Page 14 of The Lord Next Door I Wished For
The most she could hope for was that whoever they chose was kind and gave her some freedom to ride and to enjoy time in the country. But she didn’t hold out much hope there.
Kindness was not at the top of her parents’ list when it came to the preferred qualities of her intended. What mattered most was pedigree, followed closely by wealth.
Kindness and the man’s stable didn’t come into play. Not by a long shot.
Neither did her preferences in the matter.
“Ah there you are, Lady Jane,” Madame Bellafonte said when Jane and Sally entered.
Madame Bellafonte’s nose wrinkled in dismay at the state of Jane’s clothing, and no doubt the sweat that slicked her hair against her temples. “Dear, go freshen up, and when you’re done, come find me. Two letters arrived for you.”
Jane and Sally slipped away to do as they were bid. When she returned, she was delighted to see that the first letter was from Jocelyn.
Jane chuckled as she read through her friend’s account of her grand plans for her future as Mrs. Harlow. The next letter she opened with not a small amount of dread.
It was from her mother, which was not only a rarity, but did not bode well for Jane. Her mother typically only wrote to scold Jane. And since Sally’s cousin has informed Sally that Luke had continued his journey and was now back in the country…
Jane was more than a little nervous as she unfolded the parchment.
Luke might have matured into an irritating, arrogant young lord, but he wouldn’t stoop so low as to tattle on her to her mother…would he?
Her mind filled with his expression when he’d growled at her to stay out of his path.
So disdainful it had made her feel even smaller than she was. And then there was the way he’d outright laughed at her…
She heaved a sigh as she lifted the letter.
No, the boy she’d known might have had some allegiance to her, but the man he’d become?
She had no notion what he might do.
Jane’s shoulders sagged with relief as she read. There was no mention of Luke, nor her late-night excursion to a masquerade.
Her brows drew together in confusion as she kept reading the brief missive.
It wasn’t so much a letter as a summons. Her mother was writing to inform her that she was needed back home, post haste.
For a moment fear took hold, but she read the note again and there was no mention of anyone having fallen ill or a death in the family, so then…
They merelywantedher home?
Her chest swelled with hope…and excitement as her mind’s eye filled with visions of the creek and the meadows, her precious stallion in the stables, and the long days of adventures in the wild.
She shot up out of her seat with a grin.
She had preparations to make.
* * *
The journey homewas longer than it ought to be.
A thunderstorm flooded a creek and made a bridge crossing too dangerous and so she and her servants spent the evening at an inn. And when she arrived home the next morning, it was to two very alarmed parents.
“Where have you been?” her mother demanded.
“We expected you last night,” her father snapped.
Jane was used to their anger, and at this particular moment she found it rather welcome because it showed they’d been concerned.
