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Jacob nodded stiffly. ‘Don’t mention it. I hope you know I’ll always take your part.’
It felt as though she’d had a writhing bag of eels inside her, but they fell still at his quiet assurance. When he spoke with such straightforward confidence it did something to her that was hard to explain. Somehow she wanted to believe him, his certainty a hundred miles from the naivety he’d possessed when she had first known him, and although such a thing would be dangerous in the extreme it was still tempting to trust what he said.
I put my faith in him before, though, and it turned out I was wrong. It would still be better for everyone if I stay on my guard.
When she didn’t speak, Jacob rubbed the back of his neck, the small gesture suggesting he was perhaps mildly uneasy.
‘I’d been thinking of it anyway, but after Isabella’s spiteful display… It was unreasonable of me to expect you to stay here. I see that now.’
Meg’s brows drew together. ‘I thought I had to, because of Anthony…?’
‘There might be something I can do about that.’
He looked thoughtful, a slight movement of his lips effortlessly drawing her eye.
‘What? What are you thinking?’
He shook his head. ‘I don’t want to say too much now,’ he replied cautiously. ‘There’s someone I need to speak to first…but, unless I tell you otherwise, will you meet me on the front drive at half-past three this afternoon? I should know all I need to by then.’
Puzzled and more than a little wary, Meg peered up at him. ‘If you wish. But are you sure you can’t give me some clue beforehand?’
‘Very sure.’
To her amazement she caught the ghost of a smile. It wasn’t a proper one but all the same it made her heart skip a beat, the morning’s unpleasantness dimming at the subtle uptick of his mouth. She had no idea what he was planning, but for that brief instant it didn’t matter, her dismay at Isabella’s spite and Anthony’s malevolence suddenly seeming somehow insignificant when compared to that faint smile as Jacob bowed and walked away.
Jacob rocked back and forth on his heels as he waited for Meg to arrive. The autumn sun was warm but despite its best efforts it couldn’t quite chase away a shadow of doubt in the pit of his stomach. He thought he’d done a good thing, but it was never possible to know for certain how a woman might react in any given situation, especially when said woman was Margaret Wheeler.
Margaret Fernley now, of course. Not that I’m likely to forget it.
His uncertainty swirled more vigorously. Meg might be a Fernley by name, but she hadn’t been treated with much regard by her new family. He’d wanted to shake Isabella earlier for being so unkind, and he’d come close to seizing Anthony by his cravat on glimpsing how his brother had appraised Meg as though she’d been an object of revulsion. He’d been ashamed of his family’s behaviour then, and his embarrassment and anger hadn’t abated since, his desire to make some kind of amends increasing as he’d gone about his secretive business.
That’s all this is—just a gesture to make up for what she suffered this morning, and absolutely not me trying to win her favour.
At last he heard the crunch of gravel beneath approaching feet.
‘So, now am I allowed to know what you’ve been planning?’
He turned. Meg was coming towards him, the luxurious skirts of her gown rippling as she walked, so pretty in the sunshine that he had to take a second to find his tongue.
‘You are. If you’ll come with me, I’ve something to show you.’
Her eyes brightened with interest. She still looked faintly guarded, the morning’s unpleasantness most likely at the forefront of her mind, but when he began to walk away she followed at once.
He led her round the side of the house to where a gate opened onto the woodland beyond the gardens and began to thread through the trees, the leaf canopy growing denser as they left the path and the sunlight casting dappled patterns on the dry ground beneath their feet.
‘Where are you taking me?’
‘You’ll see in a moment. It isn’t far.’
As if in response, a set of worn steps cloaked heavily in ivy appeared among the undergrowth.
‘Are we going down there?’
‘Yes. Be careful, though. Some of the slabs are loose.’
His warning was well timed. The moment she put her foot on the first step it shifted ominously, and he threw himself forward to steady her as she staggered, one arm sliding instinctively round her waist. It could only have lasted a few seconds at the most but, still, touching her set off fireworks inside him, the hand she briefly laid on his chest as she righted herself feeling like a brand over his heart.
‘Thank you,’ she muttered, not looking at him as he released her. ‘I’ll go more slowly the rest of the way.’
