At The Stroke Of Midnight (28 page)

Harry turned to Sebastian and bowed
low.
 
"My apologies for the delay,
my lord, but the weather prevented me from arriving sooner.
 
I trust I am not too late."

"Not at all."
 
Sebastian reached out and pulled Jane back
to his side, hope flaring in his chest.
 
He did not know the specifics of this man's news but for the first time
in months, he was hopeful.
 
"Please.
 
Proceed."

Greer removed his coat and handed
it to a footman who was hovering nearby.
 
"It seems that the codicil to your father's will giving your mother
the power to choose your bride after you reached a certain age, was, shall we
say, irregular at best and not properly filed.
 
Oh, it
might
hold up in a court of law, certainly, but it would
take years to untangle the mess and cause the family a great deal of
embarrassment, I'm afraid."
 

Accepting a cup of tea that was
produced on a silver platter, the runner took a long sip before handing it back
to a hovering servant as if he were a gentleman and not a member of the working
class.
 
Then he gave Sebastian a
sympathetic smile.
 
"I am also to
tell you that, yes, while you are still the earl, you could choose to name a
new heir, one that you feel is more suited to the job than the one your father
selected so long ago, so that you might be free to marry Lady Jane.
 
However, at this point, I would caution you
from doing so, well, naming a new heir that is, as I don't believe it is
strictly necessary."
 

He glanced at Lady Covington, and,
though there was no sincerity in his tone, he did at least attempt to look
apologetic.
 
"I am sorry, your
grace.
 
If you had hoped to force you
son to marry Lady Elizabeth, I am afraid that I must disabuse you of that
notion.
 
You might have made your
husband a promise as he was dying, but that promise cannot be legally binding,
I fear."
 
Harry paused a moment,
studying the older woman.
 
"Though
I suspect you might have changed your mind after all.
 
Is that true, your grace?
 
Or are you merely excellent at bluffing?"

"Oh, I do not bluff, my good
man," Lady Covington laughed, sounding far more youthful than she had a in
a good, long while.
 
"No, that is
not my style at all."

"I thought not," Greer
replied and, for a moment anyway, Sebastian wondered if the runner was flirting
with his mother.
 
Surely not.
 
Then, the other man turned back to
Sebastian.
 
"Lord Covington, I am
happy to answer any additional questions you might have, and I am sure there
are many.
 
But for the moment, I must
excuse myself.
 
There is another matter
I must attend to immediately regarding another guest here."
 
Then, as if he had never been, Greer was
gone, striding away in a swirl of black, his cape flaring behind him.

It was all Jane could do not to
stare after him agape.
 
Then, the
reality of the news he had just delivered began to sink in.
 
She and Sebastian could marry.
 
He loved her.
 
He was not bound by a deathbed promise.
 
His mother might still be an issue, but she wasn't scowling any
longer, at least not the way she had been every time she looked at Jane
previously.
 
Perhaps there was hope
after all.

Or perhaps not.
 
There was still her father and Angeline to
content with and both of them were clearly working themselves up in to a state.

"Laird McKenna will not stand
for this and neither will I," her father said menacingly, once Greer had
quit the room.
 
"Contracts are
signed.
 
You are promised to him."

"And I have paid him off
already," Sebastian interjected coolly, not wanting to allow Lord
Devonmont to get the upper hand or believe that he could still order Jane about
like a child.
 
"Or will.
 
I sent a letter to the laid by courier
yesterday.
 
He knows not to expect Jane,
and has been informed that he will be handsomely paid to release her from any
contract that might have been made on her behalf.
 
I do not expect that he will contest a thing.
 
Especially as I have been exceedingly
generous to the laird's estate."

"But you are supposed to marry
me!" Lizzie whined again, ever the petulant child when she did not get her
way.
 
"You are not a duke, but you
still have a title."

Sebastian gave a short bark of
laughter, his anger flaring at the chit's audacity.
 
"Why, thank you, Lady Elizabeth.
 
That is precisely what every groom longs to hear from his
prospective bride.
 
That he is little
more than a title to her."

"Well, you are."
 
She was beyond petulant now, verging on a
full-blown tantrum, and looking to her mother for support.

"Enough.
 
It is time we end this farce of a
matter."
 
That came from Lady
Covington and she strode briskly to the center of the room.
 
"Sebastian, I made a mistake.
 
And for that, I deeply apologize.
 
To you, Lady Jane, as well.
 
I was misinformed.
 
Had Mr. Greer not shown up this morning, I was prepared to
release you from that promise anyway.
 
You would have been free to marry Lady Jane without relinquishing the
earldom."

That declaration snared everyone's
attention rather quickly.
 
"Why,
mother?"
 
Sebastian reached to pull
Jane closer and he tucked her securely at his side.
 
The attention was off of her for the moment and he did not want
to take any chances that Devonmont had yet another trick up his sleeve.
 
"Why did you change your mind?"

She sighed and then let out a deep
breath.
 
"I have watched you the
last few days, Sebastian, particularly last evening.
 
I saw the pain inside of you at the thought of losing Jane and
that greatly conflicted with the information I had been given during my
meetings with the earl."
 
She
glared at Angeline specifically then.
 
"I
love you too much to cause you such misery.
 
And I believe that being without Jane causes you much misery."

Then Margaret St. Giles looked out
the window to where the sun was finally breaking through the clouds to make the
fresh snow sparkle like diamonds.
 
"You look at her the way your father looked at me when we were
younger.
 
Who am I to deny that kind of
love?
 
What mother, a good mother
anyway, would do that?
 
And on this most
joyous of days, I am reminded that love is the most precious gift of all.
 
It should not be squandered."

Then the countess looked at Jane
for a moment before reaching out to take one of her hands, clasping it
tightly.
 
"My dear, I am
sorry.
 
For everything, but most
especially the pain I have caused you.
 
You love my son for who he is and not what he is.
 
I truly believe that his title and fortune
mean little to you.
 
That is enough for
me.
 
Even if you never bear him an heir,
there are provisions that can be made."
 
Then she looked critically at Jane's stomach and Jane blushed.
 
So her night with Sebastian was not exactly
a secret.
 
In truth, she had not
expected it to remain so.
 
"Though
I am not certain that it will be an issue after all."

Jane felt as if her heart was ready
to burst with joy.
 
She was not being
sent away.
 
She could marry
Sebastian.
 
It was every Christmas wish
she had held in the secret places of her heart from the moment they had arrived
at Blackstone.

"Thank you, your
grace."
 
Jane dipped into a low
curtsey.
 
"I will do my best to
make your son happy.
 
I love him."

"That is all a mother could
ask for."
 
Margaret smiled and then
turned back to Devonmont and his wife, her gaze lacking the warmth it had held
but a moment ago.
 
"Now, shall we
see about making this day a festive one for our children?"

Sebastian could see that the earl
wanted to protest.
 
Angeline and Lizzie
were both certainly working themselves up into another fine temper.
 
However, Devonmont's gaze strayed to
Sebastian where he stood clasping Jane's hand in his, unwilling to let her
go.
 
He would set off with her for
Gretna Green today if that was what it took to keep her by his side and out of
the clutches of a family who did not deserve her.

Instead, the older man finally
nodded, much to the dismay of his wife and younger daughter.
 
"We shall.
 
After all, it is Christmas.
 
It is a time of forgiveness.
 
For
everyone."
 
Then he nodded at
Sebastian and Jane.
 
"Go and see
about making yourselves presentable.
 
The other house guests will be returning from their greenery collecting
soon, and I suspect you will want to make the announcement of your betrothal as
soon as possible."
 
Then, dragging
Lizzie and Angeline with him, he departed from the room, still listening to
their shrieks of displeasure.

Sebastian did not envy the
man.
 
Then again, that was what happened
when one did not choose well when picking a bride.

Once they were gone, he turned to
his mother.
 
"Thank you."
 
Mere words could not convey his deep
gratitude to her.
 
"I had not
expected this."

"It is I who should be begging
apologies," she said, taking both his and Jane's hands in hers.
 
"When you were in Kent this summer and
dallying with your choice, I thought I was doing the correct thing by becoming
involved with your choice of a bride.
 
You went from detesting the idea of marriage to besotted fool, or so I
thought, in the span of one night.
 
It
seemed, well, a poor choice."
 
Then
she squeezed Jane's hand.
 
"Especially after I spoke with your father.
 
I had no idea."

"Neither did I."
 
And Jane truly hadn't.
 
She knew that her father had still not
gotten over the loss of his beloved Catronia.
 
Perhaps he never would.
 
However,
each day that passed with him unable to let go also meant that he was unable to
see Jane for who she was - her own woman and not merely a ghost from the
past.
 
"But perhaps now, he can
begin to heal.
 
Or not.
 
I am not certain that it is possible after all
this time."

Sebastian tugged her closer to his
side, loving the feel of her there.
 
"It does not matter.
 
I see
you for who you are, so much more than Plain Jane the spinster.
 
And I love you all the more for it."

Jane's heart burst with joy at his
words, and she felt a lightness that she had not known since her mother had
passed.
 
"And I love you."

"Yes, well, all this love is a
wonderful thing," Lady Covington agreed cheerily, "but there are more
practical matters of concern."
 
She
glanced at the overly laden sideboards.
 
"Such as breakfast.
 
Which
will be served soon.
 
So I suggest that
the two of you make yourself presentable so that the happy news might be
announced."

"And you, Mother?"
 
For there was a look of mischief in Margaret
St. Giles' eyes, one that Sebastian had not seen in some time.

She waved a hand in the air.
 
"Nonsense.
 
I have much to occupy my time until the repast is served.
 
After all, there is a wedding to plan, as I
will not abide the two of you running off to Gretna."
 
She tapped her chin thoughtfully.
 
"Perhaps a wedding by special license
on Twelfth Night is rushing things a bit.
 
Or perhaps not."
 
The
countess glanced at Jane again, her gaze straying back to Jane's stomach once
more.
 
"No, perhaps that is a
perfect time.
 
I wonder if that
delightful Mr. Greer might be able to help me procure some people to help with
the planning?
 
He seems like the
industrious sort."

Still talking to herself about
wedding plans, Lady Covington swept out of the room, leaving Sebastian and Jane
standing next to the tree.
 
The silence
in the room was most welcome and for the first time since she had awoken that
morning, Jane felt herself relax.
 
All
would be well.
 
There might still be
bumps in the road ahead - after all there were still plenty of days before
Twelfth Night for Angeline and Lizzie to cause trouble - but with Sebastian by
her side, she could weather them.