Diane T. Ashley (16 page)

Sarah fixed her with a knowing look. “Never fear, cher. We will be back in plenty of time to see your beau. Now get your parasol and let’s go.”

The journey to the Thorntons’ home was a repeat of the drive to the park. Staid. Jasmine was beginning to grow inured to the yells of the other drivers as they sought to pass the cabriolet. At least the roof had not been let down, and therefore she could lean back and avoid their angry glares. By the time they arrived, her excitement had dwindled some. But she was sure it would return once she saw Vance again.

She could hear the excited voices of Noah and Magnolia as they entered the townhouse. After surrendering hat and gloves to the Thorntons’ butler, she followed Sarah to the front parlor. Blake rose from his seat, and the conversation between Lily and Tante Charlotte halted in the wake of their arrival.

Magnolia, who had been playing with her brother, stood and ran to them, throwing her arms around Jasmine’s skirts. “I’m so glad you found us.”

Blake chuckled. “We may have another actress in the family.”

“I hope not.” Lily’s mouth straightened into a tight line. “One is more than enough.”

The words were like a stab wound to her abdomen. Jasmine hid her pain by dropping a kiss on Magnolia’s head, focusing her attention on her beautiful niece. “I’m glad I did, too.”

Magnolia let go of her legs and rejoined Noah on the floor.

Why was her sister so critical of the one thing she wanted to do? Why couldn’t she be a little more understanding and supportive of Jasmine’s dreams? Her life on a riverboat had not followed a traditional path. Why did she have to be so judgmental when it came to what Jasmine wanted?

“Lily tells me you had a wonderful time at the performance last night.” Tante Charlotte rose and moved toward her. “Let’s go to the dining room and you can tell us all about it over luncheon.”

Lily stood and beckoned to Noah and Magnolia. “I’ll get the children settled upstairs, check on Benjamin to make sure he is still napping, and join you in a minute.”

Jasmine counted only five place settings as they entered the dining room. “Where is everyone?”

“Oncle Lloyd has taken your papa and Miss Matthews on a tour of the shipping office.” Tante Charlotte took her place at the table. “They are not supposed to return until later.”

Blake pulled out both Sarah’s and Jasmine’s chairs. “I couldn’t convince Jensen and Tamar to remain, either. He insists the
Water Lily
is not secure if he isn’t there.”

Sarah reached for her napkin as Blake went to the opposite side of the table. “He is a good friend.”

“So tell us about your evening.” Tante Charlotte reached for a large bowl of fresh fruit in front of her plate.

Jasmine took a deep breath, thankful for Sarah’s encouraging glance. “It was magical, stupendous, better than I have ever enjoyed in my life.”

“Our Jasmine has caught the eye of a very distinguished gentleman.”

Lily walked into the room at that moment. “Whom did you meet?”

“His name is Vance Hargrove.” Jasmine saw the glance her sister and brother-in-law exchanged. Her chin went up.

“I see.” Lily’s disapproval was back in full measure. But then it had probably never gone away.

Sarah handed her the bowl of fruit, and Jasmine spooned some berries onto her plate before passing the food to Blake. Had anyone ever been so misused? So poorly understood? The only sympathetic expressions she saw in the room did not come from her family.

“Mr. Hargrove joined us for dinner.” Sarah’s glance was warm and reassuring. “Kenneth and I were both impressed with his wit and charm.”

“Where did you meet this debonair gentleman?” Suspicion filled Lily’s words. “At the restaurant? Is he a friend of the family?”

Jasmine’s stomach tensed. She knew her sister would not like the answer to her questions. “At the theater.”

Sarah waved a hand in the air. “We met him when I took Jasmine backstage. A crush of visitors prevented us from meeting Miss Barlow, but Mr. Hargrove came to our rescue. I believe he is above reproach.”

“I see.” Lily didn’t sound reassured by Sarah’s recommendation.

Sarah turned her gaze on Jasmine. “Now is the time to ask your sister for permission.”

Jasmine could feel the concerted stare of everyone at the table. She lifted her chin. “We’ve made plans to visit Lake Pontchartrain this evening.”

Now Blake looked as stern as his wife. “Alone?”

“I don’t like the sound of that, Jasmine.” Lily put her fork down. “You cannot go to dinner alone with him … at least not until I’ve met him.”

She should have known her sister would be this way. Lily didn’t want her to have any tiny bit of freedom. She wanted to make Jasmine into a replica of herself. Anger boiled through her blood. “I’m a grown woman, and I can decide how to spend my evening.”

“You may be, Jasmine, but you’re far from mature.” Lily pushed back from the table. “I blame myself for coddling you too much over the years. Perhaps I should have sent you to a finishing school like the one Camellia attended.”

“I don’t need a school. I need to be treated like an adult.” Jasmine could see the frozen expressions on Tante Charlotte’s and Sarah’s faces. She regretted airing her grievances in front of them, but Lily had started this. She would not back down.

Tears stung her eyes, but Jasmine refused to give in to them. Her sister would use them as an example of her naïveté. Gritting her teeth, she glared across the table. “I’m practically a prisoner in my own home. My desires don’t matter at all. I don’t know why I’m even surprised by you, Lily. You never want me to have any fun or to experience true freedom.”

“Be that as it may, I am still your sister. As long as you live with me, you will do as I say.” Lily’s voice was shaking. “I forbid you to go out with this Vance Hargrove tonight.”

Thrusting her chair away from the table, Jasmine stood.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Jasmine directed her words toward Tante Charlotte. “Please excuse me, I don’t feel well.” Without waiting for a reply, she spun and marched from the room, her head high and her shoulders back. She had no idea where to go, but she knew she couldn’t remain in the dining room. Not until Lily could be more reasonable.

“Was I wrong?” Lily folded her French silk scarf and laid it in the trunk she shared with Blake. She’d worn it last night to the theater and wouldn’t need to use it again while they were in New Orleans. “Am I being unreasonable to want to meet this strange man before I trust my sister with him?”

Blake sighed. “No, not wrong … but you might have waited until you were alone with Jasmine before you told her how you felt.”

Lily’s first reaction to his words was betrayal, but her conscience prodded her to listen to him. Blake was right. She should have pinned a smile on her face while Jasmine described her evening. Telling her sister her concerns could have come later. While she considered the Thorntons to be family, they were not actually relatives. She should not have aired her concerns in front of them. Would she ever learn to control her tongue?

“I’ve ruined everything.”

Her husband’s blue gaze chided her for the passionate statement. “This is not the first or the last argument you’ll have with Jasmine. The two of you want very different things out of life. You want her to settle down close to you and raise a family with someone like David Foster. Jasmine wants to see something of the world. She craves excitement and adventure—the very things you are denying her. She feels trapped here.”

“Trapped? She can rant all she wants about freedom. Her family makes fewer demands on her than most young ladies.”

“That doesn’t matter.” Blake pushed away from the mantel and moved toward her. “All your sister can see is the restrictions we’ve placed on her. I think I understand some of Jasmine’s actions better than you do. I felt much like she does when I was young.”

Lily put a hand to her forehead. “She
is
young. And naive. She understands so little about the ways of the world. I don’t think I was ever as young as she is. Dealing with her sometimes makes me feel like I’m a hundred years old.”

“I don’t know about that.” Catching her hand, Blake raised it to his lips. “You’re well preserved for a centenarian.”

She appreciated her husband’s attempt to make her smile, but she couldn’t make room for his levity. Not when she was so upset over the argument with Jasmine. “Why can’t Jasmine understand that I have her best interests at heart? Can’t she see that we’re trying to protect her?”

“I doubt it.” Blake’s face sobered. “How did you feel when your relatives told you what to do?”

“That was different. They wanted me to marry a man twice my age.” Lily ignored the petulant tone of her own words. Couldn’t Blake see the truth? “I’m not trying to push her out into the world before she’s ready.”

“Maybe she’s ready.”

The world seemed to move under Lily’s feet. She sat down hard on the edge of the bed, reaching for the headboard to keep from falling over. Jasmine was not ready. At the rate she was going, she wouldn’t be ready for several years yet. What did Blake expect her to do? Stand by silently and watch her sister ruin her life? That’s exactly what would happen if she let Jasmine have her way. Her plans for the evening were a perfect example. She spared not a thought for her own safety, blithely planning to go to some unnamed location with a man she had just met.

Blake took her hands and chafed them. “Are you okay?”

“Do you really think she’s ready?” Lily searched his eyes for the truth.

“I only know that everyone in the family—from your father to Camellia—has given Jasmine the foundation she needs to succeed. And we’ll be here to love her no matter what else happens to her.” He placed a soft kiss on her cheek. “Once she’s tested her wings, she’ll have a better perspective.”

“I don’t want her to get hurt.”

“Everyone gets hurt, Lily. That’s the way of this world. You can’t be there for her at every turn. You’re going to have to trust God to watch out for her.”

Peace slipped into the room with his words, giving her a little protection from the fear that nipped her. Blake pulled her up from the bed and drew her into his embrace. His heartbeat sounded beneath her ear, its rhythmic beating as slow and steady as the thrum of a paddlewheel. Lily felt the prickles of worry ebbing even further as she stood within the circle of his arms. She closed her eyes and thanked God silently for linking their lives.

Blake was right. What had happened to her faith in the Lord’s provision? She would give Jasmine the freedom she craved. She would even let her sister go out with Vance Hargrove once she made sure he understood the consequences of stepping out of line.

A knock at the door separated them. Blake sent her a reassuring smile before he went to answer it. Lily took a deep breath and prayed for the right words to use with Jasmine. She would have to apologize first. And no matter how hard it was, she would have to allow Jasmine to make her own mistakes. She would be a support to her sister’s dreams instead of an obstacle.

Lily’s heart fell as she realized Jasmine was not their visitor.

Sarah was the one standing in the doorway, a guilty expression on her face. “I’m so sorry for causing this trouble.”

Blake performed a shallow bow. “I believe I’ll check on the children and allow the two of you a little privacy.”

He disappeared into the hallway as Sarah advanced into the room. Lily felt some of the peace leave with him.

Putting on a polite expression, she focused on Sarah. “It’s not your fault. Jasmine and I have been feuding with great regularity over the past months.”

Unshed tears moistened Sarah’s eyes. “But this latest argument is my fault, and I’ve come to see how I can mend it.”

“I’m the one who will have to do that.” Lily perched on the edge of the bed again. “But you can tell me about this Hargrove character. Do you trust him? Is he from New Orleans? Do you know his family?”

“Yes. No. And no.” Sarah sat beside her and sniffed. “His manners are exquisite. I would trust my own daughter with him.”

Lily was still uncertain, despite Sarah’s assurances. She needed to know more than what kind of manners he had learned. What sort of man was he? Could he be trusted to treat her sister with respect?

“I believe he said that he came from New York.” Sarah’s eyes narrowed as she thought. “At least he said he performed in New York. He’s even spent some time in Europe. I remember your sister asking if he had ever met the divine Sarah Bernhardt …”

A woman of dubious reputation herself. Lily kept her opinion to herself as Sarah continued prattling on about Hargrove’s exploits. If the man had done half the things he claimed, he would have to be more than thirty years old. What interest would a man of that age see in her sister? Lily shuddered as she considered the possible answers.

“Wouldn’t that fix everything?” Sarah’s question hung in the air between them.

Lily scrambled to recall what suggestion the other woman had made. Something about dinner tonight. Comprehension dawned. Sarah had suggested they go out to dinner together and invite Mr. Hargrove to join them. That way she could meet the man and judge for herself if he was an appropriate escort for her sister. “You’re right.” Lily smiled at her. “At least, I’m not sure that it will fix
everything
between Jasmine and me, but it will go a long way toward healing this latest breach.”