“Nothing,” Colin ground out as he pushed back from the table and the food he would certainly not eat now.
He stared out the window at the sunny autumn day that seemed to have been created to taunt him. Jane was in London. It was like a shot echoing in his mind.
“Is there anything I can do for you, my lord?” Simmons pressed.
Colin glared into the window. “What is on my schedule for today?” he asked through clenched teeth.
Simmons straightened. “A meeting with Lord Grimley about the legislation you want to propose to the House of Lords, and then a lunch at your club with your cousin. You are also to meet with your solicitor this afternoon about the autumn maintenance at your estates.”
Colin frowned. All those things were important, indeed, and normally he would not let anything sway him from performing his duties and obligations. But right now he could think of nothing but that Jane washere.
And he needed to see her. No, not see her. Confront her.
“Cancel it all,” he said, spinning away from the window. “And have my horse prepared. I have a call to make and I doubt I’ll be in any mood for company once it has been completed.”
If Simmons was surprised by this sudden change of plans, he didn’t show it on his stern face. He merely nodded and exited the room with swift efficiency.
Leaving Colin to ponder what in the hell he was doing. Jane had sent him no word she was coming to London. She obviously had no interest in seeing him. He should have had equally little interest in seeing her, and yet he felt a pulsing drive to go to her. To hear her voice and smell her scent and look her in the eye as he hadn’t for six long, tortuous months.
A foolish notion, but as a husband, it was his right. And that is what he would tell her when she faced him. That and nothing more.
“Sir?”
Colin jumped as Simmons reappeared at the door. “Yes?”
“Your horse is ready.”
Colin nodded to the butler, collected his gloves and exited the house, his chin lifted and his shoulders back. He swung up on the mount and urged him forward, turning him toward the house of Jane’s sister and her husband. He had not seen either of them since the day of the wedding either. He could not imagine he would receive a warm reception.
Currently he didn’t give a damn. Jane was his only thought now. Jane and her bright eyes. Jane and her gentle smile. Jane and her easy lies.
He couldn’t forget that last bit. Not if he wanted to come out of this encounter unscathed.
It took him a quarter of an hour to ride to the home of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Beckford, but his heart rate never slowed the entire ride. It still throbbed as he mounted the steps to their modest home and straightened his jacket before he knocked.
A butler appeared in a moment and looked him up and down slowly. “May I help you?”
Colin sniffed. “I’m aware that Lady Wharton arrived today from Applegate. I am here to see her.”
The butler shifted slightly, guard entering his expression. “And who may I say is calling when I ascertain if Lady Wharton is in residence?”
Colin held out a card. “Her husband.”
The butler caught his breath almost imperceptibly and took the card being held out to him. He cleared his throat and then stepped back, allowing Colin entrance. “Let me inquire as to the lady’s whereabouts, sir. Follow me to the parlor to wait, if you will.”
Colin shook his head as he followed the man. “You may let the lady know that if she sends you back with a claim that she is not in house, I will know she is lying and come to find her myself.”
The butler was now bug-eyed, but he nodded just the same. “Certainly, sir. I will pass along the message.”
He hustled from the room, leaving Colin to pace the chamber slowly. He had been here once, over a year ago, when he and Jane had celebrated an engagement luncheon at her sister’s home. He recalled sitting beside her at a long table, smiling as they were toasted by all in attendance. She had slid her hand into his under the table, and in that moment he had felt two powerful reactions. The first was a sense of peace unlike any he’d ever known. The second was desire that tore all propriety to shreds and made his body throb.
He blinked away the images that danced through his mind and turned to pace in the opposite direction. When he did, he came to a full stop, for there at the parlor door was Jane. She was dressed in a pretty pink gown that brought out the porcelain perfection of her skin and the honey-blonde brightness of her hair. Her blue eyes were locked on him, and she took a shuddering breath before she stepped inside the chamber and firmly shut the door behind herself.
Leaving them alone together for the first time in six long and lonely months.
Chapter Two
Jane stared at Colin, her body trembling and her breath hard to find. He was here. He washerein her sister’s parlor, standing no more than ten feet away. And God, but he was handsome. He was impeccably dressed in a black jacket that accentuated his broad shoulders and a smart waistcoat interlaced with golden thread. His dark hair was cut close and not a lock of it dared to be out of place. His harsh jaw was smooth and clean, as if he had only finished scraping his blade across any whisker that dared to make an appearance overnight.
