Jenna sat in the carriage for a long moment staring at the walkway to the children’s home. If truth be known, she prayed Gray would not be there today. It would kill her to see him again.
The door opened and the footman carefully helped her down the steps. Though her arm still pained her, she had grown accustomed to the discomfort. With each passing day, the hurt lessened. But the pain in her heart still burned with intensity.
Slowly, she walked to the door and knocked softly. Mrs. Drennan promptly answered, a look of delight on her face to see Jenna. Her expression darkened when she caught sight of the sling.
“Are you well, my lady?”
“Quite well,” Jenna reassured. “Just a simple accident. I’d love to see the children if they are not sleeping.”
“Not at all. They will be delighted to see you as always.”
She gestured inside, and Jenna followed her within. Soon Jenna found herself enfolded in the embrace of a dozen children, and her heart soared for the first time in over a week.
Their cherubic smiles, hugs and kisses warmed her all over. Meg sidled over to her and snuggled into her uninjured arm. She kissed Meg’s golden curls and inhaled her sweet scent.
“Would you all like a story?”
The chorus of yeses was nearly deafening.
She smiled as they clamored around. “I need someone to pick out a story, and then I need a special volunteer to hold the book and turn the pages for me. I’ve hurt my arm as you can see, so I can’t hold the book.”
A series of sympathetic oohhhs filled the room as they crowded in to examine her bandage. Finally, she coaxed them into taking seats in front of her, and she began the story.
As she read the last page, she looked up to see Gray standing in the doorway. Her breath caught in her throat. He looked terrible and wonderful all at the same time. His hair was unkempt, the stubble of several days’ worth of beard darkened his chin, and his eyes were bloodshot.
Her voice faded on the last word and she smiled brightly at the children. “Off to play now.”
They scrambled up and raced over to the toys across the room. Soon their delighted shrieks echoed through the house as they involved themselves in their playacting.
Jenna stood and slowly walked over to where Gray stood.
“What are you doing here?” he asked in a gruff voice.
Her eyes narrowed. Of all the questions he might ask, she hadn’t imagined that one. “I am here to see the children. Despite the fact that you don’t want me or need me, they do.”
She cursed the bitterness she heard in her voice, but she felt it too keenly to prevent it from sliding out.
“Jenna, I...”
“You needn’t say anything. I was just leaving.”
She drew herself up and raised her chin a notch. She may be dying on the inside, but he would never know it. Her pride was too great.
“Are you well?” he asked softly when she had nearly made it past him.
She paused and turned her head to look into his eyes. She searched deeply, but all she saw was sadness and pain. Willing the tears not to well in her eyes, she looked away. “I am fine,” she whispered.
Not looking back, she left the house and hurried back to her waiting carriage. Her tears fell before she was seated.
###
Jenna stared listlessly out her window, tears pricking her already swollen eyelids. While the trip to the orphanage had provided a boost to her spirit, it had also struck a blow to her heart.
For the last week, she had existed in a stupor. The news of her broken engagement had filtered through the ton, eliciting a mild curiosity, but no real shock. Stuart hadn’t yet appeared in public sans façade, so the society likely sympathized with Jenna.
Along with her broken engagement, her parents had spread the story of her injury. Perfectly embarrassing tale, but at least everyone believed it. An accident. She’d knocked her father’s dueling pistols from the wall and one discharged.
She rolled her eyes at the absurdity, but it was better that she was a bumbling female than the person responsible for Viscount Dudley’s death. Well, indirectly anyway.
