“Yes! And he’s sent a card this morning to accept. Quite tardy, but forgivable in the circumstances. He must have raced to London just to seeme. Think what a tremendous coup it will be to host a naval hero who’s returned from the dead!”
Jane’s head was spinning. She tried to focus on the facts, winnowing them free of Cecily’s assumptions. If Eli had truly written Cecily twice, once from his family’s home and once from London, it seemed impossible that this was a hoax. An impostor wouldn’t promise to attend tonight, surely.
Eli must really be alive. Had been alive this whole time, without her even knowing it. But how?
“I invited all the officers I know,” Cecily continued, oblivious to Jane’s turmoil. “I even found his former captain! Though most of the others are overseas. The problem with the navy is that it takes the men away from all the parties.”
Jane finally hazarded a proper look at Della, who took in her struggle without the need for any further explanation.
“What an amazing turn of events,” Della said. “We can’t wait to see him. We’re just going to get some of your delicious champagne before the excitement begins. Excuse us, please.”
They hurried, arm in arm, to the refreshments. There were so many people they had to form a queue. The smell of their various perfumes overwhelmed Jane’s senses. “Are you all right?” Della whispered.
Jane didn’t reply. Nothing felt right.
How was it possible? Why hadn’t he tried to contact her sooner? Even if they’d only been friends, they wereclosefriends. He should’ve known his reported death would hurt her. Or if she didn’t warrant his consideration, then why not write his family, at least? He must not have done, for if his survival had been known in Devon before now, she would’ve heard the news from Uncle John.
They hadn’t even managed to get their hands on some glasses when Della clutched her arm. “Jane, look there.”
It was him. Mercifully far away, near the opposite wall. He was talking to a gentleman she didn’t recognize as the crowd swirled around them, suddenly dizzying.
Jane had the sense that she was watching a memory, or an actor moving across the stage. A fantasy layered over reality.
Eli looked every inch a navy man. Tall and fit, with a quick confidence in his bearing that inspired trust. The sort of man who knew his course. He had classically handsome features—dark hair and eyes, with a strong brow and an aquiline nose—but it was none of these things that made him so captivating. Rather, it was the animation that came over his face when he spoke, opening a window to his sentiments for all the world to see. His eyes and his smile brimmed with energy, lighting up a conversation at the slightest invitation. Whatever your troubles, he could make you forget them.
Though Eli’s features were unchanged, he looked somehowdifferent than Jane remembered. It had been five years since he’d joined the service and sailed out of her life, shortly after announcing his engagement. Not so long a time as to put lines on a man’s face. It must have been something else. He’d taken too much sun, perhaps, or he’d grown leaner. Or there was nothing different at all, and her memory was simply faulty.
They’d once kept company nearly every day. She’d known his face as well as her own. How could she have forgotten anything about it?
Stupidly, inexplicably, Jane felt as though she might cry.
Della placed her fingertips upon Jane’s arm. “Do you want to go over?”
“No.” Not now. Not like this. The last thing she wanted was to make a spectacle of herself in front of everyone. She lowered her tone and chose cowardice. “Let’s hide, please.”
“Hide?” Della repeated.
Eli looked their way. Notatthem, exactly, for there was no sign of recognition in his eyes. But he was scanning the crowd. It was only a matter of time before he spotted her. And then he would want to come over and pretend everything was fine between them, just as he had after he proposed to her cousin. She turned her face away, fleeing from that possibility.
“Yes, and quickly.”
They settled on the library, as it had served as a traditional hiding place for many a guest at many a party such as this. It was, in fact, already in use for this purpose by a young couple who occupied the love seat near the far wall. Neither of them was reading. They stared uncomfortably at Della and Jane, waiting to see who would back down first.
“Your chaperone is looking for you,” Jane addressed her warning to the lady, whom she had never seen before in her life.
Della hid a smile behind her gloved hand, though it was only after the couple had vacated the room that she allowed a laugh to bubble out.
“It’s probably true,” Jane reasoned. “And besides, I’ve saved her from a terrible mistake.”
Many an inopportune match began with a moment of seclusion. Like Eli and Cecily.
“Ah, but suppose they were star-crossed lovers, trying to escape their families’ opposition.” Della smiled, evidently judging her assessment of the situation to be preferable to Jane’s.
It was a nice fantasy, but reality didn’t often match one’s hopes. Jane walked to the bookcase, tracing a hand along the spines as she breathed the earthy scent of paper and leather bindings.
“You know we can’t stay here forever,” Della said gently. “We shall have to go back out. And when we do, Lieutenant Williams is sure to see you.”
“I know.” There was no escape. Jane turned away from the books, wishing her galloping heart would slow its pace. “I won’t hide forever. Just…ten minutes.”
