There were ways women fit into the world, and Jane didn’t match any of the ways. She was not what a woman should be. And neither had been Anne Seward, Jane supposed.
Was that what happened to women like the two of them?
Did they simply die young?
HE WAS OUTon the path when she went for an afternoon walk.
She glared at him.
He made an apologetic face and fell into step with her.
She shook her head. “I don’t think I am speaking to you, my lord.”
“Oh, that’s just fine,” he said. “I shall do all the speaking then. Just stay there silent and allow me to say it all.”
She huffed. Thisman.
“I know you’re frustrated about Mr. Beaumont,” said Byron. “But I couldn’t very well have the magistrate cart off the man whose hospitality I was enjoying, now could I?”
“How did you manage that anyway?” said Jane. “What? You just rode off to the magistrate, presented yourself, told him what you thought, and he hopped to and did your bidding?”
“I thought you weren’t going to speak.”
“To be a man,” said Jane, groaning.
“You’re really doing rather a lot of speaking, actually. I would say this is a proper conversation between us.”
“To be alord,” said Jane.
“Whatever you wish to say, you can’t think that it wasn’t a benefit to the world at large to be rid of that Mr. Lovell,” said Byron.
“Oh, it was very convenient for your friend Mr. Crampton,” said Jane. “Yes, all the very rich men with a lot of land in this story, they all come out of it quite well. And everyone else?” She shrugged.
“Yes, that’s like you to say that,” said Byron. “I did read your book.”
“Oh, you admit it?”
He shrugged. “I did what I had to do. I could not do that to Beaumont.”
“I suppose you don’t think he deserves it, that he should be allowed to go around drugging everyone with laudanum that bother him.”
“Well, you have to admit he had very little recourse with Mr. Hardy, who had shown himself quite willing to resort to blackmail at every turn. And Mr. Hardy does not like Mr. Beaumont, owing to the whole business when they were youths.”
“Yes, so, he should have simply murdered him,” said Jane.
“No,” said Byron. “No, what he did was wrong.”
Jane eyed him. “Well, call the bloody heralds. Lord Byron has admitted one of his rich pals was wrong.”
“Did you just say ‘bloody’?”
“I’m out of sorts,” she said.
“Quite clearly,” he said. “It’s only that Mr. Hardy could have exposed the babe at any time, and that could have been disastrous for everyone, including Mr. Eves. Now, Beaumontsays that it was all his idea, and that Mr. Eves didn’t know a thing about it, but perhaps he is just trying to protect the man.”
“Wait,” said Jane. “Mr. Evesisthe father?” She lifted a finger. “Yes, it doesn’t make sense else. Why would Mrs. Beaumont be running barefoot through the woods for a man who hid in a closet and watched her husband with her?”
“They don’t know,” said Byron.
