Evan’s heart jumped into his throat, his eyes so wide that they burned as he stared at the partially open door. How much did Olivia know? Was that what he had accidentally witnessed the other night?
“About his father, you mean?” Daniel replied. Olivia must have nodded as he continued, “It is true and worse than what my mother would have dared to write down. I have seen stray dogs treated with more kindness and generosity than Evan’s father treated him. Once, his father left him in the snow for three days, locking every door so he could not enter. He almost died. Would have done, I imagine, if the stablemaster had not disobeyed and taken him to a physician in the nearby town.”
“Oh, my dear Evan,” Caroline whispered.
Olivia’s breath hitched. “How do you know that happened? Were you there?”
“No, but one of the stableboys told me when we visited that Christmastide,” Daniel explained. “The stablemaster had been dismissed and Evan was mysteriously absent, so I went to see if Evan’s horse had been taken. That was when the stableboy told me what had occurred, and that Evan was recuperating in the town.”
“You did not say anything to anyone?” Olivia’s voice took on a hard, accusatory edge that confused Evan. “Could you have ceased his torment sooner if you had mentioned it?”
Why does she care?Evan could not fathom it.
“It sounds ludicrous to say it now, but I did not want to get the stableboy in trouble,” Daniel explained apologetically. “The boy would have been dismissed, or beaten and dismissed, and… I was just a boy myself. I suppose I thought it was a misunderstanding, back then, though I have since learned otherwise.”
Olivia tutted. “That poor boy.”
“The stableboy?”
“No. Evan!” Olivia retorted with such passion that Evan’s heart managed a nervous leap. “Apologies, I did not mean to shout at you,” she added more carefully. “It is, of course, not your fault and you cannot be held responsible. I just… cannot bear the notion of anyone being treated so awfully. I suppose there is a part of me that wishes he could have been saved sooner. If he had known affection earlier, he might not be a… Never mind.” She trailed off, leaving Evan in suspense.
“So, I think it is safe to assume that you do not find him entirely unpleasant?” Daniel prompted. “You would not care about his past if you did.”
Olivia laughed wryly. “I find him… exasperating.”
“In what regard?” Daniel asked.
Olivia expelled a hesitant breath. “I do not know what is real and what is not. Goodness, I do not know why I am saying this to you, My Lord; I do not know you, either.” She chuckled awkwardly. “Indeed, I ought to return inside before we are seen and cause a scandal, for though I would herald you as the best of chaperones, Caro, society would not.”
“Of course, Miss Agarn,” Daniel replied. “But, you should know, heisa good man. The finest I know.”
“I hope he pays you well for saying that,” Olivia said, her footsteps scuffing across the terrace.
Thinking too slowly, moving even slower, Evan sprinted for the library door, barreling out into the hallway just as he heard the creak of hinges from within. A true rake would probably have stood his ground, braced to challenge any accusation of eavesdropping, but Evan could not do it. Instead, he hurried halfway up the hall before turning back the way he had come at a stroll, hoping he looked more casual than he felt.
A moment later, Olivia emerged from the library. Alone. She jarred to a halt as she set eyes upon him, her cheeks flushed, her lips parted in surprise.
“I was looking for you,” Evan declared, swallowing past the lump in his throat. He thought he would hate her pity, but it had warmed him instead.
Olivia cast a guilty glance back into the library. “For what purpose? Were you hoping I might read you a passage of something to lull you to sleep? I have been told I have a very dreary voice when it comes to reading aloud.”
“No, I…” Evan faltered, “…just wanted to ensure that you were well. You seemed unlike yourself at dinner. Nor did I know if you had returned to the Dowager House or not. If I may, I should like to escort you back; it is late, and the path will be dark. You could easily lose your way.”
Olivia observed him for a short while, making him feel as if he had something on his face. Gradually, a smile turned up the corners of her lips, a genuine smile of the kind he had longed for.
“Without a chaperone?” she teased. “How wicked.”
Evan pretended to adjust his cravat. “I believe the quantity of wine consumed by my aunt has made her forgetful. She left with your mother and father some time ago.”
“Perhaps, they thought I would prefer to stay in one of my friend’s chambers,” Olivia said, hesitating before adding, “Were you just as surprised by the change of plan for tonight?”
Evan had wondered when the question might present itself. “I was informed as I was dressing. Thankfully, I suppose, for I would have looked quite ridiculous in my formal attire while attending a simple dinner.”
“I think you might have looked rather dashing,” Olivia said shyly. Her eyes suddenly widened, and she tapped her fingertips against her temples in a strange fashion as if desperately trying to remember something. “What I mean to say is,” she continued in a harsher tone, “that you might have drawn the eye of my friends, and I would prefer it if you did not acquaint yourself with them.”
“Is their attention so easily captured?” he remarked, confused by the sharp change in her.
Olivia shrugged. “No, but you have a gift for persuasion.”
