“Who is it?” she asked him.
He seemed to say, Just wait until you see!
Footsteps sounded, two pairs approaching, and one of them belonged to Clara. She was giggling, whispering, then she peeked in the door and said, “Guess who’s here?”
She was being so sly that Joanna was a tad alarmed. “I can’t imagine.”
“Surprise!”
Clara eased away to admit her companion, and when Joanna peered over, if an angel from Heaven had been standing there, she couldn’t have been more astonished.
“Hello, Joanna,” Jacob said. “I hear you weren’t expecting me, and you’ll be so stunned by my arrival that you might faint.”
Mutt woofed again, demanding to be noticed, then he hobbled over. Jacob leaned down and petted him. “Let me look at you, you poor boy! How are you?”
Man and dog engaged in some extensive male bonding, then Jacob straightened and said to Clara, “Would you take Mutt out in the hall? I have to talk to Joanna.”
Joanna’s pulse raced. She was nervous about being sequestered with him. She was still overly besotted, so he might coerce her into any insane conduct.
“You and Mutt don’t need to leave,” she told Clara.
“Yes, you do,” Jacob countered.
Clara motioned to Mutt, but he wasn’t keen to miss the excitement, so Jacob motioned too, and he limped over to Clara.
“When can we come back in?” Clara asked.
“When I have good news,” was Jacob’s answer. “It might be awhile though. I have to explain some things. I’ll fetch you the instant it’s arranged. Don’t go far.”
Joanna had no idea what he meant, and before she could seek clarification, Clara shut the door. Jacob turned to her, and his expression was very cunning.
He was more handsome than ever, his color high, his hair tousled by the wind on the trip to Barrett. She was so glad to see him, and she yearned to fall into his arms, but that would be humiliating.
From the moment they’d met, he’d pursued an amour. She’d allowed herself to be seduced, but he didn’t really want her. No, he wanted from her what her father had wanted from her mother. He craved a physical affair with a paramour who was exotic and out of the ordinary.
For a brief interval she’d toyed with the notion of permitting him to treat her that shabbily. It’s how her ancestors had typically dealt with men, but she couldn’t continue down that shameful road. Not when she’d been reunited with Libby and Caro.
Though it was disgusting to accept, she was jealous of the wonderful men they’d found, men who loved them, men who would move the world to have them. What had Joanna found? Naught but a coward who’d been scolded by his sister for kissing her under a rose arbor. Once his sister had complained, Jacob had severed all ties.
What woman would tolerate such a feckless swain? Not Joanna James. That was for certain.
He sauntered over and plopped down on the chair Caro had vacated. He repositioned it first, so they were facing each other, their feet and legs tangled.
“Aren’t you curious as to why I’m in England? It’s obvious you’re dying to be apprised.”
“I might be curious,” she blandly responded.
“You were informed that I was recalled to duty and that I left immediately.”
She nodded. “I may have been told a story like that.”
She wasn’t about to stagger into a discussion of Kit Boswell and how dangerous she viewed him to be. She was no longer a resident of Ralston Place. Any issue he had with his family was none of her business.
“I wasn’t recalled to duty. Would you like to know where I was instead?”
“I suppose.”
“I’ve been in Scotland.”
She scowled. She truly couldn’t bear to be dragged back into his life, but she couldn’t keep herself from asking, “Why were you there?”
“Do you remember the last time we spoke? My sister, Margaret, was anxious to wed Sandy.”
“Yes, and you were a complete ass about it.”
“They agreed with you and eloped.”
Joanna laughed. She couldn’t help it. He was so pompously convinced that he was better than Sandy, but Sandy was the nicest person ever. Margaret was lucky she’d glommed onto him when she had the chance.
“It serves you right for being such a beast about it,” she said.
“I figured you’d feel that way, but when I initially learned of their plan, I was livid. I chased after them, and I would have stopped them, but on the lengthy journey, guess what occurred to me?”
“I don’t know. Your mental wrangling has always been a total mystery to me.”
“I realized I didn’t care who Margaret married. When my mother sold her to Mr. Howell, I should have intervened, but I didn’t, and I’ve always regretted it. Sandy is a terrific fellow, and I decided she should have the opportunity to be happy with him.”
“That’s big of you.” Her tone was very snide.
She wasn’t concerned about Margaret or who she wed, and she was still smarting from how Margaret had pressured Jacob to end their flirtation.
Had either of the snooty siblings noted the obvious? Margaret had been intent on preventing Jacob’s liaison with a female she deemed inferior, but then, she’d run off with a man just as unsuitable. They were such conceited idiots, and Joanna was sure the hypocrisy would have escaped them.
“Thank you for telling me about them,” she said. “Will there be anything else?”
“Oh, I have a ton of items to address. First off, I apologize for racing to Scotland without sending you a message that I was leaving.”
“There’s no reason you would have notified me. It’s not as if I had a connection to you that would have warranted any courtesy.”
“I was simply so furious that you never crossed my mind.”
“Well, that certainly makes me feel special.”
She wished he’d finish and go away, but he was very obtuse. He wouldn’t recognize her pique or her annoyance.
He continued, undeterred. “I wasn’t pondering you when I departed, but as
