Page 62 of Regency Whispers: Scandalous Matches

Looking down, he noticed a sheaf of paper half-sticking out of a closed drawer in the desk. There was a flash of colour on it, a beautiful golden yellow, and immediately it piqued his interest. Aware the drawer was closed and private, he reasoned he would open it, ensure the piece of paper was undamaged and place it more carefully back inside.

As he opened the drawer he felt a flicker of surprise. On the piece of paper was the most beautiful painting of three little field mice hanging on to sheaves of golden corn. The detail was exquisite, down to the miniscule whiskers on their faces, and it felt as though you were just about to step into a real farmer’s field.

He picked up the piece of paper, unable to quite believe the quality of the painting.

Underneath was a page of writing, and then sticking out from under that he could see another painting. Knowing he shouldn’t, he picked up the paper with the writing on and looked at the picture under it. This one was of an owl, tawny brown and looking fierce as it stretched its wings to fly.

He longed to read the writing that accompanied it, but knew he had already pried too much. When she was ready, maybe Jane would let him see it, let him read the entirety of her work.

Carefully he placed the papers in the drawer and pushed it closed. As it thudded shut, the door opened, and for a second he felt as though his heart had stopped beating.

Jane slipped inside, closing the door softly behind her.

‘Cook is busy in the kitchen,’ she said. ‘I can hear the maids on the first floor, probably seeing to Lord and Lady Mountjoy’s fire. I think if we are going to move it needs to be now.’

He stood, moving swiftly to join her, and then taking her hand in his own. She looked up at him and he saw the worry on her face, hating that he was the cause of it.

‘If anyone spots us, the scandal will be of gigantic proportions. Whether we are holding hands or not won’t even feature.’

‘That is very true.’ She took a shuddering breath and then smiled up at him. ‘Let’s go.’

With her heart pounding in her chest, Jane opened the door and stepped out into the hallway. There was no one in sight. She knew their best chance was to move quickly, but she had an overwhelming urge to creep quietly rather than rush. Thankfully, Tom gripped her hand a little tighter and together they hurried forward.

Never before had she realised quite how big the Mountjoys’ townhouse actually was. There was the second-floor hallway to navigate, then a sweeping staircase down to the first floor, where anyone might be coming out of a room and spot them on the stairs. After they had navigated that gauntlet, there was the final grand staircase to the ground floor. This would deposit them in the wide hallway where there was nowhere to hide until they dived into one of the downstairs rooms.

Without looking round, Jane hurried to keep up with Tom, feeling as though her feet were barely touching the stairs as they raced down them. In no time at all her toes were on the cool marble of the downstairs hall. They both froze for a second as voices approached and Jane was certain they were about to be caught. Tom lunged through one of the doors, pulling her with him and closing it with a quiet click. Her back was pressed up against the wall and Tom’s body was firm against hers. For a long moment, neither of them moved, and then Tom dipped his head just a little. Jane longed to reach up and kiss him, to abandon herself to the red-hot desire that was burning inside her. She wanted to loop her legs around him, to pull him to her and forget where they were.

She almost gave in, pushing herself up on her tiptoes a fraction, but then she thought of Tom’s words the night before. His anguish had been so raw, even all these years later. It was not merely a story, an excuse for not getting married. She could see he truly believed every word he had said. He didn’t think he could trust himself to put another’s needs above his own.

Jane knew this was nonsense. Time and time again over the last few weeks Tom had made sacrifices for both his nephew and her without being asked, without really thinking about it, because it was the right thing to do. He had a strong moral compass, a sense of right and wrong, and even if it did not match up with the strict rules of society it didn’t mean it wasn’t a good way to live his life. She might know it was nonsense, but Tom believed it.

Slowly she sank down from her tiptoes, a flood of disappointment flowing through her as her heels touched the floor.

‘I’ll get the key,’ she said, her voice sticking in her throat. She wriggled out from her spot against the wall and walked over to the desk, telling herself that soon she would be back home in Somerset. Soon she would be far away from Tom Stewart and his alluring smiles.

Lord Mountjoy’s desk was meticulous. Everything was neat and ordered and had its place. It made finding the key easy, kept as it always was in the bottom drawer in a little container at the back left. Her fingers gripped it and she pulled it out triumphantly, wondering for the first time whether they might actually get away without being caught.

Tom crossed the room in four strides, joining her by the desk, relief blossoming on his face too. Quickly Jane moved to the glass doors that led out to the patio area beyond and inserted the key into the lock. She had opened the door a few times before, and knew it was stiff, so set about jiggling the key to try and get the mechanism to work.

With a start she felt Tom’s fingers on her hand, gripping her wrist. Voices were approaching and she watched in horror as the door handle began to move. There was nowhere to go, nowhere they could hide in the time it would take to open the door.

Jane let out a little whimper, hating the feeling of helplessness, the feeling her entire future was about to be decided for her.

Tom looked at her, and in the moment before the door opened he smiled. There was no dread in his eyes, no recriminations, just pure reassurance. Jane felt her heart constrict and knew in that moment that she was in love with him.

‘I’ll clean out the fire in Lord Mountjoy’s study,’ one of the maids said as she pushed the door half-open. ‘Then I will be down to help with heating the water for bathing.’

The door was open wide enough for someone to see in, but the maid was looking back over her shoulder at her companion and hadn’t yet spotted Jane and Tom. The companion must have said something for the maid paused and then sighed.

‘No, of course that is fine. I’ll get to the fire later this morning.’ Without even looking into the room, the maid shut the door again with a click.

‘What just happened?’ Jane whispered, unable to believed they were still undiscovered.

‘I think we have tested our luck enough,’ Tom murmured, reaching for the key in the lock and giving it one final jiggle. The door opened and quickly he stepped out, pausing for a moment on the threshold. ‘Get back to bed,’ he said with a grin. ‘I’ll call on you later. I am sorry for all of this.’

Before Jane knew what was happening, he leaned forward and kissed her quickly but firmly on the lips, then turned and hurried down the side of the house.

Too stunned to move for a moment, Tom was already around the side of the house before Jane had recovered. Her fingers were stiff and fumbling as she locked the door and returned the key to the drawer. It only took a few seconds then to sneak out of the study and hurry upstairs, her heart still racing even though she knew the worst of the danger had passed.