by Jane Lark
Jane fixed a false smile, applying all the skill she’d learned from the house of Sutton, and responded dismissively. “It was a foolish disagreement. It wasn’t his fault.”
“I will speak to him—” Geoff began, but she touched his arm.
“No. Please, don’t. It really was not his fault. It was mine, and that is an end to it. I do not wish to discuss it further. May we go now, please?”
Violet pressed Jane’s shoulder then said she was tired anyway.
~
Jane sat alone at the breakfast table with the headache and red-rimmed eyes, which Meg had failed to cure with a solution of witch hazel.
Violet had already eaten.
Selford approached, bearing a silver tray. A sealed letter lay on it.
Jane’s fingers shook when she picked it up. She slid her cup of coffee away. Her nervous stomach had not been able to face food. She broke the seal and felt it crack loose.
As Selford backed away, her eyes scanned the neat, sharp script.
It was the writ Joshua had threatened last night. A notice advising the will was in dispute.
The only solicitor she knew was Hector’s. He was the one who’d written the will. She could hardly go to him. It seemed the moment had come for her to brave sharing her humiliation. She had no choice.
Last night, when she hadn’t been able to sleep, she’d come down to borrow a book from Violet’s small library, and as she’d passed the drawing room, she’d heard Violet and Geoff talking in hushed voices.
Violet had spoken of her concern for Jane. Violet knew something was wrong, and she thought Robert’s desertion a part of it. She’d told Geoff she wished Jane would tell her what was wrong.
Well now, Jane would. “Where is Lady Rimes, Selford?”
“I believe my Lady is in the garden, Your Grace.”
Jane rose before a footman could move forward to withdraw her chair. It was about time she dared to trust someone again.
~
The good weather had held for another three weeks. The heat in the city was scorching at midday, but now it was late afternoon, and the ton was out en masse to promenade, to see and be seen along Rotten Row in Hyde Park. This was the showground for unmarried ladies, young bucks, and the leaders of fashion. Jane, however, had accompanied Violet simply to stretch her legs and seek a change of scenery. They would have come long before the fashionable hour if it had not been so intolerably hot.
With her parasol resting on her shoulder, as Violet’s was on hers, Jane promenaded across the lawns with her friend towards the Serpentine, and behind them paced two of Violet’s burly footmen, their rearguard, as Violet called them.
Since Vauxhall, Jane’s social life had narrowed.
She’d told Violet all about Hector’s cruelty, and Joshua’s manipulation, and Violet had been her usual, supportive self. She had helped Jane find a solicitor and plan out what to do. The only help that Jane had refused was an offer to have Geoff speak to Robert and explain. But Jane had not wished either Geoff or Robert involved. Geoff was too much of a stranger and if Robert could misjudge her so badly, why should she care to tell him the truth? And besides, Robert might get some silly notion in his head about duelling if she did.
So instead Violet and Jane had mapped out a defensive strategy themselves, including Violet’s new “rearguard”. Moreover, Jane had ceased attending balls, or any event where the Duke of Sutton and dancing might merge, and Violet’s solicitor had obtained a copy of Hector’s will and begun scanning it, looking for potential flaws. But Jane had not returned to her blacks, nor ceased any other social activity. They shopped frequently, as Violet insisted Jane should spend Sutton’s money while she could, and they attended musicals, at-homes, card parties, and supper nights, and overall, apart from the Robert-sized aching hole in Jane’s chest, life was comparably quite good.
She had not seen Robert since Vauxhall. And she’d resisted the urge to ask Geoff how Robert was.
“What will you do this evening while I am out with Geoff? I do so hate leaving you alone,” Violet said as they walked away from the hubbub of Rotten Row.
“Read probably. I am not at all bothered to be left behind, and I am sure Geoff must be weary of my presence.”
“Nonsense. Geoff likes you as well as I do. He enjoys your company.”
Jane gave her friend a smile, knowing Violet spoke the truth, yet also that Violet’s relationship with Lord Sparks was evolving into something far more intense than a simple affair. Violet had been single for years, and, apparently, she’d never paid quite so much attention to one man. Violet’s feelings seemed to be reciprocated, too, because Lord Sparks was spending less and less time beyond her friend’s immediate sphere.
Violet pointed ahead of them. “Look, is that not Barrington?”
Jane looked forward, and her heart jolted. She stopped. Violet did, too. He was just a few yards away, pacing along the gravel path about the lake where they’d stood some weeks before. A warm longing surged into Jane’s blood, and the hole in her chest filled at the sight of his tall, excellent figure and the proud bearing in his posture.
His hands were clutched behind his back as he walked beside a lanky youth, who was a little taller than Robert’s shoulder. He was listening to the youth’s animated conversation. The boy had the look of a colt, with long legs and arms, as boys did in adolescence when they suddenly sprouted inches in a matter of months. She could remember Robert looking like that.
As Jane watched, another child ran up and wrapped her arms about Robert’s leg, a young girl barely as tall as his thigh, with rich ebony curls tumbling about her face. Giggling, she refused to let go. Then her hands suddenly reached up. Robert bent and picked her up. One of her arms embraced his neck, and she planted a swift kiss on his cheek. Robert tussled her hair. The boy laughed.
Something new and unknown struck in Jane’s chest. Something vicious, cruel, and needy – jealousy and longing. This was just how she’d dreamed things may be so many years ago, for her, with him. Children. A family.
“Do you wish to go?” Violet whispered.
As she spoke, Jane looked to where the girl had come from and saw a man made in Robert’s mould.
Edward, Robert’s brother. The adopted brother of her childhood.
A woman walked with him, her fingers threaded through his, their bodies so in tune their affection was a visible force. His wife was beautiful in an uncommon fashion, slender, dark-haired and blue-eyed. She was the most attractive woman Jane had ever seen. The girl and the youth were both clearly hers.
Just as Jane was about to turn and accept Violet’s suggestion of retreat, Edward’s gaze spun in Jane’s direction, and his eyes widened in surprise. “Good Gracious!” she heard him declare. “If it is not our Jane!”
There was no running now. Jane took a sharp breath and held it, seeking to slow the thump of her racing heart, and continued on down the slight slope. Edward and his wife, their hands still clasped, strode towards her. He grinned broadly.
“Well, well, Jane Coates,” he called as they approached. “I did not know you were in town.”
She made no comment, closing her lips on the hurt that wished to declare Robert knew. That he’d chosen not to tell Edward spoke volumes.
She offered her hand. “Jane Grey now, I’m afraid.”
Edward let his wife’s hand fall, but ignored Jane’s, and, gripping her upper arms, pressed a kiss on her cheek. When he let her go, there was a glint in his eyes, stirring memories of their childhood, and he answered, “Nonsense. You shall always be Jane Coates to me, my surrogate sister.”
She smiled, too, and, looking over his shoulder, saw Robert had turned his back to her. He was skimming stones with the boy. All pleasure at seeing Robert faded. Was he cutting her? Before Edward?
“May I introduce you to my wife?” Edward said. “Jane, my wife, Ellen. Darling, I believe Jane’s full title is now the Dowager Duchess of Sutton.”
The woman’s eyes widened a little
as if the statement meant something more than just an introduction, yet she bent her head and curtsied.
“There is no need for formality,” Jane declared, blushing. “As Edward said, we are as good as family. Just Jane is fine, Ellen.” She offered her hand again, and the woman took it. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Beside Jane, Violet made a little coughing sound.
“Oh, but I am forgetting my manners, you so surprised me, Edward. Lady Rimes, this is Lord Edward Marlow and his wife.” Of course, this time Edward’s greeting was more formal as was his wife’s.
“You will walk with us a while, Jane?” Edward invited. “This weather is so hot, we have brought Mary-Rose out to find a breeze. She is so restless in the heat at home.” Jane glanced over his shoulder to see the girl balanced on Robert’s arm, cheering as her brother skipped a stone half a dozen times.
“Yes, of course,” Jane answered then added loudly, “I am surprised Robert did not mention I was in town.”
“You’ve seen him?” Edward glanced over his shoulder at Robert. “He never mentioned it.” Edward shrugged when he looked back. “But then who am I to be kept informed of his social life? Merely his brother.”
That surprised Jane. It was unlike Edward to criticise Robert. They’d been as thick as thieves as children.
Edward offered his arm to his wife, and Jane and Violet fell into step next to them. They walked along the path leading away from Robert. “Jane was our neighbour as children, Ellen. She spent more time at our hearth than her own. Jane was the daughter my mother craved. You will have seen her miniature at Robert’s country residence. It is amongst the family, just as she was. Such a little bruiser, always trying to prove she could keep up and match our boyish antics.”
“That is not quite how I remember it,” Jane laughed. “As I recall, you were always trying to lose me, and you called me a nuisance.”
“Well, you were.” A bark of laughter left his throat. “But it is good to see you.” He looked at his wife and added, “Jane was married quite young. I’ve not seen her since.”
“Oh.” Ellen smiled in her direction. “Then you should come to dinner. We have no plans this evening. I’m sure Robert shall not mind as you are virtually family.”
“No, I—” Jane began.
But Violet spoke over her attempted refusal. “You are doing nothing else, Jane. How pleasant to have the opportunity to catch up.” The look Violet threw Jane urged her to take the opportunity to patch things up with Robert.
“Robert!” Ellen called back across her shoulder, heedless, if she sensed it, of his reluctance to participate in the happy image of reunion. “Robert!” she persisted.
He glanced over and gave Ellen a quelling glower.
She turned and smiled at Jane. “Wait a moment. I will just secure his agreement.” She then walked back with determined strides.
“If he’s in a mood, she’ll snap him out of it,” Edward stated. “She has more patience than I do with him, and the two of them seem to understand each other in a way he and I cannot.”
“But you were always close.” Jane was surprised by this turn, and her eyes followed the scene behind Edward.
Another pang of sorrow and longing pierced Jane’s heart as Ellen took the girl from Robert. He shrugged. Then his lips parted in a broad, sudden smile. He said something. Ellen laughed. She struck his shoulder with the back of her hand and shook her head. Robert then walked away. Ellen turned back.
Jane met Ellen’s gaze as she approached, smiling. Ellen looked as though she had a deep affection for Robert.
Her son was at her side, as tall as she, and the little girl was still balanced on her hip.
“Robert has remembered something urgent to do. He cannot join us for dinner, but he’s quite happy for me to invite who I like. So, you will, of course, come. You have to tell me all about Edward in his childhood and arm me with more ammunition to taunt these brothers with when they are churlish.”
Jane smiled. How could she not like a woman who was so open-hearted? “I would love to. Thank you. I’ll look forward to it.”
But Edward frowned and glanced back at Robert as he walked away. “He has remembered something urgent?” Edward looked at his wife when he turned back. “What? Is he in a mood?”
Edward’s young daughter held out her hands to her papa. “Uncle Robert promised me an ice.”
Edward’s frown deepened as he took his daughter from Ellen. “And then he disappeared? What is up with him, Ellen?”
Jane felt the heat of a blush as Ellen’s son also complained. “And he’d promised to play backgammon with me … ”
“John,” Ellen admonished. “Your uncle is a busy man when he is in town. He will give you a game tomorrow, I am sure.”
“Uncle Robert does not make promises he cannot keep, but he’s broken two.” The boy’s words sounded arrogant, but his voice said he thought something amiss.
Edward looked at Jane. “I cannot understand him—”
Feeling the heat of a blush, Jane interrupted. “I think it is my fault. We have fallen out.”
While the boy eyed her as though she had three heads, Edward’s eyebrows lifted.
Jane felt her blush burn.
“It does not surprise me,” Edward said, obviously seeking to ease her discomfort. Then, ending that conversation, he smiled. “And I am being extremely rude, I have not yet introduced my son and daughter.”
“John, this is the Dowager Duchess of Sutton. Jane, Lord John Harding, the Marquess of Sayle. He is the heir to Ellen’s father, the Duke of Pembroke.”
Jane remembered Robert mentioning John was to be a Duke. She’d not really registered it then.
“Your Grace,” the boy acknowledged, bowing with perfect manners.
“And this is Lady Rimes, Jane’s friend.” Edward said, glowing with pride. He obviously loved his stepson.
“My Lord,” she and Violet acknowledged.
Jane smiled. This family bore no comparison to the Sutton’s. John seemed charming.
“And this,” Edward stated, his hand running over the little girl’s ebony curls, as she was balanced on his arm, “is my imp of a daughter, Mary-Rose.”
A sharp pain pierced Jane’s breast. She’d given up all hope of children when she’d realised any child born to her would be sentenced to Hector’s imprisonment, too. Now, confronted by this familial scene, that scar tore open.
“I want my ice, Papa,” the child said, looking only at her father.
“You are rude, mite,” John said, holding his hands out to his sister. Again the girl changed her host, now clinging to her brother’s neck. “You have not even said hello to Papa’s friends, and you are asking us to leave them. Are you going to be polite and say hello to these ladies? You must call this lady, Your Grace, and her friend, Lady Rimes.”
The girl made a frustrated face, but then wriggled to be let down before slipping from her brother’s grip and performing a perfect curtsy. “Your Grace, Lady Rimes, good day. My name is Mary-Rose.” Instantly it was done, and her bright smile turned back to her papa. “Now may I have an ice?”
Edward shook his head, but Jane could see the smile he struggled to hide. “Not yet, you must wait a while. I wish to speak with my friend Jane. I shall take you to Gunter’s in a little while if you are good, and patient.”
Edward had taunted Jane more than Robert when they’d been children. Robert had been the one who looked out for her, while Edward had always found her presence irritating. He seemed mellowed now.
“Come,” Ellen stated, picking up her daughter.
“You are very pretty, Mary-Rose. I am sure your papa is very proud of you,” Jane said.
“And in debt for one ice,” Ellen added with a laugh.
“She is a poppet,” Violet said, her eyes sparkling.
“She is a monster,” Edward answered in an overzealous voice that had the little girl laughing.
“A monster who devours ices,” John enthused, bending to form a
n impression of a monster, which made the little girl squeal with delight.
They all began walking, and after a few paces, as Violet moved to speak to Ellen and pet the little girl, Edward caught hold of Jane’s elbow gently and held her back.
With the others walking a few paces ahead, Edward asked bluntly, “What did Robert do?”
Jane glanced sideward at Edward, smiling, but feeling guilty. “Nothing. The blame is mine. He misunderstood something, and he would not let me explain.”
Edward sighed. “My children idolise him … ”
“And that is a bad thing?”
Edward threw her a lopsided, awkward, smile. “I am happy that they like Robert. It constantly amazes me just how close Robert is to them, but he is hardly the material of a hero. The children dote on him, and he on them, too, but Robert is no saint and someday the pedestal they have put their uncle on will topple. The man he’s become is not the boy we grew up with, Jane, as you have possibly discovered if the two of you have fallen out. What caused it?”
Jane sought for a believable half-truth. The whole truth was too humiliating to tell. “Robert saw something which caused him to make an incorrect judgement.”
Edward’s eyebrows lifted. “Your fault or his, answer me truthfully? Has he upset you? Because I know more than anyone how good he is at that. He returned from the continent acting as though it was I who was in the wrong.”
She shook her head and met his gaze. “Mine.” She changed the subject. “But why have you two fallen out? You were always in each other’s pockets before.”
Edward grimaced. “We were until he went abroad without any explanation. He sent no word when mother died, and when our father died, he sent me a cursory note, giving me permission to manage in his stead. I was eighteen and tied down by his responsibilities, or perhaps more accurately, his irresponsibilities’. Then, all of a sudden, a couple of years ago, he returned, expecting the world to revolve about him again. I made it plain I would not be at his beck and call. Since then, we’ve got along reasonably well, but our relationship is not what it was. As you can tell by the fact he did not mention to me you were in town.”