Chapter Two

Evangeline stepped off the path, her feet crunching the dried leaves underfoot. She'd been curious about what was in the woods for years. She could hear the soft lapping of the lake water on its shores, and the rustle of the breeze through the leaves of the trees. The forest looked almost like something out of a fairy tale; it was beautiful and scary at the same time.

Suddenly she heard another rustle behind her, and she was sure it was not her own feet. Spinning, she gasped as she saw the end of a cloak as it whipped around the edge of a tree just a few feet away. Sprinting, she whirled around to see who—or what—it was. Looking up, she saw the brown fabric lash around another tree. She ran to that one also, but this time it was gone.

Evangeline touched the keys of her piano gently. Her keyboard had been through so many years with her, but she longed to play a real piano. She even had fantasies of playing a grand piano. Flipping through her new classical piano book, she picked a song by Handel and began playing through it.

The phone startled her. Hardly anybody but her parents knew her cottage phone number, and she wondered what they wanted. "Hello?"

"Evangeline," said a deep voice, "I'm sorry if I pried too much last night. I felt bad the whole time after I asked all those questions."

In a rush, she realized it was Daron. She smiled. "No, no. It's not your fault at all. I just have never told anyone about how I love to draw, that's all, and it was a bit of a shock to suddenly tell someone about all of it."

"Okay," he sighed. "I was worried that I'd scared you off."

Evangeline decided to ignore his odd wording. Scared me off? "No. And how did you get my number, anyway?"

"Oh, well, I called your sister. I know her phone number." Again Evangeline decided not to ask how he knew Eliana's number. She just figured it would be safer to let it go.

"Well, I appreciate you calling me," Evangeline said for lack of anything else to mention. "And thanks again for giving me a ride last night." She figured—or hoped—that would be the past of the conversation.

But he persisted. "Listen, Evangeline." He took a breath. "I was wondering if you might want to come over tonight and have dinner with my family." The words came out in a rush, as if they'd been building pressure inside him throughout the entire conversation.

"Oh," was all she could manage in reply.

His question shocked her. She was never the twin to receive invitations from men—it was always Eliana. No man had ever wanted to date her. A lyric from one of her favorite songs came to mind whenever she thought of her sister: I've watched you glow, and I've stood in your shadow. All of the men always saw the star, not the sky; the sun, not the earth; the light bulb but not the Christmas tree. Whenever the two sisters stood in the same room, most eyes went to Eliana, never interested in 'the other one'.

"I—I don't know, Daron," Evangeline stammered, suddenly nervous about what she was going to say. She'd never considered him as more than a friend, that was for sure. She was almost as sure about her feelings for him: he wasn't for her. But would she risk just one night with him to make sure, confirm those feelings? "I don't know," she repeated, not knowing what else to say.

"You don't know?"

Evangeline almost smiled, thinking of how ironic it would be for her to answer with I don't know again. "You mean, come to your house, for dinner, with your family, as in a—"

"It doesn't have to be a date!" he rushed on, interrupting her before she could continue. She grinned at being caught in mid-sentence for the third time twenty-four hours. "Look, it can just be as friends. We can decide tonight whether we want to change that fact or not."

She smiled, thinking he'd read her mind. "That's exactly what I was going to propose." Evangeline winced, thinking the word 'propose' was probably not a good choice, considering she was trying to let him know that they were just friends, but continued anyway, "So yes, that sounds good to me."

"I'll see you tonight? I'll pick you up at six o' clock?" he asked, obviously eager. Too eager?

"Yes. Talk to you later, Daron." Evangeline half-smiled as she returned the phone to its cradle.

Eliana was shocked to hear that her sister had a date that night, and with someone her father had wanted to pair up with her only a year ago! Yes, Mr. Winter had worked nearly nonstop just to get his favorite twin to simply consider a date with Daron, but had given up on that possibility when she'd decided to make her relationship with Richard official. Her parents had been delighted with him as well.

"Oh, won't Daddy be delighted," sighed Eliana, looking into her mirror. "His two daughters are dating the two men he would have picked out for them." She frowned. "But why would Daron go for Evangeline? He hadn't even attempted to get me yet."

"Do you want him to attempt?" asked Richard with a frown. He was sitting on the bed, slipping off his shoes.

"Of course not," Eliana answered with a coy smile. "I just thought for sure he would at least try to get a date with me before going for second best." She shrugged. "I guess he figured he just couldn't do it and gave up before even trying."

"He was right, wasn't he?" Richard asked again.

Eliana grinned. "Yes. I just find it insulting that he wouldn't even attempt—"

"I don't," Richard stated, looking directly at her with a wolfish grin.

She pouted. "Don't do that, now." Suddenly, Richard could almost see the light bulb above her head as her eyes lit, and she returned his smirk. "I just wonder if I led him on, would he follow?"

Evangeline heard him knock at six o' clock on the dot. She hadn't decided on anything fancy, but instead walked out of her cabin on Daron's arm wearing a simple skirt and blouse. If this surprised him, he didn't let on but opened the car door for her without comment.

"So, what other surprise hobbies do you have that you haven't told me of?" Daron asked as he settled back into his seat and started the engine.

She stiffened. "None, really." She didn't feel good about lying to him, but it was what he got when he decided to pry. "Just drawing."

"There must be something besides art that you enjoy doing," Daron insisted. "Is that all you do?"

Evangeline sighed. "I like to read."

"Really?" Daron raised his eyebrows. "I enjoyed reading when I was in school, but nowadays I can't really find the time for it."

"I've got plenty of time, so I guess it makes sense."

"Well, those two hobbies do go together. Reading used to always trigger my imagination, and sometimes I wished I could draw the pictures is my mind." He said these words with a shrug. It sounded to her like a confession, but he said it without hesitation.

"Yes, that's one of the reasons why I love to read," agreed Evangeline, hoping the car ride wouldn't be too long; she didn't know if she could stand a fifteen-minute drive with Daron. That meant a fifteen-minute conversation with him also.

They spent the rest of the drive to his house chatting about different artists, and Evangeline had to resist herself. She like talking about her favorite artists, but most of all she loved discussing her favorite classical music composers. She knew the complete histories of Chopin, Mozart, Beethoven, Handel, and such. She'd spent much of her teen years reading about them, entranced by their music and the lives they'd led. It was their stories that inspired her to become what she dreamed, no matter of her background or her parents or her emotions. But telling Daron about her knowledge of these composers would mean telling him of her love of piano. He knew too much already, and in case he told her parents…

Daron's parents were wonderful, completely polite and she might have called them angels. Everything seemed to be in perfect order, like heaven. Each of his siblings politely excused themselves from the dinner table, and with Daron being the oldest, he and Evangeline were the last ones to leave other than his parents.

"The backyard is beautiful this time of year," said Daron. "Just about everything is in bloom, and it won't last much longer, maybe a week or two." He grinned and offered her an elbow. "Would you do me the honor of allowing me to accompany you on a leisurely stroll through the garden?"

Evangeline saw that he'd been right. The garden was majestic, blooming with hundreds of colors and seemingly millions of different flowers. "Your house is the perfect picture of a medieval castle." She cocked her head to the side. "No, it's more of an old Victorian mansion. You've got all of the old furniture, even a hand-carved dining table. Even your family behaves so chivalrous, it's amazing. Your brothers and sisters have impeccable manners, by the way."

"I'll tell them you said so," Daron smiled, and then sighed. "Yes, you're right. Mother has us all behaving like perfect little angels. It is like living as princes and princesses, we have tutors and lessons and personal maids and tailors. We have servants that work in the kitchens and it seems like endless money. But to tell you the truth, Evangeline, I wish I lived a normal life. You get sick of the false pretenses and facades of compassion and benevolence."

Evangeline frowned, and they turned a corner to look off a balcony.

"Those are the lower gardens, the ones that gather around the river. We can go down there after we watch the sunset; I love watching it from here," he leaned onto the railing to look off into the distance. "You might think my family is perfect; they're not. The charades they play just make it all worse. My mother and father have come close to getting a divorce several times, and I think the one thing that has actually kept them together is their reputation. What would the people think? What would happen to their social status? Who cares about the family, the kids?"

Evangeline drew her brows together, not sure what to think or say. "I'm very sorry, Daron." Here he was, telling her all these things, and she was speechless. Surely she could think of something else to say.

"I've gotten used to the thought," he smiled. "I'm sorry; I'm making you uncomfortable, aren't I?"

"Not at all," Evangeline murmured. "In fact, you're making me feel much better about my family." There was silence after these words, as if he was waiting for her to elaborate, but she said no more. No, she'd already told him too much. What if something happened and their friendship broke? He would have the power to go and tell her family, her sister or her parents all of the things she'd told him. No, she couldn't leave herself vulnerable to all that.

Meanwhile, while both of the young people were lost in their separate thoughts, the sun was quickly descending into the earth. It was if the glowing yellow circle was melting into the horizon, shooting metallic rays of orange, red, gold, scarlet, and yellow into the darkening sky. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

Evangeline nodded in agreement. "I wish I could paint it." She shut her mouth abruptly, wishing she could take those words back. She hadn't meant to say them, they'd just slipped out. Sighing, she buried her forehead in her palm and leaned into the balcony railing. The strangest feeling engulfed her, like she was being sucked into a black hole, unable to escape. What had she gotten herself into?

"What's wrong?" Daron's voice cut into her thoughts.

"Nothing," she answered quickly, breathlessly, turning toward him. "Daron, could you take me home?"

He nodded, his brow knit together and his expression questioning, but he didn't ask about her sudden request. He led her down the balcony stairs and through a side gate, opening his car door for her. The minutes passed by slowly until the silence was broken. "Evangeline…"

"I don't know," she answered, knowing the question he was going to ask.

"Was it something I said, that I did?" he asked, not willing to give up.

"Of course not," she said. "It has nothing to do with you." She smiled at the common line she'd just used. "It's just that I barely know you and yet I've shared one of my deepest secrets with you already. I feel like I've given a huge part of me away, like I've been left vulnerable just because I don't have control over that one secret anymore."

"Your secret… the one about drawing and painting?" when she nodded, he continued with his questions, "What's so secret about your knack for art?"

Evangeline shrugged, and he put his car into park. "If you remember, I've already told you about my family. Believe it or not, I haven't told anyone about who they really are. So you have dirt on me, too."
He got out and opened her door for her. "Well, I promise I won't tell anyone."

"You promise? Evangeline held her breath.

"I promise."

That night, Evangeline sat in front of her easel, trying to picture exactly what the sunset looked like from Daron's balcony. Instead, her mind kept playing images of the past few days, many of them including Daron. He'd been kind to her; it wasn't what she'd expected. Everything in her past, in her childhood, had told her to expect something else.

Like the man she'd dated in high school. Brad had been everything she'd ever dreamed. He was interested in art, and even though she was home schooled and they didn't go to school together, they'd met at an art class at one of the community colleges. It was a junior college course she'd taken in secret, paying for it with her own money. Her parents always deposited money in her account monthly, but also kept track of her withdrawals and checks and where she spent her credit card.

Eager to have a male interested in her, Evangeline had been too swift to trust. Even though they'd held much in common and became good friends, she'd still left her heart vulnerable to being broken. Brad showed interest in her, even asked her out on a few dates, enough to get her paranoid about how she looked and felt around him. On every date she was wondering if he was going to hold her hand, if he was going to kiss her. Every second of the time she was around him, she was worried about how her hair looked. Any time he put her on the spot or asked her a question, she would panic and her voice would go shaky for fear of saying something to embarrass herself.

Brad left for another girl in the art class. Evangeline wondered constantly why, but she knew the answer. She'd been too worried about it, had cared too much. If she had just been herself things would have gone much better.

It isn't worth it. That's what she told herself from then on when it came to guys. They weren't worth the fuss over looking nice, over saying the right thing, over wondering what they were going to do. It was much better to just act normal and pretend not to notice anything. Just be yourself. That was what she constantly told herself, until she didn't care.

But now she was stuck when it came to Daron. She didn't want to care about what he thought. She didn't want to care about what she looked like, and more than that, she didn't want to leave herself exposed in case he hurt her, just like Brad had. If she let herself go, let them get to know each other, it would leave him able to break her heart with a flick of his wrist. It was like he would be holding her heart in his hand, and if she was going to let anyone do that, it would have to be someone she could trust.

Could she trust Daron?

Daron had nearly poured out his heart for her today on the balcony. He'd told her things that he hadn't told anyone else; they were even. A secret for a secret. But he also knew her well, knew that she wouldn't tell anyone even if he turned into a jerk. The blackmail wouldn't work, and even if he told her secret to everyone in the world she didn't know if she could muster the strength to tell his confession and therefore ruin his family's reputation for good.

The phone rang, and Evangeline realized she'd been sitting there for nearly half an hour without even lifting the paint brush. "Hello?"

"I hope I can see you again," Daron answered, knowing it would be her to lift the phone from its cradle. "I didn't scare you off today, did I?"

"You act like I'm some sort of wild animal that would run awayat the slightest lift of a finger," Evangeline laughed softly under her breath. "No, you didn't scare me off. In fact, I was going to call sometime tomorrow to ask a question."

"Is it a question that you can ask me now? I've got time."

"Uh," Evangeline hesitated, "Well, I wanted to know if your sunset is as beautiful as it was this evening every day."

"These days, yeah it is. I like to watch it every evening. Why, you got something in mind?" Daron asked, his voice quickly turning teasing. "I'm good company when it comes to watching the sun go down, aren't I?"

"The best," laughed Evangeline. She suddenly wished she hadn't asked about the sunset. What good would it do her, anyway? He would want to watch her, and she didn't know if she could handle someone watching her—

"Your question?"

"Oh," Evangeline sighed. "You know how I said today that I wanted to paint it? I would like to look at it again, only with my easel in front of me, but—"

"Of course you can. Why don't you come over for dinner tomorrow night again, and we'll try and get done early so you can set up on the balcony in time to see it in full force," Daron suggested. His voice went low. "Look, I know you're pretty skeptic when it comes to your art. I wouldn't have to be there. I could go inside and leave you to your painting."

Evangeline was surprised by his kindness, so taken aback and thankful for his compassion that she blurted, "No! That's fine, and I thank you for thinking of that. But I suppose that you knowing about my painting is as good as you watching me paint. Besides, you could give me tips as I go along." She nearly gasped at her sudden rush of words. Again, it was something she hadn't intended or predicted.

Daron laughed breathily. "That's great. So I'll pick you up about a half hour earlier tomorrow night?"

"Sounds good. Talk to you later, Daron, and thanks again."

Evangeline took her easel, something that hadn't even been outside her cabin since she'd bought it, and set it up just in front of the balcony railing in almost exactly the same spot she'd stood with Daron the evening before. The sky before her was just beginning to send out rays of gold and yellow.

"I don't know how I'm going to be able to capture the beauty of all of that," she gestured to the horizon before her, "on a blank page like this."

"I've never seen you paint before, but somehow I get the idea that you're going to make the white paper into something as beautiful—and possibly more beautiful—than the actual sunset," Daron said, standing behind her and watching the glowing sun make its path down to the horizon. "Did you bring watercolors or oil paints?"

"Watercolors, and I'll see how it works out. If not, I can always come back tomorrow evening, can't I?"

"Of course you're always welcome on my balcony," Daron grinned, setting his hands on her shoulders.

Evangeline had to resist the tingling in her spine at his touch. It was the first time he'd even laid a hand on her, other than shaking it in greeting or an accidental brushing of arms. The thought that this touch was on purpose made her smile, and not just at the fact that he'd practically invited her to his house any time.

"I've never painted a sunset before," Evangeline stated. "I don't really know where to begin." But she began, mixing her hot colors together to create the same hues as she saw before her. Next, she sat memorizing the picture in her head, just in case she couldn't finish it before dark.

The blue sky near the horizon burst into glorious colors, just as beautiful as yesterday's sunset. And she began painting, not at all sure how it would turn out.

"It's beautiful, just as beautiful as the sunset," Daron commented when she finally sat back, an hour later with her subject long gone.

"It's okay," she said, "considering I've been painting by the light coming from the living room inside." She took the hair tie from her hair that she'd tied back before painting and let it loose. "I should have just gone inside."

"My siblings would have just crowded around you. You never would've been able to concentrate," Daron said with a low chuckle.

Evangeline took the painting from the easel, making sure not to smudge any of the paint with her fingers, and set the large paper wrapped around cardboard against Daron's leg before taking down the easel and putting her paints away. When she'd gathered up all she'd brought, she gave her easel to Daron so she could take her painting with her down to the car. She knew he didn't want the night to be over just yet, considering it wasn't even eight o' clock yet, and she realized she felt the same way.

Daron went over and sat down on the bench near the fountain that sat in the center of the circle drive, and she followed suit, running her fingers through her hair almost nervously. "Hey, thanks for letting me use your balcony."

"Haven't I heard that statement more than once?" Daron teased.

She crossed her legs. "I guess you have. But I really am thankful to get away from my poor cottage. We're both sick of each other."

He laughed in response.

"I would like to get a job, though," sighed Evangeline, toying with the edge of her blouse.

Daron frowned and tensed, just as she'd predicted. "Why would you get a job?" The only people that had jobs in their social circle of 'rich' families were the fathers and perhaps the sons when they got older. Even then the sons helped out with the family business.

"Because I'm bored around my cabin," Evangeline shrugged. "I mean, if there is anything going on at the big house, Eliana's going to be the one invited to it. I never have anything to do with the stuff happening there, except for the weekly dinners I'm required to attend, and in lady-like attire."

"Get a job," Daron said, still shocked, "as in like get a separate job… not in your father's business? I seriously doubt that you're going to go to college to be a lawyer just to get a job with your father."

"I wouldn't want to work with my father anyway," she answered, waving away his comment and pretending not to notice his astonishment. "No, I'm thinking like a job teaching art at the community college. There are so many barriers with that though…"

Daron shrugged. "I doubt your parents would approve."

"I remind you, they don't even know I draw or anything. They think I have mental difficulties because I don't have any talents," she grumbled. "At least not any talents that I've shown them." She hadn't meant to tell him about what her parents thought about her. Like everything before, it had just slipped out.

She could tell Daron didn't know quite what to say. He mumbled, "I'm sorry. I didn't know that your parents were like that."

"Nope, you didn't. Nobody knows," she crossed her arms. "And like I said before, they hardly know anything about me. So I would have to get the job in secret, and that would mean asking for my checks in cash, because I can't cash any checks at the bank, or deposit anything. They would find out and ask me what it's about."

"Oh," Daron said, clearly confused at her admission.

"Look, things are very different at my house," Evangeline said in a hurry. "Just like you've mentioned to me, things are not great like they should be at your house, either. I was surprise, just as you are surprised now." She sighed. "I guess sometimes people like us don't have it as good as it may seem."

She sits there and talks to him like a rich person, like someone of money. She dresses well-to-do. But one wouldn't know that her hair is naturally curly and silky and shiny like that. She doesn't take weekly visits to the salon, and she doesn't use expensive shampoo and hair care systems. Her nails are perfect because she takes good care of them, not because she gets them replaced with fake ones every two weeks. They are French manicured with the kits you buy from Wal-Mart, done expertly by her own hand every week.

Her clothes are purchased by her own money, except of course for the ones she wears out of the house. Those ones her mother buys for her to look nice in order to keep the family reputation unspoiled. She wears no makeup except on family dinner days. But in my opinion? She looks the same, no better—maybe worse—with makeup on. Beautiful.

Her manner of speaking betrays years of being tutored at home, professionally. Her elegant handwriting speaks of pages and pages of drills. And nobody except me would know that she speaks fluent French but has taken years of classes in Italian cooking at the community college with her own money. Nobody would know but me where she gets that money—from the time she volunteered at a local Italian restaurant. They'd decided to hire her on the weekends, and they paid her well because of the knowledge she'd gathered of Italian cooking from books and classes. Little did they know that she'd never cooked an entire meal before because her little kitchen hadn't allowed it.

Nobody would know but me where she goes when she says she's going out with some friends—to the kids' theatre to watch them perform. Someday I believe she will be painting the backdrops for them.

No, this rich girl is not like the rest. Her secrets remain plenty, more than anyone can imagine. She's got a story to tell. She's got a mind unbelievably capable of wonders, all the while pretending to be nothing but mentally disabled, only because that's what her parents have come to expect when it comes to her—only because that's all they've ever wanted to expect when it comes to her.