Page 15 of Pursued Beyond Treachery
Johnathan spun on the stool to face him.
“Miss Harris has come for a visit.”
He smiled. “Tell her I will be down in a moment.”
Wiping his hands on a rag, he rose. Javenia would not care if he were less than presentable. Her presence at Gimly Hall intrigued him.
Since they’d entered adulthood, her visits to his home had become rare, as Society disapproved of a single lady visiting a single gentleman with no family, no matter how long the acquaintance. It must be something very pressing if she felt the need to throw off propriety.
Not that propriety really mattered much to Javenia. Only that she had too many siblings and too large a family to foolishly put her reputation and theirs in danger. The oldest of five children, four of them being girls, she had the burden of setting precedent for the family.
Javenia stood by the window as he entered, her normally pleasant expression completely absent. Her maid sat inconspicuously by the door; head bent as she awaited her mistress.
“Good afternoon.” His voice seemed to pull her out of her reverie for she turned and cast him a smile that did not quite reach her eyes.
“And to you.”
“Is something out of sorts, Javenia? You do not usually come all this way to visit me.”
She crossed to the sofa and sat. “Other than my father’s usual pressure to find a husband?”
He took up the chair next to her. “That never put you out of sorts before.”
She smirked. “Very true, but what makes you think I am out of sorts?”
His lips pulled to the side and he tipped his head at her. “Really?”
She chuckled. “You always could read my mood better than any of the others. Well, John, I am to be congratulated.”
He leaned back, not sure what to expect.
“It seems I have achieved spinsterhood.”
Johnathan chuckled. “And how does one achieve that at only five and twenty?”
“Her younger sister goes off and gets herself engaged. It seems her baronet came up to scratch after all.” Javenia grinned.
He smiled back. “Sounds like news to be celebrated.”
“Oh, indeed.”
“And you are very proud of the accomplishment by my estimations. Your expression is too jubilant to be anything otherwise.”
She chuckled. “I admit, I am proud, but you should have heard my father. He went on for a full half hour on the duties of a daughter. Oh well, such is my life.”
“And this is why you came all this way to see me? You wished to make the announcement yourself?”
“I have paid a call to Nate and Melior. It was not that much farther to come see you. I hear Miss Wayland will be accompanying them to London this season. What are your thoughts on that?” She not so casually placed a hand on the arm of the sofa, her fingers tracing the damask pattern.
He pursed his lips, trying to decide what to say. Steepling his fingers, he pressed them to his mouth. “It is a f-fine thing for her.”
Javenia glanced up, waiting. When he said no more, she said, “Is that all? I know how you detest Town.”
“That is all. I hope the h-holiday away from her family will be a welcome rest from responsibility.”
“And if she should find a husband in London she’d have a permanent rest, at least until her own children arrive.”
His gaze darted to the window, trying to hide his grimace. Why was everyone so set on Susannah finding a husband? Javenia had been to London for multiple seasons and never married. Why not Susannah?
