Chapter 8

Caroline had prepared with a little more care than usual for the weekly bonfire. She and the handful of students had already gathered sticks, having kept them dry under the porte cochere until it was time to light the fire.

The girls chattered and giggled as Mrs. Wickham stood nearby. Stephen worked on the fire and was able to coax sparks from a flint and steel. Soon the fire roared before them. One of the girls started off with a song and they watched as the flames licked at the night sky.

Oh, to have had such an upbringing as these girls. But she found herself now among them through her own hard work and the encouragement of her mother.

“Do better than I did,” Mama had told her before sending her off to teacher’s college on a scholarship.

“You look pensive this evening,” Stephen said at her side.

“Oh, I’m thinking of my mother.” She wanted to explain more, but decided against it. He probably wouldn’t understand.

“Is she all right?”

“Oh yes, she’s fine, thank you.”

Mrs. Wickham’s voice nearly made Caroline start. “Well, you two seem to be getting along quite well.”

Caroline wasn’t quite sure how to respond to her employer’s comment, other than nodding. She dared not glance at Stephen.

“Yes, Aunt Marjorie, we are. I get along quite well with all my fellow teachers.” He turned his focus to his aunt, on the opposite side of Caroline. “We have quite an amicable staff here at Wickham Academy.”

Amicable was a good word for it, Caroline had to agree. Yet, she realized, she’d been looking forward to the bonfire, not so much for the weekly diversion it provided, but for the chance to spend more time with Stephen when it didn’t concern classes and students.

Amicable meant only a friend, or having a spirit of friendliness. But she didn’t look forward to spending time with her other fellow teachers, not in the same way as she did Stephen Mason.

The night seemed to drag on, even with the songs and hot chocolate that made them all feel a bit merrier. If she let herself, she could be quite smitten with Mr. Mason. But it wasn’t a good idea, not with so much on the line for both of them.

At last the night came to an end, the fire dying down. Mrs. Wickham ushered the students from the fire, leaving Caroline and Stephen to walk on their own. Although they were in plain view of anyone who might look out a window, Caroline felt as if they were completely alone. She shivered, nearly slipping on a slick patch of the courtyard.

Stephen grasped her elbow, steadying her. “Careful. There, that’s better.”

“Thank you.” Words failed her at the moment. What was wrong with her?

They stepped carefully across the courtyard, pausing beneath the Century Oak, barren in winter.

“So,” she said aloud, “should you win the headmaster position, are you ready to stay here permanently?”

“That’s the idea. I don’t plan to go anywhere, especially if I’m going to run this school.”

“If.” She punctuated the word with a chuckle. “I’m just teasing you. I consider you a formidable opponent. You’ve done good things with the students here. I have to admit, I was a tad skeptical of Mrs. Wickham bringing in her nephew. Nor was I entirely happy about it. I’ve been here a long time.”

“That you have.” He chuckled.

“What is it that amuses you so?” she asked.

“When she first mentioned my fellow competitor and that she’d been at the academy for a long time, I pictured someone a little longer in the tooth.” His grin made him look boyish in the pale light from the moon above them.

“I’m sorry to disappoint you.”

“Oh Miss Parker, you have not disappointed me. Not at all.” His breath made puffs in the chilly air.

She shivered again, and his hand moved from her elbow as she stepped closer. What was she doing? She needed to think.

If Mrs. Wickham happened upon them, she could and perhaps would fire them both, despite her matchmaking scheme.

But right now, she wanted him to kiss her, an even worse infraction than him having his arm around her waist in a partial embrace.

They both took a half step back.

“What just happened?” she gasped.

“I don’t know. I’m sorry if it wasn’t what you desired.”

She clasped her arms around her waist. “I did, and that’s the problem. I value my position here. You are Mrs. Wickham’s family. If she came upon us, perhaps she would go easier on you, her nephew, than me.”

“Oh Caroline, I understand. But this place is pretty much my last-ditch effort to make something of myself.” He pulled something from his coat pocket. “Here. I was going to share this with you before, but I’d forgotten until now.”

It was a folded piece of paper.

She opened it and scanned the first lines. “It’s a letter addressed to you.”

He nodded. “Go ahead, read it.”

She headed for one of the gas lamps that gave some light to the courtyard.

It was from a friend, informing Stephen that Madame Tetreault’s Finishing School in Winchester would be in need of an art and music teacher next year, and asking him if he knew of anyone who might be interested, to have them write to Madame Tetreault and inquire about the position.

Another position, away from Northampton and her family? It would likely pay more than Wickham Academy. If she didn’t get the position here, she had thought about leaving the academy, but it was only an idea. She had no prospects. And now it seemed like an opportunity was literally at her fingertips.

“Thank you, I think.” She folded the letter and handed it back to him. “I’m not sure what to think about that. It almost seems as if you’re trying to get rid of me.”

“No! I’m not trying to get rid of you. Not at all.” He rubbed his forehead. “I immediately thought of you when I saw this opportunity. I wasn’t thinking about the outcome of the Olympiad. The position alone is a good one, Olympiad aside.”

“Yes, that it is.” She smiled up at him under the gaslight. “I should go now. Good night.”

She left him standing there. One moment she had almost kissed him, and then in the next moment he was referring her to an upcoming position more than ninety miles away. Suddenly she was glad they hadn’t kissed after all.

The moment he entered the main house, he knew Aunt Marjorie was waiting for him in the parlor, which conveniently overlooked the courtyard. She likely saw their whole encounter, from their walk to the oak, to the moment he pulled her close, to when Caroline walked away from him to read the letter under the gaslight.

“In here, Stephen,” came Aunt Marjorie’s voice.

“Yes, Aunt Marjorie.” He removed his overcoat, hat, and long scarf, then gave an involuntary shiver. Yes, the night was getting colder, and they’d ended the bonfire just in time.

His aunt was seated in a wingback chair in front of a roaring fire. He joined her in a matching chair.

“So, I see you’ve been chatting this evening with Miss Parker,” she said.

“We were. I assure you nothing improper happened.” Maybe he shouldn’t have said that, but the words came right out. “We both understand the rules for teachers.”

“Of course you do. But what will happen after the school term is over?”

“One of us will be the head of Wickham Academy.” He stretched out his legs toward the fire and crossed his ankles.

She tapped the arm of his chair. “Sit up straight. It’s bad for your posture to slouch like a sack of flour. Perhaps one of you will be the head of the academy.” She chuckled. “No, one of you will. I promised that I would choose one of you. But have you considered what you will do if you are not the headmaster?”

“No, I haven’t.” He nearly told her about the position at the finishing school that he’d just shared with Caroline. “I think I would likely stay here. I like it. And it’s good to be near family.”

“You’ve finally realized that, have you?”

He nodded and watched the fire crackle.

“And Miss Parker?”

“What are you asking me about Miss Parker?”

“Do you fancy her?” She regarded him over the top of her spectacles.

“I suppose I do.” Her winsome smile, her easy demeanor, the way she worked with the students, so differently than he did. What was not to like about her?

“But you know the rules of this academy.”

“I do, as does she.” He looked at his aunt. “We will not violate the rules of the academy. It wouldn’t be right, nor fair, to shrug away rules that all of us must follow.”

Oh, but how he had changed, going by the response he’d just given his aunt. The old Stephen would have figured out a way to make things work his way and no one be the wiser. Thank God he wasn’t the man he used to be. He wouldn’t have deserved someone like Caroline Parker.

“That’s what I thought you’d say. Very good, Stephen. Very good. I did see the two of you out there this evening. I know you’ll keep the rules.” In spite of her serious tone, her eyes sparkled. “We shall see what the end of the spring term brings us.”