‘Oh, yes, that would be delightful!’ Sophia agreed eagerly. She allowed Lord Blakeney to help her up and adjusted the ribbons on her bonnet. Jane took her shawl from Lord Philip with a pretty word of thanks. Lady Verey smiled indulgently to see such harmony.
‘You may discount me, my love,’ she said sleepily. ‘I am happy dozing here in the sun and I do not doubt that Lady Eleanor will keep me company. But perhaps the others…’
Jane saw that the Duke was frowning quite darkly. Some imp of perversity prompted her to extend the invitation as her mother had suggested.
‘Would you like to join us, your Grace? Lady Dennery?’
She saw Philip looking quite appalled and tried not to laugh. It seemed a safe gamble, for Lady Dennery was looking quite horrified. ‘Oh, no, I do not care to walk at all!’ she said as though Jane had suggested some activity in bad taste. ‘I am persuaded that Alex will stay here with me, for we may have a delightful coze together!’
Jane smiled brilliantly. ‘Just as you wish, my lady!’ She did not dare to look at the Duke for his reaction.
‘You run along, my dears,’ Lady Eleanor said comfortably. ‘We older folk will do very well here in the peace and quiet!’
Lady Dennery was now looking quite affronted to be classified with the ancients and the Duke’s frown had not lifted. He looked almost murderous. Jane dropped a mischievous curtsy.
‘Thank you, ma’am!’
The four of them wandered off, chatting happily amongst themselves.
‘Oh, I shall not be sad to return to Town,’ Sophia sighed. ‘The country is all very well, but it has not the same excitement! I believe Lady Jersey is hosting a ball next week that promises to be the highlight of the Season!’
‘Heard about that myself,’ Blakeney confirmed. ‘Word is that the theme will be classical myths and legends! The talk in the clubs was that Francine Dennery intends to appear in little more than a sheet!’
‘Won’t be the first time!’ Lord Philip guffawed, then caught Sophia’s look of innocent bewilderment and cleared his throat loudly.
Jane stopped abruptly, turning to Lord Blakeney urgently.
‘Oh, no! I have left my parasol behind and Mama will be furious with me if I catch the sun! She considers freckles most unladylike! Lord Blakeney, would you be so good as to run back and fetch it? I should be so grateful…’
Lord Blakeney was as amiable as he was undiscerning. Expressing himself honoured to be of service, he trotted obediently back in the direction from which they had come. Jane watched him go, then turned to her companions with a smile.
‘Pray walk on ahead! There is no sense in all of us waiting here! Lord Blakeney will only be a moment and we will follow you when he returns!’
Sophia and Philip needed no second bidding. Jane, moving into the shadow of a group of trees, saw them stroll away slowly, deep in conversation. She smiled in spite of herself. She would do a great deal to secure Sophia’s happiness and it was a joy to see her strategies working so effectively. Splitting up the group meant that Sophia and Lord Philip were, to all intents and purposes, alone, yet within view and perfectly respectable. Lord Blakeney would be back shortly, but Jane would ensure that she did not walk quickly enough for them to catch the others up. Really, she felt that she had the tactics to match any of the King’s generals!
Jane frowned a little as she contemplated the next stage of the plan. Matters were likely to become decidedly tricky from now on. For a start, she knew that Lady Verey intended the announcement of her betrothal to Lord Philip to be sent to the
At that point her musings were interrupted by a completely unforeseen hitch.
A figure was striding towards her across the grass brandishing her parasol in his hand like an avenging angel. It was not the slightly corpulent Lord Blakeney, but the altogether more impressive figure of the Duke of Delahaye. In a sudden panic, Jane turned round and plunged deeper into the trees, heedless of the sudden slope and the muddy ground beneath her feet. She was not sure whether she was intending to run away or to hide; she only knew that she was about to be caught out and that she did not appear to be able to think quickly enough to explain herself.
In the event she was able to neither run nor hide, for Alex caught up with her with unnerving speed.
‘Miss Verey! What is this nonsense about a lost parasol? And where are my brother and Miss Marchment?’
Jane was at something of a disadvantage. The hem of her skirt was an inch deep in mud and her bonnet had slipped to one side, making her look like a dowager who had taken rather too much port. She was out of breath and flushed, and Alex’s proximity and the altogether furious look on his face increased the fluttering nervousness inside her.
‘There is no nonsense, your Grace,’ she said with more composure than she was feeling. ‘Why, you have the parasol there in your hand! Be careful that you do not attack that branch!’
She watched the grim expression on Alex’s face ease slightly as he lowered his arm and handed the offending parasol to her.
‘And my brother and Miss Marchment?’ he asked, with a dangerous calm.
Jane gave him a winning smile. ‘I suggested that they strolled on ahead. There was no point in all of us waiting! Indeed, I was expecting to catch them up when Lord Blakeney returned!’ Her tone managed to convey reproach that it was he, and not Lord Blakeney, who had appeared. ‘I expect they are back with the others by now!’
‘I am surprised that Philip could bear to be from your side,’ Alex said drily. ‘He has stuck like a burr all week!’
‘Yes, is it not delightful?’ Jane said blithely. ‘You must be so pleased that your brother and I have reached an understanding!’
‘It is the nature of the understanding that concerns me,’ Alex said affably. ‘You had me fooled for quite a little while this time, Miss Verey, but not any more!’
‘I have no notion what you mean, sir!’ Jane said, managing to preserve her air of injured innocence.
Alex caught her arm and swung her round to face him. ‘Oh, come now, Miss Verey! I used to admire your honesty! The truth is that you have managed to enlist the support of my disgraceful brother-and Miss Marchment, no doubt-in your scheme to thwart the marriage plans! It was so obvious,’ Alex mused, a smile starting to curl the corners of his mouth, ‘I cannot think why I did not see it before! To think that I believed that you had meekly accepted the plans made for you! My wits must have gone a-begging!’
There was a long silence. Jane’s intellect, which had served her so well up to that point, suddenly seemed to have deserted her, banished by the insistent pressure of Alex’s touch. Worse, although her mind was frighteningly blank, her senses seemed unusually sharp. She was conscious of the plaintive sweetness of the birdsong, the rustle of the leaves and the cool caress of the breeze on her hot cheeks. Her gaze was held by his and no power on earth could have broken the contact.
Jane saw the amusement fade from Alex’s eyes, to be replaced by an expression that made her shiver.
‘Am I to test my theory and the strength of your feeling for my brother?’ he asked softly. ‘It is irresistible, I fear…’
Jane had plenty of time to move away from him and she knew that he would not have tried to stop her had she done so. She could not have said what it was that held her captive, unless it was that fatal curiosity of hers; it had prompted her to wonder secretly what it would be like to be kissed by Alex, and now she wanted to know the answer. Whatever the reason, she stayed quite still, and Alex leant forward and kissed her.
The touch of his lips on hers was deceptively light, almost casual, were it not for an undercurrent of sensuality that sprang shockingly to life as soon as they touched, elemental as sheet lightning. Jane felt a surge of sensation wash over her, leaving her weak with a most delicious pleasure. She knew a moment when she was sure that Alex was about to sweep her into his arms, then, to her great disappointment, he released her and stepped back.
‘My apologies, Miss Verey,’ Alex said expressionlessly. ‘I fear I succumbed to an impulse that has been troubling me for some time.’
Jane took a deep breath. She was dizzy with the memory of taste and touch of him, torn by disappointment that he had let her go.
‘Well!’ she said, with incurable honesty. ‘I do not see that it is at all the thing to kiss your brother’s intended
