Still unsure of what to make of the spectacle she had just witnessed, Ella observed the chamber. Even more onlookers had gathered, drawn no doubt by the thunderous acclamation.
The scene sparked recollections of the notes in her mother’s journal—that phrenologists were using such amusing demonstrations to bring attention to the discipline. The problem was that the phrenologists were bending their findings to depict their specimens in the most favorable light, and what was more, they were even accepting payments to use phrenology as a means to mold a person’s image. This had been her mother’s fear—that the science and anatomical truths associated with phrenology, if they indeed existed, would devolve to nothing more than a parlor trick.
With each moment that passed, Ella’s discomfort grew, and after Mr. Bauer finished speaking with some of the guests, he approached Phoebe.
At first he didn’t seem to notice Ella. His attention was focused entirely on Phoebe, and his expression, which until this point had been distinguished, lightened to one much more flirtatious. “Miss Hawthorne! What a pleasure to see you. I hoped you would be here tonight.”
Phoebe curtsied prettily and extended her hand. “You know I’d never miss a demonstration of yours if it could be helped.”
He touched his fingertips to her gloved ones and bowed low, then leaned closer to her. “Did you enjoy it?”
“I always enjoy your demonstrations. But see? I’ve a surprise for you. Someone you’ve long wanted to meet.”
He raised his thick dark brows. “Oh?”
Ella straightened her posture and lifted her chin.
Beaming, Phoebe pivoted toward her. “May I present my very dear friend, Miss Eleanor Wilde of Keatley Hall.”
Mr. Bauer jerked. He stared at her, and then a captivated smile quirked his full lips, as if he were assessing a rare jewel. “Why, this cannot be! Miss Wilde, Mrs. Leonora Wilde’s daughter. Of course, I would know you anywhere.”
Ella ignored the statement as a mere nicety, for indeed she bore no physical resemblance to her mother. She curtsied. “Good evening, sir.”
As much as she attempted to downplay the situation and avoid drawing any attention, Mr. Bauer seemed to grow larger before her eyes. His baritone voice boomed in the vast chamber and echoed from the ornately plastered ceiling. “Oh, it is my most delighted pleasure! All these years I have wondered about you. Indeed I have! There now, I see the disbelief in your eyes, but you forget, your mother was a friend of mine.” Mr. Bauer lifted his gaze to glance around the chamber. “Is your father present tonight?”
“I’m afraid not,” Ella responded. “He remains at Keatley Hall.”
“Meeting you, then, must be enough to tide me.”
Someone called his name, and he looked back over his shoulder. “If my time were my own, I would spend every moment with you ladies, but it is not. I have promised more assessments, and what better way to share my passion for this theory than to share it with the world, eh?” He bowed, ostentatiously low and formal, his eyes fixed firmly on Phoebe’s. “Perhaps later we might speak again.”
As quickly as he had joined them, he was absorbed back with the others.
Nothing he said would be considered inappropriate or unfriendly. Indeed, everything had happened as politely and smoothly as possible.
Ella told herself not to let her predetermined opinions interfere, especially if he was to be her dearest friend’s beau, but the stilted display she’d witnessed made her even more concerned. She had hoped that meeting him in person would change her mind for Phoebe’s sake, but what she had seen did little to calm her nerves.
Chapter 6
GABRIEL CHOSE THElaw as his profession for one reason: his sister, Mary.
At one time, Mary’s large, tawny eyes and infectious laugh had been vibrant—so full of life—but circumstances had faded her once-bright complexion and cheery disposition into something quite unrecognizable.
This was not what Gabriel thought life would be like at this age—for him or for his sister.
What sort of future would she have, living here in his small terrace house with no friends, acquaintances, or other family? Was this how she was to spend the rest of her life? But after what she’d endured at the hands of another, he could almost understand.
If he could, he would take the shame and anguish that Mary had been forced to endure on himself. Instead, he would do his best to improve her future and do what he could to make sure no other woman was in the same situation.
But what could be done?
Gabriel cleared his throat as he stepped farther into the parlor. “I’ll be out late tonight.”
Mary looked up from the book she was reading. “How handsome you look. I wasn’t aware you were going out tonight.”
“I’m meeting with a client.” Gabriel reached for his cobalt wool coat and slid his arms through the sleeves. “Will you be all right alone?”
“Of course. Mrs. Menton will be here with me. And Liza.”
