“God bless you, Your Grace.”
Jane smiled at the woman and nodded. “Thank you, Miss Wendover. I’m sure we’ll meet again, many times, as the duke will want to have some interaction with the child. We will be friendly, will we not?”
“I’m humbly grateful for your warmth, but it wouldn’t be proper, would it?”
“Probably not, but we will be friendly nevertheless.” She walked with Miriam toward the door. “I would make one request of you, and trust you will honor it.”
“Anything, Yer . . . Your Grace.”
Just at the door, Jane turned to face the woman and rested her hand upon her arm. “Do not ever become intimate with my husband again. If you do, if I discover he’s in your bed, I’ll take severe action against you and you will not like it. Are we very clear, Miss Wendover?”
Shocking her completely, the young woman threw her arms around Jane’s neck and laughed out loud. “Oh, you are a love! I vow I’m happy for Blix.” She stepped back and grinned at Jane. “You’re just the thing for him, yes you are. I offer my congratulations, Your Grace, and wish you every happiness. You need not worry about me, truly. I was his mistress. I performed a service, just as that stiff butler performs a service to you and your family. Now that he has you, Blix won’t be in need of those particular services any longer, will he?”
Jane couldn’t resist returning the woman’s smile. “No, he will not.”
***
Michael leaned against a Grecian column, one of five placed along the garden path, and watched his father-in-law pace the bricks before him. He was terribly upset. Michael believed, if the man would ever allow it, he might cry. He stopped and faced Michael. “If you won’t betray her confidence, if you insist on speaking in riddles, have the good grace to tell me if my conclusions are correct.”
“You must ask Jane. If you don’t ask, if you don’t take action, it will be as though she’s been mistreated all over again. Surely you can see this? I intend to take care of the problem myself, but I won’t stand aside and allow you to browbeat her over marrying me, when something of such consequence is a dead weight around her happiness and peace of mind, ignored in favor of pointing out my myriad faults.”
“You say she met you in the park this morning to tell you?”
“She did.”
“And you agreed to go ahead with the wedding?”
“I did. Sir, your daughter didn’t ask to be hoodwinked, nor did she place herself in a dangerous situation. She was within the bosom of her mother’s family, seemingly safe. That this happened to her is alarming, and distressing, and I in no small way place some of the blame upon you. When she ran off to Scotland, did it not occur to you to visit on occasion? Had you been a presence there, she would have established that someone was looking out for her, that someone would demand answers from anyone who dared mistreat her.”
Sherbourne had the good grace to look ashamed. He didn’t argue. He resumed pacing, running his hand through his hair again and again. “Jane’s always been a strong girl, backbone of steel and all that. Rides and shoots better than most men, never was afraid of anything.”
“She is not a man, of course, but a woman, in need of protection from unsavory sorts, which doesn’t include me, regardless of your opinion. You hold a grudge about what happened at my sister’s house party, despite my clear intention to do the right thing. As for my recently dismissed mistress arriving on your doorstep, I’m quite certain she is either not actually breeding, or she’s in want of additional funds with which to care for the child. As you well know, children do occasionally result when one takes a mistress. I believe at last count, you have three bastards, scattered about England.”
“Yes, but I don’t have a wife.”
“Neither did I, until two hours ago. As I said, she’s my previous, recently dismissed mistress. I’ll take responsibility for the child, of course, and that will be an end to it. I’ve gone out on a limb to discuss it at all, but I don’t wish to continue this thrust and parry with you. Either accept me for what I am, as your daughter’s husband, or say you will not, so that I may in future not return to your home and cause my wife undue anxiety and unhappiness.”
Sherbourne stopped pacing again and faced him. “Hell and damn, Blixford, I’ve muddled things all out of sorts, and goddamn, I am perplexed and enraged that anyone would violate her and not make it right. I’ve a mind to take off for Scotland within the hour.”
“I’d ask you to speak to Jane, without delay. Your consideration will be of greater help to her at this point than rushing off to defend her honor.” He raised one brow. “I understand she went a long way toward defending her honor already.”