The Highwayman (11 page)

“In any event, since all you can hope for is to teach her the basics of good breeding, perhaps you should concentrate only on those things which are of greatest importance. I also think you might do better to teach her by example than by criticism.”

“Yes, that makes sense,” said Jane quietly, her eyes downcast. “Thank you.”

St. Clair sent a swift, worried glance in Agatha’s direction, but she merely shrugged. Turning back to Jane, he said in a teasing voice, “And do not forget the bribes.”

In truth, Jane had barely been following the conversation, for Alice’s words kept repeating themselves over and over again in her mind. Now, however, she suddenly realized how self-pitying she must have sounded. Forcing a smile, she retorted, “Oh, no. What a dreadful mistake
that
would be. I am persuaded, in fact, that it is the best advice of all.”

“That is much better,” said St. Clair. “I knew you had pluck. But, my dear girl, was it really necessary to make me sound quite so decrepit? I realize the chit is very young, but she
is
of marriageable age, and I am only three-and-thirty.”

Jane threw him a startled glance and said, “No, you are not quite in your dotage.” Then, standing abruptly, she added, “But enough of this nonsense. You may be a gentleman of leisure, but I have a great deal of work awaiting me.”

The other two arose from the table, and Agatha said, “I shall go check on Elsie or she will waste the morning day-dreaming while dusting one piece of furniture.” With that, she hurried from the room.

As Jane and St. Clair moved towards the door, she said, “I hope you don’t mean to overtax yourself, Jon. You are not yet fully recovered, you know.”

“Don’t worry.” He smiled. “I know my limits and shall rest when I feel the need. You have done a remarkable job of healing me and, oddly enough, the exertion of moving about more seems to have a good effect. I am feeling much stronger today. And as I am not in the least tired at present, I think this might be a good time to look over those other account books.”

Jane stopped, flustered. “Oh, but that was only—I mean, there is no longer a need, now that...”

They stood, facing each other, and as her voice trailed off, he said, “Ah, I see. You mean that you would allow a highwayman access to your financial records, but not the notorious St. Clair.”

Blushing, she replied, “Don’t be absurd. I did not mean that at all.”

His brows rose questioningly, and she said, “Oh, for heaven’s sake! Feel free to look to your heart’s content. Come. I shall show you to the estate room... unless you would prefer that I have them brought to your chamber?”

“No, the estate room will be fine.”

He followed her to a small room at the back of the house, where she again reminded him not to overtax his strength. But when she turned to leave, he stopped her.

Taking both her hands in his, he said, “I have been thinking....”

“Yes?” She hoped her voice did not sound as breathless as she feared. She did not know what she had hoped to hear, but his words surprised her.

He said, “We have become accustomed to addressing one another by our first names, which is fine when we are in private. But perhaps it would be better if we were a trifle more cautious in future...particularly before Alice. Also, you must be very discreet when visiting my chamber.”

A small spark of anger came to life. Was
he,
of all people, lecturing
her
on the subject of propriety?

“Of course,” she said rather stiffly, withdrawing her hands. She could not resist adding tartly, “And perhaps you should refrain from greeting me with a kiss on the cheek in future.”

He grinned and said, “Oh, well, that was merely a cousinly gesture.”

“Nevertheless, I advise you to take care, St. Clair. You know as well as I that no one is likely to believe that far-fetched tale.”

With that, she left him and did not hear the small sound he made, which was halfway between a muffled laugh and a sigh.

Although she had duties to perform, Jane went straight to her room, upheld by a strong feeling of indignation until despondency overtook her again.

The scene at the breakfast table replayed in her mind, and she recalled Alice’s parting words. In all her efforts to be the opposite of her mother, she had never considered that anyone would ever view her as other than a perfect lady. But now..
.was
she becoming a dried-up old maid? To be compared to Josephine Bassett!

She went to the mirror and studied her reflection anxiously. No, surely it was not so. Certainly her looks were not all she could wish, but she had begun to think they had improved lately, though she could not have said how. And the lines at the comers of her mouth were caused by laughter, were they not?

Trying to be as objective as possible, she decided that she was not like Alice’s old-maid cousin. But what of the future? Might that be the direction in which she was headed? She shuddered at the thought, yet she
was
a spinster and very likely more set in her ways than she cared to think. And she was, perhaps, overly concerned with propriety. It would be difficult to change at this stage in her life, but, dear God, she did not wish to end up like Josephine Bassett.

Then another, happier thought struck her. She realized that she had already begun to change, so perhaps it would not be so very hard, after all. It was certain that she had relaxed her usual code of conduct with Jon. But, at the thought of Jon, she frowned again, fearing that, with him, she had allowed her behaviour to become a trifle
too
lax.

Her frown deepened as this train of thought brought to mind something he had said earlier.

Was he interested in Alice? It was certainly possible. As Jon had said, Alice was of marriageable age, and he was only three-and-thirty. Men of his age frequently married girls as young as she. Jane would not have thought a man of his stamp would be interested in marriage, but the fact that he had finally come to put Ethridge Hall to rights might be an indication that he had decided it was time to choose a wife and set up his nursery.

On the other hand, what if it were not marriage he had in mind? What if he meant to offer the girl a... a slip on the shoulder? But somehow she could not believe that Jon would behave in so base a way. He might be a demon with the ladies, but he would not stoop to seducing innocent young females. Still, for the time being, she had the girl under her care and therefore was responsible for protecting her.

Jane suddenly found herself wishing Alice at Jericho; anywhere but here. She knew jealousy was an unworthy emotion, and one to which she had no right, since she had no claim on Jon. But knowing a thing and doing something about it were very different.

Oh dear, what a muddle she was making.

Leaning towards her reflection in the mirror, she said aloud, “You foolish creature! You are behaving like a perfect ninnyhammer. It is time you stopped feeling sorry for yourself and began using some of the good sense you have always thought you possessed.”

Staring a moment longer, she added, “And you are going to begin by getting rid of this useless object!” She pulled the lacy cap from her head and flung it aside. She might be a spinster, but that did not mean she must go out of her way to look like one.

Feeling much better, she went to her wardrobe and began searching through her gowns for a more becoming one.

Striking a balance between all her opposing needs and desires would be something like walking a tightrope, but somehow she would manage. And with her new image, plus the return of her good sense, she was confident that she was equal to the challenges facing her.

CHAPTER NINE

As a first step towards achieving her new goals, Jane went directly from her chamber to Alice’s, determined to put things right between them—and not a moment too soon.

Alice, now dressed for travelling, was straining to close one of her bandboxes, which she had obviously packed herself, for the edge of a muslin garment could be seen poking out from under the recalcitrant lid. She looked up from her task with a guilty expression and said defiantly, “I am going to Brighton, to join Papa.”

Refraining from asking how the girl intended to get there on her own, or how she thought she might manage with no more than could be stuffed into one bandbox, Jane said mildly, “How glad I am that I caught you in time then. Do you think we might talk for a few minutes before you go?”

“I suppose a few minutes will not matter, one way or the other,” Alice conceded.

Jane stepped across the room and sat down on the side of the bed, then patted the place beside her. After a moment, Alice sat down next to her.

“Actually, I came to apologize to you,” Jane told her.

“You did?” asked Alice, unable to hide her surprise.

“Indeed,” said Jane. “What with St. Clair being here, and so ill, I fear I have been under a great deal of strain. As a result, you and I seem to have got off on the wrong foot. I was rather hoping we might change that and start anew.”

Frowning slightly, Alice said slowly, “Well, I don’t know. I don’t think I wish to become a proper lady, after all. I know it is what Papa desires, but I do not see why I must change. Anyway,” she added, “he will come round once he understands how much I dislike it.”

Rather than answering that, Jane said, “Tell me, Alice. Do you wish for a London Season, and eventually, marriage?”

Looking shocked, the girl declared, “Of course! I certainly do not intend to be an old maid. But I don’t see why I must learn all those stuffy rules in order to get a husband. I am very pretty. Everyone says so.”

Inwardly wincing at such blatant conceit, as well as at her tactless remark, Jane calmly agreed. “Indeed, you are extremely pretty. And that might be enough, if you are not particular about who it is that you marry.”

“What do you mean?” asked Alice suspiciously.

“Well, you are in possession of a very generous dowry. With that and your looks, you should have no trouble attaching a husband. I am sure there are any number of fortune-hunters in London who will not care a whit for how you conduct yourself.

“However,” she continued, ignoring Alice’s sudden frown, “it is unfortunate but true that gentlemen of the first consequence, when choosing a bride, tend to look for females who will not embarrass them by their behaviour. Although your beauty might attract them at first, in the end they will choose a true lady over a sad romp every time.”

Alice’s frown deepened, and after several long minutes, she said reluctantly, “Oh, very well. But must I spend every moment at those stupid lessons?”

Keeping all trace of victory from her voice, Jane said, “I don’t suppose that is necessary, but you must spend
some
time at them.”

Alice replied sulkily, “Yes, but Papa allowed me to bring Firefly, my mare, with me, and I have not even seen her since I arrived. I am used to riding her every day.”

Really! The girl sounded as though she had been cooped up here for days. But Jane merely said, “I’ll make a bargain with you, Alice. If you will agree to devote at least one hour in the morning and two in the afternoon to your lessons, I think we might give ourselves the treat of riding each morning before breakfast.”

“Oh, capital!” cried Alice. “And St. Clair shall go with us.”

“I fear that will not be possible,” Jane told her quickly. “At least not for some time. You must remember that he has been very ill.”

“Oh,” said Alice, clearly disappointed. But then a sunny smile brightened her face. “But he will be able to go with us for our picnic on Saturday, will he not? We can take a carriage, so he needn’t worry about riding.”

“Certainly he may, if he cares to.”

“Oh, he will,” declared Alice with all the assurance of one who has seldom been denied anything. “I shall ask him.”

No longer feeling quite so kindly disposed towards the girl, Jane took her leave of Alice, who had already rung for her maid to come and unpack her bandbox.

Jane soon scolded herself out of her jealousy, although not without difficulty, and as she headed for the kitchen, she was even smiling a little. She was anticipating how St. Clair would laugh when he heard of her latest success in the art of bribery.

As it happened, however, she had no opportunity to speak privately with him during the next few days. She was called out several times to tend ill neighbours and since she had forbidden herself to go to his chamber, she saw him only at meals. In addition, when he was not resting, he was closeted in the estate room.

Had he truly been the highwayman, such a circumstance might have afforded her a great deal of gratification. As it was, she could only wonder what it was that he found so fascinating in a set of musty old account books.

It occurred to her that he seemed to be going out of his way to observe all the proprieties with her. She didn’t know whether to be amused or vexed at such a turnabout, since it was he who had so often lured her into throwing caution to the wind before Alice’s arrival.

But even had she gone against her better judgement and visited his room, she would not have been alone with him. The man, Kearny, whom she assumed to be his valet, had now become a member of the household and seemed always to be hovering protectively around his master.

By the time Saturday finally arrived, she was looking forward to their picnic almost as eagerly as Alice, for St. Clair had not only agreed to accompany them, but had declared that nothing could keep him from it. Even the knowledge that she would be sharing him with Alice could not dim Jane’s pleasure at the thought of spending an hour or two with him in the relaxed atmosphere of such an outing.

Fortunately, St. Clair had sent for his own curricle, and they agreed to use it since Jane’s was found to have a cracked axle. The day was far too lovely for them to be closed up in the carriage, which did not seem appropriate for such an excursion in any case. In fact, the picnic basket had already been packed and placed in St. Clair’s vehicle when Melrose announced a caller.

Upon being told that the visitor was Mrs. Micklethorp, Jane was not only annoyed at this delay in their plans, but thoroughly surprised. The vicar’s wife seldom troubled to make the journey all the way out to Meadowbrook. She enjoyed visiting with Jane and Agatha, but, being a trifle indolent, she preferred to let them come to her.