Page 53 of Regency Whispers: Scandalous Matches

‘What are they?’

‘You donate your gloves to Edward—his are completely soaked through.’

‘Gladly, and the second?’

‘You take us to see the sledgers.’

‘I know the perfect spot.’

He took a moment to adjust Edward’s outer layers, ensuring his nephew was still warm despite the freezing temperatures, and then took off his gloves and handed them over.

‘Your prize,’ he said, helping Edward slip them on.

With his nephew skipping on ahead, Tom offered Jane his arm. The maid who was chaperoning them trailed behind, looking more and more unimpressed with her job out here in the snow, when the other maids were working in the warmth of the Mountjoy household.

‘What did she say?’ Jane asked when she was sure Edward was far enough ahead not to hear. ‘You never came back. I didn’t know if that meant good news or bad news.’

‘I’m sorry, it just got so late. It took me ages to find Mrs Burghley. She was almost home by the time I caught up with her.’ He passed a hand over his brow, trying to rub away the headache that was threatening to return. ‘She was angry.’

‘She thought there was going to be something between you?’

‘I think she may have got the wrong impression. The friend who introduced us thought we might be a good match for one another. She is looking for a...protector.’

‘And are you looking for a mistress?’

‘Good lord, no.’ He shook his head. ‘I think Mrs Burghley is short on funds after her husband’s death and hoped I might be the one to save her from having to rethink her current lifestyle.’

‘So what did you say to her?’

‘I apologised for behaving poorly towards her and explained what she had seen was a mistake. I begged her to think of your reputation.’

Jane looked up at him and he felt awful that he couldn’t guarantee Mrs Burghley would stay quiet.

‘She said she was tired, and needed time to think, and asked me not to contact her again.’

Jane bit her lip, her expression troubled.

‘It doesn’t seem terribly promising.’

‘At least she didn’t say outright she was going to tell everyone what she saw.’

For a moment their eyes met as they remembered the kiss and then Tom quickly looked away. He knew he needed to put an end to the inappropriate thoughts he kept having about Jane. It might have already ruined both of their futures. He couldn’t allow himself to slip up again. If by chance they managed to get away with Jane’s reputation intact, he could never do anything again to jeopardise it.

‘So what do we do?’

‘I suppose we wait.’ He shook his head, knowing how unsatisfying that was as an answer. ‘I lay awake last night and tried to think through all the possible solutions.’

‘Did you come up with anything else?’

‘I could try to bribe her,’ he said, frowning into the distance. ‘She is struggling financially and may be open to a payment or two to keep our secret.’ He shrugged. ‘It isn’t as though it would need to be for ever. In a couple of months you return to Somerset, and I might take Edward to the country for the summer, so I don’t think I would need to pay her more than once or twice.’

‘It sounds like you don’t think it is the best idea.’

‘No, I worry it might be a misstep. Although she does need the money, I wonder if a bribe will seem too dirty, too offensive, and then she will feel it is her moral obligation to tell society about what she saw.’

‘It’s a nightmare.’

‘I know.’