A Spinster No More by Rose Pearson
Chapter Twelve
The two older women retired to some seats nearby as Caroline and Henry moved into the nearby corner just out of earshot, leaving Miss Knorr, Lady Gertrude, Miss Jessup and Everton standing together. “Good evening to you all,” Everton said and bowed to the three young women. They all smiled at him and bobbed demure curtseys. “Well, that went better than I could have possibly hoped,” he admitted with relief.
“Did you truly doubt it would?” Lady Gertrude said with a smile. “Your father and Mr. Spencer will find much in common; they are like peas in a pod when it comes to their business interests – and your mother has never been unkind to anyone in her life.”
“That is certainly true,” Everton agreed as the Duchess of Devonshire arrived to a flurry of excitement in the room. Her Grace glanced around the room and smiled as her eyes landed upon Lady Gertrude. The elegantly attired duchess beckoned her to join her small group.
“Please forgive me, dear Miss Knorr,” Lady Gertrude said with a grin, taking Miss Knorr’s hands in hers, “but I must attend Lady Elizabeth, if you will excuse me. Perhaps we can speak later?”
“I should like that,” Miss Knorr said with a gentle smile. Everton couldn’t help thinking how lovely she looked. Her pale skin and rose-flushed cheeks seemed to possess a rather delightful glow tonight. They watched as Lady Gertrude strode towards the duchess, Miss Jessup trailing behind her. “She is quite remarkable, isn’t she?” Miss Knorr marveled. “Lady Gertrude, I mean.”
“She is definitely a force of something,” Everton agreed. “Though Her Grace is also something of a marvel, I always think.” Anne nodded, clearly aware of the tales that had been the talk of Europe some years before. Lady Elizabeth had openly lived with the Duke of Devonshire and his first wife for many years, a scandalous situation that had kept the tongues throughout Society wagging for many, many years and probably would continue to do so for generations.
“I must confess,” Everton admitted, “that I will be glad when Wycliffe returns from his wedding tour and relieves me of my duties as older brother-by-proxy.”
“You dislike escorting Lady Gertrude?” Miss Knorr asked, wide-eyed, obviously surprised he would say such a thing.
“I do not, but I would like to have an evening to myself from time to time,” he admitted with a grin. “She has such potential for getting herself into mischief, don’t you think? I feel I need eyes in the back of my head.”
“I doubt she would do anything to embarrass herself, her family – or you,” Miss Knorr assured him. “She enjoys a little mischief, that is true enough, but there is nothing malicious in her – and she knows how she must behave.”
“You are right, of course,” Everton agreed. “And it has been due to her friendship with yourself that Henry has found a bride – something I feared would never happen – so I should not be unkind.”
They glanced over to the corner of the room, where Caroline and Henry were poring over the manuscript, their usual passionate conversation in full flow. “I cannot think of a pair better suited to one another,” Miss Knorr said with an indulgent smile. “I think they may be the happiest pairing here.”
Everton couldn’t help but agree. His brother had somehow managed to find someone utterly perfect for him. But he was unable to say as much, as their hostess appeared at the front of the room, tapping on her glass for everyone’s attention. “Please, ladies and gentlemen, take your seats for tonight’s performance,” Lady Grey said, welcoming the musicians to the small plinth erected for them. Everyone dutifully began to take their seats.
Everton sat beside his mother. “You could have warned me,” she hissed at him before his backside had even reached the seat.
“Of what?” he asked, bemused.
“That Henry’s Caroline so resembles Katherine,” she said pointedly. “Does that not bother you?”
Everton sighed. “To tell the truth, I had forgotten,” he said honestly enough. “I won’t lie, when I first saw her, my heart skipped a beat, and I thought my beloved had returned to me. But then we got to know her, and I realized that there was nothing that she and Katherine share – other than their physical appearance.”
“Miss Spencer does seem a little unusual,” Mama said with a grin. “She and Henry will suit very well from all I have witnessed thus far.”
“They truly do,” Everton agreed, glancing over at the pair who were still avidly poring over the music and discussing it in rapid whispers. “They’ve been like this from the first.”
“I am glad. I worried about him. He has always been so unlike everyone else,” she said lovingly. “But what about you? Have you had any time to yourself, between shepherding Henry and looking out for dear Gertrude?”
“Not much, but I do not mind.”
His mother paused and glanced over at Miss Knorr, sat demurely by Caroline Spencer’s side. “You seemed to be rather engrossed in your conversation with Miss Spencer’s companion.” She smiled knowingly.
“We are merely friends, Mama,” Everton assured her, but his mother’s smile did not fade.
“We’ll see,” she said as the first notes of the sonata were played. “We’ll see.” She patted his hand and turned her head to the front, watching the cellist and the pianist play with rapt attention.
Everton did the same for a while, but his eyes soon wandered around the room. Lady Gertrude was sat beside Her Grace, with Miss Jessup to her right at the very front of the ballroom. The Cormicks and the Spencers had taken a row to the middle of the room and were strung out in a long line. Poor Miss Knorr was right at the very end of that row, looking very alone as Henry and Caroline continued to follow the music on the pages in front of them. He gave her a supportive smile. She beamed back at him. She looked radiant tonight, and he couldn’t help wondering if there was a reason for it and felt a pang of jealousy for whoever it might be for. Yet she did not seem to be glancing at anyone in particular. She was, as always, attentive to her charge, and warm with her friends.
Everton turned back to the musicians, but his mind would not settle on the music. He felt on edge. He wanted to ask Miss Knorr why she looked so particularly lovely tonight. He needed to know who it was she had dressed for tonight. He had never felt such a surge of jealousy in his life – not even when he had courted Katherine and feared that someone else might gain her hand before he did. He had no claim over Miss Knorr and had believed himself to be uninterested in a relationship with anyone – yet, here he was now, green with envy of he knew not who.
By the time the musicians had finished playing, Everton was almost apoplectic. He wanted to rush to Miss Knorr’s side, to demand she give him answers. But instead, he forced himself to go straight outside to try and cool off and gain some perspective. Lady Gertrude saw him flee and followed him outside. “Are you quite alright?” she asked him, her eyes full of concern.
“I am quite well,” he assured her. “It was just a little stuffy inside.”
“I did not mean physically,” she said drily. “I know you are as hale and hearty as anyone. You seem out of sorts.”
“As always, you are too observant by half,” he told her. “I think I was just nervous for Henry, but I think the introductions have gone very well, don’t you?”
“I think you are only telling me half the truth, but I agree. The Spencers truly made every effort to look and act their very best, did they not. I am sure that Miss Knorr’s influence has been a help there. She knows how to set an example, don’t you think?”
Her words lit up the darkness in his brain. “Of course, you are quite right,” he said to Lady Gertrude. “That is why Miss Knorr has made such an effort tonight.”
Lady Gertrude grinned. “Ah, you noticed that did you?” she said. “And is that why you are so discombobulated?”
“I don’t know what you mean,” Everton protested.
“I think you do,” she said enigmatically. “I shall leave you to your pondering. I do hope that you can regain your composure soon, or you’ll miss any chance you might have to take her through to supper. I saw Captain Crawley looking her way a number of times through the performance.”
He knew she was teasing him, but Everton growled. “You are a minx,” he told her. “I should have your brother whip you for your impertinence.”
“But he is not here, and would not do such a thing anyway,” she said, poking out her tongue as she disappeared back inside.
Left alone, with no company other than his own thoughts, Everton pondered what had come over him. He had been so sure that he would never love anyone again after losing Katherine. It had hurt him too much to lose her and he could not bear the thought of having to go through such pain ever again. Yet Miss Knorr had crept into his heart, almost without his even noticing her do so. He loved to see her smile. He could hardly wait to hear her opinion on matters, of import and of no consequence. When something good happened, he longed to celebrate it with her – and if something bad occurred, he needed to talk it over with her.
He peered through the glass door before re-entering the ballroom. Lady Gertrude had been quite right. Captain Crawley was indeed hovering a little too close by Miss Knorr and seemed determined to stake his claim to her. Yet she seemed to have barely even noticed the man’s presence. Everton couldn’t help smiling at that. She was as much a force of nature, in her own way, as Lady Gertrude.
Taking a deep breath, Everton made his way back inside and rejoined his family. His father and Mr. Spencer seemed to have already decided upon a number of projects that they hoped to work together on – and were now discussing terms for the marriage. Mama and Mrs. Spencer were talking with the duchess, who was an old friend of his mother’s. Henry and Caroline were wrapped up in one another, as they always were, and Miss Jessup and Miss Knorr were trying to ignore the attentions of Captain Crawley and his friend Elias Savage.
A little way away Lady Gertrude was flirting with Lord Stavely and Captain Wilkins, and obviously enjoying having the two of them try so hard to win her favor. To have such confidence, so young, was something truly to be envied, Everton thought as he watched her control the conversation and both men with an ease that few possessed. Wycliffe really need not have worried about his little sister in his absence. Lady Gertrude could more than take care of herself.
The gong announcing supper rang. Everton hurried forwards just as Captain Crowley offered Miss Knorr his arm to escort her into the dining room. “Dreadfully sorry, old chap,” he said to the rather put out officer as he slipped between Crawley and Miss Knorr, “but I asked before the musicale commenced.” Crawley frowned, but stepped back with a gracious bow.
“Thank you,” Miss Knorr whispered as they began to move away from him. “He is such a dreadful bore.”
“I shall take that as a compliment that I am not,” Everton teased.
“Indeed, you should,” Miss Knorr assured him, grinning back. “You are most certainly never dull.”
“I am very glad to hear it,” he said, feeling happier than he had in some time. He shook his head, almost imperceptibly, as he marveled at how this young woman had managed to break down his defenses, without ever realizing that she had done so. He did not doubt that she just thought him polite and well-mannered when he offered to dance with her, or escort her into supper. He needed to make her see that there was so much more to his gallantry than that, though he had no idea how – and little time to do so. If she truly meant what she had said about leaving London to return to Devon once Miss Spencer was wed, then he barely had a month in which to win her heart.
