One Night With You (The Derrings #3)(31)

"I promised to take Bryony shopping," Chloris announced. "Her birthday is next week, you know."

Yes, Jane knew. The girl had been working industrially on her wish list for the last several months, to the neglect of her lessons. "I suppose Dahlia and Iris can come, too. Although Iris has the most wretched tendency to fidget." Chloris's nose wrinkled, her discontent clear. "We will need at least three maids to carry parcels. And an extra footman." Chloris wiped the corners of her mouth with a fastidiousness that set Jane's teeth on edge. "See to that, will you?" She hesitated, feeling suddenly bold. What did she have to lose by asserting herself? Desmond had seen fit to rob her of anything that mattered. "Since you intend to take the girls to Bond Street, I will make free with my morning."

"What?"

"I'm in need of a respite."

"Respite?" Chloris echoed.

Jane turned to leave.

Chloris called after her. "You've become annoyingly contrary of late, Jane." Contrary. Jane let the word roll around her head, deciding she liked the sound of it. A glance over her shoulder revealed helpless frustration on Chloris's face. "The sooner you remember your role in this household, the better." Anxiety threaded Chloris's voice, betraying her bluster.

Your role. The words ricocheted through Jane's head, begging to be challenged. Her tone deliberately offhand, she asked, "Better for whom?"

Chloris broke eye contact, ignoring the question entirely. Setting down her cup, her hand trembled. "Take the morning off," Chloris said, as if it were her suggestion. "But see that you're ready for the girls after lunch. I'm certain I'll be weary from shopping." Fed by the same impulse that had guided her of late, that drove her to be bold, defiant, Jane lingered in the threshold, her fingers curling at her side. "I think I shall catch up on my correspondence to Matthew," she drawled. "I will be sure to let him know you're faring well in Town and enjoying his home and all the marvelous shops on Bond Street." Color rushed Chloris's face.

Satisfied, Jane turned and left the room.

Contrary, she mused as she made her way up the stairs, letting herself, briefly, consider donning her mask and seeking out Seth again. Then she shook her head. No, that would be something more than contrary. That would be reckless, unwise. No matter how her heart wished it, she could never be Aurora again. Sooner or later he would discover that it was she behind the mask. A small shiver coursed through her.

But then, perhaps that was what she wanted.

A week later, Jane found herself frozen in the threshold of her drawing room. Fighting to swallow the lump in her suddenly tight throat, she entered the room, unsure whether to be grateful that Chloris and Desmond were not present to bar her from leaving the schoolroom and receiving callers.

Not that she had been presenting the day's geography lesson with any great expertise. Her gaze continually strayed to the window that faced the gardens, letting the rare sunlight warm her face. As always, her thoughts lingered on Seth and their one night and how she might learn to accept that nothing as thrilling or wonderful would ever happen to her again. And now he stood before her. As fiercely handsome as she remembered, even with his menacing scar and eyes that looked on her with no knowledge of the intimacy they had shared. A perplexing annoyance that. To be flooded with titillating sensation just at the sight of him, to recall the fullness of him moving inside, the heated friction of their bodies coming together…

and know that he recalled none of it when he looked at her.

Julianne sat on a sofa, her brother looming on his feet beside her. Lifting her face in Jane's direction, she apologized, "Forgive us for calling unannounced. I know from your letters you've been busy."

"Yes," Seth drawled. "Our apologies for interrupting your busy day, but my sister has missed your company."

His voice was thick with accusation, justifiably so. Her face burned in shame, recalling her promise to visit Julianne again.

She pasted a brittle smile to her face, hoping it stayed in place as she lowered to a chair. "How kind of you to come, Julianne. Your company is always welcome." She lifted her gaze to Seth.

"Would you not care for a seat, my lord?"

He held her gaze for a moment, the anger and accusation still there. Finally, he gave a curt nod and sat beside his sister.

"Today is Rebecca's afternoon off and I convinced Seth to take me out," Julianne volunteered cheerfully.

"Harassed is a more accurate word," Seth supplied, a twist to his mouth that almost resembled a smile.

"Oh, very well, harassed." She waved her hand in the air, unbothered. "It wasn't as if you were doing anything. You've moped about the house now for weeks and been surly as a bear." Jane cocked an eyebrow. Why would Seth mope about? Certainly it had nothing to do with their tryst at Vauxhall? That would be too much to hope for. True, his furious shouts still echoed in her head at night, but she credited that to male pride and her eluding him, not any true sense of loss.

"We're in Town," Julianne continued. "Might we not actually step outside? Enjoy the Season?

Go somewhere exciting?"

Seth's expression grew shuttered. His lips tightened. For some reason, Jane felt the unreasonable need to defend him. "I'm sure your brother experienced quite enough excitement while abroad and desires only a little peace now."