Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
“It is a beautiful morning,” Lavinia declared, tilting her face toward the warm June sun. “London almost looks respectable when the weather cooperates.”
The gravel crunched beneath Jane’s slippers as she matched Lavinia’s easy pace along Rotten Row.
Jane smiled faintly. “Almost.”
The avenue bustled with fashionable ladies carrying delicate parasols while gentlemen escorted them beneath rows of towering trees.
Fine carriages rolled slowly past, their occupants observing as much as being observed.
Children chased hoops along the wider paths, their nurses calling after them, while riders guided elegant horses through Hyde Park’s famous promenade.
It should have felt ordinary. Only a few weeks ago, Jane would have enjoyed an outing such as this. Instead, every step felt measured. Every glance lingered too long. Every whispered conversation seemed to stop just as she approached.
She tried not to notice. She failed.
“There she is.” The words floated across the path from somewhere behind them.
Jane kept walking, but she could still hear the ladies whispering behind their fans.
“Poor thing.”
“I heard they still haven’t found Lord Wynten.”
“I heard it was gambling debts.”
“I was told the men who took him had foreign agents.”
“My sister swears it was smugglers.”
Jane fixed her eyes upon the path ahead. None of them knew anything. Yet every one of them spoke with complete certainty.
Lavinia subtly shifted closer until their sleeves brushed together. “Eyes forward.”
Another carriage rolled past. The lady seated inside stared openly at Jane before leaning toward her companion. The companion immediately turned to look as well.
Jane recognized neither woman. Apparently they recognized her. “I imagine my face has become surprisingly memorable.”
“It has.”
Jane sighed. “That was not terribly comforting.”
“It was not intended to be.” Lavinia’s tone remained light, but Jane knew her friend was deliberately trying to distract her. For that alone, she loved her.
They continued walking beneath the shade of the great elms. For several blessed minutes, no one disturbed them.
Jane found herself listening instead to birdsong overhead and the distant laughter of children. She had nearly convinced herself to relax when a gentleman’s voice drifted toward them.
“I simply cannot imagine why Lady Jane remains in town.”
Another answered quietly. “If I were in her position, I should retreat to the country until people forgot.”
“They never forget.”
“True enough.”
“Still, remaining here only encourages gossip.”
Jane’s footsteps faltered. Only for a moment. Then she forced herself onward.
Lavinia caught the hesitation immediately. “Do not.”
Jane looked at her. “Do not what?”
“Do not allow strangers to decide where you belong.”
Jane stared ahead again. “They think I should hide.”
“They think many foolish things,” Lavinia said.
“They believe I ought to disappear until Colin returns.”
Lavinia snorted. “And when he returns, they shall claim they always knew he would.”
Jane couldn’t help smiling. “You make society sound exhausting.”
“It is exhausting.” Lavinia lifted one elegant shoulder. “The ton survives almost entirely upon speculation.”
Jane’s smile faded. “They are speaking of Colin as though he is already dead.”
“No.” Lavinia’s voice softened. “They are speaking like this because they know nothing.”
Jane swallowed. Some days, she still expected Colin to stride through Wynten House laughing about some absurd misunderstanding at White’s. Other days, she woke with terror already sitting in her chest.
She had not allowed herself to imagine the worst. She refused to. If she entertained that possibility even once, she feared she would never recover.
They reached a flower border bursting with roses and paused to admire it.
Lavinia bent slightly to inhale the nearest bloom. “I should steal one.”
“You would be chased.”
“I should look magnificent while fleeing,” Lavinia declared.
Jane laughed quietly.
“There is the smile I have been trying to coax from you,” Lavinia said.
“It seems flower theft is remarkably effective,” Jane said.
“I have many talents.”
Another group approached. Three elderly ladies. Jane recognized Lady Weatherby almost immediately. The older woman looked directly at Jane before lowering her voice.
Not quite enough.
“…engagement broken, brother vanished… most unfortunate…”
Jane’s stomach tightened.
Lady Weatherby offered a thin smile as the groups passed one another. “My dear Lady Jane.”
Jane inclined her head. “Lady Weatherby.”
“I do hope matters improve soon.”
Jane gave a thin smile. “Thank you.”
“And your poor mother.” Lady Weatherby clicked her tongue and sounded like the rotten old hen that she was.
“She appreciates everyone’s concern.”
The older woman nodded. “I imagine you shall remove to your country estate before long.”
Jane met her gaze evenly. “I imagine nothing of the sort.”
Lady Weatherby’s brows rose. “Oh.”
“There is still much to be done in London,” Jane replied.
“Indeed.” The older woman seemed unsure how to respond.
“Now if you’ll excuse me, ladies,” Jane curtsied politely before continuing down the path.
Only after they had moved beyond earshot did Lavinia grin.
“Very nicely done.”
“I may have been slightly sharper than necessary,” Jane fretted.
“You were considerably kinder than I would have been,” Lavinia said.
Jane shook her head. “I do not understand why everyone wishes me gone.”
“Because they would rather not be reminded that terrible things happen.”
The words surprised her. She looked at Lavinia. Her friend was watching a family walking several yards ahead.
“People like to believe tragedy belongs somewhere else,” Lavinia continued quietly. “If you remain here, smiling despite everything...”
“I remind them it could happen to them.”
“Precisely.”
Jane absorbed that in silence. She had never considered it that way. The whispers suddenly felt less personal.
A young couple walked past holding hands. The gentleman bent toward the lady, whispering something that made her blush. Jane quickly looked away.
Her broken engagement barely stung anymore. She had never loved Lord Maltby. She had accepted his proposal because it had been sensible.
If anything, she felt relief that she no longer had to spend a lifetime pretending enthusiasm for a man who had abandoned her the instant difficulties appeared.
Strangely, another face rose unbidden in her thoughts. Dark hair. Stormy gray eyes.
The Duke of Sunderford.
A shiver went down her spine as she remembered the feel of his hands adjusting her stance in the alley. The quiet praise after she’d escaped his grip.
Her pulse betrayed her by quickening.
Jane frowned harder.
“You are making that face again.”
She blinked. “What face?”
“The one that says you are arguing with yourself,” Lavinia said.
“I was not.”
“You absolutely were.”
Jane looked away. “I was merely thinking.”
Lavinia laughed. “That sounds dangerous.”
“It often is.”
Lavinia slipped her arm through Jane’s again. “Then perhaps you should tell me these dangerous thoughts.”
Jane smiled. “I believe I’ll keep them.”
“For now?”
Jane smiled. “Forever.”
“We shall see.”
They resumed walking. Ahead, the promenade widened where several benches overlooked the Serpentine.
Ladies gathered beneath colorful parasols while gentlemen discussed politics nearby. A violinist played softly beneath a great oak tree.
The world continued as though kidnappings did not happen… as though brothers did not vanish… as though titles were not hanging by a thread.
Jane wondered if she envied those people. Or pitied them. Because she now understood something they did not.
Life could change in a single gunshot. Everything one believed secure could disappear before the evening ended.
She had learned that lesson. She suspected she would never forget it.
Beside her, Lavinia gently squeezed her arm. “You disappeared again.”
“I fear I do that rather often lately.”
“Then allow me to rescue you,” Lavinia said.
Jane glanced sideways. “How?”
Lavinia smiled mischievously. “By insisting we continue walking until someone offers us lemonade.”
Jane laughed. “I fail to see how that rescues anyone.”
“It rescues me.” She linked their arms more firmly. “And if I am rescued, naturally my dearest friend must be rescued as well.”
Jane’s laughter lingered longer this time. For the first time since arriving in the park, she felt almost normal. She knew the peace would not last.
There were still secrets to uncover. A missing brother to find. An uncle tightening his grip upon Wynten House.
And somewhere in London, a brooding duke who would undoubtedly appear again far sooner than was good for either of them.
The thought should have irritated her. Instead it left her strangely eager.
Lavinia slowed her pace until they had drifted well away from the busiest stretch of the promenade.
The chatter of fashionable society softened behind them, replaced by birdsong and the gentle rustle of leaves overhead. Ahead, a quieter path curved around the Serpentine, where only a handful of couples wandered beneath the shade of ancient trees.
Satisfied that no curious ears lingered nearby, Lavinia glanced sideways. “You have been hiding something from me.”
Jane attempted an innocent expression. “I have?”
“You know perfectly well you have.” Lavinia folded her arms. “You have been distracted all morning, you keep looking over your shoulder whenever anyone mentions your brother, and you made the oddest face when the duke greeted us at the garden party last week.”
Jane felt warmth creep into her cheeks. “I did not.”
“You absolutely did.”
“I was merely surprised.”
Lavinia rolled her eyes. “You looked ready either to slap him or kiss him.”
Jane nearly stumbled over the uneven path. “Lavinia!”
Her friend laughed outright. “I knew it!”
“You know nothing.”
“I know enough.”
Jane let out a long sigh. “If I tell you something, will you promise not to interrupt until I’ve finished?”
“I promise.” Lavinia’s teasing expression vanished.