by Maya Banks
An immediate change fell over Miss Somerset. She set aside her teacup. Gone was the warmth from her eyes. She looked sharply at Jenna. “A letter, you say? Where did you happen upon this letter?”
Tell no one, trust no one. The words filtered back to Jenna in a moment of alarm. But surely she could trust this woman. After all, the viscountess had entrusted the box to her. Deciding to take a chance, she took a deep breath and said, “In a locket she gave me on my sixteenth birthday. I only discovered it because the locket broke and the note fell out.”
The woman seemed content with Jenna’s explanation, but then a frown crossed her lips and she asked, “How did it break?”
Something told Jenna she could trust this woman. She hoped she wasn’t wrong. “I was set upon by two men last night. Their intention was to steal the necklace. It fell and broke.”
“Good heavens! Are you all right?”
Jenna nodded. “Do you have the box?” she asked, bringing the focus back to the matter at hand.
Miss Somerset studied her for a long moment as if trying to decide if she could be trusted. Finally she rose from her seat. “Yes, I have a box for you. I’ll be back in a moment.”
Tension settled into her stomach as she watched the woman glide from the room. What could be so important about this box that the viscountess had gone to such lengths to hide it? A prickle of apprehension trickled down her spine. More importantly, someone was going to great lengths to find it if, as she suspected, the two attacks on her was related to the locket.
Miss Somerset returned a moment later carrying a small wooden box. It looked large enough to house a few jewels or letters, but was otherwise unremarkable. She pressed the box into Jenna’s hands. “Guard this with your life. There are those who would go to great lengths to get their hands on it.”
Jenna stared at her questioningly, but the woman’s lips were drawn tight. She wasn’t going to offer any further information. “Thank you,” she said. “I must be going now.” She rose and smiled at the elderly woman.
“I do hope you will call on me again sometime,” Miss Somerset said, as Jenna made for the door.
Jenna climbed into the carriage and placed the box on her lap. She fidgeted with the clasp, tempted to open it. But Miss Somerset’s words came floating back to her. Maybe she would better served to wait until she got home and could open it behind the locked door of her bedroom.
But a quick peek couldn’t hurt, could it? She held her breath and slipped a fingernail under the small latch. The carriage ground to a halt, and she looked out to see they had arrived at the orphanage.
What rotten timing. The box would have to wait for later. Thinking quickly, she fumbled under the seat for the latch to the secret compartment her father often used to hide valuables when they traveled.
She shoved the box in and slammed the small door shut just as the footman opened the carriage door and let down the step. She descended the carriage and directed the driver to carry in a bundle of packages. Gathering the remaining parcels, she followed him up the walk to the front door. Mrs. Drennan opened the door for them and ushered them inside.
“The children are in the sun room,” she told Jenna. “They’ll be happy to see you.”
“How is Meg faring?”
“She’s a dear little thing.” Mrs. Drennan clucked. “So happy to be here. The other children love her already, and she loves them.”
Jenna smiled. She couldn’t wait to present the children with the gifts she’d brought for them. And she’d made a special point of picking out a doll for Meg.
“Lady Jenna!” the children chorused, as she entered the room. They ran to her, swarming over her.
She laughed as they pulled at her skirts, their faces shining up at her. “I’ve brought you presents. What do you think of that?”
Squeals of delight resonated throughout the room. She began passing out the brightly wrapped packages, and they wasted no time tearing into them. She paid special attention as Meg began delicately unfolding her present.
The child’s face lit up when she uncovered the doll, and she reverently lifted it up and hugged it against her. She turned tear-filled eyes in Jenna’s direction, and Jenna’s heart constricted with emotion.
“It’s just what oi wanted.” She threw herself into Jenna’s arms.
Hugging her close, Jenna smiled and stroked her hair. “I’m glad you like it, dearling.”
“What’s going on in here?” a voice boomed out from the door.
“Mr. Douglas!” they shrieked and ran over to him.
He hugged them to his legs and greeted each child by name. Jenna watched the delight in their faces as he spoke to each one. She couldn’t help the wide smile that spread her lips.
“Lady Jenna,” he said nodding his head. “I hear you’re spoiling the children. I must put a stop to this dastardly behavior at once.”
“No!” the children erupted.
He chuckled and moved forward. He sobered as he drew nearer, and his eyes raked over her leaving a heated trail down her body. “How are you today?”
“Fine,” she murmured.
“You are suffering no ill affects?
“Truly, I am all right.” She smiled to reassure him.
The children all clamored out when Mrs. Drennan called them to luncheon, leaving Gray and Jenna alone. He cupped her chin and turned her face up, looking assessingly over her. “You look tired,” he said softly.
“I didn’t sleep well,” she admitted, though she didn’t tell him the attack had little to do with her sleeplessness.
He brushed his lips over hers, achingly gentle in his advances. “I missed you last night.”
“I missed you as well.” And she had. She had grown used to his company each night, his comforting presence. She missed their talks and his caresses.
“I’ve something special planned for tonight,” he whispered against her ear.
She cocked an inquisitive brow. “Going to tell me what it is?”
“No. Only that it will get your mind off more unpleasant matters.”
“You’re a dreadful tease,” she grumbled.
“Thank you,” he said.
“For what?”
“Coming to see the children.”
“Oh, well, I wanted to see how Meg was getting along.”
“After they eat, it’s story time. Perhaps you’d like to read to them today?”
“I’d like that. Where shall I do it?”
He led her over to a rocking chair in one corner of the room. “They’ll be in shortly.”
On cue, the sounds of laughter and chatter reached their ears, growing louder until the children burst into the sunroom and ran madcap over to the rocking chair.
“Is Lady Jenna reading to us today?”
She smiled at them. “Indeed, I am. And I have a special story to tell you today. It’s about knights, dragons, and fair ladies.”
Gray watched as the children hung on every word, completely captivated by Jenna. She was a natural with children. No doubt she’d have a nursery full.
Of someone else’s children.
Stupid, stupid, stupid. Did he never learn anything? What was he thinking to get so involved with yet another unattainable woman? And why wasn’t this just an affair as he’d planned it to be? She was just a woman, someone to share physical pleasure with. Nothing more than a mistress. Something he should have taken on years ago.
He’d entered this arrangement with the purpose of expunging Roslyn’s memory from the bowels of his soul. It had worked. Too well. Instead of being haunted by the memory of golden hair and sparkling blue eyes, he was plagued by a brown-eyed minx who infiltrated his every conscious thought.
Apparently, he’d learned nothing from Roslyn. He was headed down the same path with yet another aristocrat’s daughter. A woman he could never have but wanted all the same. Only this time things wouldn’t go as far. He’d make certain of that.
; Their time together was drawing to a close. He would forget her in time, just as she would forget him. She’d marry the viscount’s son and produce the necessary heir. Retire to the country with occasional trips to town for the season. No reason to lament. Their affair would always hold a special memory for him.
So why did his heart contract when he imagined their last night together? Why did jealousy seize him at the thought of another man ever touching her, his Jenna? His jaw clenched. No, she wasn’t his anything. Never had been. He was a passing fancy for her. An amusement. Something to occupy her time before she married.
His mood now sour, he turned and abruptly left the room. The children were ensconced in Jenna’s tale, and Mrs. Drennan would be in shortly to announce naptime. He had other things to attend to.
###
Jenna watched as Gray’s face hardened and he strode from the room. She frowned slightly. What had come over him? It wasn’t like him to be anything but solicitous.
She smiled back down at the children, careful to conceal her agitation. Mrs. Drennan popped her head in the door and called them to bed. They clamored around her, hugging her and thanking her for the presents. She kissed each one on the cheek and shooed them toward the waiting house mum.
When they’d gone, she put away the book and walked out to her carriage. Her earlier excitement over the surprise Gray planned had diminished in the face of his peculiar behavior. Perhaps it was nothing more than a pressing engagement. He was a businessman after all. Perhaps he had forgotten an important appointment.
But still, could he not at least have said goodbye? Until midnight. The words curled around her like a warm cup of chocolate. But he hadn’t said it.
As the carriage pulled to a stop, she reached under the seat for the wooden box and carried it with her. She walked into the house to find her brothers in the drawing room.
“Hullo, Jenna,” Quinn called out. “Come sit awhile.”
She handed the box to Thomas who was standing by the door. “Have Margaret take this up to my room,” she whispered, chagrinned that she wouldn’t get the chance to go over the contents immediately.
He nodded and backed away.
She entered the drawing room, a bright smile on her face. “Good morning.”
“It’s afternoon,” Sebastian said after a quick check of his fob.
“So it is,” she said plopping down beside Quinn.
“So where have you been all morning? It’s not like you to be up so early,” Quinn remarked with a grin.
She elbowed him in the ribs. “I paid a call to Stuart’s aunt then I went to the children’s home on Oxford.
Sebastian’s eyebrow came up. “Children’s’ home? Why did you go there?”
“Shopping, of course,” she said dryly.
“Sarcastic this morning, are we?”
“Well why do you think I went to a children’s home? To see the children.”
“Of course.”
“What?” she asked looking over at him. “What’s so strange about that?”
“I didn’t say it was strange.”
She narrowed her eyes at him, shooting daggers. Quinn chuckled beside her. “Will you two stop? Sebastian, as soon as I discover what happened to our real sister, I’ll let you know. In the meantime we best humor her replacement.”
She rounded on Quinn. “What is that supposed to mean? Do you really think me so self-absorbed? I can’t pay a charitable call without you two making snide remarks? I’ll have you know while you two are off gambling, wenching and swilling ale, Mamma and I do quite a bit of charity work.”
“Uh huh,” Sebastian said, returning to his paper. “What was it Mamma had to threaten you with last time you refused to go?”
“People can change,” she said quietly.
“Yes, yes they can, Jenna. But in a week? Something is going on with you. I don’t know what, but something is decidedly different.”
Guilt infused a rush of heat to her cheeks. “I have no idea what you mean,” she sniffed. “As a future viscountess, it is important that I do a certain amount of charity work. And I happen to love children. You both know that.”
“So you’ve accepted the fact that you are marrying Stuart?”
“Like I ever had a bloody choice.”
“I’ll take that as a no.” He laid aside his paper and fixed his eyes on her. “I think Papa and Mamma made a mistake letting you come to London before you married. I don’t know what’s come over you, but they wouldn’t like it, and neither do I.”
“Lucky for me it wasn’t up to you,” she said through gritted teeth.
She felt Quinn’s hand on her arm, a warning not to go too far. Good advice. She was on the verge of losing her temper completely. And the last thing she wanted was another fight with Sebastian. She took a deep breath and smiled at Quinn. He removed his hand.
“You’re not wearing your locket,” Sebastian noted.
The bloody locket again. If he said another thing about it she would scream. “It broke.”
“Broke? How?”
“Does it matter how?” she demanded. “It fell off my neck and broke.”
“Leave it with me and I’ll have it repaired.”
“Very well.” She scooted to the edge of the settee and stood up. “I am going up to my room now.” She stalked from the room and up the stairs.
She entered her room and shut the door firmly behind her. She was miserable. No, miserable didn’t quite describe the degree of her unhappiness. She had less than a week left with Gray, Sebastian were being overbearing, she wanted to marry Stuart about as much as she wanted to have a tooth removed, and damn it, she just wanted to be left alone. Wanted to make her own decisions for once. In a perfect world, she’d have as much leave as her brothers. Maybe she ought to give thought to joining one of those bluestocking groups devoted to women’s causes.
She should have been given a London season, made her come out, attended balls, been lavished with attention from a dozen suitors, plied with marriage proposals and considered who the best husband for her would be. But no, she had been told whom she was to marry, and there would be no marriage market season for her.
The wooden box beckoned her from her dressing table, but she turned away in irritation. Stuart’s family was driving her mad, even from the grave. How could she leave her own family to live with Stuart? Even as upset as they made her, she couldn’t bear the thought of being away from them.
A tear made its way down her cheek almost before she realized she was crying. She loved her family, even overbearing Sebastian, and Quinn...they’d been inseparable since they were children. She had no wish to leave them under the happiest of circumstances, much less the miserable occasion of her marriage to Stuart.
Gentle hands turned her around and pulled her to a firm chest. How had Quinn come in without her hearing him? “Oh, Quinn, what am I going to do?” Her voice was muffled by his chest and more tears seeped out the corners of her eyes.
“I hate to see you so unhappy,” he said quietly.
“I don’t want to leave you and Mamma and Papa...and Sebastian. And I don’t want to marry Stuart.”
“I know.”
She pulled slightly away from him, placing her hands on his forearms. “Why is Sebastian being such a boor? I’ve never seen him act this way toward me.”
“He’s just doing what he thinks Papa would want. He loves you, Jenna. I know he is taking a hard line about Stuart, but he’s having to take the brunt of Viscount Dudley’s displeasure in Papa’s absence.”
“Displeasure? Ha! What does he have to be displeased over? It is I who should be displeased. Why did he and Stuart even come to London? They never travel out of Westerleigh.”
Quinn sighed, his eyes reflecting true sadness over his sister’s plight. “I don’t know. I gather the impression the viscount wasn’t too pleased that Mamma and Papa left you to your own devices while they traveled to Italy.”
�
��Yes, of course,” she said bitterly. “They should have locked me away at home and taken me out in time for the wedding. Brushed me off a bit and sent me on my way.”
“Jenna, I can understand your anger. Truly I can. But what does it gain you? Wouldn’t it be better to make the best of your circumstances? It’s not as if you can change them.”
And therein lay the crux of the matter. She couldn’t change them. Maybe by embarking on an affair with Gray, she’d hoped that somehow she could, but in the end, she would marry Stuart, only she would do so with a broken heart.
Twisting away from him, she dropped to the bed, sitting on her hands. “I didn’t intend for you to know.”
“Like I wouldn’t see how desperately unhappy you’ve been? I doubt Sebastian has missed it either. The light is gone from your eyes, Jenna, and I don’t like it. You look tired and blasted unhappy.” He ran a hand through his hair and frowned. “You were so excited about coming to London. You bounced around the house for weeks after Papa gave his permission. I don’t suppose it’s been the best time for you.”
“Oh let’s do stop talking about it,” she said bleakly. “I am growing more depressed by the minute. If only he hadn’t written that bloody letter to the viscount telling him of our plans.”
“Jenna,” he said reproachfully at her language, but his admonishment was half-hearted and he chuckled. “You are going to give Sebastian a stomach malady if you keep that up.”
She grinned. “Bloody, bloody, bloody.”
“That’s better,” he announced. “I like the smiling, laughing Jenna much better than the sad girl I’ve seen moping around the house.”
“Have I been so terribly pathetic?”
“Well, let’s just say you haven’t won any awards for congeniality.”
She tossed her pillow at him, and he quickly dodged. “Promise me something, Quinn.”
“Anything for you, dear sister. Within reason,” he hastily added.
“Promise me you’ll visit me often.”