The Unlikely Lady (Playful Brides #3)(83)

“I have one. She wrote to thank me for my kindness at the house party.” Lucy rolled her eyes.

“Ugh. She did?”

“Yes. Obsequious, wasn’t it? I get that quite a lot now that I’m a duchess.”

“Where is her letter?” Jane asked frantically.

“I’ll be right back.” Lucy hurried out of the room while Jane struggled to remain calm. She would love to prove something Mrs. Langford had done wrong. Make her stand accountable for just one of her devious schemes.

Lucy returned waving the other letter in her hand. “Here it is.”

Jane took the two letters and hurried to the writing desk, where she flattened them side by side. She studied the writing of first one, then the other.

“Well?” Lucy prodded, impatiently tapping her slipper.

“Give me a moment.” Jane narrowed her eyes. “It’s definitely not Isabella’s handwriting on this letter from Harold.”

“But…?”

“Look, here, the line of the l is quite similar. The a also looks suspiciously like hers. She may have copied the words from letters from Harold, but she cannot entirely disguise her own penmanship.” Jane continued to study the letters intently. “The h. There’s an extra tail on the top. Just like hers.”

Lucy peered over Jane’s shoulder. “So you do think it’s a forgery?”

Jane lifted her gaze and pushed up her spectacles. “Yes. She forged this letter.”

Lucy pressed her lips together and crossed her arms over her chest. “That evil minx. How dare she try to play on my poor cousin’s sense of guilt?”

“Your cousin can take care of himself,” Jane replied. “But I refuse to allow her to get away with this.” Jane stood and straightened her shoulders. “I intend to do something about it.”

“What are you going to do, Jane?” Lucy asked.

“I’m going to confront Medusa. And make her eat this letter.” She waved the fake letter in the air.

“And then?” Lucy prodded.

“Then I’m going to ask your cousin to marry me.”

Lucy’s mouth fell open. “Do you mean it?”

Jane nodded slowly and took a deep breath. “Yes. Marriage has always frightened me. I never wanted to answer to a man. But Garrett is my equal. He’ll be my partner. He’s always treated me with kindness and respect. I don’t fear marriage any longer, Lucy. I covet it. How do you like that?”

Lucy’s eyes shimmered with tears. “Oh, Janie. I’m so happy for you.”

Jane shot Lucy an impudent look over her shoulder. “First, I need you to help me with the scheme to end all schemes, Your Boldness. It will solve the problem with my mother, my scandal, and Isabella Langford all at once.” She waved the fake letter again. “I’m going to need this, and we’re going to need Derek’s help with something. Something big!”





CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

“I must say I’m surprised you would come here, Miss Lowndes.” Isabella Langford strutted across her purple silk drawing room toward Jane. The room was nearly as garish as the woman herself, with opulent oil paintings and huge palm trees in pots in all four corners. No accounting for taste.

Jane had waited in the salon on Charles Street for the better part of an hour before the woman finally deigned to grace her with her company.

Jane straightened her back to compete with Isabella’s haughty stature. “Why are you surprised, Mrs. Langford? You haven’t known me to back down from a fight before today, have you?”

Isabella shrugged one shoulder. “If you’re here to threaten me about—”

“I’m not here to threaten you. I’m here to tell you something.”

“What’s that?”

Jane crossed her arms over her chest and firmed her jaw. “Leave Garrett Upton alone.”

Isabella laughed loud and long. Jane had to fight the urge to cover her ears, the sound was so strident. “You haven’t spoken to him recently, have you?”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“No matter. Suffice it to say the last time I spoke with him, he was suffering from a temporary bout of insanity. But I still intend to have him, Miss Lowndes. Mark my words.”

Jane raised her chin. “Don’t pretend you love him.”

Isabella laughed again, a short bark this time. “Of course I don’t love him. Who said anything about love? Love has little place inside a marriage. I never loved Harold either, though the poor sop loved me. He loved me desperately.” She sighed.

“You’re hideous.”

“You’re na?ve.”

“Why do you want to marry Garrett if you don’t love him?”

“Good God. You’re more na?ve than I thought. I’m not certain if he told you, but Garrett’s been paying my bills, Miss Lowndes.” She gestured to the gaudily decorated room. “Look around you. I’ve grown quite accustomed to this way of living. Better than any I could have afforded as the wife of a soldier. Harold and I never lived this way.”

“So you’re using Garrett for money?”

“I quite enjoy living like a countess.” Isabella smiled tightly. “Inheriting the title one day also won’t be half bad.”