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She couldn’t show weakness. Any sign that she might be ashamed of being in Nicholas’s arms would only fuel whatever cunning plan was ticking over in Lady Margaret’s mind. It was the time to show just how bold she could be.

Jane looked the young woman straight in the eye and said, “Lady Margaret, I’ve been searching for you for some time now.”

She watched Lady Margaret’s eyes flick over to Nicholas, taking him in with one long, sweeping look from the top of his hat to the toe of his boot.

“I’m surprised you even noticed I was gone,” said the young lady as she slowly descended the stairs.

“How could I not when I woke up and you were no longer in your bed?” Jane asked.

“It seems to me you’ve found a rather more exciting traveling companion.” Lady Margaret came to stop right in front of Nicholas. “Aren’t you going to introduce us?”

“Believe me when I say that you’re by far the most exciting traveling companion a governess could want.”

Lady Margaret laughed. “Miss Ephram, your tongue has an edge to it. I didn’t think I’d ever see the day. Did this gentleman help you hone it?”

The barb glanced off Jane—this was all the posturing of a young woman who was backed into a corner after all—but Nicholas didn’t know that.

“You will not speak so disrespectfully to Miss Ephram,” he gritted out between grinding teeth. Now that she’d spent so much time in his company, it was easy to forget about Nicholas’s commanding presence, but the boom of his voice through the entryway froze everyone. “She has traveled a long way to ensure your safety.”

Lady Margaret gave something akin to a refined little snort. “And the security of her position, no doubt.”

The clattering of boots on wooden stairs made them all look up, and Mr. Lawrence came into view. When he spotted them, he froze on the landing, his hand still clutching the banister.

“Hello, Mr. Lawrence,” said Jane, at the same time disappointed and satisfied that she’d been correct in thinking her charge would be traveling in his company rather than meeting him in Gretna Green.

“What’s this?” the man asked, eyeing Jane and Nicholas suspiciously.

Lady Margaret reached out a hand, beckoning him to her. “It seems my governess has found a more diverting companion for her journey north. What did you say your name was, sir?”

“Lord Hollings,” Nicholas said.

“A title?” said Lady Margaret with a raised eyebrow. “You’ve done very well for yourself, Miss Ephram.”

The bitterness in the young lady’s voice grated on Jane, but she wouldn’t let it deter her.

“Lady Margaret, it’s my duty to stop you from making a huge mistake and running off with that man.” She gestured at Mr. Lawrence, who’d edged closer to the wall of the stairway as though he could simply disappear into the woodwork. “Your reputation—”

“You’re beginning to sound like my parents,” said Lady Margaret with a strained laugh.

“Then it does your parents credit. I don’t begrudge you the chance to marry him, if that’s what you really want, but there are other ways. Running off to Gretna Green will only make you a pariah.”

Lady Margaret drew her shoulders back. “I’m still an earl’s daughter.”

“Are you really willing to hang everything on the chance that your father’s title will save you the stigma of an elopement? You’ve seen other women ruined by it before. It’s too much of a risk.”

A shadow fell over Lady Margaret’s eyes. “It’d be better than being trapped in Rawson House with my parents dictating everything I do, from the invitations I accept to the dresses I have made. I want to be my own mistress.”

There were far worse fates than living in one of the great houses that lined one of the most fashionable squares in Mayfair, but Jane wasn’t about to point that out to her charge. Lady Margaret had grown up being given everything she desired as long as she agreed to stay inside her golden-barred cage, except confinement had never suited the girl. Jane knew that the entrapment of Lord Rawson’s home must have been infuriating if not stifling.

She closed the gap between them and laid a light hand on Lady Margaret’s forearm. “Like I said, there are other ways.”

“I don’t want other ways.” Lady Margaret whirled around to shake off Jane’s hand and drape herself on Mr. Lawrence’s arm. “I want to be married and have over with it all.”

Now didn’t seem like the most opportune time to note that marrying a fortune hunter to escape from meddling parents was a foolish plan, especially when there was a strong possibility that Mr. Lawrence would simply fill that role once the ink was dry on the license—never mind the fact that the spineless man was a known rogue. All of the ton knew he had a history of broken engagements to a string of heiresses, and Jane had it on good authority from at least two other governesses that he’d been seen flirting with their wealthy charges at the time he’d set his sights on Lady Margaret.

It was time to change tactics. If she couldn’t convince Lady Margaret to drop Mr. Lawrence, she’d go for the man’s vulnerability: his avarice.

“I suppose if you’re really in love, it won’t matter,” Jane said, feigning a disinterested shrug. “Your father does have that cousin in Jamaica.”