Page 30 of Not Quite a Lady
Lily considered turning tail and bolting. It had seemed such a good idea, to be seen in the Park at the height of the fashionable promenade. She could demonstrate that she had nothing to be ashamed of, she would find out, once and for all, whether there was anyone she could rely upon, and she could perhaps convey her side of the story to a few influential ladies.
Now, completely overset by her thoughts about Jack, all her poise deserted her and she could only stare helplessly as Lady Jersey’s carriage approached.
‘Miss France.Whata surprise.’
Could a large enough hole open up to swallow her and horsetogether? No, apparently not.
‘Lady Jersey, ma’am.’
‘I was just talking about you. The things I have been hearing! Now come and join me and tell me all about it.’
With a sensation of walking into the lion’s den, Lily signalled to Peters to come and help her down.
Lady Jersey was a notorious gossip with enormous influence. If she decided to be amused by Lily’s predicament, all might be saved. If she declared it was a vulgar bore, the situation was irretrievable.
‘What astrikinghabit, Miss France.’
Oh no she hates it…
Jack spread the post he had collected from the Green Dragon out in front of him. A letter from home, full of news from his sisters, sensible enquiries about his well-being from Mama. No indication there of what she must be worrying about, with him gone so long.
He made no secret with her of the state of affairs: she had seen the family fortunes crash during his father’s lifetime and knew exactly how things stood.
A long budget of news from William Sykes his colliery manager, most of it indifferent, culminating with the intelligence that virtually every metal tyre on the wagons needed replacing and enclosing the blacksmith’s estimate.
Gallingly, a cheerful letter from a neighbour with the encouraging information that the market for domestic coals at the Newcastle docks was buoyant and now was the moment to sink further shafts, as he himself planned.
‘Good for you, Roper,’ Jack muttered, trying to feel cheerful for his friend.
No, enough was enough. He would give it one more week, one more advertisement and then go home and fight this thing onthe spot.
A long way away from Lily France and those great green eyes. A broken heart was only another sort of pain, after all.
‘Jack?’
‘I did not hear you.’
She was standing in the open doorway at the head of the stairs, still dressed for riding, her cheeks flushed, her eyes sparkling.
Jack got to his feet and stood with the table between them. It felt safer. ‘Did you have a pleasant ride?’
‘It was wonderful!’ She came in, closed the door behind her and pulled off her hat. A mass of chestnut hair tumbled free and she pushed it back with an exclamation of annoyance.
Jack felt his whole body tense, his mouth dry. He had never seen that glory unbound before. His hands curled with the need to fix themselves in the shining mass, pull her to him, bury his face in it. He felt his body sway and stepped back away from the table, deeper into the shadows.
‘I forgot we just bundled it up.’ She was running her fingers through it now, the fragrance from it reached him, even across the room. Jasmine?
‘I saw Lady Jersey in the Park.’
‘The Patroness? But is that good?’
‘It might not have been – I was a mass of nerves when she called me over. But Jack, it is all right! She asked me to join her in her carriage and we drove the length of the Row and she was so amiable, you would not believe.
‘And she admired my habit and told me I was bold but original. Then she wanted to know all about the scene outside the house, and laughed when I told her – and saidNow I wonder who might have been behindthat,Miss France?in such a knowing way that I am sure she suspects Lady Angela, whom I know she dislikes.
‘And then she wanted to know about Adrian.’
‘What did you tell her? She has the reputation as a shocking gossip has she not?’
