Chapter 2
An Incredible Scandal
Eveline descended the terrace steps without looking back, though every instinct she possessed urged her to check whether Lord Arden was still watching her with that unbearable fixity, as he usually did.
She refused to grant him that victory. It was vexing enough that his mere arrival could upset her humor; she would not also hand him the satisfaction of seeing her preoccupied with him.
The garden of Hounslow Park opened out beyond the terrace in a succession of well-tended flower beds, gravel paths, and meadows that sloped down towards the pond.
Alice had arranged the party with enough cleverness that the guests could stroll without losing sight of the house.
Even so, there were a few more secluded corners, conceived for reading, for rest, or for private conversations.
Eveline did not mean to do anything reprehensible. She only needed to be far from Arden.
That could hardly be considered a crime, though she was almost certain that, if the earl had the power to legislate over her conduct, he would forbid her even to breathe.
She came to a path bordered with violets and slowed her step beside a small gazebo that opened towards the pond.
The music was muffled by the distance, not so much as to make Eveline invisible, but enough to grant her a reasonable illusion of privacy.
She had brought a book there more than once over the past months; it was one of her favorite refuges. She adored the violets.
Alice was right. She could not stay hidden in the country forever. Sooner or later she would have to return to London, smile, let herself be charmed beneath the chandeliers, dance with cunning suitors, and… How tedious!
And what if she could spare herself the return to the marriage market?
Mr. Edward Linfield possessed virtues not at all to be despised in a potential husband. She had devoted a great deal of attention to him. Alice herself had noticed that Eveline liked him, but could a marriage be sustained on friendship alone? She was not entirely sure.
After seeing what Oliver had found, Eveline could not picture herself settling for anything less than a marriage full of love and passion.
Ah. But Edward Linfield might perhaps be the one.
He held no title; nevertheless, he belonged to a very well-connected family.
His father had amassed a respectable fortune in maritime trade before buying land and retiring; his mother was the cousin of a respectable earl—she did not remember the exact title—but one of those who never gave any trouble and was therefore invited everywhere.
Mr. Linfield was four-and-twenty, with a sound income, good manners, agreeable conversation, and the sort of ambition that would never oblige her to be ashamed of him.
Oliver would approve of him. In fact, he must approve of him, since he had not forbidden the man from continuing to harbor hopes, for if Alice had noticed that she favored him, her brother would have noticed as well.
‘My lady.’
The voice reached her from behind, and Eveline turned.
Edward Linfield had stopped at the head of the path.
The young woman studied him closely. He was handsome without being dangerous.
He had light-brown hair, his features were pleasant, and he possessed a frank smile besides.
He had neither the perfect beauty of Cedric Lancaster, nor his assurance either.
Perhaps that was why Eveline felt at ease with him.
Too calm, perhaps.
‘Mr. Linfield,’ she greeted him, ‘have you lost your way among the violets, or am I to suppose the Duchess of Statony has sent you to rescue me from my own thoughts?’
He smiled at her and came forward a few steps.
‘I would not dare blame Her Grace for my own decisions. I saw you slip away and thought you might welcome the company.’
‘Do you always follow the ladies who seem to wish for a little solitude?’ she said, unable to restrain herself.
‘Only those who have spent the whole afternoon pretending to be well. However, if solitude is what you desire, that is what you shall have. ’
He turned at once to go, and she understood she had been too brusque. Arden had made her turn into a formidable harpy yet again.
‘No! Wait, please.’ The gentleman turned back to her at once. ‘I am sorry to have been so abrupt. You are right, the afternoon has turned out a little… strange. I withdrew because I wished for some peace, but your company is welcome.’
‘Then, for you, my lady, I shall stay,’ he reasoned solicitously.
Mr. Linfield smiled at her again. He was very affable. A calm man, handsome and suitable. He did not press her, nor did he strive to dominate the conversation or turn a simple exchange into a game of conquest.
‘I fear I may not be good company at this moment.’
‘Why? If you were not, I would not have dared to follow you. ’
‘Are you confessing that you followed me deliberately?’ She was not a lady whom gentlemen pursued. In all honesty, it had been she who, years ago, set about trying to impress Cedric in a most unwise fashion.
‘Perhaps. And, while we are making confessions, I might dare to tell you that I followed you because I feared losing the chance to speak with you alone before the afternoon was over.’
Eveline felt a faint stir of interest.
‘That sounded… I do not know how to describe it. Bold?’
‘I am glad not to have disappointed you altogether. I believe you are the kind of woman a man must impress with a little boldness. So, yes. I should like to think I am being bold, and that I do it in order to impress you,’ he specified, in case any doubt remained.
‘How interesting, Mr. Linfield. Now you have my full attention.’
Edward laughed under his breath. It was a laugh with which he sought no forceful seduction.
It was honest. And that rare quality, together with his frankness and good judgment, ought to have set her sighing over so suitable a suitor.
He was young, correct, attentive, and most convenient.
Everything about him seemed to point to a more than possible future, a life without alarms, without looks of condemnation, and above all, without Arden appearing around every corner to remind her that recklessness was her original sin.
Mr. Linfield placed himself beside her, gazing towards the pond.
‘I heard your brother say the family will soon return to London. I did not mean to eavesdrop, of course; I merely happened to be near when he spoke of the matter. ’
‘I would never think you the sort of gentleman to spy on a duke, Mr. Linfield. In truth, I would not dare think ill of you,’ she hastened to reassure him.
He turned his face to her with a seriousness that became him more than a smile. Eveline watched him out of the corner of her eye.
‘Good, because your opinion of me matters a great deal to me, Lady Eveline.’
The answer was simple. As sincere as he was.
Then the young woman stopped looking at the water and forced herself to look at him.
The afternoon sun caressed his cheek and made the starched collar of his shirt stand out.
There was in him a promise of stability she ought not to overlook.
She could imagine herself walking at his side through a London drawing room without anyone murmuring with pity.
She could even see Oliver studying him with his accustomed ducal mistrust for three minutes before decreeing that Edward Linfield was not a complete idiot.
Alice liked him too, for otherwise the duchess would already have made some remark about it.
What she could not yet imagine was whether a kiss from him would manage to kindle anything more within her. Was she resolved to marry a man simply because she liked him?
‘Why does my opinion matter so much to you?’ the young woman asked in a low murmur.
Mr. Linfield drew a deep breath, and in that gesture there was so much intent that Eveline felt everything was about to change between them.
‘I think you must already know it. Everything concerning you interests me. In truth, I wish you would not go off to the city, but in case you cannot stay, I should like you to permit me to call on you when you return to London. With your brother’s consent, of course.
Now is when I must tell you that I have greatly enjoyed your company these past months.
I find you witty, generous with those who do not always know how to conduct themselves in so important a house, and far kinder than you allow yourself to show. ’
Eveline blinked a couple of times. That was not what she had expected to hear.
Compliments on beauty could be received with a smile and forgotten before the curtsy was finished, and praise of one’s wit was returned with a quick phrase, but for someone to call her kind, not out of courtesy, but with the conviction of having observed it in her, touched her soul.
‘That is dangerous, Mr. Linfield.’
‘To think well of you?’
‘To tell me so.’
‘Then perhaps I should continue.’
He advanced half a step. Eveline stayed still. The air smelled of violets, of grass. In the distance, a woman let out a laugh too loud, and the music changed its measure.
‘Perhaps you should, yes…’ she encouraged him, for she was resolved to give a chance to a man as agreeable as he.
Edward leaned a little closer to her ear and lowered his voice.
‘Lady Eveline, I know I am perhaps not the suitor others would imagine for you. I have no title to offer you, though my fortune is enough to assure you a comfortable life and my family does not lack connections. I also know that your position demands caution and that I ought not to rush, but I cannot imagine myself here without having you near. If you would allow me to court you formally…’
Eveline felt hope. The declaration came unaccompanied by flowers, eloquent words, and violins playing in the background… Well, the party’s music could indeed be heard—might that be a sign?