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“I feel compelled to satisfy your brother. I must court you publicly. It would be our first outing in society.”
Jane pursed her lips. The thought of this gorgeous, well-bred, rich lord showing an interest in her made her breath quicken.
It was false, she reminded herself. He intended only to satisfy her brother’s conditions. But when she imagined all the matrons of the ton, the dandies riding horses in Hyde Park, the young ladies on the hunt for a husband seeing her with someone like him…judging her with her plain gray and brown clothes…the thought made her stomach twist.
“And we can discuss our plan,” he added. “How we get the information. I have acquired the special license, by the way. As your brother requested, the wedding day is in thirteen days.”
A cold shiver ran through Jane. Thirteen days, heavens…
He was right. They had to hurry. The faster they made their appearances, the more quickly Thorne would be satisfied and at ease. And the sooner they got the information about Lord Richard’s brother, the sooner this farce would be over and she could keep her focus on these children.
“All right,” she said. “I’ll go with you after the children are finished with their food. I’ll let Thorne know he must chaperone us.”
“I already have a chaperone,” he said. “My grandmama. And that’s the thing. You’ll need to be careful with her… My family is already very suspicious, so it will take some fine acting to convince them we’re in love.”
“Right,” said Jane, straightening her spine. “What an ordeal.”
An hour or so later, Jane and Richard walked down the Rotten Row promenade in Hyde Park, with Hercules trotting cheerfully in front of them and Grandmama walking behind. The air was rich with a mixture of flowers and fresh-cut grass, the smell of horse dung, and the occasional waft of expensive perfume or cologne. Birds chattered, bees buzzed, and people talked and laughed around them. Occasionally, hooves slowly thumped against the ground on horse paths as riders passed. Hyde Park was the place for all fashionable ladies and gentlemen to be seen.
Thorne had watched them leave with a stern but approving gaze. Since Richard’s grandmama had refused to come to Whitechapel, Ruby had accompanied them to the park, where the dowager met them and Ruby stayed in the carriage.
The older lady was very nice, but she scanned Jane with skeptical eyes. She’d asked her a few questions about Thorne and herself and how she was. But Richard saved her from further questioning by pointing to some tree or other and insisting they go to see it at once as it was so pretty in the sunlight.
As Jane and Richard walked, Grandmama trailing like the third wheel, Jane couldn’t have felt more out of place. Ruby had no idea how to create any of those fashionable hair styles with perfectly curled locks around the face, nor how to spruce up an old bonnet and add something pretty like a feather or a rose as many ladies had. And it seemed Jane was the only one dressed in dull colors here, with the fabric of her dress thick and practical, rather than light and airy.
Her low heels crunched against the gravel path, and Lord Richard smiled and kept nodding to many people who passed them by. Female heads frequently seemed to turn towards him.
“My family will want to have you for tea,” he said. “And I told them we met before, so we must come up with some explanation as of how.”
“Right,” said Jane. “Which makes it difficult since no one in the ton would accept me as their dinner guest.”
“Not even your old acquaintances through your papa?”
“No. Not even them. But we could say we met at one of their soirées. That lie would hold until we need to break up, wouldn’t it? Your grandmama wouldn’t rush to…say…Lady Elizabeth Fitzroy’s to try and confirm this information?”
Richard chuckled. “I certainly hope not. We just need to keep up the lie long enough for them not to storm into your brother’s office and ruin everything.”
“Very good,” she said. “Then let’s say we met at Lady Fitzroy’s musical soirée.”
“And be prepared to act like you’re in love when you meet my sister and brother,” he warned.
“Of course,” Jane said, her back tensing. How would she ever? She had no idea how to show she was in love. She supposed she needed only to give in to the weakness and warmth of her limbs when she was near this man…
“We need to finish with the ruse as soon as possible,” said Jane, forcing herself to return to logical thinking. “I cannot have you disrupt my life any more than you already have.”
Richard’s jaw tightened. “How do you propose to do that?”
“I know all of Thorne’s main men. There’s Atticus, who’s his right hand, but he’s as loyal as a dog. Still. He has a soft spot for me. I’ll try to talk to him first.”
Three ladies, one older and two younger, in silky, expensive dresses and beautiful spencers, their bonnets boasting constructions of flowers and birds so high they looked a foot taller, passed by and nodded to Richard, who greeted them in return. Just like every other acquaintance he greeted, these three threw very odd glances at her.
“Are you sure it’s a good idea for you to talk to your brother’s men?” he asked. “Aren’t they thieves and robbers and whatnot?”
“Those men would guard my life with their own,” she said. “They’re dangerous but they’re good men at heart. And as Thorne’s sister, they would never allow anyone to harm me.”
“But do not think you’re going to talk to them alone.”
As more noble ladies passed by, one of them threw a very seductive glance at Richard, who gave her a slow, slight nod. Jane didn’t like that lady one bit—she was all willowy grace and smooth, spectacle-free face. So much better looking than Jane. Anger burned through her like acid.
