Page 12 of Estelle’s Ardent Admirer (The Bookshop Belles #1)
CHAPTER 12
Felix Esteems Estelle
F elix waited outside St John’s Church in Hatfield with his grandfather and great-aunt, eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Baxter sisters. One of them in particular. For a moment he wondered if he’d overfed and overtired them last night and they’d slept through. That would be very poor form on his part.
At last, they came into view, and Felix hurried forward with an eager smile. “Miss Baxter, I'd be honoured if you, your sisters and Mrs Poole would join us in the Ferndale pew. There is plenty of room for everyone.”
Mrs Poole shook her head but then smiled, “I have a… ah… another pew.”
She darted off in another direction to join a small huddle of friends waiting outside.
“Have I offended her in some way?” He felt terrible that he might have.
Estelle shook her head reassuringly, leaned a little closer and said, “She doesn’t get much time to socialise.”
“Ah, I see,” he said, giving Estelle another smile. Relief flooded him. Then he also wondered, “Would you, ah, rather socialise as well?”
Estelle beamed joy back at him, and his heart soared. “I would very much enjoy sitting in the Ferndale Pew with you and Lord Ferndale and Miss Yates. That will be very pleasant socialising for me, and my sisters!”
For the first time perhaps, she wasn’t resisting. Estelle had readily agreed at his first suggestion. He wondered briefly if the sisters had talked about him with Estelle last night, after he’d retired for the night to his room in the Red Lion. They were all looking at him now as they stood about in the church gardens. Louise leaned over to murmur something into Bernadette’s ear which made Bernadette laugh, her eyes sparkling as she hastily covered her mouth with her hand.
“Miss Baxter.” Lord Ferndale smiled warmly as he stepped closer. Felix beamed at how amicable things were between them now; his grandfather would be pleased, he was sure. “So good to see you. Has my scapegrace grandson been improving your opinion of him?”
“Mr Yates is enthusiastic in his efforts,” Estelle said diplomatically.
Felix wanted to groan with frustration at this non-answer.
He’d thought she was warming up to him!
Grandpapa laughed good-naturedly, which only made Felix feel a little queasy.
The bells ceased ringing at that moment, which was the signal for everyone to make their way inside the church. Estelle walked sedately at his side, nodding to friends and acquaintances as they passed, and Felix saw not a few people’s eyes widen as he led the Baxter sisters to the Ferndale pew at the very front of the church. Matrons leaned in to each other to whisper, heads wagging sagely, and he felt Estelle’s palm stiffen where it rested on his arm.
Her smile remained gracious, but he thought she seemed tense. “We are creating a stir, it seems,” he said lightly as they took their seats.
“My sisters and I are the subject of enough gossip in Hatfield, Mr Yates. Our respectability…”
“What could be more respectable than attending church in the invited company of the most respected family in the area?” he asked gently.
She looked as though she might have been about to say something else, but the Reverend Millings’s wife sat down at the organ and played the opening bars of the first hymn. It was time to stand up and sing, so he would not be able to keep up a conversation.
Delightful song filled his ears. The Baxter sisters’ voices carried the melodies rather beautifully. Of course, he was completely biassed, but he was sure Estelle’s tune was the prettiest of all of them. Heaven help him - and he was in the right place for that kind of help - he’d become completely enamoured with Miss Estelle Baxter.
He’d been truthful when he’d told her she was the first woman he’d seriously considered courting. But when had that serious consideration started? Not when they were jesting at dinner, and not when he’d failed to purchase the books.
Perhaps it was while hunting for the cat? He truly couldn’t pinpoint the moment when his initial interest had turned to esteem.
He hadn’t known Miss Baxter long, but he already admired Estelle as a woman who took things seriously and considerately. She cared deeply for her family and friends and appeared to want the best for everyone. And she was so dashed pretty to gaze upon. He hoped his voice was up to the challenge of matching hers as they reached the second verse. Their fingers came into contact as they both tried to turn the page in the hymn book they shared. A spark ignited at her touch.
He caught a blush in her cheeks and wondered if she’d felt the spark too.
The Reverend Silas Millings’s fire and brimstone sermon might have struck fear into many townspeople, but Felix was too full of happiness to let the words settle into his brain and dampen his spirits. Beside him, Miss Baxter tilted her head down like a penitent woman. It wasn’t until he angled his eyes further that he saw the edges of her lips canted in a wry smile.
Mirth rippled through his body. He had to look away quickly, lest he laugh in church. He might well be the heir to a barony, but his name would be mud if he committed such a sin as mocking their spiritual leader.
The sermon seemed to go on forever. And did the reverend really believe everything he was saying, about Woman being put on Earth to tempt Man from holiness? It had been quite a while since Felix had read the Bible, but he was fairly sure there was something in there about Lucifer disguised as a snake being the original tempter. Felix looked at the vicar’s wife, sitting on the stool in front of the organ with her hands folded demurely in her lap and her eyes fixed on the floor, and felt sorry for the poor woman. She looked beaten down, as if she never had a reason to smile.
The reverend wasn’t even an interesting speaker; he droned on and on and Felix felt his eyelids beginning to drift. The church was quite warm in the middle of summer, packed with people as it was. He pinched himself on the hand, trying to stay awake, and heard a tiny muffled choke beside him. Estelle had spotted the gesture and was smothering a laugh, her eyes sparkling with amusement when he glanced at her. Glancing past Estelle, he was fairly sure at least one of her sisters was asleep, though - Marie’s head was resting against Louise’s shoulder and her eyes were closed, shaded by her bonnet.
Reverend Millings thundered something about women being a temptation to men’s eyes, and Felix bit back his own smile and returned his gaze to the front of the church. Yes, Estelle was very tempting to his eyes.
Eventually, the sermon came to its long-winded conclusion and Felix gave Estelle another mirthful glance and a mouthed “ Finally! ” She made a soft shush noise as the sermon started up again. It wasn’t over at all - the man of the cloth had merely stopped to sip water before launching into his second act.
This was interminable. He cast a glance at Grandpapa and noticed he had a fixed stare at the wall behind the vicar. For all he knew, his grandfather may have perfected the art of falling asleep with his eyes open.
There were some positive moments, however. Felix was grateful for so many people lowering their heads in prayer, so that he might also catch glimpses of Estelle blushing gently each time he peeked her way.
At long last the vicar concluded his rhetoric and the choir stood again to lead the congregation in a hymn. Felix was glad of it; he’d been seated so long his posterior was growing quite numb. Thankfully, it did not itch at all, and he was once again exceedingly glad to have the assistance of the Baxter sisters in that regard.
He should suggest to his great-aunt that she obtain a few more cushions for the Ferndale pew, he thought, as the service came to its end.Despite his boredom and his sore posterior, Felix found himself almost wishing the Vicar had kept talking, so that he might spend more time next to this delightful woman.
Estelle and her sisters thanked his grandfather and great-aunt, and the group made their way down the aisle into the sunshine outside to chat with friends.
Blinking into the sun streaming through the doors, he couldn’t help thinking St John’s Church, Hatfield, would be a beautiful place to get married. Perhaps with a different vicar officiating, so that he didn’t fall asleep at his own wedding.
Felix was standing in the doorway, about to take the steps down to the front lawn, when his grandfather and Reverend Millings caught him up in a conversation about raising funds for church roof repairs. Torn between loyalty to his grandfather, who would most likely be pressed most sternly for delivering the funds, and wanting to be with Estelle on this lovely day, Felix remained in position. He may have been standing beside his grandfather and looking at the vicar, but his ears were sternly trained toward the direction of Estelle. He felt rather like a hound straining at the leash, desperate to be released to pursue his quarry, and smiled privately to himself.
A woman’s voice he didn’t immediately recognise said something about, “a disgrace.”
Oh dear! He feigned a cough and looked her way. With a sinking stomach, he realised it was Estelle’s cousin, the ghastly Mrs Baxter, who’d made a royal nuisance of herself at the Assembly two nights ago, determined to fling her friends and their daughters at Felix, and obviously just as keen to ensure he stayed well away from Estelle. Mrs Baxter’s husband was with her, and from their postures and finger waving, they were thoroughly annoyed with Estelle for some reason.
Perhaps they were simply like that, though, and maybe they didn’t need a reason?
“Yes, of course,” he said hastily to Reverend Millings. “We shall make this our top priority.” He wanted to end this conversation immediately, but Reverend Millings took this as an opportunity to launch a new tirade about the ungodliness spreading through Hatfield.
Blocking out the Reverend’s sonorous tones, his ears picked up the higher register of Estelle’s cousin, Mrs Baxter, almost shrieking as she wagged her finger under Estelle’s nose.
“You do not belong in the Ferndale pew, you encroaching baggage! You are nothing more than a shopkeeper, you should know your place!”
His pulse thumped in his head and his hands clenched in silent fury.
“Excuse me,” he said to both older men and walked away without a backwards glance. Estelle was in turmoil and he needed to intervene. Behind him, he heard the vicar say something in outraged tones, and Lord Ferndale’s dry response of; “Since my grandson is not in charge of the disbursement of funds from Ferndale yet, I do not believe he is required in this conversation, Reverend. Shall we continue?”
Bless you, Grandfather, Felix thought silently, and quickened his pace.
Mrs Baxter finished her tirade before he reached Estelle and stalked off with her nose in the air, her hand on her husband’s arm. Should he go after them and give him a piece of his mind? No, that would have to wait. Estelle’s agonised expression and tear-filled eyes cut him to the quick. He wanted to throw his arms around her, but mindful there must be close to fifty people within clear sight of them, he held his arms by his sides and stood stiffly in front of her.
“I got here as fast as I could, but I am too late. I am so sorry.”
“Oh dear,” Estelle sniffed, pressing her hand against her mouth, ducking her head in obvious hopes those around them wouldn’t see her tears.
He handed her his freshly-pressed handkerchief.
She dabbed her eyes and asked, “How much did you hear?”
“Enough to know they are not worthy to clean your boots!” He was furious. How dare the Baxters judge her? How dare they judge his right to invite whomever he pleased to join his family at church?
She gave a shaky laugh-sob and dabbed her face again.
“I shall give them a piece of my mind!” he said, moving away to give chase.
She grabbed his sleeve and pulled him back. “Don’t, please. It will only make things worse. And anyway, they aren’t wrong. I am merely a shopkeeper.”
“Miss Baxter, you are worth ten of your cousins, any fool can see that.”
She sighed and dabbed the last drops from her eyes. Then she gave him a small smile and returned his handkerchief.
“Keep it.”
She sniffed and tucked it into her sleeve. “Thank you. You’re very kind, Mr Yates - as you always are.”
“You do realise,” Felix said hopefully, “that if you were Mrs Yates, your rightful place would be in the Ferndale pew.”
He bit his lip and held his breath as he watched her expression. She said nothing for a moment, but to his immense pleasure, she appeared to be giving his suggestion deep consideration. Might she actually be about to say yes? She had looked almost as if she might, yesterday morning in the bookshop when she was looking at that document, before he stepped in the mouse entrails.
“Ah, Felix!” Lord Ferndale said as he approached, Miss Yates on his arm.
He glanced up. His grandfather and great-aunt were only a few steps away. And they were also ruining the mood. He loved them both dearly, but at that moment he wished them both far, far away.