In the Arms of an Earl (11 page)

“You may have the shawl. I’m glad it has some better purpose. It never kept me very warm.”

He smiled sympathetically. “Here I am, in this great coat, and you and Lucinda shall be forced to freeze in the name of fashion. We will just have to warm ourselves up with dancing.”

She clasped her hands together, restraining from bouncing up and down on her heels in her hopeful excitement. He looked so young and carefree with the trouble of his hand no longer a worry.

He frowned. “I’m not certain what I should do with my hair. When I’m in uniform, I just tie it back.”

She clucked her tongue before she could stop herself. “For a ball, you’d want it off your face.”
In for a penny
…. “Have you a hairbrush? I can do it for you.” She choked back a rush of breath. Her forwardness had surely offended him.

He sank back into the chair, his face etched with relief. “If you would be so kind, Miss Brooke. I shall box Jeremy’s ears very soundly when I see him tonight. He should have been here to assist me, as promised.”

She picked up his hairbrush and stood behind him. “Perhaps he has other things on his mind. I cannot imagine his slighting you on purpose.”

“Forgive my harsh words. I had not realized you and he were…close.”

Her arm stopped in its downward gesture, a few inches from his hair. Good heavens, did he believe she had any feelings toward Jeremy?

“I am not…I mean, he and I are not close. Not close at all.”

His shoulders straightened, and she hurried with her task, dragging the brush through his silky black hair until it gleamed in the lamplight.

“I did not mean to intrude. Forgive me. Your personal life is not my business.”

A light beading of perspiration broke out just beneath her elaborate hairstyle. She couldn’t answer him. Indeed, there was no appropriate reply.

He cleared his throat.

“You could do worse than marry someone like Jeremy, Miss Brooke.” His voice was soothing, gentle, even. “I believe he has more potential than I give him credit for. He just might make a fine husband.”

“Oh,” was all she could say. She hastily brushed a stray tear from her eye, pretending her discomfort was from a dust mote, and not his dismissal of her.

“I will talk to him, if you’d prefer. His father would approve, since you are his friend’s daughter. I imagine it’s why your parents and Robert arranged this holiday for you in the first place.”

Miserable, she replaced the brush on the table, which gave her an excuse to turn her back. More tears seemed dangerously near. She had dreaded Lucinda finding her in the colonel’s chamber before, but now she’d welcome the interruption. She need not worry about causing a scandal by being alone with him. He clearly thought she was intended for Jeremy.

“I’ve upset you. Again, Miss Brooke, I apologize for speaking so frankly. I’m afraid I am stepping on your toes, and we are not even at the ball yet.”

His attempt at humor fell flat on her broken heart. She idly straightened the things on his dressing table, pretending to be occupied in her task while she digested his words.

“You are right,” she said, once her voice could be trusted to sound normal. “Mr. Parker would be a good catch for a girl like me.” Before she could walk away, he caught her elbow, spinning her around with more force than she realized he’d meant.

She stared up at him in shock. He released her abruptly.

“Forgive me.” He brushed a tear from her cheek. “I hadn’t realized…” His voice ended in a whisper.

She blinked, unable to tear her gaze from his. He’d kiss her, now. The future loomed ahead, and it was bright and filled with promise. She held her breath and squeezed her hands together.

“Jane! Do hurry. The barouche is outside. Oh, and bring Colonel Blakeney, will you?”

Lucinda’s voice at the foot of the stairs snapped her back to the present. The colonel turned so abruptly from her a slight breeze stirred the lace on her dress.

He motioned to his arm in the sling. A new sparkle filled his eyes and he had a different set to his jaw.

“Will you do me the honor of walking downstairs with me, Miss Brooke? You can see if my new hand feels like the real thing.”

Without hesitation, she slipped her arm through his, settling her hand briefly on the stuffed glove. She gasped in delight at her own inventiveness. “It does feel real.”

“I know not how to thank you.”

They were at his door now. She paused before touching the latch. In another moment, he would belong to the rest of the world.

“You need not thank me. I did it because…” Her voice broke. It was no use. A man of his station was far out of reach.

“There, now, Miss Brooke!” He squeezed her arm against his side for a heart-stopping moment. “I am truly fortunate to have made your acquaintance. I am the luckiest man in all of England, to have found my own guardian angel.”

He chucked her on the chin. Instead of moving away, his fingers lingered, bestowing a brief caress across her cheek. A moment later, he opened the door.

She had almost regained her normal demeanor when they met Lucinda, who took the colonel’s other arm with an easy familiarity Jane wished she possessed.

Chapter Eleven

The assembly rooms were grander than those at Weston, with more people in attendance than Jane had ever seen back home. Her shyness and dislike of such events returned stronger than ever, and she nearly feigned a headache so she could return to Everhill.

But the colonel was insistent, and Lucinda begged so furiously she couldn’t refuse. Her reluctance vanished when the colonel slipped her hand through his arm, patting it once as if to reassure her. He had offered his other arm to Lucinda, but she had skipped ahead toward a group of girls, whose gaily colored gowns made them resemble flowers, with Lucinda their buzzing bee in the center. Jane was alone with the colonel

a thing she hardly minded.

He led her inside the hall, and she pretended they were not in Shropshire, but at the Theatre Royal in London about to attend a performance. The fantasy seemed so real that when he lowered his head to ask her if she wanted a glass of punch, she almost jumped. Several women stared at him with interest, but he didn’t seem to notice any of them.

“Not just yet,” she replied. She was thirsty, but if she had said yes, it would mean his departure. She couldn’t bear being away from him and stifled the nagging thought that only a few weeks remained of her visit.

Lucinda left her friends and hurried back to Jane’s side. “Jane, I do want to introduce you to the Miss Thorntons. I thought we could go driving with them tomorrow.” She tugged on Jane’s hand for good measure. Jane reluctantly turned to the colonel, who seemed amused.

“I won’t be long,” she said, and Lucinda laughed.

“Pooh, he’ll be all right! Colonel B., some officers from the regiment are by the punch. Go and talk with them, and we’ll be back when the dancing starts. You did promise me the quadrille.”

She jostled her way through the crowd until they reached the end of the hall, where two younger girls shared a laugh. Lucinda introduced her, and she made small talk where appropriate, though she wondered if anyone was paying the slightest attention to her. She was almost grateful for their indifference, as it gave her time to look across the room for a glimpse of the colonel.

“Jane! You are daydreaming. Catherine just asked you about your music.”

Jane stammered, “I do enjoy the pianoforte. Miss Thornton, do you play?”

“Yes. When you and Lucinda come tomorrow, we’ll look at the new music our uncle sent.”

Lucinda nudged her in the ribs. “Their uncle has been to Italy! I should so love to go abroad.”

She sighed dramatically, and her friends laughed. Jane smiled, though her thoughts were elsewhere. One of the Thornton girls suddenly opened her fan and used it to shield her face.

“He’s coming over here!”

Her sister giggled, and Lucinda and Jane turned at the same time. Jane half-expected to see the colonel, but her shoulders sagged with disappointment. Jeremy strode up to them, looking almost regal in a dark blue coat, his cream-colored breeches taut on his legs, heavy and muscular from all the riding he’d been doing. His hair was brushed back from his face, showing his high cheekbones to best advantage. He ignored his sister and bowed to Jane and the others, which caused a new paroxysm of girlish twittering.

“Will you dance, Miss Brooke?”

She longed to excuse herself and continue searching for Colonel Blakeney but didn’t know the proper words for such a scandalous idea. She curtsied. At least she’d be away from the silly girls.

“Thank you, Mr. Parker.”

The crowd cleared a space in the center of the assembly hall, and Jane took her place in a line of women opposite the men. Jeremy seemed unable to look anywhere but at her. Jane blamed this on too much wine punch, as his face glistened with perspiration. The musicians jumped into a rollicking gavotte, and she almost enjoyed being turned and twisted around the other swirling couples.

The dance seemed never ending, but when it did, Jeremy took her hand and threaded it through his arm with a surprising firmness. Two open doors revealed the courtyard outside, and he led her toward them.

Jeremy remained silent as they walked, and she tried to glean any meaning behind his intent. His expression told her nothing. The darkness closed around them and she stumbled. He continued walking, and she had to hasten her steps or feared he would drag her along. They rounded the corner and entered a garden, illuminated by several torches. White statues gleamed dimly in the moonlight, and she thought of ghosts. A shiver ran through her, and she didn’t know if it was from the cold or fear. Something wasn’t right. He stopped, and she pulled her arm from his, prepared to turn back.

“Lucinda will be worried.” She gasped when he gripped her shoulders and pulled her toward him. “Mr. Parker—”

Her words were cut off by his mouth, which stuck to hers as if it had been glued there.

Paralyzed with shock and confusion, she stood as still as one of the statues, her fists clenched. His lips moved frantically over hers, and she fought back a rise of hysteria. After a few moments of this, she struggled to escape the iron grip on her shoulders, but it was of little use. Fighting panic, she wondered if she should place her knee in a strategic part of his anatomy when a familiar voice broke through the sound of his heavy breathing.

“Mr. Parker! Release Miss Brooke at once!”

Jane stumbled when Jeremy thrust her away. Her hands trembled, and she held them out to her rescuer.

“Colonel Blakeney, I didn’t know you were there.” Too late, she realized she ought to have expressed outrage at Jeremy.

Ignoring her, the colonel glowered at Jeremy, whose face was red with what she hoped was well-deserved shame.

“You’ll be lucky if I don’t box your ears for you,” the colonel growled, his eyes darkening. “As it is, you will marry her, by God, or I’ll—”

Jeremy stepped forward, sneering. “You can’t make me do anything, cripple! You can control other people’s lives, but you’ll not control mine. I’ll do as I please, and you can go to the devil, Blakeney!”

Jane’s stomach roiled. She’d never heard such terrible words before. Worse, the colonel was insisting Jeremy marry her. Regardless of what he wished, she would not endure a marriage to an insensitive boor like Jeremy.

She wished she could take back her foolish impulse in following him outside. If only she could explain to Colonel Blakeney. His face was nearly unrecognizable in his anger.

“You’re a sorry excuse for a man, Parker. You will do the right thing by this young lady, or your father will hear about it.” He turned to Jane, and she wondered why he glared at her. “Go back inside, and find Lucinda. This ball is over for all of you children.”

He spat out the last word. Confused, she hurried toward the assembly room, while Jeremy and the colonel exchanged a few more harsh words.

Dismay and a sense of dread overcame her at the full realization of what he must think. She’d been lured outside, against her better judgment. She’d trusted Jeremy. In the time she’d spent at Everhill, he had not displayed any particular interest in her. She had allowed herself a few daydreams about his blue eyes, but those dreams had stopped the better she came to know him.

Their angry voices grew closer. Unable to face either of them, she hastened to the back door of the building where a small crowd had gathered. Lucinda was in the forefront. Jane walked faster, hoping to reach her before anyone was aware of what was happening.

“Jane, whatever are you doing? Come inside. It’s freezing cold.” Lucinda pulled her toward the door as the murmured gossip reached them. Lucinda stopped in her tracks, peering over Jane’s shoulder to see what had caught everyone else’s interest.

Jane turned in time to see Jeremy strike Colonel Blakeney. She cried out when his left arm blocked Jeremy’s wild fist, which connected with the stuffed glove. Jeremy yanked his arm back, and the colonel’s fake hand came with it. Out came the hastily sewn stitches and the sawdust, trailing down the colonel’s black coat to his shoes.

A collective sigh rose from the onlookers. Jane darted forward to…She didn’t know what she could do, but felt she had to protect him, do something…

Jeremy blanched. “Forgive me,” he muttered, but the colonel’s face was cold.

“Summon the coach. I will meet you out front.” He picked up the glove and stared at it as if he’d never seen it before.