“Very well. If you’re sure it’s no trouble. I am eager to set this all to rest so I can resume my career. Just explain how we met, and that you recognize I’m myself and not some impostor. Nothing more.” He still hadn’t resumed his seat, so he must intend to leave soon. Jane drew a shaky breath. Another moment and this would be over. “I can collect them for my solicitor once you’re done.”
“Very good.” Uncle Bertie was brimming with enthusiasm, as if it were the prime minister who’d asked him to perform this favor rather than his erstwhile almost son-in-law. “We’ll call on you in a few days to drop them off.”
Jane frowned, still pressing Eli’s handkerchief to her finger. Another call. Was there no end to them?
As long as Bertie still hoped to find her a husband, they would be obliged to make the rounds at all the same parties. If that article in the paper was any indication, Eli would be a prized guest in every house.
As if summoned by her desire for an end to this, a knock on the door and the murmured greeting of their butler alerted them that another caller had arrived. Thank goodness.
“I should let you see to your visitors.” Eli retrieved his hat from the hook and turned the brim between his hands. “Thank you for offering to write the letters. It was good to see you again.”
In a show of great restraint, Jane didn’t even point out that she hadn’t offered anything. Uncle Bertie saw Eli to the door, and it became a bit easier to breathe in the empty room. She could endure this. It was only the surprise of Eli’s return that moved her. In another week or two, he would have sorted out his affairs and returned to sea, and everything would be as it had been before.
When her uncle returned, he had Mr. MacPherson in tow. Jane rose to greet him, summoning a bright smile that she hadn’t managed for his predecessor. MacPherson had a bland sort of face and temperament, unlikely to provoke passion in anyone, which was exactly how Jane liked it. She breathed easy in the knowledge that he could never tempt her to trade her future for his.
It was only after she took a step forward to greet him that Jane realized she was still clutching Eli’s handkerchief. Still clinging to some small piece of him, in spite of her best efforts.
Five
“I don’t see why I should have to travel all the way over to the Kerrs’ town house to spend ten minutes telling them how remarkable their party was,” Mr. Williams grumbled as the family carriage rolled them through Mayfair. “The sandwiches were too dry, and the crush so great that I couldn’t manage to get any punch for half the evening.”
“You have to be willing to elbow a few guests out of the way,” Eli said. “It’s how they make sure the punch goes to those who need it most.”
“Please don’t joke,” his mother said, her voice strained. She was the one who’d insisted on a thank-you call to Lady Kerr, though she didn’t seem to be enjoying the journey. “Your father might actually try it, and then where will we be? We mustallmake a good impression if we’re ever to find Hannah a match.”
The object of his mother’s hopes was nowhere to be found, having had the good sense to call on friends this morning instead of listening to her parents bicker.
“I don’t see why she can’t meet a husband in Devon,” Mr.Williams retorted. “All this matchmaking is just an excuse to waste my money on new dresses, if you ask me.”
“We didn’t.”
“I hear Dickens wrote a new novel while I was away,” Eli interjected. “Have either of you read it?” He rather wished he’d ridden up top with the coachman instead of with his parents. They made him look back fondly on the pirates.
The Kerrs’ town house was bustling with activity when they arrived, as expected. Several empty carriages awaited their masters on the road down Berkeley Square.
Perfect. They would pay their dues quickly and move on. There was no reason to spend any more time with Lady Kerr than strictly necessary—she was a reminder of everything he’d done wrong.
He would be back at sea as soon as this business with the death certificate was resolved, and once he was, it wouldn’t be hard to let the connection lapse.
The butler begged them to wait in the entryway as his employers were still with the previous callers. He disappeared for a minute and returned with instructions to admit them to the drawing room to join the group.
Eli’s heart sank as the door opened to reveal who it was.
Jane, her brother, and her uncle occupied the left half of the room, her friend from the library the other night and several strangers (the lady’s parents, no doubt) occupied the right.
Sir Thomas and Lady Kerr held court from the center, on a velvet couch perched atop a Persian carpet, framed by an assortment of glittering bric-a-brac on the wall behind them. She was smiling at Eli before his gaze had even found her.
“I hope you don’t mind sharing your call, but we’re all on intimate acquaintance, aren’t we?”
“Of course,” Eli replied, though he wasn’t sure Jane would agree.
She turned toward him a moment later than the others, and he had the keen discomfort of seeing her large, gray eyes grow cooler as she recognized him. She looked away quickly, the gentle lines of her profile turning stern.
Why must he make her miserable when he wished to make her happy?
With some rearrangement, they found space for Eli and his parents, though he was obliged to take the seat next to Jane, wincing as his knees brushed hers and their shifting brought her faint lilac scent to his nose. She was going to think he’d done this on purpose.
She looked well this morning. She wore the same day dress she’d had on during his earlier call—a green and blush print that was cut modestly, but cinched in a wide sash at her waist to accentuate her figure. Eli studied her from the corner of his eye, trying not to betray how easily she drew his attention. He could still feel the softness of her fingertips beneath his when they’d touched this morning. Even that brief contact exerted a hold over him.
