of a rise.
Our limestone was bright in comparison to the sandstone blocks, colored like honey and moss, that made up the exterior of Captain Calder’s home.
One side was overgrown with ivy, and huge oak trees threw shadows over the side and back of the many-gabled home.
The front lawn had been cut since I’d last seen it, making the house look more alive than it had in a long time.
Ahead of me, Charlie and Mr. Howard had reached the road leading to Applewood and kicked their horses into a run.
I took one last look at the home below me and prodded my horse onward. I had no desire to see Hattie’s reaction to the estate, nor the look on Captain Calder’s face when she saw the magic of this place.