Elizabeth Mansfield (21 page)

"Company?"

"Sssh!" He pulled her away from the door. "It's
her!
Miss Naismith. You don't want to go in there when he's got Miss Naismith with him."

Jane tried not to show her chagrin. "No, I certainly don't," she said, clenching her fists. "Let me know when he's free, will you, Mr. Parks? I'll be in the library."

Several hours went by, hours in which Jane paced about the library, trying to contain her turbulent emotions. How was it, she kept asking herself, that she herself was held in such low regard that she couldn't claim his lordship's attention for five minutes, while that overdressed, overendowed hussy commanded his attention for all these hours? It was infuriating!

Teatime came, yet Jane heard nothing from the butler. At last she left the library and went looking for him. "Oh, sorry, Miss Jane," the butler said, "I forgot to call you. His lordship left the house hours ago."

Jane wanted to stamp her foot, to scream, to throw the nearest
objet d'art
onto the marble floor and smash it into a thousand pieces. But she was, she reminded herself, a creature of reason. Screaming and stamping and throwing things were not the acts of a person of sense. So she controlled herself and asked, in a voice that shook only slightly, if someone might bring her some tea in the small sitting room. She hoped the soothing qualities of the brew would ease her unwonted inner turmoil.

She was pouring herself a second cup when Parks entered with a puzzled expression on his face. "There's a Sir Rodney Moncton calling on his lordship, Miss Jane, but when I said he wasn't at home, the gentleman asked for you."

"For me? But I don't know any gentlemen in town."

"But I know you," came a deep masculine voice from the doorway.

Jane looked up to discover a well-dressed gentleman in a wine-red coat, a fellow so huge he filled the doorway. He was not handsome, but his appearance was made memorable by the startling streaks of white in his dark hair. "You must be mistaken, sir," she said. "I'd certainly remember if we had met before."

He came into the room and bowed to her. "We haven't met, but I've heard much of you."

"You must be thinking of someone else," Jane said, putting down her cup. "I'm but newly come to town and have not been much about."

"But your reputation is widespread," the man insisted. "We all know of the young lady who can do complicated sums without pencil and paper."

Jane's brows rose. "That is surely a puny talent with which to make a reputation," she said dryly.

"You must not belittle that talent, ma'am," he said, approaching her chair. "It is certainly an admirable one, and when combined with such beauty as I now see before me, it becomes quite remarkable."

She cocked her head and regarded him with some amusement. "You do not know me, sir. If you did, you'd realize that I am not susceptible to fulsome compliments."

"And if you knew me, ma'am, you'd realize that I am not one to offer you Spanish coin. May I sit down?"

Jane, at a loss, threw Parks a questioning glance. He answered with merely a shrug, as if to say that the visitor was hers to deal with, not his. Making a quick decision, she got up from her chair. "Of course, sir," she said, dropping a little curtsy, "but you must excuse me. You are waiting for his lordship. Please sit down and make yourself comfortable."

His large frame blocked her way, but she slipped by him and made for the door. He caught her arm, however, and pulled her back in a manner that brought her close to him, much too close for her comfort. She turned away, but he held her arm fast. "I would not for the world disturb your taking tea," he said softly into her ear, standing right behind her.

"Not at all," she said, throwing Parks a wordless request for assistance. "I've quite finished."

Parks took a step into the room and, to remind Moncton of his presence, coughed discreetly. Monk looked at the butler in annoyance. "You may go, Parks," he said shortly.

"I beg pardon, Sir Rodney," the butler said, "but Miss Douglas and I have some business in the library."

"Yes," Jane said quickly. "Urgent business. Please excuse us."

He did not let go of her. "Give me a moment, ma'am. Only a moment. I have a request to make of you. It concerns your employer."

She did not refuse, but she looked down coldly at the place on her arm where his hand still remained. He quickly removed it. "Very well," she said, "I can spare a moment, I suppose."

"It's a private matter," Monk said with a meaningful glare at Parks.

"I'll wait outside," Parks said pointedly. "Right outside."

Jane returned to her seat. "You may as well sit down, sir. What is it you wish to ask me?"

He took a chair facing her. "How well do you know Luke Hammond, ma'am?"

"I don't know what you mean," she said carefully. "I know him as well as might be expected for someone who's been in his employ for less than a fortnight. Why?"

"Before I make my request, you see, I must be sure you understand the reason. The subject is in Luke's interest but rather... er... sensitive."

Jane could not deny she wanted to hear more, but she was not at all sure she should encourage the continuation of this conversation. Though his words were straightforward enough, Sir Rodney Moncton had a sly, insinuating way of speaking them. Something about him made her ill-at-ease. "Are you a good friend of his lordship?" she asked.

"Yes, indeed. The very best. We've known each other since boyhood."

"And you have his best interests at heart?"

"That's exactly why I'm here. And that's why I asked you how well you know him. I must be sure that you, too, have his best interests at heart."

"I think I do. As his business agent, his interests must be mine as well," she said.

"Then let me ask you, ma'am, to speak to him in my behalf. Knowing him as I do, I know he would not take it kindly coming from me."

"I cannot agree to such a request, sir, until I know what it is you're asking me to say to him."

"It's simply this," Monk said. "His conscience is such that he is uncomfortable owing a large debt to anyone. I simply want to assure him that he need not concern himself about the debt to me. I am in no hurry to be paid. Tell him he may take all the time he requires. No one shall know but the three of us that it is still not paid."

Jane stiffened. "A large debt, you say?"
 

"I'm afraid so, yes."

"How large? Forgive me for asking, but I am concerned with his finances."

"You may ask, of course. I know you will not let the information go further. It amounts to one thousand pounds."

She gasped. "One
thousand?"

"It was foolish of me to have permitted him to go so far. It was only a coaching race, after all. But he insisted. He would not hear of a lesser amount. It would not be exciting enough, he said, unless the stakes were high."

"I see." Jane's voice was calm but she seethed inside. It seemed clear at last that Luke Hammond was incorrigible. Every shameful trait she'd suspected him to possess he possessed to a worse degree than she'd imagined. Not only was he a wastrel, a gambler and a lecher, but he reveled in those qualities. It was hopeless. Her advice to Lady Martha had been mistaken. The fellow was too foolishly reckless to be permitted to get his hands on his fortune one day sooner than the law permitted. He ought to be whipped... jailed... hanged!

But it was no business of Sir Rodney's to see the extent of her distress. She rose from her chair, the only sign of her perturbation being a slight tremor of her fingers. "Thank you, Sir Rodney, for your consideration in this matter," she said tightly. "I fear, however, that I cannot speak for you. It is not my place. You'd do better to remain here and speak to him yourself."

She started toward the door, but he rose and blocked her way. "Thank you for listening, anyway," he said, taking her hand. "I think Luke is a fortunate man to have you in his employ." And he lifted her hand to his lips.

"Good day to you, sir," she said, trying to remove her hand from his.

"Miss Douglas? One last thing. My aunt, Lady Delsey, is holding a fete tomorrow evening. I was wondering if you would consider attending it with me."

"I, sir?" She felt herself coloring. Never before had a gentleman invited her to an evening festivity. Under ordinary circumstances, she would have found it flattering that a gentleman of Sir Rodney's sort would find her interesting in that way. But at this moment, all she could think about was Luke Hammond... that the damnable fellow, in throwing away another thousand pounds, had made all her efforts to help him useless. All she wanted now was to be rid of this intruder, to be alone so that she could relieve her agitation with a good cry. She tried again to remove her hand from Moncton's grasp. "Thank you, but I don't believe such an invitation is appropriate for someone in my position," she said.

He reached for her other hand and smiled down at her. "It is not only appropriate," he said, "but I'd be honored—"

The door burst open. "Monk, what on earth do you—?" Luke asked from the doorway. Then he saw Jane. "Good
lord
"
he gasped, stopping short.

For Jane, Luke's sudden appearance at just this moment was the last straw. Fury, embarrassment, hurt, and frustration all welled up in her at once. Trembling noticeably, her eyes filling with the tears she'd tried so hard to hold back, she wrenched her hands from Sir Rodney's hold and stalked across the room to where Luke stood, in shocked immobility, in the doorway. "I wash my hands of you, my lord," she said in a trembling undervoice as she brushed by him. "I shall be leaving this house first thing in the morning!"

"Jane?" Bewildered first by the scene he'd just interrupted and now by the intensity in her voice, Luke ran after her. "I mean, Miss Douglas, wait!" He caught her arm just as she reached the stairway. "Damn it, what's wrong? What happened?"

She looked up at him, her cheeks wet and her lips white. "How c-could you have done it?" she asked. "After all your mother and I have tried to do for you! How
could
you throw it all away?"

"What are you talking about?" he asked, grasping her shoulders urgently.

"You know very well. One thousand pounds!"

Wincing painfully, he dropped his hold. "How did you—?" But he didn't need an answer.
"Monk!"
he shouted, wheeling about.

Monk, having followed them out of the sitting room, took a step forward. "Yes, I was the informant," he said, his slight smile revealing the pleasure he was deriving from this scene.

Luke approached him, his eyes burning. "Oh, you were, were you?" he asked through clenched teeth. "Then permit me to thank you!" And he made a fist and swung it furiously to Monk's jaw. Monk dropped to the floor like a stone.

"Luke!" Jane cried, running across to the fallen Moncton. Parks, who'd been an interested but unperturbed observer, followed her.

"Damned makebait," Luke muttered, rubbing his knuckles. "I've wanted to do that for years."

"Not only are you a gambler and a wastrel," Jane said in agitation, kneeling beside Monk and trying to bring him back to consciousness by slapping his cheeks, "but a brute as well."

"How can I be a brute when he's two inches taller and more than two stone heavier than I?" Luke snapped. "And he deserved worse."

"How can you say that?" Jane asked. "He meant only to offer you kindness."

Luke snorted. "I'll wager a monkey he did," he said with heavy irony. "What business of his was it to come and report my loss to you?"

"What difference does it make? I would have discovered so large a loss sooner or later," she said, lifting Monk's head on her lap. "Mr. Parks, will you get me a bottle of sal volatile?"

Parks hurried off.

"You needn't bother about him," Luke said to her. "I didn't seriously harm him. He has a glass jaw. He'll wake in a moment."

"I hope you're right," Jane said, staring at Monk's lifeless face.

"You seem unduly concerned about him, ma'am," Luke said coldly.

"I would be concerned about anyone who was brutally mauled before my eyes."

Parks returned with the smelling salts, knelt down, and held it under Monk's nose. Monk stirred and groaned.

"There, you see?" Luke said. "Not so badly mauled after all." He turned his back on them and stalked off to the stairway. "As soon as he's awake, Parks, and as soon as Miss Douglas can bear to part with him, throw the deuced muckworm out of the house."

TWENTY-SEVEN

Adela purposely avoided her sister when she returned from her shopping expedition. Fortunately, Jane seemed too preoccupied to question her sister about her purchases, so Adela did not have to explain why she'd bought a frivolous bonnet with flowers and three large plumes that fell tantalizingly over one eye. She hid her parcels under the bed (along with a brocaded pelisse she and Meggie discovered in Lady Martha's dressing room) and, after retiring early, fell into a blissful sleep.

When she woke the next morning, however, Adela was horrified to see that her sister was packing. "What are you
doing?"
she cried.

Jane did not look up from her work. "We are going home this morning, Adela. I'm sorry."

"But we
can’t!
" The girl bounded out of bed in alarm. "Please, Jane! You can't
do
this to me!"

Jane looked at her with sympathy. "I'm afraid I must."

"No, please, not today! Surely you don't have to leave
today!
"

"I do have to, Adela. There is no reason for me to remain here any longer."

Adela's underlip trembled. "I don't understand. Just yesterday you said you had such important work to do. Couldn't you continue to do it just a bit more?"

Jane lowered her eyes. "There is nothing more I can do for his lordship." She tried to keep her voice steady so that her sister would not recognize how much pain was hidden in those words. "I can no longer postpone my departure."

But Adela was too preoccupied with her own concerns to notice her sister's pain. Growing desperate, she grasped Jane's arms in an effort to prevent her from proceeding with her packing. "Just this one day, Jane," she pleaded urgently. "I won't ask for any more. Just this one day."