Tall, Dark, and Determined (15 page)

N
o, Mr. Lawson. I did not agree to the arrangement.” Lacey gritted her teeth at the reminder of what transpired the evening before when her friends betrayed her trust and their own good sense. By the time the doctor finished with her, the girls finished making the monumental mistake of hiring Mr. Dunstan.

Looking back, Lacey clearly saw she'd been maneuvered away so she couldn't make them see reason. While she smiled sweetly over gritted teeth, allowing the doctor to bathe her tender shoulder in a stinging solution and cluck at her over the dangers of cougars, her friends were smiling at Mr. Dunstan.

Of course, Mr. Lawson held no share of the blame for any of it. The well-meaning engineer looked faintly bemused by the news they'd taken a mountain man into their employ. Of course, Mr. Lawson looked faintly bemused since they day he arrived in Hope Falls with his heavily
enceinte
, newly widowed sister in tow, which made it difficult to discern his thoughts.

“I wondered. Mr. Dunstan hardly seems the sort you'd enjoy having underfoot.” Mr. Lawson took off his spectacles and gave her a penetrating look, making Lacey wonder whether perhaps only the spectacles made him seem perpetually absentminded.

The highly polished thin bands of gold encircling those lenses caught the light oddly, and the perfectly round shape evoked a stunned owl rather than a practical engineer.
A more oval shape would do better justice to his features
, she decided. Certainly the man who'd gallantly taken up residence in what used to be the downstairs study deserved to look his best.

Even if he had brought Mrs. Nash to the wilds of the mountains mere weeks before her child was due, and as her brother was the only appropriate choice to move into the women's house. Again, it wasn't Mr. Lawson's fault that they needed a live-in defender against any dishonorable men who might descend upon the house.
That business with Mr. Kane and his rabble caused quite a fuss, though Mr. Creed, er, Granger prevented them from so much as stepping foot inside the house
.

“Miss Lyman?” Mr. Lawson sounded concerned, making her realize she'd slipped off into her own musings for far too long.

She fought to regain her place in the conversation. “I beg your pardon. Recent distractions don't excuse my woolgathering.”

“I say they do.” He spoke with surprising force. “While I'm not one to argue semantics, the past weeks have offered more difficulties, challenges, and ordeals than mere distractions.”

Odd. He seems precisely the sort of man to argue semantics
. Lacey shook the thought, and his vehemence, away. “While one undergoes an event, it is as you say. But once something becomes part of the past, thinking of it becomes a mere distraction.”

Unless, of course, one can still do something to alter the course of decisions made the previous evening. In that case, the thinking isn't a distraction; it's practical planning
.

“In any case, I didn't intend to dredge up unpleasant memories by inquiring after Mr. Dunstan.” Mr. Lawson wiped the lens one last time and carefully placed the spectacles back atop his nose. Almost instantly he acquired the familiar, puzzled look Lacey associated with him. “I should have known it would bring to mind your unfortunate attack. I do apologize.”

“My attack?”
Planning doesn't constitute an attack, precisely. And I won't feel guilty about waging a campaign to oust Mr. Dunstan
. She squared her shoulders, but found her motion hampered by the mounds of bandages padding her left side.

It must have been apparent, as Mr. Lawson gave her a look brimful of empathy. “You poor, brave woman. I referred to the cougar, but with Twyler's abduction and the previous attempt to storm the house, you've undergone three in the past week!”

“Oh, never say so!” Lacey cried out, wishing to stopper his observation before it could leak out and befoul the ears of others. Dunstan needn't hear it, and Braden absolutely couldn't.

“Your sweet, gentle nature dislikes to dwell upon it.” He blinked, looking, if earnest, still more owlish than before. “And I'll not discomfit you further. Miss Lyman, I hope you know you can rest easy and come to me with any concerns. If this Mr. Dunstan upsets you at all, I'll set him straight.”

Words eluded Lacey as she stared at this would-be knight in shining spectacles.
How very kind and thoughtful he is
. “I'm certain Mr. Dunstan intends no harm. But thank you, Mr. Lawson.”

He puffed up in response. “Whether he intends harm matters little if he achieves it. Your fine nature and fragile feelings have withstood great assaults lately. I'll do whatever possible to ensure nothing more threatens or even offends you. With Mr. Granger planning this short trip, it falls to me to safeguard the few delicate blossoms of womanhood adorning Hope Falls.”

If you dip our dainty feet in wax and arrange us carefully in a sealed bell jar, we'll keep perfectly for a twelve-month
. Lacey smiled at the thought of Mr. Lawson attempting to preserve her, Naomi, Cora, and Evie in the manner of true blossoms. Just as swiftly, the ridiculous idea robbed her of all amusement.
Why must men continue to look at us as such weak articles, easily susceptible to corruption and useful only for decoration?

“I prefer to think we're more than adornments.”

“You are.” The very edges of his ears, sticking out from under sandy hair pushed down by the handles of his spectacles, became tinged with a brilliant pink. “Much more, Miss Lyman.” Ears still pink, he slapped on his hat and hastily took his leave.

“What did you say to Mr. Lawson to turn his ears such a vibrant shade?” Cora came down the stairs looking blithely innocent—the same look she'd worn when she'd first kissed Braden and wanted to tell Lacey she'd fallen in love with her brother.

Cora looking innocent meant Cora felt guilty, though only her best friend—or perhaps Cora's sister, Evie—could discern the signs. But Evie wasn't here to notice her sister's distress, and last night's betrayal was too fresh for Lacey to overlook.
After all, they all banded together to make things difficult for me
.

Go easy
, Cora reminded herself.
Lacey's been through a lot the past couple of days. She wasn't thinking when she wandered off alone, put herself in danger, and got herself in a mess big enough to set back Braden's recovery and lose her control of Hope Falls
. Trouble was, the more she tried to remind herself why she needed to be gentle and careful with her best friend, the more worried she became about both of the Lymans
.

But the Lymans were a stubborn set, difficult to manage when together and impossible to look after when they veered apart.
Which is why I needed Mr. Dunstan to stay on. Lacey won't like it, but his promise to look after her comforts us
.

“I'm not sure.” Her best friend glanced toward the door where Mr. Lawson had taken his leave. “He gave quite a pretty speech about the trials I've endured recently and how my delicate nature should not be called upon to withstand such aggravation. Unfortunately, I couldn't reassure him, since Mr. Dunstan is sure to bring me still more unwanted aggravation and trials.”

“No more aggravation than you'll bring him.” Cora moved forward to pluck her cloak from the peg beside the door. “Hopefully, we can all refrain from progressing to trials.”

Lacey gave a dismissive wave and fetched her own cloak. “Perhaps there will be no provocation. Mr. Lawson seemed particularly concerned over Mr. Dunstan's presence nearby.”

In the midst of opening the door, Cora snapped it shut. “Lacey Lyman, tell me you did not go to Mr. Lawson and make Mr. Dunstan out to be some sort of threatening wild man!”

“How could you imagine I would do such a thing?” Lacey opened the door and held it wide. “There is something untamed about Mr. Dunstan, but I spoke no word against him. Mr. Lawson came to me with his intentions to better ‘safeguard the few delicate blossoms of womanhood adorning Hope Falls.' “

“For pity's sake!” Cora slanted an incredulous glance at her friend and went through the door into the unusually cold summer morning. She and Lacey were far behind Evie and Naomi, naturally early risers who somehow threw off warm, snuggly covers in favor of predawn darkness and cold stoves.

After the recent turmoil, it seemed as though the other two women decided Lacey needed some extra rest. Either that or their courage balked at rousing an already irate Lacey first thing in the morning. Since they'd all agreed not to go anywhere alone or leave anyone behind, her sister generously allowed Cora to sleep the extra measure and remain Lacey's companion.

Had I been consulted, I might well have chosen not to sleep late
. Cora waited for Lacey to follow her outside, letting the brisk mountain air invigorate her for what was sure to be a trying conversation. Most likely several trying conversations.

“For pity's sake?” Lacey echoed Cora's outburst. “You showed no pity or forethought when you hired the man.”

“I didn't refer to Mr. Dunstan, who's shown impressive integrity and will prove an asset to Hope Falls.” She ignored her friend's strangled sound of disbelief. “Mr. Lawson's poetic expression of his regard for you is a bit overblown.”

“Less an expression of personal regard and more of a concern for the welfare of us women.” Lacey paused as though thinking over Cora's interpretation. “Despite his ears.”

“Don't discount them.” She tried and failed to stifle a giggle. “Perhaps his ears are the windows to Mr. Lawson's soul.”

“How ridiculous you are. Everyone knows it's the eyes.” Giggles softened Lacey's denial. “Though I did decide earlier his spectacles make for a splendidly tragic disguise of them.”

“Only you would use a phrase like ‘splendidly tragic,' ” Cora accused. “Though it works. No matter how Mr. Granger assures us of Lawson's ingenuity in the field of engineering, his round lenses make him look perpetually perplexed.”

“I wonder whether the glass within the frames is equally ill suited,” Lacey mused. “Certainly such a problem would cloud his vision and explain why he thinks us such delicate blossoms.”

A sweeping gesture indicated Lacey's cheery primrose dress and matching bonnet. “Ah, but you look the part and always have. For as long as I've known you, you've divided your time equally between dressing yourself like a china doll and bemoaning the way every man you meet persists in treating you like one.”

“My wardrobe proclaims me a lady.” Lacey shot her an indignant glower, and Cora knew her friend added that assessment to a remembered list of recent betrayals of her trust. But her best friend chose not to comment on the notion that Cora should show more support and less sarcasm. Instead she busied herself. Anyone who didn't know her would think it mere preening, but Cora knew Lacey used the time to compose her reply. Lacey might tend to speak before she thought, but she'd confided long ago that tending her ensemble offered enough distraction to keep her thoughts from flying free willy-nilly.

So neither woman spoke as Lacey stopped walking to tuck a single errant hair back into her coiffure and fluff the lace frilling her high collar. Then she rested a hand over her injured shoulder to make a solemn declaration. “Yet one must look beyond mere design. Much of the merit of any piece lies in the strength of the fabric from which it is cut. I am made of stronger stuff than most assume; they should look more closely.”

Cora reached out to grasp her friend's hand. “How you relate anything and everything to one's clothing constantly surprises me. You're absolutely right.” She could agree with that much and knew Lacey was sore in need of hearing she was right about something. Anything. “But that's not the way things work. People—men in particular—will judge by sight and behave accordingly. Some will manipulate, others destroy, and a very few will attempt to protect and preserve your beauty.”

Lacey's laugh startled her, but boded well. “Protect and preserve …” She snickered as they reached Evie's kitchen. “Do you know, as he spoke I fought the strangest image of Mr. Lawson dipping my feet in a vat of wax and trying to seal me within a bell jar? All the better to keep me safe, you know.”

“Then to be placed atop a nice pedestal?” Cora caught the giggles, too. “Because you're a blossom adorning Hope Falls?”

“I told Mr. Lawson I'm more than an adornment. Despite what he and Mr. Dunstan seem to believe.” Giggles gone, a dangerous glint entered Lacey's eyes. The same glint Cora remembered from when her best friend hatched a plot to humiliate a foolish man who'd dared insult Cora at a dinner party, succeeding so well Mr. Dinper left town to visit relatives the next day. The
same
glint Lacey sported when she suggested moving to Hope Falls. In short, the glint warning they were all in for a lot of trouble.