by Georgie Lee
Jasper tucked the folio under his arm and drew Jane to his side. ‘Miss Rathbone, allow me to introduce my associate, Mr Gabriel Bronson.’
‘A pleasure to meet you.’ Mr Bronson swept off his hat and folded into a deep bow.
Jane curtsied, then rose with an impish smile. ‘Quite an angelic name for a gambler?’
‘My father was a preacher.’ Mr Bronson set his hat on his head and hooked his thumbs in his waistcoat pocket. ‘Tried to redeem me before I was even a man. Didn’t realise I was already lost.’
‘And what about Jasper, how lost was he in Savannah? He’s told me so little of it. I want to know what he was like there.’
Mr Bronson exchanged a wary glance with Jasper. ‘There isn’t really much to tell. It’s not so different here than it was there. He still enjoyed the finer things like clothes, and wines, but he had to come to London to find the finest fiancée.’
To Jasper’s amazement, Jane blushed. ‘I don’t believe you. There must have been something different about him there.’
Mr Bronson took his tobacco pouch out of his pocket and swung it in a small circle in front of him. ‘Well, Jasper did attend the theatre more and of course there was the gaming room.’ He described to Jane the gaming room in all its glittering and gaudy splendour and Jasper’s and Uncle Patrick’s place in it, trips to the theatre and parties at the finest Savannah homes with the mayor and other influential men. Jasper could barely recall the lively and carefree man he used to be before the epidemic, the one he could be again with Jane by his side.
‘I didn’t realise Jasper was so influential in Savannah, or how wide a swathe he cut through high society,’ Jane remarked with amusement when Mr Bronson finished his tale.
Jasper shook his head. ‘It wasn’t as impressive as he’s making it sound.’
‘Or you’re being modest.’
‘He’s right Miss Rathbone, I might have embellished a little, but I want you to think well of your husband-to-be.’
‘Will you be at the wedding, Mr Bronson?’ Jane asked.
‘No. I don’t fancy formal events, but I wish you all the best, Miss Rathbone. You’ve found a fine man in Jasper.’ He slapped Jasper on the back. ‘Now, if you’ll excuse me, my bed is calling.’
With another imperial bow he took his leave.
‘For a rake he’s a charming man. I see why you chose him to be the face of your gaming room,’ Jane observed once he was gone. ‘And you’re right. It wouldn’t be fair to sell it out from under him. I’ll use my money to purchase the necessary furniture and accoutrements.’
‘No, I have ample funds for it. I’ll advance them to you and you can purchase what you need with them. I’ll also give you free rein on contracts and spending once we’re married, sooner if you’d like. We can visit my solicitor, Mr Steed, tomorrow and make all the necessary arrangements.’
‘Yes, I want everything to be in place so I can begin at once and, while the hell is still yours, make sure the two of you promote the benefits of our club,’ Jane added.
‘We’ve already begun. I can also sell what’s still in the warehouse since I’m sure you have no desire to see it installed in our house.’ He came up to her and placed his arms around her waist, holding her as naturally as he breathed.
‘You’re right. I have no desire to decorate like the Sun King.’
‘Too bad, the bed in the warehouse is quite sturdy.’ He pulled her tighter against him.
She laid her hands on his shoulder and playfully peered up at him. ‘Is it, now?’
He brought his mouth so close to her ear, his lips brushed the lobe as he whispered, ‘Very.’
She shivered and he closed his eyes, nearly groaning at the sweetness of her response.
‘Then perhaps we can keep the one piece.’ She ran her finger along the lapel of his coat, the gesture as tempting as it was subtle.
He was about to accept the silent invitation in her eyes and touch his lips to hers when the bells of St Bride’s Church rang out and Jane jerked back. ‘Oh, we have another appointment.’
He brushed her neck with his lips. ‘Are you sure you want to go?’
She pushed him out to arm’s length, the businesswoman in her winning out over the vixen. ‘We aren’t married yet and there’s a cheesemonger expecting us.’
* * *
A half hour later they stood in Mr Stilton’s shop, sampling a variety of cheddar like none they’d ever tasted before. It was difficult for Jane to concentrate on the tang of the cheese with the taste of Jasper still so sharp. He wore a fawn-coloured coat over a dark waistcoat. Both were tailored to fit his firm chest and offer a hint of what she’d seen the other morning. In the carriage on the way here, she’d considered tempting him into another peek, but had refrained. She’d been audacious enough in her proposal, she didn’t wish to appear like a harlot or ruin the delights of the wedding night with her impatience.
‘What do you think?’ She licked a crumb off her lip, subtle in her teasing, aware of Mr Stilton watching them.
‘It’s a true temptation to the palate.’ The potency in Jasper’s eyes stole any suggestive responses from her tongue. Flirting didn’t come naturally to her, except when she was with him.
‘I sell this variety to some of the most important men in London.’ Mr Stilton rocked on his heels in pride, his soft chin raised.
‘An excellent angle for marketing it to our clients, at a mark-up, of course,’ Jane suggested to Jasper.
‘Of course.’
Jane fell silent while Jasper spoke to Mr Stilton about how much they would need and a possible date for delivery. She calculated the price, as she had with everything else connected with establishing the club, and it was substantial. If Jasper harboured doubts about the solvency of their venture then she couldn’t fault or chide him for hanging on to part of the hell. Not even her inheritance would be enough to save them if the losses proved too large. She’d seen enough men come to Philip for loans for shops and ventures only to have a fire, flood or sunken ship send them spiralling into insolvency. Even Philip had once come close to losing everything. In the months after they’d lost their parents, while he was caring for her and taking over their father’s business, he’d extended a sizeable loan to a silversmith who’d defaulted. It had almost ruined his entire business. Mr Charton, having been a good friend of their father’s, had stepped in to help stop Philip from being ruined. She’d been a child then, but in her grief she’d caught the strain in Philip’s face and overheard enough conversations to realise the severity of what was going on. Philip had worried with Mr Charton over not being able to provide for Jane or being forced by his losses to leave her with the Chartons and it had terrified her. She’d been a burden he hadn’t needed at a time when everything had been falling on his shoulders and there’d been nothing she could do to help him. She wondered what burden she now placed on Jasper and if this was why he’d hesitated about the wedding yesterday.
Jane stepped a touch closer to Jasper. She’d wrangled him into marrying her. It made her wonder whether he offered wanton kisses, suggestions and compliments because he really wanted to or because, having made his decision after yesterday’s doubts, he must now convince them both it was the right one.
‘Thank you, Mr Stilton, for everything.’ Jasper shook the cheesemonger’s hand, then guided Jane towards the entrance of the shop, his arm solid on hers.
She placed her hand over his as they stepped outside on to the pavement. She was no longer a helpless child, she was a grown woman who would not be a burden to him; she would be a partner in their success. It was how much of a partner he intended to be that she still worried about.
They left the shop and were not three feet from the entrance when Chester Stilton staggered out of a hack, his usually pristine clothes as rumpled as the skin beneath his eyes. With her doubts trailing
her, he was one of the last people she wished to encounter and she tugged on Jasper’s arm, hoping to hurry past before he noticed them. They were not fast enough.
‘Miss Rathbone, here to change your mind about my offer?’ Chester called out, forcing her and Jasper to face the man.
‘I see your credit with your tailor has run out.’ She motioned to the patched tear on his lapel.
He reddened with shame at being caught looking less than impeccable. Then he leaned in close to her, his eyes as bloodshot as his breath was foul. ‘Come to sneer at me, spinster?’
‘Mind how you address her,’ Jasper warned from beside her.
Mr Stilton curled one lip at him, revealing his yellow teeth. ‘Who are you?’
‘Jasper Charton.’ Jasper took Jane’s hand. ‘Her fiancé.’
‘Picking up your brother’s leftovers, I see,’ Mr Stilton sneered before turning to Jane. ‘What did you do to get him? Purchase him like you couldn’t purchase his brother?’
Jasper slid in between Jane and the cheesemonger’s son. He stood a good head taller than Chester and leaned so close to him, he was forced to bend back to avoid being nose to nose with Jasper. ‘Speak to her like that again and I’ll see to it your debts are called in. I don’t mean your debt at the tailor, I mean the gambling ones you’ve run up at the Company Gaming Room.’
Jane stifled a squeak of surprise while struggling to hold her look of disdain. Mr Stilton gambles at Jasper’s hell.
Mr Stilton’s lips dropped down over his teeth and the blood drained out of his flushed face. ‘How do you know about those? I’ve never seen you there.’
‘I’m a well-connected man. If you don’t wish to be strung up by your debts, or have your father inadvertently learn of them, you’ll keep your opinions about Miss Rathbone to yourself. Do I make myself clear?’
Mr Stilton flicked a nervous glance at Jane before nodding in agreement.
‘Good, then we’ve settled the matter.’ Jasper straightened, turned to Jane and offered her his arm. She took it, jutting her chin out in defiance of Mr Stilton when they stepped around him. ‘Good day, Mr Stilton.’
Jane didn’t dare speak until they were down the street and well away from the cheesemonger. ‘Why did you threaten him with his club debts?’
His arm beneath her hand stiffened. ‘Because he deserved it for insulting you.’
‘But you risked him finding out about your involvement in the hell. If he had, he’s weasel enough to have used it against you.’
‘I’ve seen him gamble. He isn’t smart enough to make the connection.’ Jasper stopped and faced her. ‘Besides, you’re worth the risk.’
Jane’s back stiffened. She’d waited years for someone to value her like this, someone not related to her by blood or marriage. The fact it was Jasper seemed right, but the old doubts refused to be silenced. ‘No, I’m not.’
He brushed her cheek with his fingers. ‘Despite what you believe, you’re an exceptional woman worthy of respect and admiration. I’m the one who doesn’t deserve you.’
‘Of course you do.’ People shuffled by on the narrow pavement, silently scolding them for blocking traffic. Jane was barely conscious of their censure as Jasper caressed her cheek with his thumb. He’d been willing to risk having his respectability challenged to defend her, and it was obvious he didn’t regret it. This more than his words—his offer to turn over his affairs at once, or his kisses, spoke to how much he valued her and their coming union.
Mrs Fairley was right. Jane hadn’t made a mistake.
Chapter Six
‘In case you’re unfamiliar with what will take place tonight, allow me to explain,’ Mrs Hale offered while Laura did up the buttons on the back of Jane’s wedding dress. With her straight nose and auburn hair tinged with grey, Mrs Hale resembled Laura, except her eyes were pale brown while Laura’s were hazel. ‘When a gentleman and a lady are alone together...’
‘Yes, I’m well aware of what will transpire.’ Jane had eavesdropped on Jasper’s sister enough times when she was younger to learn the full extent of things. However, having an understanding of how the deed worked and experiencing it were two very different things. Jane took such a deep breath, she feared the buttons might pop off their threads. If what was to come with Jasper was anything like his kisses, she wasn’t sure how she’d make it through tonight without melting into a puddle.
‘Too bad, I was looking forward to describing it in more flowery language than I usually hear in Dr Hale’s practice.’ Mrs Hale laughed from her place on the sofa. It was the first time the three women had been together in months and her presence helped calm Jane. She’d been like a mother to her, helping her grow from a young girl to a woman and calming her on more than one occasion when Jane had been fuming over some slight or one of Philip’s decisions. In Mrs Hale’s smile and the delighted way she spun her cane as she held it in front of her, Jane could almost imagine her own mother here.
She would be here if it hadn’t been for me. Jane tried to smile while the other ladies continued to joke and tease, but her lips were as tight as her nerves.
‘If you have any questions after the deed, you know where to find me.’ Mrs Hale clapped with the same restrained exuberance she’d shown when Laura had made her a grandmother. Then she rose and came to stand beside her, fingering the fine embroidered lace cascading from the shoulders of the dress to brush the hem of the skirt. ‘I’m glad you’ll finally be able to attach a good memory to this bit of silk. You deserve to be happy.’
Her eyes misted with tears as she took Jane by the shoulders and turned her to face the mirror. Any reservations Jane might have had about the dress vanished as the thirteen-year-old girl who’d spent days in this room mourning the departure of her friend, and praying he might some day return, rose up inside her. He had come back to her. He was the first.
Philip rapped on the door and then entered. He wore his best morning suit, as handsome today as when he’d married Laura. He stopped at the sight of his sister, and his eyes shone with pride. ‘You’re lovely.’
He came forward and pressed a tender kiss to her forehead. Tears blurred her vision, but she brushed them off with her gloved fingertips, not wanting to meet Jasper with red eyes. Philip was almost the only parent she’d ever known, and for all her wanting to have a home of her own, she was at last leaving his. Every argument they’d ever had and each disagreement meant nothing compared to the affection in his smile.
‘Thank you.’ For everything. He’d always been a loving brother, doing his best to raise her. She’d miss his steady presence, despite all of their butting heads.
‘Are you ready?’
The day she never thought would come was here at last. She would finally be a bride. It was time to go and claim her life with Jasper. ‘I am.’
* * *
Jasper stood at the altar, Reverend Claire beside him, his younger brother Giles serving as Jasper’s best man while Jacob sulked in the pew at not having been chosen. A few years ago it would have been Milton beside him, but he was the only Charton not in attendance. He and his wife had elected to stay away from the church, but at his father’s insistence he’d grudgingly agreed to bring his wife to the wedding breakfast at the Rathbones’.
Jasper’s three elder sisters and their husbands and children sat in the first few pews. While his numerous nieces and nephews whispered and giggled with the Rathbone children, his sisters and his mother sniffed into their handkerchiefs. A few months ago they’d been worried he’d die in Savannah. They were overjoyed to see him now on his wedding day.
He rubbed the back of his neck and the slight perspiration beneath his collar. They cared for him and he was deceiving them all. They’d despise him if they ever found out about the hell and shun him just as surely as they embraced him today. He’d have no one to blame but himself if they did. If the
day ever came, he hoped they showed Jane as much tolerance as they’d extended to Milton. He couldn’t bear to have her cast out of her family for his mistakes.
‘You’re not nervous, are you?’ Giles ribbed, pulling Jasper out of his worries.
‘No.’ He exchanged a hearty smile with his younger brother. ‘Just eager.’
And he was. The day he’d left London with Jane’s willingness to wait for him still fresh in his mind, he’d believed every hope he’d ever harboured of being with his closest friend was finished. He’d make sure she never suffered because of him, or viewed him with the same disgust he’d come to see his uncle with. She would remain innocent where he’d been corrupted and he would do everything he could to make sure she never wanted for anything.
The organ struck up, drawing Jasper and the entire church’s attention to the back. Jane appeared at the top of the aisle, resplendent in an ivory-silk dress with a train of lace, walking with dignity beside her brother in time to the organ music. Her cobalt-coloured eyes fixed on his, so alight with joy it took his breath away. He’d thought luck had deserted him in Savannah, then he’d come home and met her again. She knew more about him than anyone in this church and still she was willing to bind her life to his. He didn’t deserve her admiration, but he’d find a way to be worthy of her.
At last, Jane reached him and, after a few words from the Reverend Claire, Philip offered Jasper his sister’s hand and her future. Jasper couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across his lips and Jane answered it with a playful one of her own. It echoed with the memories of them laughing together at his eldest sister Olivia’s wedding. At the reception, they’d played the game of what if, taking turns imagining who their future partner would be. Secretly, he’d hoped it would be her. Today, it was. It wasn’t desperation that had guided her up the aisle to him, but a connection they’d shared for years, one which hadn’t been broken by time or distance or all his sins.
