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He could imagine her as Lady Wyndham, managing his household efficiently and without fuss, standing at his side at official functions, being a wonderful mother to their children, loving him. Was it possible? He was annoyed to think that it all depended on the whim of Isabel. It was a pity Sir Edward was so against Drew. Where was Drew?
* * *
His musing came to a halt as he pulled up at the front door of Greystone Manor. Gently he touched her hand to wake her. ‘Home, Jane.’
She looked startled, as if not sure where she was. ‘Have I been asleep?’
‘Yes. It probably did you good. Now we have to face your parents and they will undoubtedly give me a jobation for not looking after you.’
‘Do not be silly, of course they will not.’
He lifted her down and carried her up the steps. ‘Can you reach the knocker?’
The door was opened by Ruby, the downstairs maid. ‘Lord a’ mercy,’ she said. ‘What happened?’
‘Miss Cavenhurst has had an accident,’ Mark said. ‘Fetch Lady Cavenhurst, will you?’
The maid scuttled off and Mark put Jane down to stand on one foot, but he kept his arm about her. They were standing like that when Sir Edward and Lady Cavenhurst came hurrying towards them, closely followed by Isabel and Sophie.
‘What happened?’ her ladyship said, looking at the pair and then down at Jane’s foot.
‘I caught my foot in a broken stair tread at the house,’ she said. ‘It is a little swollen and painful, but it will be better by tomorrow.’
‘I think Miss Cavenhurst should be taken to her room,’ Mark put in. ‘She can tell you all about it when she has been made comfortable and the doctor sent for.’
‘Yes, yes, of course,’ Sir Edward said. ‘I’ll send for a footman and...’
‘No need, I can carry her. Lead the way.’ He bent to scoop Jane up again, evincing a little ‘oh’ from Jane and a bigger one from Isabel.
‘I will send someone for the doctor,’ Sir Edward said, turning away, leaving his wife to precede Mark with his burden up the stairs. No one spoke until Jane was safely deposited on her bed and the injured foot put on a cushion.
‘Thank you, Mark,’ she said. ‘I could not have managed without you.’
‘With your permission, Lady Cavenhurst, I will call tomorrow to see how the patient fares.’
‘Of course, you do not have to ask.’
He bowed and took his leave.
‘Well, this is a fine state of affairs,’ her ladyship said, sitting on the bed beside her daughter. ‘You had better tell me exactly how it happened. And I do believe you have been drinking.’
‘We had some wine with our picnic.’
‘Picnic? I was given to understand you were going to look at a house for your home.’
‘So we did, but Mark had brought a picnic basket. After all, we were going to be gone some time. I believe it was Mrs Blandish’s idea. She thought Mark would be hungry.’
‘And did you stumble before or after you drank the wine?’
‘Mama, what are you saying? Do you think I was drunk? How could you? If you will stop quizzing me for a minute, I will tell you exactly how it happened.’
There was a knock on the door and her sisters came into the room. ‘Are you badly hurt, Jane?’ Sophie asked. ‘What was it like to be carried by a man and a handsome one at that? I bet Issie is jealous.’
‘I am not,’ Isabel protested.
‘If you must know, it was humiliating and embarrassing,’ Jane said.
‘Then tell us all about it.’ Sophie plopped herself on the other side of the bed, making Jane cry out when her leg was disturbed. ‘Sorry, Jane.’ She moved away.
‘Is it very painful?’ Isabel asked, hovering at the bedside.
‘Yes, it is.’
‘I always thought that home orphanage idea was a bad one.’
‘It is not and this isn’t going to stop me. We have decided to take the house. It can be made good.’
‘By “we” you mean you and Mark, I suppose.’
‘And Mr Cecil Halliday. He is also a trustee.’
‘If it is in such a sorry state that it has broken stair treads, then it is perhaps not a good idea,’ their mother put in. ‘You might have been killed.’
‘But I wasn’t, was I? Mark was in front of me and he broke my fall.’
‘It seems we have a great deal to thank Mark for.’
‘Yes, indeed. He says the house can easily be put to rights and it will make an ideal home for the children.’
