Page 49 of Jane Deyre

“What are you doing behind these drapes?”

To my great relief, he lowers the bronze statue. My pulse slows, but my heart’s still beating double time.

“What are you doing with that statue?” I cast my eyes down at the bronze. It’s a bust of a man. Maybe Edwina’s late husband, Bertrand? Or her father?

“I thought you were an intruder. I saw your feet sticking out. To be honest, I was going to expose you and smash this statue over your head... over and over until your brains poured out.”

His words rattle me. He’s capable of violently killing someone? With a shudder, I gulp down a lungful of air.

His eyes burn into mine. He’s so close to me I can feel his heat. “Now, answer my question. Explain.”

“I was playing a game of hide-and-seek with Adele.”

At the mention of her name, his daughter comes galloping into the room. Her face is lit up like a Christmas tree.

“Papa, you found Jane before I did!” She dashes over to her father and wraps her arms around him.

No triumphant smile appears. “So I did.”

His cold cobalt eyes linger on me, darkening. “Why are you wearing that dress?”

“Edwina let me borrow it while my drenched clothes were being laundered.” Suddenly, I remember I’m wearing the sexy French underwear beneath it, and as his eyes pan down the full skirt, a blast of wet heat gathers between my thighs.

“Papa, doesn’t Jane look so pretty in that dress?”

“Your grandmother gave Edwina that dress for one of her birthdays.”

Adele looks up at her father, her eyes wide. “I have a grandma?”

“Had. She died many years ago... before you were born.” His expression grows sullen as if a sad memory is taking him back in time.

So, Mr. Rochester’s mother and Edwina must have been close friends. I have a small epiphany and for the first time know why the dress seemed familiar to me. It’s the dress Edwina’s wearing in the photo on the entryway console. The one with the stunning blond woman and dark-haired little boy. The boy and the woman must be Ward and his mother. And now, I can see a resemblance between golden-haired Adele and her grandmother. Maybe Ward married a woman who reminded him of his late mother.

Before I can ask Ward more about his mother, all the lights go back on. As if a magician snapped his fingers and said abracadabra.

The sudden brightness makes me blink. Adele claps her hands. “Yay! The power’s back on! That means I can watch TV!”

I glance down at my watch. It’s going on five. “Maybe after dinner.” I take her hand. “Let’s get you washed up and go see what Grace is making for us.” I drag my eyes to Ward. “Will you be joining us?”

“Please, Papa?” begs Adele.

“No. I’m too far behind with my work. I couldn’t get anything done today with the power outage. I need to play catch-up.”

With that, he pivots on his heel and exits the great room after setting the statue back down on an end table.

Disappointment falls over Adele until she looks out the window.

“Look, Jane!”

The rain has ceased and in its place is a rainbow. Arcing across the now crisp blue sky.

I squeeze her hand and look at it in awe.

The heavenly multi-hued creation is a symbol of faith and hope. A good omen.

Somewhere over the rainbow, dreams do come true.

CHAPTER 24

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