Selah turned back to him, brushing his coat sleeve with the tip of her fan. “Perhaps we shall meet up again before the night is over.”
“Count on it,” he replied, schooling both his longing and his disappointment as she made her way toward the portico.
28
So, they were being clannish? Guilty as charged. The obviously smitten widow had simply called out the obvious. Selah felt a startling realization that Xander now possessed the ability to shrink her world to one. No one else existed or much mattered, even at a public frolic. Engrossed in his company, she all but forgot her manners. Little wonder others took notice or made mention of the breach.
Her restless gaze roamed through colorfully clad ladies and gentlemen as fireflies came out in flickering force. She spoke with Nurse Lineboro and others she knew, aware of Xander being the gracious host as the party swelled in size. With so many guests she’d likely not get another word with him, and some of the gaiety went out of her.
“Ah, the unforgettable Mistress Hopewell.” McCaskey sidled up to her, offering a cup of punch. She thanked him, his slurred speech raising her alarm, though he seemed steady enough on his feet. “I saw you coming up the hill on foot. Surely a lady of your station deserves better.”
“I’m no grand dame, I assure you. Nor have I ever seen a wheeled carriage in these parts.” She sipped her punch.“Most ride horseback or rely on river travel. Virginia’s roads are frightful, I’m afraid.”
“A shame you can’t travel in style. I suppose you ride?”
“I do, though I’d rather walk.”
“Why don’t we take a turn through the garden, then? The lawn is getting overrun.”
Her refusal was needless as the call to supper came. McCaskey took his place in the supper line. Slowly guests made their way through Rose-n-Vale’s open doors to the new wing. Selah could hear children’s buoyant laughter, though she’d lost track of Watseka and Oceanus in the melee. She tarried till the portico emptied, her parents just ahead of her. Ustis whispered something in Candace’s ear. Her low laugh assured Selah all was well.
Oh, Shay, how do you fare?
Thoughts of her brother overtook her at curious times. Might those promptings signal her brother’s need? She breathed a silent, open-eyed prayer for protection. Wisdom. Peace.
“If you lack a supper partner...”
Xander was behind her, bringing up the rear. No wealthy widow was near. Again, that delicious sense of being singled out took hold. Any anxious thoughts of Shay scattered.
“I’ve never had a supper partner,” she confessed. “Shall we sit at table?”
“There’s no formal board but a great many chairs.” He smiled at her, his words for her ears only. “And a private bench at the back of the garden.”
She warmed to the invitation. The dining room and parlor were thick with guests, supper provisions ample, even the banqueting dishes she’d suggested to Widow Brodie. Selah placed some of the fare on her plate, Xander just behind.
In the hall she spied Governor Harvey and a few officials conversing at the foot of the stairs, punch in hand, Laurent among them. How had she overlooked his arrival? Her appetite fled. Eyes down, she passed by them. Invited or not, these men made their presence known at various functions, if only to flaunt their authority. Aware of Laurent’s eyes on her, she took a side door. Nearby sat Watseka and Oceanus on the steps, sharing a plate.
In her quest to avoid the physic she’d likely lost Xander too. No longer was he shadowing her. Passing beneath the rose arbor, she took a shell-strewn path to the bench, pulse picking up when she heard a footfall behind her. Laurent?
Lord, nay.
Teasing laced his tone. “Don’t think you can elude me.”
“’Tis not you I wish to elude.” Relieved, she sat, finding Xander’s hands empty. “What, no supper?”
“Somehow a gathering like this steals my appetite.”
Did he mean Harvey and his minions?
He took a seat beside her. “I’ll have my fill when all go home.”
“But there might be nothing left.” She took a piece of salted ham between her fingers and held it out. He leaned in obligingly, his arm about her back as she fed it to him.
A fiddle ground out a tune in the background, the hubbub of voices nearer the house rising steadily. The guests were enjoying themselves, as was their absent host. She took a bite herself, then gave him the next, content to stay hidden at the back of the garden for as long as time allowed them.
“I never thought to feed the master of Rose-n-Vale,” she began as he leaned in again.
A burst of giggling from the hedgerow turned her rosy.With a rustle of bushes, Oceanus stepped out, Watseka following. Beneath Xander’s inquiring gaze, they stood chagrined, and then Watseka approached, something in her outstretched hands.
