“Yes, you shall.” It was exactly the tone that the cat who’d been at the cream would use, if cats could talk. “Farewell for now. I must join my family, and I’m afraid you can’t come because I don’t want you using me to hide. We’ll see you for dinner at the Lindens’ tomorrow, and I’ll expect to hear your report then.”
With a jaunty little wave, Della left her on the promenade.
Things were very bad indeed.
Eli watched from a distance as Jane spoke with her friend, trying not to stare.
Had he done something wrong? He might’ve shocked her with his reaction at Ankerwycke, but he certainly hadn’t taken advantage. She’d been the one who’d kissed him. She’d pulled him close. She’d given no hint that she changed her mind. He’d even had enough self-control to pull away before they went too far. Barely.
No, Eli hadn’t erred. So why was she avoiding him?
He couldn’t pass three more days this way. Knowing there was some problem, but not knowing how to fix it.
He forced himself to stop looking at Jane and turned instead to her brother. “Tell me, Edmund, who’s favored to win the races today?”
“Bloomsbury for the Ascot Stakes,” the boy replied immediately, all trace of his usual reserve gone. “He won at Epsom three weeks ago, and his dame foaled St. Giles as well.”
Edmund went on like this for a few minutes. Eli tried to listen politely, but his attention slid back to Jane. She’d parted ways from Miss Danby, but before she could return to his side, she was intercepted by a well-dressed man of about twenty-five or thirty. He looked vaguely familiar, though he had the sort of face that could be mistaken for a hundred other men.
Isn’t that the same fellow who came to call the morning after Lady Kerr’s rout?
If Eli had been a hunting dog, the hackles on his neck would have risen.
He led their group in Jane’s direction, though it took long enough to reach her that she’d had time to laugh twice (twice!) at something the gentleman had said.
“Here’s my party,” Jane announced as they drew near. “Mr. MacPherson, please allow me to present my friend, Miss Williams, and her brother, Lieutenant Williams.”
“How do you do,” Eli replied automatically, though inwardly he chafed at the introduction. Hannah’s brother, she’d said. Notherfriend. It seemed a deliberate snub.
“Not the Lieutenant Williams from the papers?” MacPherson drew back in surprise.
“Yes, the same,” Eli confirmed with a sigh.
“I didn’t realize you knew each other,” MacPherson began, but caught himself a second later. “Oh, but that’s right, you were engaged to Lady Kerr, weren’t you?”
“I was.”
“Terribly sorry about that. It must have been quite a shock for you to come back and find her married.”
What an annoying man.
“Not really,” Eli said flatly. “I was presumed dead for nearly two years. It was to be expected.”
“Yes, I suppose a pretty young lady never stays unmarried for long.” He cast a glance to Jane, presumably to include her in this category.
Where had this hanger-on even come from?
“Are you here with someone?” Eli asked. Maybe he could be encouraged to go back to them.
“Oh, just some chums from Eton. I consider my present company much more pleasing.”
He was flirting with her. Right under Eli’s nose.
Not that he could assert any claim over Jane. He wasn’t her suitor. He’d been nothing at all to her until yesterday, and now he wasn’t sure where he stood. But even so, if she had some other admirer waiting in the wings, she might’ve mentioned it. She hadn’t kissed him like she was a woman with another attachment.
Then again, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that someone else might see past Jane’s occasionally stern exterior to find the virtues beneath. She was lovely, intelligent, and refreshingly straightforward. He couldn’t be the only man who appreciated her worth.
Mr. MacPherson continued to smile at Jane, unaware of Eli’s frustration. “Are you attending the Ashbys’conversazionethis evening? The theme is to be the classics, I hear.”
