Maybe she should confide all her concerns. Perhaps Claudia would have valuable advice for how to proceed. On second thought, no.For how could she face her—or her brother for that matter—if she confessed her wanton behavior? She would most certainly perish of embarrassment.
“What is it, dear?” Claudia looked at her with sympathetic eyes.
Jane averted her attention to the floorboards. “Nothing.”
“The distress on your face suggests otherwise.” Claudia narrowed her eyes assessingly.
“I was merely wondering how long it will take for Lord Keery to return with the license,” Jane lied. “For I would prefer to get the ceremony over with in all due haste.”
“If Henry has his way, the pair of you will be joined under threat of violence the moment the Marquess returns.”
As Claudia had speculated, Henry demanded Lord Keery marry Jane the moment he returned with the special license. Now, she stood under a trellis of roses, dressed in the best gown she’d brought. Stars sparkled in the inky night sky and a warm breeze wrapped around her as she irreversibly joined herself to Lord Keery.
Her dear friend Sarah stood with her husband, Lord Luvington. Claudia and Henry stood beside them. Henry wore a surly expression as the clergyman conducted the ceremony, his gaze constantly flickering from her to her bridegroom. When, at last, the newlyweds were declared husband and wife, Henry allowed a slight grin.
Lord Keery dropped her hands. “We leave for London at sunrise. Be prepared.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“Now that we are wed,”—he offered her a weak smile—“I give you leave to call me by my given name.”
“Which is…?
“Caleb.”
She smiled at him, though her insides were in utter turmoil. “Very well then, Caleb.”
When he turned from her to converse with Lord Luvington, she slid a sideways glance at him, her body in turmoil, nerves causing her hands to shake slightly. Would he come to her this evening? What would she do if he did? And what would she do if he did not?
His cool demeanor during and after the ceremony led her to believe he was cross with her. Not that she could blame him. Indeed, she was vexed with herself. She sighed and turned her attention to where Henry and Claudia stood.
Henry approached, taking her hands in his. “Though this is not how any of us wished for your wedding day to be, I must say, you are a vision.”
She glanced at the toes of her slippers peaking from beneath her blush-colored gown. “Thank you.”
“I do wish you happiness, Jane.”
She pulled her hands from his and glanced back at her new husband.
God willing, they would find a way past their rough beginning to have a happy union. The last thing she wished for was a marriage the likes of her parents’—one solely of convenience that left both people equally miserable. A lump formed in her throat. She’d already bound herself to a worse arrangement—one born of nothing more than scandal.
CHAPTER 3
Caleb sat across from Jane staring out the carriage window. He had retrieved her from her bedchamber early this morning and led her to their waiting carriage before the sun had crested the horizon. By the time the sun rose, they had departed for London with little notice, and were now several hours into the journey. Much like the previous evening when he’d left her outside of her bedchamber door, neither spoke a single word beyond monotonous pleasantries, adding to the uncomfortable atmosphere of the carriage. He shifted in his seat, readjusting his stiff back and shoulders.
Perhaps he should say something, but what? Caleb had no idea what to do with a wife—actually, he knew perfectly wellwhatto do, but what to discuss—that was a different thing all together. He slanted his gaze in her direction, wondering what she did now. With a sigh, he relaxed back against the plush velvet seat. It seemed he need not concern himself with entertaining her after all.
Judging by the gentle rise and fall of her chest, Jane had fallen asleep. He allowed his gaze to roam over her from the raven curls gathered at the back of her head to the pout of her slightly parted lips, then lower following the curve of her hip to her slipper covered feet sticking out from below her skirt. For the first time, he truly studied her, taking in every visible inch of creamy skin and feminine curves. He had always thought her to be an unremarkable wallflower, her coloring too dark, womanly curves too pronounced, and lackluster personality left nothing for a man to desire—or even take note of. He did not doubt that if she were not Lord Shillington’s sister he’d have no idea who the woman was. As it were, the Shillington’s were part of his circle. They often found themselves at the same gatherings, and shared several acquaintances and friends such as the Duke of Goldstone and the Duchess of Abernathy, who as it happened was rather fond of his new bride.
He narrowed his eyes focusing on her hair. It shone like onyx in the sunlight streaming through the carriage window. His fingers twitched with the sudden desire to touch the carefully styled tresses. Would he find the locks soft and silky? What of her lips? He had thought them to thin and taut in the past, but now as he studied the bow of her restful pout, he wished to feel them pressed to his. Relaxed as she was, they appeared to be lush and pliable. He’d wager they were sweet and yielding as well. The kind of lips made for kissing.
He tore his gaze from Jane and shifted in his seat. How the devil had he not seen her beauty before? More importantly, how was he to ensure her safety if he were distracted by her womanly charms? He simply had to maintain a distance between them.
The last time he’d been responsible for a lady’s well being he’d failed miserably. His heart ached at the memory of what he allowed to happen to his sister. Maggie had been out in the woods with him when they’d come upon a river. A log lay across it and he thought it would be safe to cross the water using the large hunk of wood.
He pushed back his rising emotions as the long ago memory continued its assault. A patch of wild flowers grew on the opposite bank and Maggie had wanted to pick them. Even now he could hear her screams, smell the water and sediment. He squeezed his eyes shut against the painful memory. Caleb lost a piece of himself—the most important piece— when he allowed Maggie to die.
