Page 62 of An Unwitting Alliance
“Are you all right?” Mr. Gibbons stepped closer.
“Perfectly,” she lied. All she had to do was keep him talking about anything but Patricia and Tom and she could endure it. “How is your visit with Mr. Ferris?”
“We are not close cousins, but the trip was not just for him.”
She swallowed. “Oh?”
Mr. Gibbons positioned himself in front of her so he had her full attention. “As you know, after you left Brookeside, I traveled to London. With all the entertainment the city offers, nothing could excite me. Not without you there. I missed you, Miss Vail. I missed you dearly.”
His startling words left her speechless. Did he truly regret walking away from her?
He stepped an inch closer. “I was thinking of you when the impossible happened: I met your father.”
She startled. “You saw my father?”
Mr. Gibbons grinned and nodded. “I know the odds of making such an introduction in a city as big as London is almost impossible, but I met him and your brother. It was fate, Miss Vail. I made a grave mistake in not following you to Airewell sooner.”
Cassandra had no time to process this unexpected confession before Aunt Evans came up beside her. “Mr. Gibbons? I am surprised to see you in Airewell. What business do you have here?” With one tug, she pulled Cassandra close.
“Good evening, Miss Evans.” Mr. Gibbons dipped his head to Aunt. “Are you in good health?”
“Don’t I look it? Cassandra, dear, there is someone I hope to introduce you to. You will excuse us, won’t you, Mr. Gibbons?”
Cassandra sighed with relief. She had not been at all prepared for Mr. Gibbons’s presence or his confusing words. But her respite was short-lived. After the introduction was made to Aunt Evans’s old friend Mrs. Madsen, Cassandra had a front-row seat to Tom and Patricia dancing. It was revolting. And she could feel Mr. Gibbons’s eyes on her. Tonight she had hoped for something magical, but instead her mood was quite harried.
When the next set began, Mr. Gibbons approached her and requested she partner him. She agreed, but she wondered at her motivation. Was it because she truly wanted to dance with Mr. Gibbons or because she wanted to be seen by Tom and Patricia?
The lively reel left her breathless and smiling, a great distraction, but she was still unsettled. Had fate truly intervened in allowing Mr. Gibbons to meet Papa and Peter?
At the end of the set, Mr. Gibbons escorted her back to Aunt Evans and now Megan too.
“Would you be so kind as to fetch me a drink, Mr. Gibbons?” Cassandra asked.
“It would be my pleasure.”
She watched him walk away until Megan snagged her arm. “Is that really Mr. Gibbons? Does he know you are engaged?”
“I volunteer to tell him.” Aunt Evans took a step toward him.
“Please don’t,” Cassandra begged.
“Why not?” Tom stepped up beside her, and she felt a blush all the way to her toes.
“Be-because, we agreed not to talk about it.”
Tom’s jaw tightened. “The banns will be read in just over a week. We wouldn’t want to give false hope to any gentlemen.”
“Nor would we want to give false hope to any ladies.”Patricia, to be exact.“Besides,” she whispered, “you said there was plenty of time, and you implied a great deal of hope.” Why was she frustrated? Being engaged to Tom was not the crime it had once been. In fact, the idea even appealed to her. But there had been no discussion, no talk of love—just lumping their names together on a contract as if it were cause for celebration.
Tom eyed her like a judge, looking for the motive behind her words. A ripple of tension bounced between them. She looked away, not eager to be scrutinized by him with her sister and Aunt looking on. Was he angry with her? She hadn’t meant to push him away. Nothing was going right tonight.
“What are you speaking of, Cassandra?” Aunt Evans said. “Surely you do not still fancy living with me as my companion. I cannot let you live the lonely life of a spinster.”
“A spinster? Miss Vail?” Patricia closed in beside Tom out of nowhere. “I am not wholly surprised, what with her getting on in years and not a suitor to her name, but Miss Vail is notquiteon the shelf yet.”
Megan growled under her breath and took a step toward Patricia, but Cassandra held her back.
“She is far from being on the shelf.” Tom’s smile was back in place, but it was stretched tight, and his tone had a bite to it. “Why, she is a diamond of the first water.” He met Cassandra’s gaze, and his eyes softened. “I have not seen her equal in all of Europe, and I have traveled extensively.”
