Jane inhaled deeply, looking down at the letter in her hands.
“I suppose we’ll be seeing my parents for dinner tomorrow evening then.”
Jane did not expect to feel like a stranger in her own home, and she did not know what to do with that feeling. The butler met them at the door with the careful, practiced blankness of long service and showed them to the drawing room where her parents waited.
Arthur rose from his chair when Thomas entered and moved toward him with an outstretched hand and the particular warmth, he reserved for people he found professionally useful. As he shook Thomas' hand, he immediately began to speak earnestly to Jane’s husband, barely sparing her a single glance.
Jane, used to being ignored and overlooked simply watched the exchange, wondering if perhaps she had made a mistake.
“Your Grace, how delightful to see you again! It was gracious of you to come. I trust you have been well,” He grinned as he steered Thomas towards the table in the corner that carried the spirits, he often used to charm his male guests with, given their quality.
Athur’s back was angled away from Jane and although she was familiar enough with the sight to not be surprised by it, she could not help but feel hurt. After the two months she had spent with Thomas, she felt like a completely different person.
She wondered if her father would ever change, if he was even capable of it.
Her mother approached her shortly after, smiling pleasantly as she kissed Jane's cheek.
“Jane, dearest. I am happy you accepted our invitation!” Harriet remarked, holding her arms out to embrace Jane.
“I did not have much of a choice,” Jane mumbled, allowing the embrace without returning it.
You look well,” her mother said pleasantly. “The dress is lovely. Is it new?”
“Yes,” Jane said.
“Your husband's doing?”
“Mine.”
Harriet made a soft approving sound and gestured to the settee, which Jane sat on quietly. Across the room, she could see Thomas responding to her father's conversation with a single-word reply that her father appeared not to notice was barely a reply at all, forging ahead with his next point.
“How are you settling in?” her mother asked.
“Well,” Jane said.
“And the estate? I understand it's quite substantial. I trust that you are performing your duties to the best of your ability.”
“It is. And I am.”
Harriet tilted her head at her daughter's brevity and said, gently, “Jane.”
“I'm sorry,” Jane said, and she was – or she was sorry for the thing that made it difficult to be warm, which was not quite the same thing. “It truly is well. I am well. Thomas is – he is a good man.”
Her mother looked slightly relieved, which made Jane press her lips together.
Dinner time arrived quickly and Arthur ushered them to the dining room – which Jane quickly noticed had been set up to impress Thomas. There was more silver in sight than was necessary, more candles than were required, a clear performance of wealth. Thomas sat across from Jane and her father sat at the head of the table which put Jane closer to him than she preferred, with her mother on her other side.
Even during the meal, Arthur refused to relent with his talks. Jane ate and listened to him explain to Thomas the particular difficulties of maintaining wool estate yields when the northern tenants were prone to negotiating with unreasonable frequency.
Thomas chewed his food and responded curtly with things like“Mm,”and“Is that so,”looking visibly uninterested to anyone who was not obsessed with the sound of their own voice.
Then her father veered into another topic, his tone changing from certain to strongly suggestive as he said,
“Of course, the matter of an heir becomes pressing. Jane is young and healthy – so there's no reason to delay, particularly now that the match is made.” He gestured with his fork in a vague, proprietary way. “She should be with child within the year, I'd think, at least–”
“She shouldn't,” Jane quipped softly, but apparently loud enough for everyone at the table to hear.
The table went quiet, and Thomas raised his eyes, a slight smile tugged at the corner of his lips, showing that for the first time since the evening began, he was pleased.
