Page 38 of Regency Whispers: Scandalous Matches

‘Is something wrong?’

Shaking her head, she sniffed and wiped away the tears.

‘I never thought I’d miss home as much as I do,’ she said quietly. ‘Before I left, I didn’t even think about it, I didn’t even consider I might feel a pang of sadness when I thought of snow on the hills or the way the sun lights up the countryside as it is setting.’

‘Is it your family you miss too?’

‘Yes. Our house is chaos with my five younger sisters. It feels like there is never a moment of peace, never a place to think or be quiet.’ She shook her head, ‘I even pine for the noise and the disorder.’

‘Do you have someone close to you age in amongst your sisters?’

‘No. I had a brother, born two years after me, but he died of a fever when he was very young. My parents didn’t think they would have any more children after that.’ She closed her eyes and thought of Harriet, her twin, the person she had been closest to in the world. She wasn’t quite ready to tell anyone about her yet.

‘I am sorry.’

‘Meredith, the next oldest, is ten, Abigail is nine, the twins Caroline and Elizabeth are seven and Sybil is three.’

Mr Stewart raised his eyebrows. ‘No wonder you are so good with Edward.’

She glanced over to the young boy who was sitting happily in his saddle, every so often getting up the courage to lean forward and give the pony a hug around her neck.

‘You seem more relaxed with him,’ Jane said.

‘I went to see a friend last night, the friend I told you about in Southwark. His wife has never been afraid of speaking her mind and I think this time some of her words actually got through.’

‘What did she say?’

‘She told me Edward may miss out on certain things in life but so many children have it harder. He has a warm bed to sleep in at night, food on the table and will get an education to allow him to make the most of his future.’

‘You’re forgetting something,’ she said quietly.

‘What?’

‘Someone who loves him.’

With a glance at the young boy next to him, Mr Stewart nodded, and Jane saw true affection in his eyes. She had known it was there, right from the start, but it was wonderful to see this man allowing himself just to be with his nephew, to slowly build that relationship.

‘He’s lucky to have you.’ She waited for Mr Stewart to look at her so he could see the sincerity in her expression. ‘You may not have much experience with children but you have a good heart, Mr Stewart, and that is more important than anything else.’

‘I have been complimented on one or two things before,’ he said, looking across at her with a spark of mischief. ‘But never has anyone taken any notice of my heart.’

‘More fool them,’ Jane murmured.

Her eyes flicked up to meet his and for a long moment she couldn’t look away. There was an intensity there like never before and she felt as though her body might catch alight. His eyes were always bright, but today they seemed even brighter, and Jane felt their hypnotic pull.

They were almost at the Serpentine and thankfully Mr Stewart had to look away so he could instruct the groom where to lead Edward’s horse on the trip back. Jane took advantage of the lull in Mr Stewart’s attention to spur her horse forward a few steps so she could have a minute to herself. As she did, there was a shout from a hundred feet away, and then a few seconds later a brown furry animal came dashing towards them.

It was a large dog, running at such speed it looked like a blur until it got closer. It was barking and showing no signs of slowing down.

‘Hold Sapphire,’ Mr Stewart said, his voice calm but with a commanding edge to it. Jane glanced back and saw the groom take hold of Sapphire’s bridle and start to stroke the horse whilst murmuring soothing words. The little pony didn’t seem overly fazed by the approaching animal.

Jane turned back round just in time to see the dog hadn’t stopped and was now running fast towards her horse. She froze, not knowing whether to lean forward to try and comfort the animal and risk losing her precarious balance in the side-saddle or stay still and hope the dog came under control.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Mr Stewart dismount quickly and run towards her, but it was too late. The horse panicked, taking a few quick steps backwards, and then reared up, kicking out its front legs. The dog barked even louder and then the horse bolted.

Jane tensed every muscle possible, clinging on tightly and wondering why she hadn’t hit the ground yet. The cold air whipped against her face and pulled her hair loose so it was flying out behind her, streaming across her shoulders.

At first she squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to see the world spin as she tumbled to the ground, but after a few seconds, when she realised she was somehow still in the saddle, she quickly opened them again. The world was travelling by in a blur and she wasn’t even sure what direction she was going in. Every time the horse’s hooves hit the grass, Jane felt a jolt travel through her body and push her a little further out of an ideal riding position. A hundred more feet and she would be holding on with her hands alone.