by Dayna Quince
“Did either of you catch the meaning behind Lady Henrietta’s remarks and Mr. Cage’s arrival?” Georgie asked.
“I did,” Josie said.
Jeanie didn’t reply but stared at Georgie as they walked.
Georgie pressed her lips together. “Does it sound like they have an understanding?”
“As far as I understand what an understanding is, yes. Why?” Josie asked.
“Nothing, just something I was thinking about.”
Jeanie wanted to hug her, but it was exactly as she feared. Georgie had fallen for Mr. Cage, and now she was going to get hurt.
“None of these gentlemen came to this party knowing they would be courting us,” Jeanie said, not that it would help, but Georgie was practical. Reassuring platitudes would not help her. “We have no claim to any of them.”
Georgie walked faster, her longer, stronger strides leaving Jeanie and Josie to scramble after her.
“Wait!” Josie called.
“I have to use the facilities. I cannot wait,” Georgie said. She started to run and Jeanie knew there was no hope of catching her.
“What is the matter with her?”
“I…I don’t know,” Jeanie lied.
“You do, you just don’t want to tell. Everyone is keeping secrets. Fine. I’ve got secrets of my own.” Josie marched ahead, leaving Jeanie behind.
“Fine,” Jeanie muttered.
She couldn’t handle more than one angry sister at a time anyhow. Anne was the oldest and the most skilled, but lately even Anne was absent and distracted.
She reached the house, out of breath and dusty from the road. She went straight to Georgie’s room and knocked on her door, not waiting to be allowed entry but storming in.
“I can only assume, by your strange behavior, that your relationship with Mr. Cage is a concern for all of us.” As was hers and Luc’s, but at least Jeanie knew Luc’s difficulties, and she was resolved to find a way to marry him despite them.
Georgie barely glanced at her while she paced the carpet before the hearth. “You needn’t be concerned. There is nothing between us.”
Jeanie stepped in front of her. “That is not what it looked like in the—whatever that place was. Luckfeld was not at all pleased.”
“I don’t care what pleases Lord Luckfeld. Cage and I—Mr. Cage and I are friends. He isn’t intimidated by me, and he knew I’d be interested in the Paradise Garden.”
“You were alone.”
“We are often alone. We ride together every morning. He keeps watch while I let Kit romp around the courtyard. No one has cared until now.”
Jeanie folded her arms. “I care. I cannot explain exactly what it is that so bothers me about the both of you together, but the point is, I am not the only one who sees it. If there is something between you two, just tell me. We could celebrate it, Georgie. You might be the one to save us from our uncertain future if you marry a gentleman such as he.”
Georgie spun away. “No.”
“What?”
“I told him I won’t ever marry and he—well, you heard Lady Henrietta. She and he have an understanding.”
“An understanding is not an engagement.”
“What do you know about it? Six days with Lord Luckfeld, and now you’re an expert in London society? This is beyond anything we know in our little corner of Northumberland. We may as well speak a different language.”
“Even I know understanding and engagement are two different things,” Jeanie returned. “A betrothal is a serious contract between two such as them.”
Georgie shook her head. “I don’t want to talk about this anymore. You can be assured that whatever friendship existed between Mr. Cage and I is over. It’s now clear we have little in common and we don’t suit.”
Jeanie turned her to face her. “You like him.”
“I did,” Georgie admitted. “I was so stupid to think he would like me in return.”
“No. I’m sure he likes you. I even think he cares for you. But unless he has been clear that he intends to marry you, then he…is just doing as rakes do. Violet did warn us to be careful. I… I understand, Georgie.” More than she could explain.
“I may have fallen in love with him, but it was not intentional,” Georgie said. “I allowed liberties because I knew my chances for marriage were so slim. I wanted the experience for myself. He makes me feel things I’ve never felt before. I couldn’t resist the chance. We set guidelines, we were careful. And he…made sure that I wouldn’t lose my virtue, that we would both be protected from a marriage neither of us wanted.”
“What reason did he give for not marrying?”
“He told me about his family and how his father devoted himself to his business, which hurt he and his mother very much. So much so, that Cage is determined not to marry so he won’t do the same. He is equally devoted to his manufactories as his father was.”
“So he claims,” Jeanie returned bitterly. “What of Lady Henrietta?” Her throat tightened. She could imagine exactly what Georgie felt. Because if she couldn’t convince Luc to take a chance with her, he’d soon be doing the same thing.
“I didn’t know anything about that. Don’t tell anyone, please. This must stay between us.”
“But…our sisters should know what you’ve endured. Violet should know how her own guest has behaved. She may ask him to leave or…marry you.”
“No.”
“But if he cares for you?”
“No,” Georgie said firmly. “I won’t marry a man because he’s been told he has to. Caring for me does not mean he loves me. What kind of marriage would that be? If he cared for me… He would have told me the complete truth.”
“This is all so confusing,” Jeanie said. She wanted to fight for both she and Georgie, but Georgie was the toughest woman she knew. If Georgie wasn’t willing to fight, what chance did Jeanie have?
That night, after a quiet dinner where it seemed everyone chose not to talk rather than discuss the happenings of the Kirkland garden party, Jeanie went to bed but not before checking the tower. It was empty, which she half expected, but she hadn’t anticipated how cold the room would be. A chill slipped down her spine as she found one of the windows to be slightly opened. She closed it and locked it, hugging herself. Erie blue light filtered through the windows, giving her enough to see by. She returned to her room, unable to shake a feeling of unease.
Chapter 20
“What do you suppose happened?” Lord Selhorst asked as he took the first shot and opened the door to the conversation everyone had been avoiding.
“Something they don’t want us to know,” Lord Densmore replied. “One of the sisters must have made a gaff.”
“But which one?” Selhorst asked.
“Chester stayed behind, my guess is Miss Bernadette,” Seyburn interjected. “She’s trouble.”
Luc met Cage’s stare across the billiard table.
“The last I saw of her she was in the maze with the twins,” Selhorst said. “I cannot account for everyone at all times, but nothing seemed off about their behavior even when we all left.”
“Who knows,” Densmore said. “We all know what kind of opportunities a garden party provides.”
Chuckles filled the billiard room except for Luc and Cage.
Luc cleared his throat. “Must we speculate?” The less said the better.
The other men sobered.
“I don’t want to see them hurt,” Selhorst said. “Whatever it is, we must help mitigate any rumor.”
“We can’t help the situation if we don’t know who is involved,” Lord Densmore said. “I know for a fact it wasn’t Miss Lunette. She was lawn bowling with Seyburn, my brother, and me.”
“The twins returned shortly after the maze, but they were quiet,” Mr. Seyburn said.
“Are they involved or did they see something?” Selhorst asked.
“See what exactly?” Cage asked.
Selhorst shrugged. “If I was to lead a woman somewhere private, I�
�d use Lord Kirkland’s Pleasure Garden. It was closed to guests. The maze next to it is separated only by a wall of bamboo. The privacy is only an illusion. One only has to look intently to see inside from all sides.”
Luc bit back a curse, watching Cage.
“You sound very familiar with it,” Luckfeld said, raising a brow at Selhorst.
“I am,” Selhorst said. “Lord Kirkland gave me a tour himself. I’ve a mind to build my own.”
In his periphery, Luc saw Cage set his billiard stick down and throw back his drink while the others continued to speculate and list the whereabouts of guests.
Luc stealthily moved to his side. “Careful,” Luc whispered. “You’re acting suspicious.”
Cage shook his head. “I need to speak with her. I need to know she’s all right.”
“That isn’t advisable,” Luc warned.
“So be it.”
“What excellent last words of a man intent to throw caution to the wind.”
Cage set his drink down and left them without another word. Luc followed, weary but tempted to go to the tower. He shouldn’t. She might search for him there and then… The temptation would be too great. ’Tis better for him to stay away.
He followed Cage up the back stairs but he wasn’t moving in the direction of the bachelor quarters. He was heading toward…
“Are you mad?” Luc whispered furiously. They were now on the floor that belonged to the sisters’ rooms. “You know where her room is?” he ground out.
“I inquired, yes,” Cage said.
“And you don’t intend to marry her? You fiend. Selbourne will have your manhood in a trophy case.” And Luc’s if they weren’t careful.
Cage didn’t respond at first.
“Her virtue is intact and though I know where her room is—I think—I’ve not entered it.”
Luc sighed. “You’re dragging me down with you.”
“I didn’t ask you to come.”
“You’re not thinking straight. I’m trying to save you from yourself.”
“You’re a good friend. I don’t think I’ve ever told you that.”
Luc gritted his teeth, but the compliment struck a pleasant chord. “You have implied it on several occasions.”
Cage didn’t speak or move but stared into the darkness. Luc exhaled in defeat.
“Here.” He pressed a book of paper and a pencil into Cage’s hand.
“What’s this for?”
“Slip a note under the door and when it opens, we’ll know who is in there.”
“You’ve done this before?”
“Of course, why do you think we get along so well? We are remarkably alike, you and I.”
Cage scribbled something in the book and tore out the small paper.
He trod silently to a door, slipped the paper under, and then returned to the shadows and waited.
Jeanie was just about to admit defeat and close her eyes. She’d grown accustomed to the bed and now embraced its cloying softness, accepting its cradle like a hug. She exhaled, the tension leaving her body, when a soft knock on her door made every fiber of her being come alert.
Was it him?
Jeanie leapt from the bed, her heart pacing as she skidded to a halt before the door and took a calming breath. She finger-brushed her hair and licked her lips. Then she opened the door.
Georgie stood there in the darkness, a slip of paper in her hand.
Jeanie’s stomach sank like a rock.
“Will you come with me?” Georgie asked.
Jeanie took the note and read it, fighting the urge to crumple it in her hand.
We need to talk.
“Where?” Jeanie asked.
“I don’t know.”
A wad of paper landed at their feet. Jeanie jumped back. Georgie swiveled toward the shadows of the back stairs where the paper had come from.
Mr. Cage stepped out, Luc just behind him.
Jeanie squeaked and drew back out of their sight, swiftly plaiting her tangled curls into something less disastrous. She ducked into her dressing robe just as Mr. Cage appeared next to Georgie.
“What do you want to talk about,” Georgie whispered.
“Everything that need be said. Come to the conservatory.”
Georgie looked to Luc. “And him?”
Jeanie came to Georgie’s side. “We’ll come to chaperone.”
The four slipped quietly into the dark. Jeanie held tightly to the ties of her robe, afraid her nerves would get the best of her and she’d knock something over, making a racket. Luc walked beside her, stoic, his hands at his sides. They stopped at the conservatory, moonlight filling the glass room and the hall where they stood. The same bluish light as the tower. Jeanie shivered, expecting to see her breath in the air, but it wasn’t nearly so cold she was just…scared. Not of Luc. But what he might say to her. She could feel him withdrawing from her, shuttering his emotions, building in visible walls around himself.
“We’ll wait out here but don’t take long. If we’re all caught like this, it will be a devil to explain,” Luc warned Georgie and Cage.
They slipped inside the conservatory, heading toward the table in the middle.
Jeanie turned away, tears pricking her eyes.
She’d become so attuned to him she could hear him breathe, hear the shifting of his clothing as he moved. But he wasn’t coming toward her. He moved away, to the wall opposite the conservatory door and leaned against it, just outside the light of the moonbeam.
Jeanie couldn’t take it anymore. Her heart was in her throat, but she found the words, somehow she found the strength to say them.
“You’ve got something to say too, don’t you?”
He stuffed his hands in his pockets. “I realized something today.”
Dare she hope it was some lovely epiphany about choosing love over duty or some nonsense like that? Now she sounded like Josie in her thoughts too.
She bit her lip until it hurt and pressed her eyes closed. She sucked in a breath. “Oh? What?”
“We can’t be together. It’s too dangerous.”
Pain lanced her heart.
So this is what heartbreak felt like.
Literal heart breaking.
Tearing, burning, acid climbing up her throat as her muscles strained to swallow around the cry she couldn’t let out. She fell back against the wall, opposite him, also out of the blue-tinted light where the shadows could shelter her.
“Cage loves her, but he has reasons for thinking he shouldn’t marry. Good reasons, reasons your sister should consider should he propose.”
That shocked her. “You think she should refuse him?”
“If he is still the man that arrived here eight days ago, yes. But there is a chance he will change.”
“But not you,” she said bitterly. “Your situation hasn’t changed.”
“No, but I have. You showed me something I thought I’d never have.”
She dipped her head to her chest, fighting a sob. She didn’t want him to hear it or see her cry. He might try to comfort her, and then she’d fall apart.
“But I have to think of my family, Jeanie. And you. I don’t want to hurt you. It’s better that we end this now. Before it’s too late. Before we do something we can’t take back.”
She bit her knuckle, a half sob escaping her. He pushed away from the wall, stepping toward her. She put up her hand and he halted, right in the beam of light.
“Don’t come any closer.”
“Jeanie.”
“Just don’t.”
She could see his anguish now, see the rapid movement of his breathing. He was hurting too but how much. As much as she?
If she told him she loved him, would it change anything? Would he fight to be with her?
“I—” I love you. “Luc, I…”
“I’m a bastard,” he said abruptly.
All the air left her lungs. She sucked in a breath. “What?” She stepped into the light, just the edge to see him clearer.
&
nbsp; “My mother was carrying me when she married the viscount. My real father is an artist living in France. The viscount did everything he could to destroy the Luckfeld holdings before I inherited. He didn’t want me to have anything but the title. A worthless title. But he couldn’t see beyond his own hate. He didn’t think past hurting me, so he hurt my sister and brother too.
“I have to fix it.”
“I know,” she said weakly. “I understand what all that means, having to make choices to protect one’s family.”
“Then you understand I can’t marry you. I couldn’t provide for you, let alone help your family.”
Jeanie melted back into the shadows, tears spilling forth. She’d never cared less about money than she did right now. She just wanted him.
But you have to admit they’d make good mistress material. Beautiful and cheap.
She gasped. Where had that come from?
“Jeanie?” he asked in concern.
The ball, her first ball, four months ago, the balcony, the boy—the boy what was his name…Mr…R something. Oh, why couldn’t she think of it?
But why were those words coming back to her now?
“Josie,” she whispered.
“To men like them we’re nothing more than mistress material.”
“Josie?” he asked, his voice tinged with confusion.
Jeanie shook her head. Was that it?
Was that the answer? He couldn’t marry her but they could be together if… No. It was madness. She couldn’t be a mistress, she couldn’t be a paid companion…
But it wouldn’t be like that between them. It would be about love, it would be about doing whatever they could to be together. Did he remember the promise he’d had her make?
She did now. But if loving him meant breaking it, she would. That first ball, that first kiss felt so long ago now. Years ago, but it was only a matter of months.
Mistress material.
She’d have to think about it. She couldn’t just decide, not like this, not when her heart was so open and bleeding.
“Say something, Jeanie,” he pleaded.
Georgie was coming toward them, moving at a clip that didn’t bode well. But what perfect timing.
Jeanie swallowed, the tightness in her throat easing. “Goodnight, Luc.”
