Page 58 of Love and Other Disasters

He spun about and started down the hall, shoulders hunched.

“Jasper!” she called but he did not come back to her.

Chapter Seventeen

“Seymour,” Jasper shouted as he stormed through the lower floor of the house on his way to his study and then spewed out every curse he knew. He was bloody angry now. “Damn woman. The damn nerve of her! She’s no right to come sneaking onto the grounds when she could walk bold as brass right up to the bloody front door and be welcomed inside,” he muttered, not caring that anyone might hear him.

Seymour came rushing in. “Is there a problem?”

“Yes.” Jasper faced the butler and strove for control of his temper. “Lady Laura Sweet just tried to abduct her son.”

And because of that, Sophie had called a halt to their affair, too.

The butler’s eyes widened impossibly. “Lady Laura? She’s here?”

“No. She was out there, but I think I scared her off. For now, at least. I only glimpsed her galloping away.”

Seymour moved farther into the room. “I don’t understand.”

“That would be two of us,” he bit out, and then explained what he knew about the morning and the previous conversation he’d had with his sister-in-law.

He also shared the news that Thomas had told him a strange woman had beckoned him outside that morning. When he hadn’t found Sophie to ask who she might be, he’d gone down to see for himself, taking Liam. Liam had not wanted to go without the governess, but he had and the woman had lured Thomas farther away until he’s seen sense and stopped following her.

Thomas was confused and angry, and rightfully so. He’d been led on a merry dance by his own mother, not that he’d recognized her from a distance.

Seymour slumped into a chair. “Why would she try to take them away?”

“How should I know? I’m not privy to every facet of her estrangement from my brother. I knew they didn’t get along, but I never thought there was so much hostility on her part.” He paced the room, unable to settle himself.

The boy had known he was in the wrong as soon as their eyes had met. Jasper had shouted, Jasper had threatened, and Jasper demanded he never do that to Sophie again.

Thomas had asked who had been drawing him away from the palace. Jasper hadn’t known what to say about her but hoped that would end any more of Thomas’ wanderings for now. But he was seriously worried. Was Laura even in her right mind? What did she think she would accomplish in stealing her children back? “I will need men posted on every path leading to the palace.”

“There are more ways in than there are servants,” Seymour warned.

“Damn it. Why now when we are so short of staff?”

“Perhaps this has occurred because there are so few on hand.”

Jasper grunted, acknowledging the truth of that. “I wonder how long she has been spying on my brother, and the estate, waiting for a chance.”

“And the gathering behind the palace, with the departures so soon after, made her brave enough to strike this morning. It is a good thing I personally make certain every single door and window is locked each and every night.”

“At least she couldn’t get inside last night.” But Jasper’s stomach pitted as it occurred to him he hadn’t locked the door behind him when he’d returned either. He would have to be more careful.

Laura might have retrieved Isabelle, too, if she’d discovered that oversight. He had been preoccupied with making love to Sophie. Over his desk, because he could not wait to reach his own bedchamber. He raked a hand through his hair in disgust with himself. He should have been more careful. Anyone could have walked in and found them like that, too. “Unfortunately, locked doors didn’t stop her from calling the boys out to her.”

“Does the governess know about Lady Laura’s return?” Seymour asked.

“No, and I do not plan to tell her yet. Not until I have decided what to do about it.” Sophie had told him she’d be sticking closer to the children and putting an end to their affair. That burned a little still, and yet, given the circumstances, it suited him very well to have her renew her dedication to his nephews and niece. Under Sophie’s watchful gaze, they’d never have a chance to go anywhere without them knowing again. “We’ve had little to no trouble from Thomas before this.”

“Once Lord Nash finds out…”

“Indeed. Thomas might not sit for a week, should we tell him, and about his wife coming back too. You know how he is.”

The butler grew pale. “Quite. What punishment will the governess mete out?”

“None, I hope,” Jasper murmured. “I told her I had taken care of the matter of scolding the child and I think she believed me.”