Page 3 of Irresistible
Jess craned her neck to see Kat’s sketch. “You’ll get it.”
Kat scowled at the drawing. “I may have gone too far to fix it. I should probably start over.” She sat back in her chair and looked over the table toward Jess’s completed cipher. “Well done, you. You’ve been working on that for, what, three days?”
“Yes. That was the last of the latest batch from Torrance. I expected a delivery yesterday, but nothing came. It was as if he knew I was struggling to finish the last one.”
“How interesting.” Kat didn’t appear overly interested, however, as her focus was on her drawing. She could be rather single-minded about things, and if she was unhappy with her work, she would be fixated on it until she wasn’t.
“Do you want to start your drawing over?” Jess asked, knowing Kat preferred to discuss that.
“I think I must,” she said with great resignation. Then she launched into a lengthy monologue at what she needed to do better and how she might accomplish that. At last, she looked toward Jess, her expression slightly sheepish. “My apologies. You are the only person who allows me to go on and on. You’re such a considerate friend.”
Jess gave her a warm smile. “I’m always eager to listen.”
“I can’t tell you how glad I am that Lady Pickering invited us both to stay here when the Season ended. I was determined not to return to Warefield with Ruark and Cassandra.” Ruark was Kat’s half brother and the Earl of Wexford. He and his wife, Cassandra, were visiting his estate in Gloucestershire where Kat’s mother and sisters lived. Kat had begged him to remain in London, where she’d taken up residence with Ruark during the Season after causing a scandal back in Gloucestershire. Her desire not to return had far less to do with that, however, than with her love of London.
Jess agreed with her wholeheartedly. “I am equally pleased I didn’t need to return to Goodacre with my parents.” She did miss seeing her grandfather, to whom she wrote often. However, she’d needed a respite from her mother.
Kat set her drawing aside. “Lady Pickering rescued us both.”
“I credit my grandfather,” Jess said. “He asked Lady Pickering if I could stay with her.” They were old friends, and he knew Jess needed a respite. It was especially kind of him when he would have preferred to have Jess visit.
“Your grandfather didn’t help me, obviously, so I have to wonder how I came to be invited. I suspect it was Lord Lucien.”
Jess had heard he liked to help people. He owned one of the most popular clubs—and probably the most talked about—in London. “Why do you think that?”
Kat shrugged. “He knows everyone, and he’s a close friend of Ruark’s, who was trying to find a way to allow me to remain in London.”
Jess wrinkled her nose. “If I could be officially recognized as a spinster, then I could have served as your chaperone.” This was the primary point of contention between her and her mother—that Jess hadn’t married and didn’t want to. She didn’t understand that Jess wanted more than to be some man’s wife. She wanted to do…things. Unfortunately, she hadn’t yet determined what those things could be, other than traveling farther than Kent, which she longed to do and was nearly impossible for an unmarried young lady.
“That would be deuced convenient,” Kat said. “But we didn’t know each other until a few weeks ago.” When Lady Pickering had introduced them. Jess had liked Kat immediately.
“Perhaps in future, I can be your chaperone,” Jess suggested.
“Until I’m a spinster and no longer require one.” Kat frowned. “That seems so far off. You’re twenty-five, and you aren’t entirely on the shelf.”
“I most definitely am, even if my mother refuses to acknowledge it. I came out at nineteen.No onewill marry me now.” Though, it had seemed possible at the start of the Season when the Earl of Overton had paid her attention. Jess’s mother had been positively overjoyed. But then he’d been rumored to be seen kissing a maid at the Phoenix Club, and Jess’s mother had declared him irredeemable. Jess had argued that gossip ought not ruin him, to which her mother had responded—not for the first time—that Jess would never understand how Society worked.
Good, because Jess didn’t care to.
“I’m hoping I can avoid Society events altogether next Season,” Kat said. “Thankfully, I wasn’t dragged to everything this year.” Her shoulders twitched, and she stood. “I think I need a walk around the square. Perhaps up to Oxford Street and back, if you’d care to join me?”
“I would, thank you. It’s a spectacular day.” Jess rose from the table and followed Kat to the door of the library.
Lady Pickering appeared at the threshold. Her sharp blue-green eyes glanced toward Kat before fixing on Jess. “Jessamine, may I have a word?” She spoke with a regal imperiousness that had taken a bit of acclimation. Buried beneath her somewhat intimidating exterior was a warm and generous woman of great compassion.
“Of course.” Jess moved to the side.
“I’ll fetch our hats and gloves,” Kat said. “And let Dove know.” Dove was the ladies’ maid they shared, provided by Lady Pickering. She accompanied them on all their walks and errands.
After Kat had gone, Lady Pickering closed the door. That simple act catapulted Jess’s interest into rampant curiosity. She gestured for Jess to join her at one of the seating areas.
Lady Pickering sat in a chair, her posture impeccable. Her still-dark hair—she was in her middle-fifties and had scarcely a strand of gray on her head—was coiled into a sleek, elegant style, and her features were that of a younger woman, with very few lines marring her dark ivory skin. Jess wondered if it was because she smiled somewhat sparingly. It wasn’t that she didn’t possess good humor, she just conveyed it differently—with a subtle raise of her brow or a slight quirk of her mouth.
Curiosity burned within Jess as she perched on the wide settee. “I’ve a letter for you, dear.” Lady Pickering held a small, sealed piece of parchment, which Jess hadn’t noticed. “It’s rather sensitive, and I’m afraid you can’t discuss it with anyone other than me. If you can solemnly agree to that, I’ll give it to you.”
Jess’s heart had begun to hammer. This was all so surprising—and intriguing. It didn’t occur to her to decline. “I agree.”
Presenting the letter to Jess, Lady Pickering didn’t release it immediately. “I can’t overstate the importance of keeping this secret. There could be repercussions if you don’t.”
