“Perhaps there’s still time to win back some of what you’ve lost. The season’s not over yet, and I can help you drum up more members. I might ask my parents for help, as well.” He hadn’t wanted to ask them to repay his savings—he could hardly blame them for giving the money to Jacob when they thought him dead, after all—but now might be an appropriate time to raise the subject.
“But the amount we would need—”
Before Jane could finish her thought, a rap on the door signaled Lady Kerr’s return.
“Papa’s carriage is approaching!” She peered in, her gaze lingering on their entwined hands.
Jane leaped to her feet, hurrying out to meet her uncle on the front steps, and Eli followed.
As Mr. Bishop descended, the coachman began leading the team to the stables. No one else emerged from the carriage. Not a good sign.
“Ah, Lieutenant,” he said as he walked up. “You’re here. But why are you all out of doors as if the world is falling down about our ears? Come, let’s all retire to the drawing room and talk about this sensibly. You must tell me how your morning went.”
“Everything is resolved,” Eli said. The news had lost its luster on the second telling, but Bishop displayed all the enthusiasm Jane had lacked.
“Marvelous!” He led them down the hall and back to the drawing room with a smile on his face. “I never had a doubt. Then we may finally announce your engagement, I take it? Oh, no one has offered you tea, I see!”
“I would have, Papa,” Lady Kerr replied. “But they did not wish to be disturbed.”
“But did you find Edmund?” Jane pressed. Who cared about tea at a time like this? “Did you stop him from spending the money?”
Bertie drew a long breath, as if fortifying himself. “Yes, I found him. There is good news and bad news. Which do you want first?”
“The bad.”
“I’m afraid the money is gone. He’s already bought himself a commission and is now an ensign in the infantry. I tried to get him to come home to talk to you about this himself, but he’s being a bit stubborn.”
“What’s the good news?” Eli prompted, hoping for something to redeem these events.
“The good news is that Edmund is now an ensign in the infantry.” Mr. Bishop smiled brightly, as though this were obvious. He took a seat and motioned for the others to follow suit. “Everyone is overreacting. It’s a very respectable choice for him. And though he’s done you a disservice, Jane, this is nothing we can’t resolve.”
“But four hundred pounds,” she lamented softly, sinking onto the divan.
“Tut, tut,” cut in Bertie. “You haven’t let me finish. I was hoping to make this announcement under happier circumstances, but I’m giving you two a wedding gift.”
Jane exchanged a look with Eli.
“It’s the town house,” he continued excitedly. “I want you to have it.”
Jane was too stunned to speak, so her uncle kept talking. “You needn’t worry that it will be too crowded for you to set up your own household. Edmund will be in the army, and I’ll be moving to Sunninghill.” He let this statement hang in the air a moment before explaining, “I’ve proposed to Miss Linden, and she’s accepted.”
“I knew it!” Lady Kerr crowed, triumphant. “I always said you should make a fine match. I have a talent for spotting such things.”
“Engaged to Miss Linden!” Jane looked considerably more shocked at the news. Perhaps she’d thought her uncle too old to marry again.
Whatever the reason, Mr. Bishop seemed to understand Jane’s confusion, for he addressed her as he spoke. “She and her brother arebothin agreement that we should all reside at his house in Sunninghill together, as Miss Linden prefers the country to London. It’s an arrangement we considered long ago, only we worried about the appearance of things if a bachelor were to live under the same roof as two young girls who weren’t any blood relation. But now that you and Cecily are both settled, I may retire to their home with an easy heart.”
Jane’s smile grew broader at this. “I’m very happy for you, Uncle,” she said heartily.
“Congratulations, Mr. Bishop,” Eli said. “But such a gift is too much. We couldn’t accept it.”
“If it makes you feel any better, Lieutenant, I shall have it settled on Jane and her descendants in your marriage contract. Then you needn’t feel any sense of obligation.”
“That would make me feel better,” he conceded with a chuckle. “But…the property isn’t part of the entail on your brother’s estate?”
“No, no,” Bishop assured them. “It belonged to my father free and clear, and he willed it to me. I think he felt a bit badly that John should have everything else.” Bishop offered them a kindly smile. “In keeping with this tradition, it seems only fitting that it should go to you, Jane, as I’ve always felt a bit badly that I had nothing to leave you. Cecily has her mother’s country house, and Edmund can build himself a fortune with his military career. I should like you to have this.”
“You’re too generous, Papa,” Lady Kerr said.
