“Oh, Lieutenant Williams introduced us the week before last. He’s a friend of my husband, Commander John Alan.”
Jane’s thumb slipped and she made a mess of her shuffle. She scrambled to right the cards back into an orderly block. “Did he? How kind of him.”
He’d been helping her. Back before she’d even started being friendly to him again. And he hadn’t said anything to take credit.
She’d always thought that a suitor would threaten her plans. But Eli had done more than she’d dared to hope for. Believed in her, even when she’d offered him nothing in return.
Jane was having trouble focusing on the cards she dealt. They were six at the table instead of their usual four, and she couldn’t for the life of her manage any calculations to adjust the odds, though it should have been simple.
What if Eli was convicted, and they actually sentenced him to death? Why hadn’t hetoldher he was facing a court-martial? Yes, she’d asked him to stay away, but that was before she’d realized his life might be in danger. This was the sort of thing you told someone you cared about, even if you’d had a recent falling out after threatening a rival at a party.
And Jane did care about him, no matter how much simpler things would be if she didn’t. She’d thought rejecting Eli would keep her from hurt if he were in danger, but here they were anyway. She hadn’t protected her heart. She hadn’t kept her feet on the ground. She’d fallen hopelessly, foolishly in love with him, and now he might be in grave danger and there was nothing she could do to help.
The realization could have knocked her off her feet, if she hadn’t already been sitting.
“Oh, that reminds me, Miss Bishop, I asked a few of my husband’s friends about our good lieutenant.” Mrs. Muller startled her from her thoughts. The request Jane had made at their last meeting seemed like years ago. “The stories they told me about the shipwreck were simplyghastly. I spoke to a rear-admiral who knew the midshipman from theLibertas. He said the poor man still had nightmares about drowning, even now. It’s so tragic, isn’t it? I can’t imagine what the lieutenant must suffer.”
“Nor can I,” Jane managed.
She wished she’d never asked. She’d been so thoughtless in her pursuit of the truth. She felt quite wretched. Then again, there was still the matter of the mysterious Greek man at Eli’s house.
She would pay him a call and get the truth from him directly, asshe should have done from the start instead of poking around with others. Surely, he wouldn’t refuse to see her. Maybe she could still convince him to tell her what was going on if she swallowed her pride and begged.
She had to try. They played for an hour, Mrs. Muller betting more extravagantly as the game continued, until she’d driven up the others and they had twenty pounds sitting on the table.Twenty pounds!Jane kept her card face on, as if she were accustomed to seeing such a sum laid out like pocket change. She was just reaching out to collect her winnings when a frantic knocking at the door halted her hand.
Heavy footsteps tracked down the hall as the butler answered, followed by muffled voices. Della was already on her feet, and Jane signaled the players at her table to wait as she moved to join her.
The butler poked his head in the room, murmuring to his mistress “I’m terribly sorry, miss, but it’s Lieutenant Williams for his sister. I’ve told him you were occupied, but he won’t be put off. He said it was urgent.”
Has something happened with his court-martial?Della was already motioning the butler to let her pass, and Jane shadowed her, fully intending to come along.
“Lieutenant Williams?” Mrs. Duff peered eagerly at the door. “What a wonderful surprise.”
The whole room began to buzz.
“Please stay at your places, ladies,” Jane said, though it was anyone’s guess whether they were listening. “The lieutenant won’t be joining us this evening; he’s only come to collect his sister. We’ll return in just a moment.”
She motioned to Hannah, whose face slid into a pout. She set down her cards and followed Jane and Della from the room, muttering, “It’s not fair. I hardly got to play.”
When they met Eli at the entrance, he looked tousled and out ofbreath as if he’d raced here. “We don’t have long,” he began without any greeting. “My mother’s found out Hannah isn’t at Miss Parker’s house as she said, and now my father’s on his way here to search for her. He’s in a state.”
He glanced at Jane only once, preferring to keep his attention on Della and Hannah. She couldn’t say she blamed him. She wasn’t sure how to behave as though he didn’t make her knees weak either.
“What did they do, go there to check on me?” Hannah’s voice rose in indignation. “Is there no trust in our house?”
“Why didn’t you think of a better lie?”
“He has a point.” Della came between the siblings with a knowing tone. “If you’re going to use someone else as your excuse, you must bring them in on the plan first. It’s just good sense.”
“Can we please focus on what to do?” Jane interrupted. “Eli, can you take Hannah home directly and head him off? We can pretend she was never here.”
“I can try, but I’m not sure what route he took. I slipped out to warn you while my parents were still talking.”
He’d helped her again, though he had far greater problems of his own to worry about. “Thank you,” she managed. Eli only nodded, his dark eyes catching hers for a long moment. She would have given a small fortune for his thoughts, if only they were alone.
Hannah hadn’t even managed to get her cloak over her shoulders when they heard the jingling of a horse and carriage outside.
Eli muttered an oath. “If he comes in, he’ll make a fuss in front of your guests. I’ll try to head him off.”
