The Unlikely Lady (Playful Brides #3)(48)

Jane glanced away but she couldn’t keep the smile from her face. “It’s just a cat, Upton.”

“If you say so.” Upton leaned back in his chair, the grin still on his blurry face. “I’m sorry your ankle is hurt, but you don’t fool me. The spill you took from that horse is merely your attempt at causing a scandal, isn’t it?”

She laughed at that too. Since when did Upton make her laugh? In a good way?

“If I had planned it, Upton, rest assured I would have won before I fell. Not to mention I would have planned a more graceful descent. That saddle was faulty, I tell you.”

“I don’t disagree. Lord Moreland has asked the stable master to look into the matter.”

Jane sighed. “As for a scandal, I’d say having a gentleman in my bedchamber is much more scandalous than falling from a horse.”

“Oh, no. Don’t involve me in your schemes. I’m merely here to check on you.” He leaned forward and his voice took on a more serious edge. “We were quite worried about you.”

Jane traced her finger along the top of the coverlet. “I know. Cass nearly cried. I hope my foibles don’t ruin her wedding. She’s pledged to have a team of footmen carry me to the ceremony upon a litter if necessary.”

Upton chuckled. “Don’t test her. She’s a determined bride.”

Jane smiled. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

Upton appeared to be fumbling with his coat. “I brought you something.” Did his voice sound sheepish? Imagine that.

“Brought me something?” she echoed, blinking.

“Yes. I—I forgot you lost your spectacles and cannot read, but—” He placed something rectangular and hefty atop her lap. She touched it. Ran her fingers over its smooth surface. She’d know the feel of it anywhere. “A book?”

“Yes, a book.” There was humor in his voice.

“Which book is it?” She lifted it in front of her face and squinted at the golden title. She still couldn’t make it out.

“A Vindication of the Rights of Woman.”

Jane gasped. She hugged the book to her chest. “Mary Wollstonecraft? You brought me Mary Wollstonecraft?”

She blinked and blinked again. She had no idea what to make of it. Of course she’d already read this book. Read it and owned it and loved each and every page of it, possibly memorized entire passages, but the fact that Upton had brought it to her. Well, it just showed he’d been … paying attention.

Upton cleared his throat again. “I know she is your favorite author and—”

“How did you know?”

“Everyone knows that.”

“No, they don’t.” Just who was he referring to as “everyone”?

“At any rate, I assumed you already have this one, but this is a first edition and—”

Jane squeezed the book. She could hardly breathe. “You’ve brought me a first edition Mary Wollstonecraft? Printed in 1792? How did you get it?”

He shook his head. “It’s not important how I got it, and why am I not surprised you know the exact year of its publication?”

“It’s important to me, Upton. I’ve wanted a first edition Wollstonecraft for an age. They are not easy to find. How did you find one?”

She could see the outline of his form rubbing a hand through his hair. “Are you always this inquisitive when someone gives you a gift?”

She placed the book carefully in her lap again. “I’m truly curious, Upton, and I’m not about to allow you to leave this room without telling me how you were able to procure this book.”

“Fine. My mother purchased it when it was first published; when I was old enough, she gave it to me to read.”

“I knew I loved Aunt Mary, but honestly, you’ve read it?” Her hand fell to the mattress with a thump. “I may need smelling salts for the first time in my life.”

“I doubt that.” She could hear the smirk in his voice.

“You’ve read Mary Wollstonecraft?”

“Twice.”

“That’s it! Fetch me the salts! I can hardly fathom it.”

He groaned. “Yes, I’ve read it. After your accident, I rode over to my estate and got it … for you.”

Her hand was back at her throat. “You rode over to your estate and got it, for me?”

He pretended a long-suffering sigh. “I thought there was something wrong with your ankle, not your hearing.”

She pressed her palm to her cheek. “I am astonished, Upton. I had no idea you had any interest in the rights of females.”

“You are wrong. I do indeed. ‘Virtue can only flourish among equals,’ after all.”

Jane nearly squealed. She was quite certain she was experiencing a heart palpitation. “Now you’re quoting Mary Wollstonecraft!” She put her hand to her chest. “Stop it, Upton. I may never recover from learning that you own Wollstonecraft, but learning that you’ve memorized her is beyond the pale.”

This time he laughed. “I’ve hardly got every word memorized, I simply—”

“No. No. Don’t deny it. There is no retreating from this. You know and now I know you know. We can never go back to our previous thoughts about each other.”