The Return of Lady Jane Read online

Alicia nodded at the table by the window and Jane rushed over to grab at the paper that had been left there. She read through it, finding the item about herself splashed across the front page.

  “The gossip is supposed to be blind,” Alicia said. “But it isn’t as if that’s a difficult code to decipher. You are obviously the Lady W. to whom it refers.”

  “How would someone know I was coming to London, down to the date of my arrival?” Jane asked, blinking as she read the item over and over again, like she could somehow erase it by staring at it hard enough.

  Alicia shrugged. “It wasn’t a secret. I told people about it. I’m sure you told friends, too so that you may make calls upon your arrival. Someone might have mentioned it off hand or a servant could have told someone else’s servant. Who knows how the publisher of this rag gets his information?”

  Jane set the paper down with a scowl. “I’m sure it’s not the first time I’ve been gossiped about since my exile. And I assume Colin gets this paper, too?”

  “Everyone in Society gets a copy,” Alicia said. “So I assume his lordship does, as well. Even if he doesn’t, we would be fools to think someone wouldn’t give him the news even if he didn’t bother to read it himself.”

  “Bollocks,” Jane said under her breath, then turned with an apologetic blush for her sister. “I suppose I shouldn’t scold you for language when I come in here like a sailor.”

  “Matthew is a baby—he has no idea what you’re saying,” Alicia said with a reassuring smile. “But what will you do?”

  “I don’t know that there’s anything to do,” Jane said with a sigh. “About this unexpected and very public humiliation or about my circumstances in general.”

  Alicia reached for her, and Jane allowed her sister to take her hand. She sat on the edge of the bed, feeling Alicia’s gaze search hers.

  “You’ve not seemed entirely unhappy in Applegate,” Alicia said slowly, like she was being careful to feel out the situation. “But you don’t…talk about…him. Has he truly made no effort to contact you?”

  Jane covered her face for a moment. It seemed it was easier to remain distant and strong when she didn’t have to look a most beloved sister in the face. Now she felt the truth bubbling up in her. Straining to be released.

  “At first I was in such shock at what happened,” she began with a long sigh. “It was like a dream…a nightmare. And I kept waiting to wake up or have him come to his senses. And then I got into a proper rage at him.”

  “He deserves no less,” Alicia said with a deep frown.

  “And yet I cannot forget the good times we shared,” Jane whispered. “During our courtship he was…good. Oh, he was often formal, but I saw glimpses, here and there, of a man with deep principles. With kindness. I came to care for him, very deeply. I have no idea what happened to turn that man away, but I am married to him. I still want a future and he is my only path to one, isn’t he?”

  “I wish it weren’t true, but yes.”

  “So I gathered myself and began to write to him. I have written the man thirteen times in the past three months. A letter a week.”

  Alicia’s eyebrows lifted in surprise. “And what does he say?”

  Jane bent her head and tried to ignore the pain that rushed through her. “Nothing. He has not responded even once. It seems he doesn’t care what I do. So why would he care about my being here…except that I went against his decree that I would go to the country and stay there?”

  Alicia’s eyes narrowed. “Someone ought to have a word with the viscount! He cannot treat you this way. I feel well enough to get up for a bit. I should march over there and—”

  “Oh no, please don’t!” Jane cried. “You are hardly recovered enough for that, and it wouldn’t make a difference. Whatever affection Colin once showed for me was obviously false. He pretended to care for me before we wed and he certainly pretended it on that day. For some unknown reason, his heart is hardened toward me. There is no fighting that.”

  She sighed as her mind traitorously took her to a sunny afternoon just after her wedding when Colin had been anything but cut off from her. He had made love to her and shattered her with pleasure unlike anything she’d ever imagined. She shivered at the memory.

  “And what will you do while you’re here?” Alicia asked softly.

  Jane shrugged. “I know where I stand, don’t I? He’s made it very clear. I plan to stay out of his way. And hope he stays out of mine.”

  Colin tossed aside the little rag of a paper and clenched his hand on the table next to his plate. “She’s here,” he growled out loud.

  His butler, Simmons, was standing by, checking on the food left on the sideboard, and he looked up at those words. “I beg your pardon, sir?”

  “Nothing,” Colin ground out as he pushed back from the table and the food he would certainly not eat now.

  He stared out the window at the sunny autumn day that seemed to have been created to taunt him. Jane was in London. It was like a shot echoing in his mind.

  “Is there anything I can do for you, my lord?” Simmons pressed.

  Colin glared into the window. “What is on my schedule for today?” he asked through clenched teeth.

  Simmons straightened. “A meeting with Lord Grimley about the legislation you want to propose to the House of Lords, and then a lunch at your club with your cousin. You are also to meet with your solicitor this afternoon about the autumn maintenance at your estates.”

  Colin frowned. All those things were important, indeed, and normally he would not let anything sway him from performing his duties and obligations. But right now he could think of nothing but that Jane was here.

  And he needed to see her. No, not see her. Confront her.

  “Cancel it all,” he said, spinning away from the window. “And have my horse prepared. I have a call to make and I doubt I’ll be in any mood for company once it has been completed.”

  If Simmons was surprised by this sudden change of plans, he didn’t show it on his stern face. He merely nodded and exited the room with swift efficiency.

  Leaving Colin to ponder what in the hell he was doing. Jane had sent him no word she was coming to London. She obviously had no interest in seeing him. He should have had equally little interest in seeing her, and yet he felt a pulsing drive to go to her. To hear her voice and smell her scent and look her in the eye as he hadn’t for six long, tortuous months.

  A foolish notion, but as a husband, it was his right. And that is what he would tell her when she faced him. That and nothing more.

  “Sir?”

  Colin jumped as Simmons reappeared at the door. “Yes?”

  “Your horse is ready.”

  Colin nodded to the butler, collected his gloves and exited the house, his chin lifted and his shoulders back. He swung up on the mount and urged him forward, turning him toward the house of Jane’s sister and her husband. He had not seen either of them since the day of the wedding either. He could not imagine he would receive a warm reception.

  Currently he didn’t give a damn. Jane was his only thought now. Jane and her bright eyes. Jane and her gentle smile. Jane and her easy lies.

  He couldn’t forget that last bit. Not if he wanted to come out of this encounter unscathed.

  It took him a quarter of an hour to ride to the home of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Beckford, but his heart rate never slowed the entire ride. It still throbbed as he mounted the steps to their modest home and straightened his jacket before he knocked.

  A butler appeared in a moment and looked him up and down slowly. “May I help you?”

  Colin sniffed. “I’m aware that Lady Wharton arrived today from Applegate. I am here to see her.”

  The butler shifted slightly, guard entering his expression. “And who may I say is calling when I ascertain if Lady Wharton is in residence?”

  Colin held out a card. “Her husband.”

  The butler caught his breath almost imperceptibly and took
the card being held out to him. He cleared his throat and then stepped back, allowing Colin entrance. “Let me inquire as to the lady’s whereabouts, sir. Follow me to the parlor to wait, if you will.”

  Colin shook his head as he followed the man. “You may let the lady know that if she sends you back with a claim that she is not in house, I will know she is lying and come to find her myself.”

  The butler was now bug-eyed, but he nodded just the same. “Certainly, sir. I will pass along the message.”

  He hustled from the room, leaving Colin to pace the chamber slowly. He had been here once, over a year ago, when he and Jane had celebrated an engagement luncheon at her sister’s home. He recalled sitting beside her at a long table, smiling as they were toasted by all in attendance. She had slid her hand into his under the table, and in that moment he had felt two powerful reactions. The first was a sense of peace unlike any he’d ever known. The second was desire that tore all propriety to shreds and made his body throb.

  He blinked away the images that danced through his mind and turned to pace in the opposite direction. When he did, he came to a full stop, for there at the parlor door was Jane. She was dressed in a pretty pink gown that brought out the porcelain perfection of her skin and the honey-blonde brightness of her hair. Her blue eyes were locked on him, and she took a shuddering breath before she stepped inside the chamber and firmly shut the door behind herself.

  Leaving them alone together for the first time in six long and lonely months.

  Chapter Two

  Jane stared at Colin, her body trembling and her breath hard to find. He was here. He was here in her sister’s parlor, standing no more than ten feet away. And God, but he was handsome. He was impeccably dressed in a black jacket that accentuated his broad shoulders and a smart waistcoat interlaced with golden thread. His dark hair was cut close and not a lock of it dared to be out of place. His harsh jaw was smooth and clean, as if he had only finished scraping his blade across any whisker that dared to make an appearance overnight.

  He looked every inch the proper, upright gentleman, but then he always did even when there was no need for formality. Only once had she seen him undone and that was the afternoon he made love to her so sweetly.

  She tensed her jaw and steeled herself against those thoughts. They would do her no good at present.

  “Colin,” she said softly.

  His expression, which had been focused so intently on her now went hard and bored. She remembered that look all too well. It was the same one that had been on his face when he’d told her she was to go to the country and not return.

  “My lady,” he said, his tone as icy as his demeanor.

  She hardened herself in response, pushing aside her initial thrill at seeing him and reminding herself that not only had he sent her away so callously, but also ignored her for half a year.

  “You didn’t have to be so cruel to my sister’s butler,” she said, folding her arms as she glared at him. “You frightened the man half to death.”

  Colin arched a brow. “I wanted to make certain my intentions were clear.”

  “Well, you have done that in spades, my lord. As always, no one could possibly doubt your contempt for me. Now, what are you doing here?”

  He took a step toward her and her heart stuttered. She hated herself for it. Hated herself for reacting to him at all.

  “I could ask you the same thing, Jane,” he said in a low tone that was not at all gentle. “I thought I made myself very clear that you were to remain in the country.”

  She shook her head. “Oh, you did, my lord. But Alicia and Charles had a baby. You know how close I am to my sister. I couldn’t stay away—I would not, no matter what orders and edicts you gave.”

  His cheek twitched a little, but otherwise he remained impassive. “Perhaps you are right that I could not have expected you to stay away from your beloved sister at this happy time. Still, you could have let me know of your impending arrival.”

  She caught her breath at his arrogance. He had been ignoring her heartfelt letters for months and now he acted as if she had failed in her communication?

  She narrowed her eyes further. “You have not acted like a husband, Colin. Why in God’s name should I act as a wife?”

  His jaw clenched and his entire body stiffened. His glare grew in intensity, sucking her into dark depths, dragging her to places she had convinced herself no longer existed. Perhaps they had never existed. And yet here she was, lost in his heat and his emotions and his obvious anger.

  What she had done to deserve such censure, she still didn’t know.

  “Rumors have begun,” he said after what seemed like an eternity had passed.

  She let out a bark of displeasure. “Are you referring to the Scandal Sheet?” she asked.

  He nodded once. “You have heard of it.”

  “Alicia showed me the paper when I arrived this morning. Surely you have enough discernment to see that it is drivel, Colin.”

  “Drivel or not, it does affect how I am seen. I cannot allow my reputation to be damaged. So you are correct, Jane. It is time for me to start behaving as a husband would.”

  She caught her breath. When he said that and his dark brown gaze flitted over her from head to foot, he almost looked like he…wanted her. Not that it was possible. Their one torrid joining had affected her, but clearly not done anything for him. He had walked away without so much as a backward glance while she woke sweating and aching, the covers tangled around her, her body pulsing with unfulfilled need.

  “What do you mean?”

  His gaze grew even darker and more intense. “Prepare your things, Jane. You shall move to my home today.”

  Her mouth dropped open in absolute shock and she stared at him, unblinking, as she tried to decide if she was losing her mind or her hearing.

  “What are you talking about?” She choked on the words, barely able to formulate them.

  “You heard me,” he said softly.

  She took a long step toward him and was hit by the spicy, warm smell of his skin. Her body began to tingle, but she shoved the reaction aside before it could overwhelm her and hissed, “You haven’t wanted me near you in six months. That fact had to have caused gossip aplenty. Why do you give a damn about it now?”

  “It is one thing to have a wife who remains in the country,” he growled. “It is quite another to have her in the same city as I am and not living under my roof.”

  “Colin!” she ground out.

  He shook his head. “This is ridiculous. Jane, you vowed to obey me—and you shall.”

  She flinched at the way he threw their broken vows in her face and snapped, “We both vowed a great deal. All of that means nothing to you.”

  She spun away from him, feeling his gaze hard and heavy on her back. But even though she was angry, so angry that she trembled, she recognized that arguing with him was futile. Colin got what he wanted.

  If he didn’t, he could make things difficult for Alicia and Charles. She wouldn’t put it past him to do just that.

  “I will go with you,” she murmured when she could find her breath again, “If you will allow that I may return and see my sister, Charles and little Matthew.”

  She faced him in time to see a barely perceptible flinch cross Colin’s expression. “Matthew. The child is a boy?”

  Jane nodded. “Yes. And he’s beautiful.”

  A slight softness entered Colin’s face and he cleared his throat. “You may visit as often as you like,” he conceded quietly. “I will send a carriage for you and a cart for your things after lunch.”

  He turned on his heel and made for the door, with her staring at him. She placed her hands on her hips. “That is all?”

  Her words stopped him short at the door, one hand held out to the handle. He turned and faced her. “For now. Good day.”

  He didn’t wait for her response, but marched out through the foyer, and then he was gone, leaving Jane to sta
re at where he’d last stood.

  And wonder what the hell had just happened.

  Colin urged his horse faster and clung tight to the reins so he wouldn’t deposit himself arse over head into the gutter. He was shaking so hard he probably shouldn’t have even been riding.

  He’d had no intention whatsoever to demand Jane come live under his roof. He’d only come to chastise her, to see her and determine she was still the same as ever and then leave unscathed.

  But the moment he laid eyes on her, everything in his world had changed. He’d spent half a year pretending Jane meant nothing to him. Six long months trying to make that lie into the truth. But seeing her here, even more beautiful than ever, smelling her lemony scent and feeling her warmth when she came near…well, he couldn’t deny that he still wanted her.

  That desire was dangerous, of course. Desire had made many a man commit terrible mistakes. But one could take desire and never allow it to control one.

  Feelings were another thing entirely. And that was what made this situation with Jane worse. He saw her and he wished so desperately that he could go back in time. Back to before he saw her on the terrace with another man on their wedding night. Back to when he looked into her eyes and saw his future.

  Those were feelings he did not want.

  He turned his horse down a familiar lane and onto the drive of Arthur’s home. He’d canceled their meeting through his butler earlier in the day, but now he needed to see his cousin. Arthur had always been a voice of reason when it came to women. When it came to Jane.

  He needed that now.

  He was let in by Arthur’s butler and paced the room as he waited his cousin’s entrance. When the door opened, he turned in time to see a scowl on Arthur’s face. One that evaporated almost instantly as he stepped into the room, hand outstretched.

  “Colin,” he drawled, calling him by his first name, as always. Arthur had never called him Wharton or my lorded him. “I thought you wouldn’t be joining me this afternoon.”

  Colin shook his hand and nodded. “Yes, I know. Something happened and I thought I wouldn’t be good company. But I have swiftly realized I need a friend’s ear and you have always been one of the best to me.”