“Lessons?”
“Ah, yes. Comportment, dancing, manners, and such. And they hate her hair.”
Jules nodded. Indeed, Miss Jackson’s hair wasn’t something that evoked milk toast opinions. Nor was the young woman herself. Hell, on and off all day, he had found himself contemplating their unusual conversation from earlier that morning. “Who are her grandparents?”
“Lord and Lady Thornton.”
Jules raised his brows at such irony. He’d met Lady Thornton on a few occasions—one of London’s highest sticklers. Even if Lord Thornton appreciated his American granddaughter as she was, it was likely the countess would squash it immediately.
He had less faith in Lady Thornton’s ability to affect much change with Miss Jackson.
No wonder she wasn’t all that fond of England. Since she’d arrived, her father had gambled her away in a game of chance, and her grandparents would erase her Americanisms, her very essence, if at all possible. “I imagine they were sorely disappointed.”
“That is my impression.” Bethany shot him a curious glance. “Why do you ask, anyway?”
Jules didn’t intend to tell either of his sisters about his wager. “I might do some business with her father. Important to be certain she won’t give rise to any... difficulties.” Both statements contained a seed of truth.
Jules rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Miss Jackson had been elusive over tea. Was she playing some sort of game with him or had she simply been distracted by the other guests? He’d made a few attempts to catch her gaze across the room, and she’d seemed to deliberately frustrate his efforts.
It was a disconcerting sensation. He was usually the one being watched.
“You said you initially felt sorry for her. But you no longer do?”
“Not really. She’s clever in the most unusual ways. And she doesn’t seem to care all that much about what people think about her. She gets this faraway look in her eyes as though she’s somewhere else completely. I must confess to wishing I could feel the same, at least occasionally.”
Jules smiled down at the eldest of his two sisters. Unlike Tabetha, Bethany was proper in all things and never gave him cause to worry. “There was no chance of that for any of us.”
In addition to the expectations of their parents, they must always comport themselves properly and with dignity. Virtues they never questioned and had drilled into them by nannies, their governesses, and tutors.
It wasn’t something they did, rather, it was who they were.
Miss Jackson might very well someday learn to behave in a manner acceptable to theTonbut it would not change who she was.
“I don’t imagine she enjoys those lessons,” Jules commented thoughtfully.
“She hates them.” Bethany laughed. “I like her. I hope she doesn’t have too much difficulty in London though. Although I doubt the dragons at Almacks will approve of her as she is now.”
Wandering through the halls a few minutes later, Jules couldn’t help but agree. Of course, those old crows would never approve of her. She didn’t blend in. In a sea of two-dimensional pastel misses, Miss Jackson’s striking character, not to mention her bright red hair, would disrupt the calming image of gentle perfection.
Blackheart came into view just as Jules rounded the corner. A deep scowl etched a line in the duke’s forehead, and he wore traveling clothes.
Something must be remiss. “Lucas?” There would always be worry when any of them were involved in a military conflict.
“No.” Blackheart straightened his shoulders. “To my knowledge, his unit is still camped on the coast.” Blackheart rarely was kept in the dark on anything, so Jules exhaled a sigh of relief.
Blackheart turned his head and stared down the foyer, grimaced, and then turned his black eyes on Jules again. “Lost a wager to deuced Greys and now I need to set my affairs in order.”
Jules raised his brows. Wagers placed by the lofty marquess were never insignificant ones. “Your affairs?”
“It seems I’ll be inconveniently occupied until the Season concludes.”
“What about your sisters?” If Blackheart wasinconveniently occupied, how would the twins make their come-out?
Tabetha had kept Jules informed of far more details for the coming Season than he had ever wished to know.
“Lady Ravensdale and Lady Hawthorne are sponsoring them, so I have no worries there. They’ll return to Crescent Park with me today, however, and they’re none too happy about that.” Black’s annoyance had Jules even more curious as to what he and Greystone had wagered.
Jules didn’t press. He’d learn of the wager soon enough from the others. “Give Tempest and his mother my condolences, if you speak with them.” Arthur Gilcrest’s family’s property bordered Crescent Park.
