Page 65 of A Sorceress Comes to Call
The Squire’s mustaches moved over his smile. “That’s a marvelous plan, Henny. Would never have thought of it myself. In truth, I was worried about leaving you and the chit here all alone while we went gallivanting off on a honeymoon, but that will make all right as rain.”
Unspoken between them was the knowledge that the town house would give Hester somewhere to stay if his new wife did not wish for Hester to share the same roof.
He squeezed her hands again, then let them drop. “You’ve solved two problems at a go, m’dear. Thank you. I’ll go tell Richard.”
“And I’ll make plans.”
He was nearly to the door before she spoke again. “Samuel?”
“Eh?”
“Thank you for asking me. You didn’t have to.”
“Course I did.” He put a hand on the worn wallpaper and leaned against it. “You’re my sister, Henny. Never going to forget that, you know.”
Her smile faded as he left, and she looked down at the book beside her. He deserves better than Doom. I’ll find a way to get you free, Samuel. Somehow. Even if it means slogging through this incomprehensible mess of a book.
It was shortly after breakfast the next day when Evangeline rushed into Hester’s solar with her hands outstretched. “Cordelia, you naughty child, why did you never tell me?”
Cordelia promptly stabbed herself in the finger with the embroidery needle and yanked it out with a wince. “I… uh, I…” She looked instinctively to Hester for help, wondering what she’d done wrong. It must be something dreadful, Mother never comes up here. But she won’t do anything to me in front of Hester and Lady Strauss, will she?
Hester tugged the bellpull for the maid. “Why hello, Evangeline. Let’s have a little more tea, shall we?” Lady Strauss continued laying out cards in one of her endless games of solitaire.
Evangeline ignored them both, crossing the floor to the couch and grabbing Cordelia’s hands. Cordelia nearly stabbed herself again and hurriedly dropped the embroidery to the floor. The floss would get in a terrible tangle, but she could sort it out later.
“Cordelia, Lord Evermore has offered for you!”
Imogene dropped her deck. Cards scattered across the floor. Cordelia blinked up at her mother, still unsure if she was in trouble or not. She’d known it was going to happen, of course, and Hester had assured her that her mother would be thrilled, but now that the moment was actually upon her… “That’s good, right?”
“Good?” Evangeline threw her arms around Cordelia. “It’s wonderful! More than I ever dared dream! You shall be so wealthy and well-placed as Lady Evermore, and since he is such a close friend of the family, we shall see each other so very often. But why did you not tell me that he was courting you?”
“I… uh… I didn’t… he wasn’t…” Cordelia appealed frantically to Hester with her eyes.
“I doubt Cordelia really knew,” said Hester mildly, fishing one of Lady Strauss’s cards out of the sugar bowl. “Richard isn’t one of these fellows that goes in for flowery talk. I imagine his interest was fixed early, but he’d never dream of leading a young lady on until he could speak to her parents and get their approval for the match.”
Lady Strauss made a noise somewhere between a croak and a splutter. Hester leaned over and pounded her between the shoulder blades. “Sorry,” Lady Strauss gargled. “Frog in my throat.”
“If that’s the case,” said Evangeline, ignoring Lady Strauss and her frog, “then I quite understand. How marvelous!” She released Cordelia and clapped her hands together. “You’ve done very well.” She beamed with maternal pride and Cordelia smiled weakly and began trying to untangle her embroidery floss.
CHAPTER 23
The wedding of Squire Samuel Chatham and Lady Evangeline was to take place in the village chapel, two and a half weeks hence. Hester arranged the date and calmed the priest, who was beside himself with delight. “The Squire, marrying!” he said, at least five times. “And he wants me to perform the ceremony? Me?”
“He’ll have no one else,” said Hester, with more tact than truth. “And nowhere else would fit half so well.” She wasn’t sure if the priest really looked about fifteen, or if she had just reached a point where everyone under thirty looked that way. Certainly he seemed too young to have taken holy orders. Nevertheless, she sent him on his way in a haze of gratified astonishment, then sagged back into her chair in the parlor and wondered if ten in the morning was too early to take a nap.
Her next visitor, however, shocked her completely awake. Evangeline opened the door, saw her, and made a beeline for the settee across from her, her lips curving in a smile.
Hester’s nerves screamed. She sat up in her chair and said, “Oh, good morning! I was just speaking to the priest who will be performing the ceremony.”
“It is the ceremony that I wanted to talk to you about,” said Doom, sitting down. Her smile was charming and open and her eyes were the cloudy blue of a snake about to shed its skin.
It occurred to Hester that there was no one else in the room and that she might be in terrible danger. I’m a fool. An utter fool. What’s to stop her from taking control of me the way she did Penelope? She could make me throw myself down the stairs and it would look like an accident and who would ever know?
She reached for her teacup to hide the tremor in her hands. It would be foolish of Doom to do something like that. Samuel would have to go into formal mourning and it would look very strange if he married so soon afterward. Hester was nearly sure that he wouldn’t do that.
There was a great deal more space in that nearly than she liked.
“I meant what I said earlier.” Doom leaned forward. “I want a very small, quiet ceremony. You understand, don’t you? You know how people gossip, and what with… everything…”
