Chapter Eleven

Had Charles known he was walking into a trap when he passed through the front door of his mother’s house, he’d never have accepted her dinner invitation. But truly, he’d not had the first clue she was setting him up.

“Come over Thursday evening, Charles. You need a good meal, and your sister will be here. Stanton’s out of town for business, and she’s lonely.” Augustina Kelly didn’t issue invitations that often to her two children—not for small dinners through the week anyhow—so he’d accepted.

His sister met him in the hall, presumably on her way back from the powder room. With wide eyes and a tense smile, Daphne accepted his hug.

“You’re in for it tonight. I’m so sorry,” she muttered as she took his arm. She raised her voice as they reached the wide double doors of the parlor. “Mother, look who I found.”

“There you are,” Augustina said, her smile pleased. “I was just telling Evelyn about the important cases you’re working on these days. I’m sure that’s why you’re late tonight.”

Charles froze in the door, his muscles going rigid. “Mother. Evelyn.” He nodded stiffly at the pretty blonde seated beside his mother. “I didn’t realize we were entertaining tonight.”

Augustina waved and laughed. “Oh, poo. Evelyn’s practically family. Do come in, Charles. Pour yourself a drink while Cook finishes dinner.”

Since turning around and running out the door would have made him look like the utmost coward, Charles went to the bar. He made sure to give the couch a wide berth, however, not trusting the gleam in his mother’s eye.

“Did you know that Evelyn recently completed a degree in art history, Charles?” his mother asked.

He put the stopper back in the whiskey decanter with very precise movements. “I did not, no. Congratulations, Evelyn.”

“Thank you,” she replied softly. “I’m looking forward to putting what I learned at school to good use.” Her eyes were bold and direct, a contrast to her demure tone, and that she meant the words as a double entendre wasn’t lost on anyone except perhaps his mother.

Charles’s eyebrow rose when his sister coughed. “Okay, Daph?” He patted her back, maybe a little more firmly than was strictly necessary.

“Fine.” Her voice was strangled as she glared at him as though sending him a message. “Just fine.”

He wasn’t as oblivious as she thought he was. But he wasn’t about to give his mother or Evelyn any chance to snag him in their traps.

Dinner was a tense affair with his mother trying determinedly to pull him into her matchmaking plot. Charles was just as determined not to be pulled, and by the time the last plates were removed, he was feeling the strain of the evening.

“We’ll take coffee in the parlor, Roberta,” his mother told the maid.

“Actually, I can’t stay.” Charles’s words dropped into the dining room like bombs. “I’m afraid I’m coming down with a headache, and since I have a particularly challenging day scheduled tomorrow, I’d best head home and get some rest.”

“I need to go as well,” Daphne hastily put in. “I swear there’s something in the air. My head is throbbing. Would you mind giving me a lift home, brother dear?”

“Of course not.”

“Charles! Daphne! We have a guest.” Augustina scowled at them darkly. “You can’t just leave. Besides, your sister lives not five minutes away.”

“Yes, and she’s not feeling well. I’d be remiss in my duties as her only brother if I didn’t see her home. I’m sure Evelyn understands, Mother.” Charles wasn’t about to stick around and take the chance that Augustina would hang him with an obligation he couldn’t get out of.

Judging by the glare she sent him, his mother wouldn’t be forgiving him any time soon. He felt a twinge of guilt over that, but a glance at Evelyn quashed it. As quickly as he could, he ushered Daphne outside.

Once they were in the car, she let out a sigh, rubbing her forehead. “I swear the three of you really did give me a headache. You could have cut the tension in that room with a knife. I’m sorry I couldn’t warn you. I didn’t realize until I walked in.”

Charles shrugged and loosened his tie. “It wasn’t your fault. I know exactly where the blame lies.”

Daphne snorted. “Yeah, with Little Miss Scholar. I’ll bet she made straight A’s in her extracurricular activities.”

He held up a hand. “Stop right there. Please don’t put that image in my head any more than it already is. Will you be okay by yourself?” he asked as he pulled into her driveway.

“I’ll be fine. I’ll grab something when I get inside.” She sighed and looked into the shadows beyond the garage. “I don’t agree with her methods, but Mother is right about one thing—you need someone in your life. I’d like to see you happy.”

“I am happy.”

She shot him an incredulous look as they got out of the car. “Sure, you are. You go right ahead and play dumb, dear. We’ve both been through too much of the ringer tonight for me to lecture you further.”

He chuckled. “I appreciate that consideration.” The air was still quite warm, but now that fall was settling in on the region, it wasn’t as humid as it had been a few weeks earlier. “When will Stanton be home?”

“Tomorrow afternoon.” She smiled as she opened the door. “I may have some news for him when he gets here.”

It took a moment for the meaning behind her words to sink in. “What? Really?”

Daphne nodded. “Number three—maybe a girl this time. But you don’t dare say a word to anyone, you hear?”

He hugged her. “I won’t. Congratulations, sis.”

Her housekeeper met them in the foyer. “Good evening, Miss Daphne. Mister Charles. The boys just went up to bed.”

“Good evening, Nita.” Charles inclined his head. “Have my nephews behaved themselves for you?”

“Oh, for the most part,” she said with a twinkling smile. “I’ll be in the kitchen if you need me, Miss Daphne.”

“Okay. Thank you, Nita.” Daphne watched her go, then she turned to Charles. “If I didn’t have that woman here to help me, I’d lose my mind. She’s my best friend, you know. Aside from Stanton, of course. I don’t think Mother has ever forgiven her for coming with me when I married.”

Nita had been Augustina’s maid for many years, but when Daphne married, she’d left their mother’s employment without a backward glance.

“I’m glad you have her. Will you all be at Mother’s for Sunday dinner, do you think?”

“Perhaps. It depends on how the weekend goes. Would you like me to call you if we won’t be?” His sister’s look was shrewd.

“Of course. I’m not going in there alone and unarmed, not after tonight.” He kissed her cheek. “See you soon.”

As he drove home, memories of the ever-elegant and gracious Evelyn surfaced. Their families had known each other forever, and she was the youngest child of a quite large brood, all of whom were already married off. His mother and Evelyn’s were close, and it didn’t take a genius to figure out that they’d decided to pair him up with Evelyn.

Charles wanted no part of it. Being attached to a woman who was so perfect would have driven him utterly insane within six months. Charles was about as far from perfect as a person could get, and there was no way he could live up to a debutante’s standards. Nor did he want to.

He thought about Kathy Browning, who was as dissimilar to Evelyn as chocolate was to vanilla. He didn’t think she was rude and crude, not by any stretch of the imagination, but Kathy didn’t have that bred-in-the-bone Southern grace his mother so adored. As far as that went, neither did his sister, which was one of the reasons Daphne and Charles got along so well. He figured it was Daphne’s gentle form of rebellion, and if he was honest, it was probably his as well.

Kathy’s lack of polish didn’t bother Charles in the least. He preferred chocolate to vanilla. However, it would have annoyed his mother, and subjecting Kathy to that annoyance wasn’t something he particularly wanted to do. He tried to imagine taking her to Augustina’s for a family dinner, and he whistled. “That could be a disaster.”

He knew from talking to Roy that Kathy was getting better, that she continued to see the therapist he’d recommended back in June and was making significant progress. She was even considering taking a job in Roy’s office as a secretary. But she still had a ways to go, at least according to Roy, before she would be strong enough to stand on her own.

“Eliza and Nancy would love to see her find someone, but I don’t think the girl’s ready,” Roy had confided during a working lunch last week. “It’s been three months since she started seeing the doctor, but that’s not a long time given what she’s been through. I don’t know that she’ll ever be ready to trust again.”

Charles hoped Roy was wrong. Of course, there was no guarantee she’d even give Charles a second look if she started dating again, but he hoped he might be able to catch her attention. He was reasonably attractive, and his success held a lot of appeal to marriage-minded women. For the first time in his life, he hoped he’d appeal to a particular woman. He’d spent a ridiculous amount of time mooning over Kathy in the last few months, and he’d feel like an utter fool if it turned out she couldn’t stand him after all.