“Based on experience, I’m afraid.”
“I think you’ll find it confirmed this evening when you meet Thornton and the general.”
Elizabeth was sure of it. “I’ll try to keep an open mind.”
They’d reached the Vanderslices’ front steps, and she climbed them without waiting for assistance from Gideon. The fewer times he touched her, the better.
The maid had been waiting and opened the door instantly at their knock. After taking their coats, she showed them into the parlor, where the Vanderslice family waited.
They greeted Elizabeth warmly, and all three of them kissed her cheek. Anna told her she looked beautiful, and David murmured something complimentary as well. They greeted Gideon only slightly less warmly, and David pumped his hand and slapped him on the back and thanked him profusely for coming.
Elizabeth sat down next to Anna on a sofa. Mrs. Vanderslice had sunk into a nearby chair looking forlorn.
“Mother is worried the dinner won’t be a success,” Anna told her.
“It was rather short notice,” Elizabeth said diplomatically.
“I don’t know why these men can’t do business in an office,” Mrs. Vanderslice said. “There’s no reason we have to be present. We’ll only be bored while they natter on about contracts and such.”
Elizabeth knew why, but she couldn’t say so. She just let Mrs. Vanderslice natter on about how unhappy her staff was about being rushed and how was she supposed to seat people when she had an odd number of guests? Mrs. Vanderslice stopped abruptly when they heard the doorbell, and everyone turned. The wait for the guest to be admitted, relinquish his coat and be escorted the short distance to the parlor seemed interminable, but no one spoke or moved the entire time. Finally, Oscar Thornton entered the room.
The sight of him sent a frisson of alarm skittering down her spine, but she stiffened that spine. He couldn’t hurt her tonight. She was perfectly safe here, at least.
Thornton looked terribly uncomfortable in his evening clothes, which gratified Elizabeth to no end. She wanted to see him far more than uncomfortable, but this would do for the moment. David greeted him, and Gideon shook his hand, although without much enthusiasm, Elizabeth noted. Mrs. Vanderslice also went to welcome him. Then David brought him to the sofa where Elizabeth and Anna sat.
“You remember my sister, Anna,” David said. “And may I present my fiancée, Elizabeth Miles?”
Not wanting to touch him, Elizabeth kept her hands primly folded in her lap, but she nodded politely. “A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Thornton. I believe we owe you our gratitude for your help in Virginia.”
“I was happy to be of assistance, Miss Miles,” he said with his smarmy smile. It still made her skin crawl, but she held his gaze without flinching. “And your young man is going to return the favor many times over.”
Elizabeth was spared having to reply by the sound of the doorbell.
“That will be the general,” Mrs. Vanderslice said. She sounded more resigned than happy that the guest of honor had arrived.
Everyone turned to the doorway except Thornton. He leaned in a bit closer and whispered, “This deal better go through, or you and your brother will both be sorry.”
Elizabeth instinctively recoiled, but she somehow managed a smile, as if he’d said something pleasant.
Only Anna had seen the exchange, although she couldn’t have heard what he said. She knew the danger Thornton posed, however, and she immediately came to Elizabeth’s rescue. “Mr. Thornton, allow me to add my thanks to Elizabeth’s. You can’t know how grateful we are to be free from that horrible place.”
“It was my pleasure, Miss Vanderslice.”
“General,” David said a bit too loudly, which mercifully drew Thornton’s attention away from the two women. He instantly left them to meet the newly arrived guest.
“Oh my,” Anna whispered to her. “David said the general was imposing, but I had no idea.”
Indeed, the general seemed to fill the room with his presence. He was a magnificent figure in his evening clothes, holding himself perfectly erect and with his silver hair gleaming in the electric lamplight. He bowed over Mrs. Vanderslice’s hand and told her he’d taken her for David’s sister.
Then he pumped Thornton’s hand and told him how pleased he was to meet him. When David brought him over to them, Elizabeth and Anna instinctively rose. Anna gave him her hand and blushed at his lavish compliments. Then he turned to Elizabeth, who offered her hand as well while David made the introductions. The general’s grip was surprisingly gentle.
“My opinion of Vanderslice just improved immensely,” the general said, his blue eyes sparkling. “He must be quite a man to have won your heart, young lady.”
“Surely you already suspected as much, General.”
“A man likes to be sure, Miss Miles.” He turned back to David. “I can see I was right to insist on having ladies present. The evening is always more pleasant with them in attendance.”
“Are you a married man yourself, General?” Mrs. Vanderslice asked.
“I’m afraid not. I lost my beloved wife many years ago.”
This news perked Mrs. Vanderslice up immediately. “I’m so sorry to hear it. I know how lonely that can be, since I lost my dear husband, too.”
The two of them commiserated for a while, and then the maid came to tell them dinner was ready to be served. The general escorted his hostess, while David instructed Thornton to take Anna into the dining room. Then he paired Gideon with Elizabeth and followed them alone.
Elizabeth almost would have preferred being paired with Thornton.
“How do you find the general?” Gideon asked.
“He’s charming.”
“With the ladies, certainly.”
“But not with the gentlemen?”
“Not that I’ve noticed, but then he doesn’t have to be, does he?”
“I suppose he has to drive a hard bargain for the rifles.”
“Not really. He’s not spending his own money, and people tend to be less careful with other people’s money.”
“But it’s not other people’s money. It’s the government’s money.”
He gave her a pitying look. “Where do you think the government gets its money?”
Elizabeth had never thought of it at all. “From . . . uh . . . I really have no idea.”
“From taxes. Which the government collects from people like you and me.”
Elizabeth had never paid taxes in her life, but she decided not to mention it. “Is that true?”
“I told you, I don’t lie. And yes, it’s very true. The only money the government has is what it takes from its citizens. So you and I are paying for Thornton’s rifles and everything else the government buys.”
Which sounded like the biggest con of all. She couldn’t mention that to Gideon, though.
“Then the general should be more careful with our money.”
“Be sure to mention that to him, will you?”
“What are you saying to make Elizabeth frown like that?” David asked when they reached the dining room.