Chapter Eighteen
BOXING DAY WAS THE first morning in the week with the weather warm enough for Jonathan to risk riding his favorite horse out of the stable yard.
The return to his usual morning routine after his enforced idleness made him as exuberant as his restless mount, but most of it came from the wonder that a night spent in Jane’s arms could bring so much happiness.
This week together had fulfilled his every hope that his feelings for Jane would be matched by compatibility in their daily lives.
Now he also had proof that their passions were in synchrony.
Jonathan relived that moment last night when Jane had invited him to her bed.
He had stood riveted to the Axminster carpet.
His gaze had held hers. He’d closed his eyes, blocking the sight of her.
Decisions, decisions. It was a hard one.
He had wanted her, as he had since he first saw her, but he was an honorable man.
She had bitten her lip and glanced down at their clasped hands before looking up at him again. Longing was in her eyes and determination showed on her face. And her words had proven it. “You’re wrong!” She was so sure.
It was the hardest thing he had done to resist her enticement and lead her from the room.
And then she had insisted. It had been a dream come true and so unexpected. Hope swelled his chest.
When he first met Jane, he had wondered how her loosened hair would curl around her slender shoulders and had tried to envisage how far down her naked back it would drape.
Now, he had seen it glimmer in the candlelight as it swung to her waist. Her glorious hair.
He had pushed it to one side to kiss her neck.
Everything that had followed had been sublime.
His happiness was complete. There was no way in which he would contemplate withdrawing from their engagement now. He was a satisfied man.
He turned his horse for home and breakfast, eager to see Jane. Eager for their new relationship. Finally, the woman he wanted and needed to marry returned his love. Astounding!
***
JANE STRETCHED SINUOUSLY in the cozy cocoon of her bed, remembering the night before. Her body felt deliciously alive and energized. She blushed at the thought of the things they had done.
Her Christmas gift lay on the table beside the bed.
She reached over to stroke the volume and open its pages, smiling again in remembered joy at receiving the well-considered present.
His gift showed he understood and approved of her interests.
She now knew that Jonathan was generous, gentle, and kind, but also strong, decisive, and brave when necessary—as his actions to help save Charlotte showed.
Their proposed marriage of convenience was going to work.
Surely there could be no better man for her.
Jane floated from bed to breakfast room, her thoughts wrapped up in the happiness and experiences of yesterday. Today had a dreamlike quality.
Elizabeth sat at the table, an untouched cup of tea by her side.
Once seated, Jane watched her friend fiddle with her toast, breaking pieces off without eating any of them. Jane began a number of conversations but none led to a sustained chat. Jane finished her breakfast. Elizabeth still fiddled with her food.
Jane set her cup down with a clatter. “Elizabeth, tell me what is the matter. I have never seen you so distracted.”
Elizabeth looked up and apologized for her absorption. “Marcus is meeting with Jonathan in the library to ask him if we may marry. He has been in there half an hour!”
Jane wasn’t surprised by this development. “Surely that is a good sign. Surely, if Jonathan had said no immediately, Dr. Logan would have been out of there within minutes.”
“Maybe Marcus is taking a roundabout way of getting to the subject.” Elizabeth pleated her napkin in a distracted way.
“It’s possible, but so is that they are discussing settlements and so forth.”
“Do you think so?” Elizabeth relaxed a little. “Yes, you must be right. There is no need to worry. I will be positive.”
As she spoke the words, the door to the breakfast room opened. Dr. Logan stepped inside. A furrow creased his forehead.
Elizabeth hurried to him. “Oh, Marcus, what did he say?”
Dr. Logan led her back to her seat and sat beside her. “The answer is no, but a qualified no. More of a not yet.”
“What do you mean?” Lady Elizabeth asked.
“According to your brother—and I have to agree with him—you are too young to be making a decision to marry such an older man. He would prefer we wait.”
“How long?” Elizabeth asked, stricken.
“Until you are twenty-five.” His words were bleak.
Elizabeth gasped. “Five years! Oh, how could he be so cruel?”
“He doesn’t see himself as being cruel, but as protecting you from a bad mistake,” Dr. Logan answered evenly. “You are young and may change your mind. He doesn’t want you to be trapped in an unhappy marriage.”
Jane gasped. How could he? She must do something.
She must speak with Jonathan. Jane stood abruptly.
Her chair scraped on the polished floor.
“Excuse me.” She strode to the doorway and tugged the heavy door open.
She marched along the hall to Jonathan’s library to demand that he allow Elizabeth to find happiness with Dr. Logan.
With her hand raised ready to knock on the door, she came to her senses. It would do her no good to demand anything from Jonathan. He would only dig his heels in further... she must be logical in her argument for Dr. Logan’s suit.
Taking a deep breath, Jane rapped on the door and entered the room.
“Jane, my love.” Smiling, Jonathan stepped forward to take her hands in his and kiss them. “I have longed to see you this morning.”
“Yes, and I you, my lord.”
He chuckled. “I don’t think you should ever call me ‘my lord’ again after what we have shared.”
Jane smiled tightly. “Jonathan... I have just spoken with Elizabeth and Dr. Logan. You have refused their engagement. Why?”
Jonathan’s upturned lips flattened into a grim line. “I am obliged to protect my sister and all the women of my family.”
She took a steadying breath. “Yes, I understand your duty, but why this decision? Dr. Logan is a good man, the very best. I’ve known him for years and he’s never committed a dishonorable act.
He would take good care of your sister and she seems devoted to him.
They have known each other for a year now.
It is not a new acquaintance. He is not a fortune hunter. Whatever can be against the match?”
“If I must enumerate the reasons for you,” he replied sternly, “they are these: Elizabeth is twenty—”
“But so are many young ladies married each Season at such an age.”
“You’re correct, but she has chosen a man twice her age who is not of her rank and is not wealthy. Each of these factors would be enough in its own right for me to refuse him as a match for my sister.”
“Are you saying that when they have waited until Elizabeth is twenty-five and they are still of the same mind that you will then refuse permission for their marriage?”
“No, I will have no say in their marriage then. Elizabeth will be master of her own funds and of her own fate. They will know by then that their love has lasted and will last.”
“By then Dr. Logan will be close to fifty years old, five years closer to the end of his life. They may have twenty years together, but Elizabeth may still be left with young, fatherless children.” Indignation at his maligning of her friends’ characters simmered in her.
“That is not sufficient an argument for their marriage now.” His face looked stern and implacable.
Elizabeth tried another tack. “Dr. Logan is a gentleman. He may not be of Elizabeth’s rank but he comes from a good family and he is related to a baronet.”
“Distantly related.”
Jane inclined her head at his clarification. “Although he is not a rich man, he’s not a poor one either. He has sufficient income to support a wife and family, I believe.”
“None of this changes the fact that there is a very great age difference between them, and I believe Elizabeth needs longer to prove the steadfastness of her affections.”
Anger bubbled through Jane. “I don’t agree.” She couldn’t keep the emotion from her voice, and she sounded embattled.
Jonathan sighed. “Jane, you of all people, having just rescued your sister, should be aware of the dangers of early and hasty marriage.”
Jane drew back as though struck. “The cases do not equate at all!”
Jonathan leaned against his oak desk. “Do they not? Your sister married at age twenty to a man older than herself who seemed to be well-placed to succeed in his career. Your father thought so.”
“Yes, but I did not,” she answered hotly.
He raised an eyebrow. “And are your opinions infallible? We can all misjudge people’s characters and situations.”
“As you are doing!”
He pursed his lips. “I’m being cautious for my sister’s sake. I love Elizabeth and want only her happiness. That is all.”
Jane body deflated. She wasn’t going to change Jonathan’s mind.
His rigid, stubborn stance painted a clear and depressing glimpse into her future at the mercy of his decisions.
A chill ran up her spine. All this morning’s joy was gone.
She had made a terrible mistake. Last night replayed in her mind, a dream metamorphosed into a nightmare.
There was only one action for her to take.
She straightened to her full height. “I see I have misjudged you, Lord Dalton. I thought you were a compassionate man and one of intellect, open to reason. I understand now that I am mistaken.” Jane reached the door in three swift strides.
With her hand on the doorknob, she looked him in the eyes. “Our engagement is over, Lord Dalton.”
Jonathan flinched and stepped toward her.
Jane slipped through the door, closing it firmly behind her.
Her hands clenched in the folds of her dress.
She wanted to walk with calm dignity to her room.
Instead she lifted her skirt and ran.