Page 61 of The Scarred Duchess
John nodded and tried pulling himself away from the grasping arms of Miss Harrington and Miss Long. “May I walk with you?”
“Thank you, but we must be leaving.” She gestured at Netherfield’s front steps, where Mr and Mrs Bennet were descending with Mary and Lydia.
Kitty spoke up. “You are so charmingly grouped already.” She squeezed Jane’s arm.
Jane guided her sisters towards their carriage. “Did you just paint Effie and Penny as heifers, ‘Miss Gilpin’?” asked Elizabeth with a wide smile.
They laughed as they shared Kitty’s quip with their parents. At Longbourn, Jane changed into a walking dress and went to the stables. She found she could purge her anxiety by speaking aloud to the horses, imagining her favourite, Eirene, understood her feelings.
Horses do not judge fashion or looks. They judge only character.Eirene rubbed her face against Jane’s. “You bolster my point,” she laughed.
Closing her eyes, she inhaled the welcome scents of the stable and began combing the horse’s mane.
John’s guilt at being seen by Jane and her sisters with the two graceless termagants ate at him, and he had hurriedly made his way to Longbourn to apologise. Now that he had arrived, he knew not what to do. He stood fixed in place, finding it hard to breathe. Until an hour ago, he had not seen Jane without her veils since that day in the stillroom so very long ago. Now, still barefaced, she was grooming Eirene. Her ethereal beauty shook his equilibrium. Mr Bennet’s voice shattered his reverie.
“Lord Lambrook,” he said. “We have just returned from our call. Is something amiss with Lady Lambrook?”
John blushed as Jane turned towards him, a quizzical look on her face. “My mother is well and sends her thanks.” Hereached in his pocket and produced a note. “I have an invitation for Mrs Bennet.”
“Very well. Jane, why do you not escort yourfriendinside. I would like to speak to his lordship in my study.”
Jane brushed out her dress before taking his arm. She never stopped staring at him as he escorted her into the manor house. John knew she had questions he would rather not answer.
Bennet sat across from his dead friend’s son in his study, where the young man had declined his offer for a drink. He secretly approved the decision; the man would require all of his wits when speaking next with Jane. The new Lord Lambrook was making a fine effort to remain composed; diverting as it was, it was time to talk.
“You continue to hold onto your regard for Jane?”
“For as long as it requires.”
“That is quite an admission.” Bennet pondered his thoughts as he studied the young earl. His family connexions extended to a dukedom, rotten to the core, though they were. “Your constancy is admirable.”
“When Jane broke our betrothal, I vowed to be her friend. On that, I shall never renege.” He looked Bennet directly in the eye. “Under any circumstances.”
“You may believe you have considered all factors, but I caution you that you are in error.”
“Will you do me the honour to clarify my fault in understanding?”
Bennet leant back in his seat. “Does Jane know who you truly are, Lord Lambrook?”
“She does not, although you have now given her some teasing awareness, of course,” he said in a measured voice. “Thus, she now knows her understanding is not what it was.”
Bennet was impressed. His answer contained no accusation or rancour. “Have you told your mother of your continued desire to wed Jane?”
Lambrook’s smile caught him unawares. “I have. She remains in agreement with my late father.”
“Yes, he had informed me of his support prior to your proposal.” Bennet sat back and pondered the situation. “I will grant you an unchaperoned audience with Jane to clarify your standing. You may take as long as you need, as you likely will feel her ire. But no other offers are to be made.”
The young man appeared instantly affronted. “Do you consider me unworthy of Jane’s hand, sir?”
“You misunderstand me, Lambrook.”
“Please enlighten me, Bennet.”
Bennet smiled. The young lord was top-notch. “Jane must have a London Season.” He held up his hand to forestall the expected objection. “If you are to see her as your countess, she must experience society and what those responsibilities entail, and the dangers that come with such a role.” Bennet paused. “You cannot protect her from the world at large. Nor would she want you to do so.”
“I understand. With your permission, may I continue to send tokens?”
“I would expect no less. I shall leave it for you two to settle things between you by the Season’s close.”
