The Unlikely Lady (Playful Brides #3)(39)

“I’m happy to allow the two of you to go. I’ll just find Lucy or Cass.” Jane scanned the bank. Confound it. Lucy and Cass had already pushed off in two separate rowboats being captained by their respective mates.

“Nonsense, Miss Lowndes, do come with us,” Mrs. Langford purred, malicious triumph etched upon her features.

Jane stifled the urge to remind the woman that Upton had invited Jane first and Mrs. Langford was, in fact, coming along with them. Jane turned in a frantic circle searching the riverbank. Wasn’t there someone else with whom she could row? Confound it, again. Daphne had already set sail with Owen Monroe and Lord and Lady Moreland were together. Jane watched in growing terror as one by one each boat set out until there were none left except the one she was standing in front of. Upton stared at her with a boyish charm Jane wished she hadn’t noticed.

“It’s quite all right.” Jane backed away from the grassy bank. “I’ll just sit under a tree and read. I’ll be perfectly fine, I assure you.”

Mrs. Langford looked eager to accept this excuse and opened her mouth to no doubt issue an appropriate reply when Upton interjected.

He held a hand out toward Jane. “Please, Miss Lowndes, come with me.”

It was that last word that was Jane’s undoing. If he had said come with “us,” Jane surely would have refused, but he had said “me,” clearly indicating to Jane that Mrs. Langford was the interloper.

“Very well,” Jane replied softly.

If Mrs. Langford was at all affected by Upton’s choice of words she didn’t let it show. Instead, she smiled her obsequious smile and held out a hand to allow Upton to help her into the small boat.

Jane waited for Mrs. Langford to get settled, complete with a false attempt at tripping and falling into Upton’s arms, something Jane couldn’t help but roll her eyes at. Upton had seen the widow do it. That shameless woman obviously didn’t care. Jane gazed back at the willow tree along the bank with real longing as she mentally counted off the ways in which this could be any worse. There could be ants. Or water snakes. Or two Mrs. Langfords instead of one.

Upton turned to Jane and held out his hand. “May I help you?” He said it in such a charming voice that Jane momentarily forgot Mrs. Langford was there.

Jane braced her hand against Upton’s strong warm arm and allowed him to help her onto the wooden bench in the back of the rowboat. Upton had maneuvered them so that he sat in the middle, facing Jane. Mrs. Langford was perched in the bow of the vessel, craning her neck to get Upton’s attention. Jane sighed. Very well, perhaps she could suffer a turn or two around the lake and then she would go in for her afternoon nap, and later there would be teacake. One must always look upon the bright side, mustn’t one?

Jane spent the first several moments in the boat trying not to notice how good Garrett’s muscles looked outlined in his shirtsleeves. He’d removed his jacket in order to row more effectively. He’d worked up a bit of a sweat on his forehead and that, combined with the scent of him, his spicy cologne she’d become intimately acquainted with recently, was making her uncomfortably warm. She turned her bonneted head away in an attempt to catch the slight breeze coming off the water.

She made a mental note to scold Lucy and Cass for leaving her alone with Upton and Mrs. Langford. What could they have been thinking? That she would enjoy herself with these two? Even if Lucy was making a poor attempt at matchmaking, it made no sense for a threesome to be on the water together. Hardly romantic. Not that she wanted to be romantic with Upton. Er, again. Certainly not. Definitely not.

“It’s a lovely day for rowing,” Mrs. Langford said.

Jane nearly breathed a sigh of relief. Perhaps the widow would stick to such inane comments and Jane might be left to read her book in peace. Though she couldn’t help but glance up at Upton from time to time, just to try to determine if he was indeed in love with her and perhaps to catch a glimpse of those muscles.

“It is indeed,” Upton replied just as innocuously.

Jane pulled her book up to her nose.

A gasp came from Mrs. Langford’s general direction. “Don’t tell me you intend to read during this lovely boat ride, Miss Lowndes.”

Jane didn’t care for the way the woman pronounced the word “read,” as if it might be interchangeable with shaking babies or kicking puppies. She didn’t even spare the woman a glimpse. Nor did she lower her book. “That’s precisely what I intend to do.”

“Egad. I cannot imagine a less interesting way to pass the time,” Mrs. Langford replied. “The only things I read are fashion magazines.”

“Why does that not surprise me?” Jane murmured under her breath, peeking over the top of her book momentarily to give the widow a disdainful stare.

“What was that?” Mrs. Langford pushed herself up from her reclining position, bracing both hands on either side of the boat, presumably in an attempt to gain a better vantage point from which to hear Jane.

“I’m not certain that browsing through fashion magazines can be equated with reading, but it sounds like a valiant attempt,” Jane replied. “At any rate, this particular chapter of this particular book is quite compelling. I do hope you’ll excuse me while I get back to it.” Jane could have sworn she saw Upton smother a smile.

“What book is it?” he asked.