Eventually, Reuben had to be taken away for dinner and then to retire for the night, so Jane had to let him go. She was on her second cup of tea by then and was utterly bored of her mind, but they insisted that she stay longer before the fire to warm up.
She did not know how long she was in the drawing room, but eventually, she realized the sun had set outside, and nothing had changed about her situation.
Jane was still covered in blankets, seated in front of the fireplace, nursing an empty tea cup in her hands. It had taken her moments after that realization to finally lose what was left of her patience.
She rose to her feet, stepped out of the now lukewarm water in the basin and tried to leave the drawing room, only for her advances to be intercepted by the housekeeper.
“You need to remain here, Your Grace. Please,” Mrs Greene urged gently.
“I am fine. You all are exaggerating and it was touching and amusing at first but I have grown rather tired of sitting in that chair and staring into the flames in the fireplace. Release me, lest I take leave of my senses here and now,” Jane practically begged.
“My apologies, Your Grace,” Mrs Greene apologized, looking as though she was utterly distraught to hear what Jane had said. “His Grace had given us orders not to let you leave this room. So... please, stay. And recover properly.”
The entire thing was quite ridiculous and Jane was starting to feel angry.
If he was worried about her, why was he not here? How dare he lock her up and claim it was for her own good?
“Mrs Greene, please just –”
The door fell open and Thomas walked into the room, mildly startled to see them standing by the door. Jane faced him as Mrs Greene excused herself quickly, looking anxious.
“How are you?” Thomas asked, regarding her wearily.
Jane tried to tell herself that he was only worried about her, hence his pensiveness, so she calmed down.
“I am fine. This is... very sweet of you, trying to ensure that I am doing all right.”
He nodded, looking uncertain before he turned away and started to walk to the door. Swiftly, Jane reached for his hand, effectively stopping him.
“Stay. Please. If you are unwilling to release me from my confinement, then you could keep me company. At least,” she told him gently.
He nodded, allowing her to lead him back to the settee. They sat together in silence for a moment, staring at the fire. Jane snuck a glance at him, noticing his rigid posture, clearing her throat before she asked.
“Are you all right?”
Thomas glanced at her, then nodded.
“I am. Why do you ask?”
Jane inhaled deeply, prompting herself to speak slowly, so she doesn’t say the wrong thing by accident.
“Well, I could not help but notice that you seemed rather... concerned for my well-being. I do appreciate it – truly. But I fear that I might have inconvenienced you.”
“You did not,” he stated simply.
“Well, otherwise seems to be the case. It was careless of me, I admit. But it was a small accident, and I wasn’t too far from the shore. I would have been fine,” she told him gently.
Thomas exhaled, slow and long, before he nodded.
“I know that now.”
“So why did you react that way earlier?” she questioned.
Thomas leaned against the back of their seat, his eyes still trained on the flames as his jaw tensed slightly.
“I was scared... I thought that if I had not been fast enough, I would have lost you too. My late wife... Eliza was unwell. And shortly after Reuben turned three, she grew even more unstable. She was violent and angry and I did my best to stay out of her way, hoping that my absence would bring her some semblance of peace. Then one night, she ran out of the house during a storm and I tried to go after her. I tried to find her and bring her back and I couldn’t.”
He paused, pushing his hair off his forehead with his right hand, so she could see his temple clearly. Jane peered closer, noticing a thick, jagged scar that ran across the middle of his forehead to his right temple, nearly grazing his eyebrow.
