Page 58 of Regency Whispers: Scandalous Matches

‘Jane!’ Tom shouted.

He waved and swayed. Definitely inebriated, Jane thought, unable to fathom why he was in the Mountjoys’ back garden in the middle of the night.

‘Be quiet,’ she said, leaning out a little further to check there was no movement at any of the other windows.

‘Jane, I’m down here,’ Tom called.

‘I can see you. Wait there. Don’t move.’ She knew she should send him away but she didn’t want to have a conversation out of the window. Every shout from Tom seemed to cut through the air and she was worried soon the whole neighbourhood would be awake.

She had the forethought to pull on her dressing gown and slip on some shoes before descending the stairs, listening every few steps to see if anyone was stirring in the rest of the house.

It was with a flood of relief she reached the back door that led out into the garden. The keys were on a hook next to the door and carefully she inserted the key into the lock and turned, slipping out through the open door into the night.

‘I had to see you,’ Tom said as she stepped out onto the patio. His words were a little slurred, and Jane could see he was trying really hard to be quiet, but his mouth wasn’t quite cooperating.

‘It’s the middle of the night.’

‘You look lovely,’ he said, taking a step back to take all of her in. Jane pulled her dressing gown across her chest a little tighter.

‘Go home. We can talk tomorrow. Or any other time.’

‘I think I said the wrong thing earlier.’

‘It doesn’t matter,’ Jane said, reaching out and turning him so he faced the garden gate. ‘Go home and we will talk tomorrow.’

‘I’ll go,’ he said, even taking a step in the right direction. ‘Tomorrow we’ll talk.’

‘Yes, tomorrow. I promise.’ She felt relieved he was leaving so easily. In two minutes Tom would be on his way home and she would be safely ensconced back in her bed.

‘Goodnight, Jane,’ he said, half-turning back to her and giving her that smile of his.

‘Goodnight, Tom.’

Before he could take another step, there was a scraping noise from above. Jane stiffened, unable to move. She knew it was a window opening and knew that at any moment she would be caught in the garden with a notorious rake. There would be no saving her reputation after this.

Even though he was inebriated, Tom moved quickly, lunging forward and grabbing hold of her, deftly spinning her round and through the open back door. Their bodies were pressed together, with his back against the wall, and hers pinning him in place. With one hand he reached out and pressed a finger to her lips, silencing the exclamation of surprise and lingering for a moment as his eyes sought out hers.

Jane felt the beat of his heart even through the layers that separated them and was sure hers was beating exactly in time.

They heard the creak of the window a few floors up and Jane hoped the open back door wasn’t visible from above. Slowly she extricated herself from Tom’s arms and inch by inch eased the door shut. For half a minute they stood completely still, listening to the faint noises of the house at night, and then with a sense of impending doom they heard the opening of a door and the patter of faint footsteps.

‘We need to move,’ Tom whispered, his breath tickling her ear.

Jane nodded, wondering if this situation could get any worse. From the position of the window opening, she knew it must be one of the servants, but if they had heard anything they would be sure to come to investigate. Quickly she locked the back door and replaced the key on the hook and then, grabbing hold of Tom’s hand, pulled him along the narrow corridor that led to the main hallway. She paused by the servants’ stairs, listening again, only to feel the solid thud of Tom’s body careening into hers. It took a moment to steady herself, but in that time she was convinced she could hear the soft creak of wood signalling someone coming down the stairs.

It was a gamble to head to the main staircase with Tom in tow. If she had misjudged the situation, if it was in fact Lord or Lady Mountjoy who had woken and were coming, then it would be an utter disaster. She and Tom would be caught and there would be no explaining away this scandal. Jane just had to hope it was a servant and they had subconsciously chosen their habitual route downstairs, using the narrower servants’ staircase.

Silently they climbed the stairs. Jane’s heart pounded even harder every time there was a creak, and a couple of times she thought her chest might explode from the awful anticipation of being caught. They made it up past the first floor, circling round and continuing up the second staircase to the second floor.

Jane didn’t pause at the top of the steps, entwining her fingers through Tom’s and pulling him into her bedroom. Quickly she closed the door behind them and turned the key in the lock.

She rested her head on the cool wood for a few seconds, unable to believe what she had just done. Eventually she turned to find Tom right behind her.

‘What were you thinking?’ she whispered, wishing she could see him better in the darkness.

‘You were upset earlier,’ he said, reaching out and placing a hand on her arm. ‘I didn’t want to leave things badly between us.’

‘So you thought you would pay me a visit in the middle of the night and force me to sneak you into my bedroom.’