“Well, you should be set then.” Captain Powlett nodded brusquely, their business concluded. “It’s nothing personal, Williams. Only I must follow my conscience and my duty, retired or no. I hope this is all a misunderstanding and everything turns out well for you.”
“Thank you, sir.”
Powlett walked away from him. The whole conversation had taken less than five minutes, yet it had shot a cannonball through the center of his life. Had his greatest problem only a moment ago been whether Lady Kerr suspected his affair with Jane? Now it was whether he would find himself tried for desertion.
Twenty
They said their goodbyes to the Lindens at the grandstand and set out for London directly from Ascot. There was no picnic this time, thank goodness. Jane didn’t think she could endure a return to the scene of her original fall into temptation. They’d taken a light luncheon at the Lindens’ house before the last race to tide them over until they reached home.
In spite of this happy plan, the horses still needed to be rested and watered, so it would be impossible to avoid Eli and Cecily forever.
Until then, Jane would enjoy two hours of respite in the family carriage. Or so she’d thought.
“We never did have a chance to talk about this gambling club of yours, Jane,” Uncle Bertie began the moment they set off. His manner was almost absurdly serious. “Don’t think I’ve forgotten.”
That’s right, the fight between Eli and MacPherson wasn’t the only damning secret Cecily had on her. In the chaos of this morning, Jane had almost forgotten she still had to face a reckoning for her club.
“I know you think it’s all in good fun,” Bertie continued. “Butyou must see how it could threaten your chances of making a match. Surely it’s not worth the risk.”
A match. The idea seemed laughable now, if indeed it had ever been otherwise. There were few men who wanted a lady with no dowry, and even fewer who wanted the mistress of a gaming hell, but she’d now added a dalliance with another man to the list of points against her. No, the door had firmly closed on the possibility of marriage. It was a relief, really. She could stop pretending.
“I’m not concerned with that, Uncle.” Jane drew a long breath and girded her loins for the task ahead. It was past time. “The truth is, I don’t expect to marry.”
“Nonsense, my dear. You mustn’t get discouraged just because you’ve had a few seasons. Sometimes we find the right match a bit later in life, but that doesn’t make love any less sweet.”
“No,” she said firmly. “It isn’t a matter of finding the right person. I don’twantto marry.”
Her pronouncement was shocking enough that even Edmund put down his racing journal to observe the exchange.
“But you must!” Uncle Bertie appeared utterly bewildered, as if Jane had announced that she no longer wished to wear clothes, or breathe air. “What will become of you? Someone must provide for you, Jane. You know that you’ll always be welcome in my home, but I won’t live forever. I want to know that you’ll be safe once I’m gone.”
“A husband won’t keep me safe,” Jane protested. “I’m not likely to marry into a wealthy family, and if my husband gains his income from a living or a profession, it will die with him. How can I rely on that?” She couldn’t. It was too great a risk.
“But there’s no reason to presume the worst. One hopes your future husband will live to a ripe, old age—”
“I want to build myownfuture. With the club. With Della.”
“I can’t understand what you mean. Are you saying you wish to become a professional gambler?” Poor Bertie was evidently bewildered.
“Not a professional gambler,” Jane corrected hastily. “The proprietress of a profitable establishment.” How to explain so that it would make sense? She’d intended to do this with her records all laid out for him, but she could summon the numbers from memory. She’d gone over them so many times, they were like old friends. “We’ve made over fifty pounds this season, which isn’t even over yet. We kept the bids low and used to average only a few pounds a night when we first began, but we’ve more than doubled our membership since April, and last week we took home fourteen. I know that may not seem like much if you don’t put it into context, but you have to remember that it’s a new venture. These are only the people we’ve found so far. If we rented out some assembly rooms, we’d have enough space to—”
Uncle Bertie held up a hand to ward off this proposal. “What will happen when your luck runs out and your debts catch up to you? Cecily said Lady whoever-she-was lost four pounds on a single hand. That’s too rich for our blood, Jane.”
“Cecily has no business meddling!” Jane snapped, finally at the end of her rope. Must her cousin ruineverything? She’d poisoned the well with Bertie before Jane even had a chance to make her case. “She’s only trying to cause trouble for me.”
“Nonsense,” Bertie said. “She’s worried about you because she cares. Just as I do.”
Worried about me?Ha! Cecily would probably watch her drown without lifting a finger to save her if she had the chance.
“Besides,” her uncle continued, “I think she was a bit hurt that you kept all this a secret. It would have been kind of you to invite her along, you know.”
This was simply too much to bear.
“I didn’t think she would want to come,” Jane managed to force the words out through gritted teeth. “Anyway, there’s no need for either of you to worry about me. I assure you I know exactly what I’m doing.”
“Throwing away your future.” Bertie shook his head sadly. “All for the thrill of the game. And once you have cause to regret it, it will be too late to salvage your reputation.”
“It’s not a thrill, it’s a sound plan of business. I can show you my ledgers once we’re home—”
