Page 115 of The Heir
The princess frowned, but there was a light in her eyes. Jane grinned.
“Miss,” said Lehzen, “the doctor said it could only be a few minutes.”
But Victoria clung to her hand. “Don’t leave me, Jane.”
“I won’t.” She covered Victoria’s hand with her own. “I promise.”
* * *
After that, Jane rejoined the household. Liza took Betty, Hornsby, and the hired carriage and returned home.
“I’m sorry to abandon you,” Liza had said. “But it’s that or start borrowing. Betty doesn’t trust me, and she won’t go a day without her sweetener.”
It was another two weeks before Dr. Clarke declared the princess was fit to travel. The journey that had taken Liza and Jane two days took the household five. The carriages crawled at a snail’s pace to minimize how much the princess would be jolted. They stopped at every coaching inn on the road to allow her to rest.
Jane didn’t think it possible she could be so glad to see the gates of Kensington Palace. The only thing that seemed more welcome was watching how Victoria beamed when she settled onto the sofa and Dash leapt into her arms.
“Yes, yes, Dash!” the princess croaked as the spaniel alternately barked and joyfully licked her face. “I have missed you so much! Yes, you are my very best friend.” But she lifted her bright eyes and looked at Jane where she stood next to Lehzen. “Well, almost.”
* * *
That evening Jane climbed into the carriage with Father. He banged on the roof and sat back, staring out the window. Jane looked from him to the passing lawn, the gates, the cobbled streets.
The world should have changed, she thought idly. Heshould have changed. I should be able to see it.
But study Father’s face as she might, there was nothing new there.
Or perhaps there was. “Jane. Did the princess say anything to you about poison?” he asked.
“No,” said Jane. “Why would she do that?”
He made no answer, and Jane was happy to let him have his silence.
Mother received them home with a declaration that they all looked as exhausted as she felt, and promptly decided she would take her dinner on a tray. At the table Father scowled at Ned, and after the meal concluded, he called him into the study and slammed the door.
He need not have bothered. His voice was clearly audible in the corridor. Jane knew because she stood outside the door to listen.
“What have you done, you bleating young fool!”
Father was still enumerating the various unfavorable aspects of Ned’s personality when Liza came up the stairs.
“He found out about the banknotes Ned took,” she told Jane. “And about the gambling debts.” Jane raised her brows. Liza shrugged. “Ned talks when he’s in his cups, and I may have mentioned one or two things I learned where Father could hear.”
“Remind me not to tell you secrets,” muttered Jane.
“Too late, Jane.”
That was, of course, true. “Does Father know about the duel?” she asked. “That Dr. Maton was there?”
“Oh, he’s known about all that for quite some time,” said Liza. “I rather think he respects Ned more for it than otherwise.”
“Yes,” murmured Jane. “He would, wouldn’t he?”
Liza threaded her arm through her sister’s. “Come away, Jane. Get some rest. There’s nothing new for you to learn here tonight.”
“And tomorrow?”
Liza shook her head. “That I don’t know.”
