Page 12 of Avenging the Earl's Lady
Her breath calmed more, glad for the reminder to be practical.Perhaps the girl might be willing to run away with her.
“I’ll cushion them with garments.They are lovely.I feel an urge to be selfish and take more than one.”
“Would they fetch a good price, do you think?Not as I would ever think of taking them, milady.I’m not a thief.”
She glanced at the girl.There’d been no irony in her voice.Being accused of theft must be a real concern for a servant girl with her background.“No, of course not, Jenny.”
She studied the cylinders and took one off the wall.Gold paint snaked all around in an intricate pattern of leaves and vines.It was one of many, stuck away here in this remote Yorkshire cottage gathering dust.The lady who’d loved and valued them was long dead.
“His Lordship said I might take what I want, but he didn’t say I have to keep them.With the right buyer, this one, for example, might fetch enough money to carry me, or perhaps both of us, all the way back to London.”
They wouldn’t fetch as much as she ultimately needed, but she would keep them in mind if she couldn’t get her hands on something that would.
“I’m to stay, his lordship said.”
The girl was beholden to Lord Shaldon, far more than Jane was.She wouldn’t risk disobeying.
“But we might need to go into town ourselves for the foodstuffs.”Jenny said.“A man might not know to check over the bread and make sure it’s fresh.We’ve the cart Lady Perpetua and I arrived on, if you can drive it.”She paused and pressed her lips together.“But, the cliff road, milady; even Lady Perpetua got off and led the horse on that road.”
Jane yanked the blade out and sawed off a piece of cheese, her hopes rising.Jenny must know the cliff road didn’t lead to the village.“I used to handle a gig when I was a girl.It has been some time since but I’m sure it will come back to me.”She smiled and leaned in.“And we won’t take that cliff road when we leave.”
