Tall, Dark... Collection. Кэрол Мортимер

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      Hawk’s mouth thinned. ‘No.’

      ‘I did not think so.’Arabella shrugged. ‘But you must admit that captivating the Earl of Whitney would be a marvellous feather in Jane’s social cap…’

      ‘I admit nothing of the sort!’

      Arabella turned towards the dancing couples. ‘They do look very well together, do they not…?’

      Hawk turned to follow the direction of his sister’s gaze, his own eyes narrowing ominously as once again he found himself looking at Jane as she danced assuredly with the Earl of Whitney.

      Arabella was quite right in her assertion: Jane and Whitney did look well together. The two were of a similar height, one so blond while the other a fiery redhead, and their movements were both light and graceful. And when the dance allowed, their conversation was softly exclusive.

      Hawk frowned darkly as he wondered what subject two such mismatched people could possibly have found to talk about so earnestly…

       Chapter Ten

      ‘Have you been Stourbridge’s…ward for very long, Miss Smith?’

      Jane had been lost in the enchantment of the ‘small’ ballroom, as Arabella called it. Dozens of candles illuminated the room, and the dancing couples were reflected in the ornate mirrors that covered the walls. A warm breeze came in through the open doors that led out into the garden beyond.

      Now she looked up frowningly at the Earl. ‘Why do you ask, My Lord?’

      He raised mocking blond brows. ‘Possibly because Lady Arabella describes you as her companion, and the Duke as his ward. I wondered which of them spoke in error…?’

      Jane stumbled slightly in the dance—a slip the Earl deftly masked as he matched his steps to her own. ‘Perhaps neither of them, My Lord,’she finally dismissed smoothly. ‘There is surely no reason why I cannot be both ward to the Duke and companion to Arabella?’

      ‘None at all,’ the Earl conceded. ‘But neither description tells me who you really are.’ All humour had now left that handsome face, and he stared down at her with that same intentness of purpose that Jane had found so disconcerting during dinner.

      Jane withstood the intensity of that gaze as she gave a rueful smile. ‘I am nobody, My Lord.Absolutely nobody.’

      ‘One thing Lady Arabella and the Duke do seem in agreement on is your name…Jane Smith…?’

      For all that the Duke had warned her the Earl was reputed to be a charmer and a seducer, Jane was finding his persistence in asking her personal questions irritating in the extreme.

      The Earl shook his head. ‘I am sorry to disagree, Jane, but I really cannot accept any loving mother with the surname of Smith baptising her child Jane.’

      ‘Then perhaps she did not love me!’ Jane snapped, still trying to come to terms with her emotions towards her mother after discovering that Janette had married a man who was not the father of her baby. ‘She died on the day I was born,’ Jane explained flatly, as the Earl continued to look down at her speculatively.

      His expression instantly changed to one of frowning regret. ‘Please forgive me if I have caused offence, Jane.’ He sighed. ‘My own wife and child died many years ago, too,’ he added, with a grimace.

      It was an explanation that at once touched Jane’s tender heart, and perhaps explained many things about this man’s rakish reputation…‘You did not cause any offence, My Lord,’ she assured him huskily.

      ‘You may call me Justin, Jane,’ he drawled.

      ‘I would rather not, My Lord,’ she came back firmly.

      The Earl gave a rueful shake of his head. ‘You do not seem to be part of the artifice that makes up the world of the ton, Jane…?’

      Perhaps that was because Jane did not belong to this world. She was merely an intruder, there on sufferance only because the Duke of Stourbridge had decided it should be so!

      She gave him a sharp look. ‘That is the second time this evening that you have spoken so disparagingly of your peers, My Lord.’

      He gave a humourless smile. ‘Perhaps because for the main part that is how I choose to think of them…’

      ‘Why?’

      The Earl shrugged his broad shoulders. ‘I doubt you would understand the reason for my cynicism, Jane.’

      ‘Perhaps if you were to explain your reasons to me…?’

      His gaze became quizzical at the earnestness of her expression. ‘Talking about one’s past does not make it any less painful, Jane. Nor does it make it possible for the ton to forgive those past indiscretions,’ he added harshly.

      ‘Not even if one is genuinely repentant?’

      ‘Ah, but there lies the problem, Jane. For, you see, I remain totally unrepentant.’

      ‘Then you cannot expect forgiveness.’

      The Earl gave a rueful shake of his head. ‘Have things always been so black and white to you, Jane?’

      She nodded. ‘My father—a parson—brought me up to be honest, I hope.’

      ‘He did indeed.’ The Earl gave a hard smile of acknowledgment.

      ‘But a lack of artifice and guile is unusual in any woman, I have found, Jane, let alone one so young as you,’ he added.

      ‘Indeed, My Lord?’ she said dryly.

      ‘Oh, yes.’ His smile became derisive. ‘But perhaps your own honesty is due in part to the fact that you have no interest in becoming my Countess…’

      Her eyes widened. ‘I certainly do not, sir!’

      The Earl gave an appreciative chuckle. ‘And so you intrigue me even further, Jane!’

      ‘I can assure you it was not my intention to do so,’ Jane told him primly.

      ‘Perhaps it is for that very reason I find you so interesting, Jane,’ he murmured tauntingly.

      Jane moved back slightly to look up at him. ‘Are you flirting with me, My Lord?’

      ‘As it happens…no, Jane. I am not,’ he assured her hardly. ‘Strangely, you bring out a protective element in me that I have not felt since—’ He broke off abruptly, his frown dark. ‘Why is that, do you think, Jane?’

      ‘I have no idea, My Lord.’ Jane was tired of this enigmatic conversation, but she was even more annoyed with the way the Duke stood at the side of the room, glaring at her so disapprovingly. As if he feared that at any moment she might do or say something to embarrass him or one of his guests. She curtseyed to the Earl as the dance ended. ‘If you will excuse me, My Lord? I believe I would like go outside for some air.’ She turned in the direction of the open French doors.

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